Frederick’s Court
January 25, 2012, 5:30 PM | St. John’s Church, Boston
A special preview recital given by Sarah Paysnick and Joanna Marsden (flutes) and Matthew Hall (clavichord). Reception to follow.
January 28, 2012, 4:00 PM | Kaji Aso Studio, Boston
Kaji Aso Studio near Symphony is a Boston hotspot for Japanese culture and the arts in general. We are delighted to collaborate with them by offering this concert in the beautiful Gallery. Reception to follow.
January 29, 2012, 3:00 PM | St. Anne’s in-the-Fields, Lincoln
We are delighted to offer this program outside our usual city neighborhoods. St. Anne’s Church is open and airy with high ceilings and large picture windows, making it a wonderful venue for music—both acoustically and visually. Reception to follow.
No tickets required. Donations graciously accepted.
Unlike his father, Friedrich Wilhelm I, whose fondness for military display earned him the moniker Soldatenkönig, Frederick the Great aspired to the Platonic ideal of the philosopher-king. He founded the Berlin Academy, whose members included Kant and D’Alembert; he spoke six languages, and read and wrote in four other classical languages; he was a close friend and prolific correspondent of Voltaire; he played the transverse flute and composed for that instrument; and he built the aptly-named palace of Sanssouci as a sanctuary for his and his protectees’ pursuits in the arts, philosophy, and sciences.
In this concert we explore one of the ten principal rooms on the main enfilade of the palace: the Music Room. Here Frederick wiled away his evenings playing the flute with the best back-up band in all of Prussia: Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach was harpsichordist to the king; Johann Gottlieb Janitsch was a persönlicher Musicus, or “personal musician” to the king—that is, one who played music in the king’s inner apartments—and a bass viol player; Johann Joachim Quantz was a flute player and the king’s music teacher; František (Franz) Benda was a violinist and the concertmaster; and Carl Heinrich Graun was the Hofkapellmeister and a singer.
Flötenkonzert Friedrichs des Großen in Sanssouci (1852) — Menzel
Pictured in the famous painting by Menzel are: Frederick the Great, flute, who is standing at center; C.P.E. Bach, harpsichord, whose profile is clearly recognizable; Janitsch, bass viol, seated at Bach’s right; and Benda, violin, who stands at Janitsch’s right and whose distinctively thin face and tall frame are recognizable. The fact that these figures are all pictured together in this (imagined) scene leads one to suspect Graun might be the figure leaning against the wall at the right; the depiction of him is not especially unmistakeable, but does recall the jowly fullness in the face which characterizes Graun’s official portrait.
 Bach |
 Graun |
 Benda |
Program
Graun: Trio Sonata in E-flat major, GraunWV C:XV:82
Quantz: Duetto in a minor, op.2 no.2
Hasse: Sonata in G major, op. 5 no.3
W.F. Bach: Duetto in F major
Quantz: Sonata in E-flat major, QV I:54
Janitsch: Quartet in D major for 2 flutes, viola, and continuo
