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…

Belated Bravos for a Most Deserving Event

5th Handel Aria Competition keeps the bar high   My clarinet professor in college said this was the best piece of advice he could give: “Make your excuses before you perform.” That gives context to say that the 5th annual Handel Aria Competition took place Friday night, June 9, and I’ve been driving buses 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…

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…

Handel’s Messiah, Stripped Down—and Resurrected

Madison Bach Musicians share a divine vision If anyone has a “ bucket list” for Madison music groups, experiencing the Madison Bach Musicians (pictured above from an earlier concert, courtesy of the group) should be on it. Happy to report that I finally can check it off my list—and that when I attended their performance…