Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra

Today attended a special Family Concert given by PBO, with Elizabeth Blumenstock as lead. She is so much fun to watch playing her violin. We brought our two grandkids, who enjoyed talking with the lute player afterward. His lute is called a Theorbo, and they had never seen one before. I had only seen this one, at other PBO concerts! The players put on an amazing event, and I can’t say enough good things about it. At the end, the children pin the audience who had brought their instruments were invited to join the PBO players to play in Pachabel’s Canon in D and the rest of the audience was given a voice accompaniment. Honestly, when the whole sanctuary filled with the music of us all I was brought to tears, I don’t believe I was the only one. And this concert was free! A gift from PBO for all who reserved until the seats were fully booked. If the opportunity comes again, jump in fast to take advantage of it. The invitation said, «All adults must be accompanied by a child.» What a nice thing this was to do with our grandchildren! The adult (and some older kids) concerts are fabulous, too. This year we have enjoyed them at the SF Jazz Center, a superb venue, and a few times we have been to the First Congregational Church (such as today) a beautiful venue for both acoustics and space. Sorry this review is so long!

I have season tickets to all their performances for many years now and love it. My husband and I tried all kinds of seating arrangements at Herbst Theater and figured out that the sound is best at the center of balcony and if you end up seating in the first row (which we do), you can also see the musicians quite well.

We attended the performance of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons… and it was thrilling.
Yes, they played other pieces by Corelli, Pergolesi, Zavateri, and Durante… and did so very well, but the star was truly Vilvaldi.
I can not say enough about Nicholas Mc Gegan, he is so much fun to watch… you can see he and the players having fun… delightful! At this performance, he was playing the harpsichord too!
Elizabeth Blumenstock stole the show. She can play a mean fiddle!
I am usually so against pieces that do not feature my personal faves… the oboe and bassoon, but the sound archived by this small group was astounding.
I can not wait to see this amazing group again!

We started out at 4 out of the 8 session/​year for affordability sake, but we are transported etherally each time we go. It was not too many years before we ordered all 8; we have never been disappointed. Quality music with enthusiasm and passion, a community feeling to the audience… and, in Berkeley, great desserts & coffee at the intermission… We sit in the audience feeling very lucky at every performance.

It must be said that I know almost nothing about music, and even less about music from a long time ago. But I do know the following things:
–Seeing a 360-​year-​old bass on stage, actually being played, is really awesome.
–Isabella Bayakdarian, the soloist opera singer we saw, is beautiful, captivating, and multi-​talented (she was a biomedical engineering major in college!).
–All the staff I dealt with were pleasant and courteous, even though I was one of only 10 audience members under the age of 35 and clearly did not pay for my ticket myself.
–It’s really awesome to have friends in the arts who can get you $ 72 tickets for free.
Now– would I pay $ 72 for what I saw? No. I wouldn’t, at this juncture in my financial life, pay $ 72 to kiss Orlando Bloom. With tongue. BUT they offer half-​price tickets on
and I’m sure you can usher or something. If you like classical music, you really have to check these dudes out.

Philharmonia Baroque has to be my favorite orchestra in San Francisco. While the venues they perform in aren’t great, the orchestra works as a sensitive whole to produce really insightful and extremely informed early music. Their music director, Nick McGegan, is both a gentleman and a scholar and it definitely shows in performances. The attention McGegan gives to issues of phrasing and ornamentation especially in the works of the French baroque is second to none. His continuo realization on the harpsichord is some of the most artistic playing I’ve ever heard. Watching that man rock out on the harpsichord or the baroque flute is a real treat. PBO’s discography is also extensive– ranging from the early Baroque to the Classical Era. I have three of their CDs and they never fail to delight me. It’s the kind of music that’s worth sitting and thinking about but it’s also great to have on while you’re cleaning the house or doing homework. The recordings are great, but you gotta hear them live!