Crying In Our Coffee: Madison Bach Musicians’ Fascinating Double Bill

Trevor Stephenson closes MBM season with light Bach, heavy Purcell The close of the Madison Bach Musicians  season (pictured above in a 2015 performance) gave me the opportunity to cross two famous works off my must-hear list: Bach’s frothy secular cantata, BWV 211 (known rightly as the “Coffee Cantata”), and Purcell’s seminal opera, Dido and…

The Easter Mastery of the Madison Bach Musicians

Bach’s “St. John Passion” is revealed in all its poignant splendor It was over a year ago, when I first experienced the Madison Bach Musicians for the first time (a revelatory Messiah) that I saw they planned performances of J.S.Bach’s “St. John Passion” for Good Friday night and the next in 2017. I was ready…

Ancora Quartet: If the Name Doesn’t Mean “Encore,” It Should

In a month that rains quartet performances, Ancora makes their mark yet again   The arrival of the Lion King to the Overture Center this month may have pushed the larger, more flashy ensembles into an earlier than usual summer break (more or less!—none of them really stop completely of course), but May has brought…

Trevor’s Magical Musical Tour

Trevor Stephenson’s restored 1855 Bösendorfer piano is a time-travel gateway that reveals forgotten secrets   Having finally fallen under the spell of Trevor Stephenson’s beguiling preconcert lectures and the compelling results of his musicianship in the recent Messiah performance by his Madison Bach Musicians, there was no way I was going to miss his lecture/recital…