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Boston Baroque is America's first permanent Baroque orchestra. Formerly known as Banchetto Musicale, it was founded in 1973 by the American conductor and harpsichordist Martin Pearlman who continues to serve as its music director.
The ensemble, which includes its own professional chamber chorus, has been at the forefront of historical performance revival. Noted for its annual Boston performance of George Frideric Handel's Messiah, it has presented the American original instrument premieres of Mozart's Don Giovanni and The Magic Flute as well as works by L.v. Beethoven, J.S. Bach, Haydn and G.F. Handel and the major operas of Monteverdi, Rameau and Purcell, often as part of their subscription series at the New England Conservatory's Jordan Hall.
It is a tribute to Martin Pearlman's inspired leadership that Boston Baroque has grown through the years into "a Baroque orchestra yielding to none." He is not only a conductor and a harpsichordist but a composer as well. His conducting has been described by critics as "so insightful... because he knows, as only a composer can, how music goes". Thus it comes as no surprise that Martin Pearlman and the Boston Baroque were chosen to present the modern-day world premiere of The Philosopher's Stone both in concert and on compact disc. It is the latest addition to the group's expanding discography on the Telarc label. The concert performance was lavished with accolades. The recording deserves no less - for its musical revelations and the quality of the performance which translates into pure listening delight. |
