Musicians of the Old Post Road Presents 'Rustic Classical'

For Immediate Release 
March 27, 2024 

PRESS CONTACT 
Joanna Boyle, General Manager 
Musicians of the Old Post Road 
781.466.6694 
musicians@oldpostroad.org

PHOTOS 
https://oldpostroad.org/press-room

MUSICIANS OF THE OLD POST ROAD
presents
Rustic Classical

Friday, April 19, 2024, 8:00 pm
Old South Church, Boston, MA
and live-streamed at www.oldpostroad.org 

Sunday, April 21, 2024, 4:00 pm
Worcester Historical Museum, Worcester, MA

In-person Audience Tickets $10-$55, kids come free with an adult
Virtual Audience Tickets: $35 individual, $70 family, $10 students

Musicians of the Old Post Road concludes its 35th anniversary season with Rustic Classical, a program aimed to evoke “earthy” musical themes, on April 19th at 8 pm at Old South Church, Boston (and online) and April 21st at 4 pm at the Worcester Historical Museum, Worcester. This program concludes the ensemble’s “Elements” season, which has explored little-known and rarely-performed works through the lens of the four Classical elements: water, air, fire, and earth.

Rustic Classical explores boisterous chamber works from the Classical era with a Bohemian flair, including an arrangement for flute and strings of Mozart’s Rondo “alla Turca” from his Piano Sonata in A Major. This unique adaptation was made in 1800 by a friend of Mozart’s, Franz Anton Hoffmeister, a composer, flutist, and music publisher. The ensemble will perform a Flute Quartet in G Major by another friend of Mozart’s, Adalbert Gyrowetz. Born in Bohemia (now part of the Czech Republic), Gyrowetz was a multifaceted composer whose music was performed throughout Europe. This flute quartet includes a Rondo in the style of a rustic Hungarian dance. 

The program also features movements from Johann Evangelist Brandl’s Notturno in E-flat Major; esteemed by his colleagues for his beautiful melodies, the selected movements highlight his musical expression and lively folkloric forms. The program will also include a Quintet for flute and strings by the little-known Andreas Lidl, an acclaimed player of the viola de gamba and the baryton, who was employed by Prince Nicholas at the Esterházy court in Hungary, where he overlapped with Haydn. A set of toe-tapping Hungarian dances reflecting the increased popularity of Hungarian Gypsy and Verbunkos styles in the early nineteenth century rounds out this rollicking program that concludes the ensemble’s 35th anniversary season.

Musicians for these concerts, all of whom will play on period instruments, include flutist Suzanne Stumpf, violinist and violist Sarah Darling, violinist Jesse Irons, violist Marcia Cassidy, and cellist Daniel Ryan.

Single In-Person Tickets are $55 general admission, $50 seniors, $35 for under 35. Kids 18 and under are free with an adult. Day-Of-Concert Rush Tickets (students and EBT Card holders only) are $10, availability permitting. Virtual single tickets and virtual subscriptions are also available.

For more information, visit www.oldpostroad.org, email musicians@oldpostroad.org, or call 781-466-6694.

The Worcester concert is co-presented with the Worcester Historical Museum (members receive a $10 discount on their ticket). The series is supported, in part, by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, an agency of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

ABOUT MUSICIANS OF THE OLD POST ROAD

Musicians of the Old Post Road takes its name from its acclaimed concert series that brings period instrument performances of music of the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries to beautiful historic buildings along New England’s fabled Old Post Road, the first thoroughfare to connect Boston and New York City in the late 17th century.

Winner of the 1998 and 2023 Noah Greenberg Award from the American Musicological Society, Musicians of the Old Post Road has also received programming awards from Early Music America, Chamber Music America and the US-Mexico Fund for Culture. The ensemble has toured in Germany, Austria, and Mexico, and has appeared at festivals and on concert series in the US, including the Indianapolis Early Music Festival, the Boston Early Music Festival Concert Series, the Castle Hill Festival, the Artists Series at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia, and the Connecticut Early Music Festival. The ensemble has held a residency at Dartmouth College and was featured on WCVB television’s “Chronicle” program and 99.5 All Classical radio’s “Live from Fraser” program.

The ensemble’s discography includes seven recordings that have each been praised in the US and abroad. They include: The Virtuoso Double Bass (Titanic, 1994), Trios and Scottish Song Settings of J. N. Hummel (Meridian, 1999), Galant with an Attitude: Music of Juan and José Pla (Meridian, 2000), Quartets of Telemann and Bodinus (Meridian, 2004), Feliz Navidad: Christmas from Spain and New Spain (Meridian, 2008), Roman Handel (Centaur, 2013), and Earthly Baroque (Centaur, 2017). 

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Press Contact:
Joanna Boyle, General Manager
Musicians of the Old Post Road
781.466.6694
musicians@oldpostroad.org