By Keith Powers

Cellist Jonathan Miller retired from the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 2014, but his Boston Artists Ensemble—at 43 years, stretching back nearly as long as his BSO career—has kept going and is not looking back.

Concerts this weekend in both BAE homes—Salem’s Hamilton Hall, and Brookline’s St. Paul’s Church—continue the group’s resurgence from pandemic limitations. This weekend violinists Tatiana Dimitriades and Julianne Lee, along with violists Jessica Bodner and Rebecca Gitter, join Miller for two Mozarts quintets, and Haydn’s “Lark” quartet.

“In our January concerts we have a tradition of playing affirmative, gorgeous masterpieces,” Miller says, “music people love to hear. We also have a tradition of playing the Mozart string quintets, all very operatic. The mighty D major is a wonderful piece.”

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The Boston Artists Ensemble worked with Boston’s Beacon Academy — a 14-month school between 8th and 9th grades designed to prepare motivated and promising urban students for success in competitive independent high schools and beyond — to bring 24 students to our season finale. On the program was Messiaen’s “Quartet for the end of Time”, written when the composer was a prisoner of war in German captivity during WW2, and Schubert’s delightful “Trout” Quintet.

 

Headlined “BAE Introduces Important New Weir Work” the Boston Musical Intelligencer called the new piece “exquisitely written for the cello. The first section matched a shimmering, feathery piano to long, soulful cello lines, “supremely lyrical… will surely make a luminous and evocative addition to legions of cellists’ recitals”    Read the full review here.

Headlined “Unbeatable Choices from BAE” and referring to the “Sumptuous blend” that “could be another way of praising BAE’s Mozart. So, too, could sustainability, in their ability to maintain an elevated vision yet always with the spirit of human endeavor, which places BAE’s performance of the quintet at the top of my list.” Read the full review here.

The January 10  BAE concert of string quartets by Bartók and Ravel drew praise from David Janssen from Boston’s ArtsFuse. Noting that the BAE “is serving up world class performances of chamber music” and delivered a performance “full of bravado, virtuosity, subtlety, and charm”, the review went on to express appreciation for the musician’s virtuosity and presentation of the pieces. “As gorgeous as the work may be, it is no less technically demanding than the Bartók. The virtuosity of the performers turned sounding beautiful into an easy task…The performers provided seamless intonation throughout the work; their detailing was particularly impressive during very bare spots in the third movement.” The full review can be read here on the ArtsFuse website.

The November BAE concert of the music of Heitor Villa-Lobos and Alberto Ginastera drew kudos from the Boston Musical Intelligencer. Citing the possibility that “more downtowners will be eager to seek it (the BAE)  out in the leafy corner of Brookline, the publication lauded the programming and the performances.  Saying “the string quartet drawn from BAE’s roster offered up a sampler of some of the best quartet music ever produced south of the Rio Grande.” The full review can be read here on the Intelligencer website.

” The Boston Artists Ensemble (BAE), a chamber music group known for providing deeply moving concerts, is moving itself.” The BAE’s move from Newton Centre to St. Paul’s Church in Brookline was the subject of a feature article in “Wicked Local Brookline” this week. Read the full article here.

(photo DailyNews/Ken McGagh)

Boston Artists Ensemble will present our first chamber music program of the 2015/2016 season at historic Hamilton Hall in Salem, and St. Paul’s Church in Brookline on September 18 and September 20, respectively.  For our first program, Artistic Director Jonathan Miller has selected two revolutionary works for piano trio, both in the key of E-flat:  Beethoven’s Op. 70, No. 2 and Schubert’s Op. 100 (D. 929).  Mr. Miller will be joined by violinist Sharan Leventhal and pianist Randall Hodgkinson.

Hamilton Hall is located at 9 Chestnut Street, Salem.  The performance is on Friday evening, September 18, 2015 at 8 PM.  Please Note:  Hamilton Hall is a Registered National Historic Landmark and is not handicap accessible to the performance hall on the second floor.

St. Paul’s Church is located at 15 St. Paul Street, Brookline.  The performance is on Sunday afternoon, September 20, 2015 at 3 PM.

Tickets are available on-line at BostonArtistsEnsemble.org and may be purchased at the door before each performance (cash, credit card and checks are accepted at the door).  Season subscriptions and advance tickets can also be purchased on our website.

The Boston Artists Ensemble would like to thank Mass Realty for featuring our 2015-2016 chamber music season in Brookline and Salem on their website. We are delighted that Mass Realty takes an interest in the arts as part of building communities. You can read the article here.

Today’s Salem News features BAE Artistic Director Jonathan Miller discussing Beethoven’s Opus 131 String Quartet, what’s “great” in music, and the wonderful acoustics in Hamilton Hall.

Link to the article here

On Friday, December 5, at 8:00 PM in historic Hamilton Hall in Salem and again on Sunday, December 7 at 2:30 PM in beautiful Trinity Church in Newton Centre, the Boston Artists Ensemble will perform Beethoven’s String Trio in C minor, Opus 9, No. 3 and Debussy’s String Quartet in G minor, Opus 10. In addition our annual “Mystery Piece” invites our audience to guess the composer of an unannounced piece. The winner(s) receive free tickets to one of our upcoming performances.

Artists for these concerts are Bayla Keyes and Tatiana Dimitriades on violins, Kazuko Matsusaka on viola, and Jonathan Miller on cello.

There is ample parking is available at both locations. Tickets for all concerts are available at the door, or may be reserved by telephone.
Ticket prices are $27 for the general public, $24 for senior citizens and $12 for students.

Boston Artists Ensemble Artistic Director Jonathan Miller will perform the Elgar Cello Concerto, Opus 85 in E minor with the North Shore Philharmonic Orchestra on November 9, 2014 at 3:00 pm. The concert will take place at Swampscott High school. This program also includes Rossini’s Overture to La Gazza Ladra and Brahms’ Symphony No. 1, Opus 68, in C minor. Tickets are $20 for adults, $15 for seniors and students, and free for children under 13. To purchase tickets, click here.

On Tuesday, October 21 at 7:00 pm, BAE Artistic Director Jonathan Miller and Pianist Marc Ryser will perform cello sonatas of Janacek, Debussy, and Henry Cowell at Boston’s Ayer Mansion — the country’s only surviving residence created by famed American artist and designer, Louis Comfort Tiffany. Tickets may be purchased online at AyerMansion.org

 

The Boston Artists Ensemble kicked off its 2014-15 season in its new Salem venue — historic Hamilton Hall on Chestnut Street. BAE musicians Sharan Leventhal, Jonathan Miller, and Randall Hodgkinson performed piano trios of Haydn, Dvorak, and Shostakovich to a full and enthusiastic house.

BAE Artistic Director Jonathan Miller said, ” We are delighted to perform in this elegant space — and the acoustic are superb.” The group will repeat this performance on Sunday, September 21 at Trinity Church in Newton Centre

The Boston Artists Ensemble is proud to launch our new website that offers audiences the ability to purchase tickets online, listen to music, and learn more about our artists, programs and venues. Check back throughout the season as we add news, videos, and concert announcements. And spread the word — see why our loyal audiences come back year after year.
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