Past Events

“From Renaissance to Baroque” is the theme of this concert by The San Antonio Recorder Quartet. The group will perform using four different recorder consorts, 23 instruments in all, including both Renaissance and Baroque ensembles with great bass and contrabass instruments.

August Baroque–
“August Baroque” with Evan Kory, harpsichord;
Leclair: Violin Sonata in D Major op 9 no 3;
Telemann: Trio Sonata In G Major TWV 42:G 1 9’ flute, violin, continuo;
Handel: Flute Sonata in A Minor, Op. 1 no. 16 HWV 374;
J.S. Bach: from Art of Fugue;
JS Bach: Musical Offering Trio.
Kory, Teplitsky, Gratz

We close our eighth season with a musical voyage to Napoleonic France and Biedermeier Vienna, with chamber music featuring ABO’s principal players. There will be Beethoven from before he sounded like Beethoven, with his elegant Piano Quartet in C major, a product of his youthful and Haydn-influenced First Period. We’ll follow that with a dazzling and quirky quintet by his childhood friend Antoine Reicha, the so-called “Father of the Wind Quintet.” Finally, we’ll end with music by Louis Spohr, a virtuoso violinist and inventor of the violin and viola chin rest. His Gran Nonetto is a rarely-performed and virtuosic large chamber work for strings and winds that is a perfect blend of Classical balance and Romantic passion that shows the influence of both Haydn and Beethoven.

We close our eighth season with a musical voyage to Napoleonic France and Biedermeier Vienna, with chamber music featuring ABO’s principal players. There will be Beethoven from before he sounded like Beethoven, with his elegant Piano Quartet in C major, a product of his youthful and Haydn-influenced First Period. We’ll follow that with a dazzling and quirky quintet by his childhood friend Antoine Reicha, the so-called “Father of the Wind Quintet.” Finally, we’ll end with music by Louis Spohr, a virtuoso violinist and inventor of the violin and viola chin rest. His Gran Nonetto is a rarely-performed and virtuosic large chamber work for strings and winds that is a perfect blend of Classical balance and Romantic passion that shows the influence of both Haydn and Beethoven.

Wunderkind – Music of Young Mozart –
The final concert of our 2018-2019 season will feature works of Mozart composed in his youth. Renowned as a child prodigy, Mozart began composing at a very young age, completing his first Symphony in 1764 at the tender age of 8! We are performing this symphony as well as other early works of Mozart in this exciting concert.

Electrifying, passionate, sensual — these are but a few words that can describe the genius that was the music of Antonio Vivaldi. Known to his contemporaries as il prete rosso (The Red Priest) on account of his red hair, his music has enchanted millions since it found widespread popularity nearly a century ago. One of the most formidable violin virtuosi to ever live, Vivaldi churned out one masterwork after another, composing dazzling concerti for his female students at the Ospedale della Pietà and dramatic works for the opera-hungry Venetian public, not to mention music commissioned by various European royals. Our first all-Vivaldi program will consist of a diverse assortment of his instrumental and vocal output, with concerti featuring talented ABO soloists, overtures from operas, chamber works, and arias from his sacred and operatic œuvre.

Electrifying, passionate, sensual — these are but a few words that can describe the genius that was the music of Antonio Vivaldi. Known to his contemporaries as il prete rosso (The Red Priest) on account of his red hair, his music has enchanted millions since it found widespread popularity nearly a century ago. One of the most formidable violin virtuosi to ever live, Vivaldi churned out one masterwork after another, composing dazzling concerti for his female students at the Ospedale della Pietà and dramatic works for the opera-hungry Venetian public, not to mention music commissioned by various European royals. Our first all-Vivaldi program will consist of a diverse assortment of his instrumental and vocal output, with concerti featuring talented ABO soloists, overtures from operas, chamber works, and arias from his sacred and operatic œuvre.

Early Music Month Celebration – March is Early Music Month and we’re having a special concert to celebrate! We’ll be playing music by two very well known baroque composers and two lesser-known composers. This concert is FREE to help spread awareness and enjoyment of early music in San Antonio. Music by Telemann, Vivaldi, Brescianello, Motta and Loeillet.

The group will present a concert of ensemble music of the Renaissance and Early Baroque. The quartet will perform with 27 different recorders, including two matched consorts of Renaissance recorders and two different consorts of Baroque instruments. The concert will feature two ensembles featuring instruments at 8′ pitch with great bass and contrabass recorders. Gerald Self will narrate, providing background and context for each selection.

Fred Edelen, cello, and Christina Edelen, harpsichord, will feature baroque music. Formerly of San Antonio, the two now perform with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam, where Mr. Edelen is principal cellist.

Scottish and Irish ballads are evocative, heartfelt, and often humorous! Even the English held these works in high esteem, and our own Ben Franklin adored these songs and considered them the height of great art. With New-York based guests Peter Walker (singer and a variety of small pipes) and Ryland Angel (singer).

Scottish and Irish ballads are evocative, heartfelt, and often humorous! Even the English held these works in high esteem, and our own Ben Franklin adored these songs and considered them the height of great art. With New-York based guests Peter Walker (singer and a variety of small pipes) and Ryland Angel (singer).