Catch a glimpse of The English Concert and mezzo-soprano superstar Joyce DiDonato during the Madrid leg of their 2014 tour of Handel’s Alcina. Produced for Spanish television, this short documentary includes an interview with Artistic Director Harry Bicket. “The English Concert, the acclaimed period instrument ensemble, with Harry Bicket conducting, presented an elegant, dramatically riveting concert performance at Carnegie Hall, with …
In the video below, we discuss a direction towards opera, particularly those of Handel, with interviews from Artistic Director Harry Bicket and soloists during their latest production. “Like a globe-travelling relative who returns bearing marvellous gifts, The English Concert continues to appear at Carnegie Hall bearing one gorgeous Handel opera after another. The English Concert will return in April of …
David Daniels discusses his recording of Bach Sacred Arias & Cantatas.
Harry Bicket discusses the development of period instrument performance during the past several decades. Bicket reveals his belief that attitudes towards the practice should be revised, allowing ensembles like The English Concert to be judged directly against orchestras that perform on modern instruments.
For the fledgling conductor and Karajan ‘wannabe’, conservatoires, universities, and summer schools offer the chance to hone their craft, swapping practice in front of their bathroom mirrors for rehearsal time with mentors, accompanists, or full-size symphony orchestras. Yet for the aspiring baroque director, prospects of working within such a specialised field are far and few between. Teaming up with the …
Ian Bostridge discusses his recording of Three Baroque Tenors featuring six world premiere recordings of arias by Caldara, Conti, Gasparini, Handel, Scarlatti, and Vivaldi. John Beard, Francesco Borosini, Annibale Fabri: these three men helped to revolutionize music in the 18th century. Their voices moved the greatest composers of the time to increasingly write for tenors, a move from the Castrati, which had …