Bach at New Year’s, a Berkshire institution, has always tried to balance beloved tradition with fresh ideas. Traditionally consisting of all six of Bach’s Brandenburg Concerti, it nevertheless sought fresh approaches to the challenge of performing this ever-popular cycle by exploring new instrumental combinations and freshly devised ornamentation ingeniously channeled from Bach to Maestro Kenneth Cooper. This year, daring departures from that tradition will take the form of replacing some of the concerti with other works in that genre, not only ones by Bach (concerti for one and two violins), but also by his famous (in the day, more famous) contemporary, Handel. To compensate audience members for their loss will be the participation of two eminent violin soloists, former Boston Symphony concertmaster and longtime Berkshire institution Joseph Silverstein, and Emerson Quartet leader and up-and-coming Berkshire institution Eugene Drucker. Other participating virtuoso soloists will include flutists Judith Mendenhall, Alison Hale, vioinist Marjorie Bagley, oboist Marsha Heller, and trumpeter Gerald Serfass.
Two performances, one at 6 pm on New Year’s Eve at the Mahaiwe Theater in Great Barrington, and the other at 3 pm on New Year’s Day at the Colonial Theater in Pittsfield, offer Berkshire residents a way to fit the music conveniently into their holiday plans. To obtain tickets, call the Mahaiwe (413-528-0100) or the Colonial (413-997-4444) box offices.
Joining the distinguished soloists will be the equally distinguished Berkshire Bach Ensemble, including Ronald Gorevic, violin, Liuh-Wen Ting and Irena Momchilova, violas, Robert Cooper and Lucy Bardo, cellos, Peter Weitzner, bass, and Stephen Walt, bassoon, all under the scintillating leadership of harpsichordist/conductor Kenneth Cooper. The unique feature of the program is the joint appearances of Silverstein and Drucker; each will play one of Bach’s solo concerti and they will join for the well-known “Bach Double.”
Born in Detroit, Joseph Silverstein began studying violin with his father Bernard who was a music instructor in Detroit's public schools. He went on for formal training to the Curtis Institute where his teachers included three from the pantheon of violin pedagogues—Josef Gingold, Mischa Mischakoff, and Efrem Zimbalist. After leaving Curtis in 1950, he spent three seasons with the Houston Symphony, one with the Philadelphia Orchestra, and one year as concertmaster and assistant conductor of the Denver Symphony. In 1959, he was the silver medalist in the Queen Elisabeth of Belgium competition and also won the Walter W. Naumburg Award in 1960.
Silverstein, who joined the BSO in 1955, became concertmaster in 1962. He was named assistant conductor in 1971. In 1983, he left Boston to become Music Director of the Utah Symphony. He held that position until 1998 when he was named Conductor Laureate. During his tenure in Boston, Silverstein conducted the BSO on more than 100 occasions. He also appeared frequently as a soloist, performing the Elgar, Barber, and other concertos. His Telarc recording of Vivaldi's Four Seasons with the BSO received a Grammy nomination. While in Boston, he organized the BSO Chamber Players in 1962. Also active as a chamber musician, Silverstein is an artist member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and has toured major European cities in a piano quartet composed of pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard, violist Tabea Zimmermann, and cellist Jean-Guihen Queyras. He has recorded the Mozart Sonatas with pianist Derek Han.
Silverstein's recent recordings with the Utah Symphony include Pro Arte discs in which he serves as violin soloist and conductor: an all-Mendelssohn album, an all-Beethoven disk, an all-Barber, and a Grieg/Schumann recording. He has also recorded music of George Perle and Richard Danielpour '80 B.M.