Musica Angelica, "a baroque gem," presents Italian and French Masters

Mention Venice, and travelers worldwide almost invariably envision gondolas gliding along canals. But "the Queen of the Adriatic" was also the birthplace of two Italian baroque era composers whose works are equally renowned for their beauty – Tomaso Albinoni and Antonio Vivaldi.

Music lovers will have an opportunity to discover this for themselves when Musica Angelica, one of the top baroque ensembles nationwide, presents "Italian and French Masters on March 7 at 8 p.m. at Zipper Concert Hall in downtown Los Angeles and March 8 at 4 p.m. at Schoenberg Hall on the UCLA campus. Violinist Ilia Korol – concertmaster of Musica Antigua cologne, the Bach Ensemble, and the Spanish Baroque Orchestra – will appear as guest conductor.

On the program are Albinoni´s Concerto Grosso, Op. 9, No. 5 in F Major, plus two works by Vivaldi – Concerto in a minor, Op. 3, No. 8, Estro Armonico and the Cello Concerto in B Minor, RV 424, F.III, No. 9, featuring guest baroque cellist Phoebe Carrai.

Meanwhile, Jean-Marie Leclair´s Concerto for Violin Op. 10, No. 6 in g minor and Suite in d minor, Concert pour les Violes by Marc-Antoine Charpentier will represent the French side of the musical equation. "We selected these four composers – two Italian, two French – because each is acclaimed for their string masterworks," explains Laura Spino, General Manager of Musica Angelica. "In fact, Vivaldi and Leclair were revered throughout their lives not only for their ability to write music but to play it. Both were virtuoso violinists."

Cellist Phoebe Carrai, Director of the Harvard Baroque Chamber Orchestra, studied historical performance practice with Nicolaus Harnoncourt in Salzburg and performed with Musica Antiqua Cologne for ten years. Carrai also performs internationally as a soloist and in chamber ensembles. She has recorded for Aetma, Deutsche Gramaphon, Harmonia Mundi, Telarc, Decca and BMG, while her recordings of the Bach Solo Cello Suites and the Kummer Duos can be found on the Avie label.

An instructor at the Longy School of Music, where she serves as co-director of Longy's International Baroque Institute, Carrai teaches at the University of the Arts in Berlin, Germany and presents master classes worldwide on a regular basis. In the fall of 2009, she will join the faculty of the Juilliard School of Music in New York.

"When Phoebe suggested that Musica Angelica perform the B Minor Cello Concerto by Vivaldi, we agreed at once," says Spino. "For one thing, it´s not as famous as many of Vivaldi´s other works. We look forward to introducing our audiences to it."

The concerto also uncannily reflects our own day and age. It was written during a time of financial crisis, when the Turks were expected to invade Venice at any moment. "Nevertheless, for all the grim news politically and economically, Vivaldi continued to write works full of what one historian has called ´a joyous bustle,´ "says Spino. "And who can´t use a good dose of joy right now?"

Tickets to "Italian and French Masters" can be purchased online at www.MusicaAngelica.org or by calling (310) 458-4504. Prices range from $39 to $55. Student tickets cost $15.

Zipper Concert Hall is located at the Colburn School of Music in downtown Los Angeles, at 200 South Grand Avenue. Schoenberg Hall is on the UCLA campus near the Westholme entrance, at Hilgard Avenue.

ABOUT GUEST CONDUCTOR ILIA KOROL

Guest conductor Ilia Korol hails from Kiev, where he studied violin under Abraham Stern and Marina Iashvili at Moscow´s Music Academy. Since 1997, he has lived in Austria and, in recognition of his artistic achievements, received Austrian citizenship in 2001. In addition to his duties as concertmaster for Musica Antigua cologne, the Bach Ensemble, and the Spanish Baroque Orchestra, Korol is a member of Ars Antiqua Austria and the Clemencic Consort.

ABOUT MUSICA ANGELICA:

Since its founding in 1993, Musica Angelica has presented an annual season of orchestral and chamber concerts in venues throughout Los Angeles County. The ensemble presents not only well-known masterworks but rarely heard compositions that showcase leading Baroque musicians from around the world.

Today, under conductor and Music Director Martin Haselböck, Musica Angelica is Southern California´s leading Baroque ensemble, garnering acclaim both nationwide and abroad.

"Musica Angelica soars in a Baroque gem…a triumph…Haselböck´s leadership was nuanced and inspiring," wrote the Los Angeles Times in a recent review. In addition, KUSC FM Classical Radio hailed Musica Angelica as a "world class Baroque orchestra" while Angeleno Magazine christened the group "LA´s premiere Baroque music ensemble." Added esteemed music critic Alan Rich, " [Musica Angelica is] a serious and important early-music ensemble, the best of its kind in these parts."

After embarking upon its first international tour in 2007 – performing Bach´s St. Matthew Passion with the Weiner Akademie of Vienna – Musica Angelica was applauded by El Universal of Mexico City for presenting "a Passion as God and Bach commanded." Italy´s Dolomiten concurred: "Haselböck conducted with intense spirit and soul…Martin Haselböck is a superb conductor. The festival concert…was a triumph."

In 2008, Musica Angelica collaborated with celebrated actor and Academy Award nominee John Malkovich to present "Seduction and Despair." The multi-media world premiere, directed by and starring Malkovich, played to two nearly sold out houses and attracted media attention throughout the United States and Europe. "Seduction and Despair" originated after Malkovich met Haselböck at a dinner at the Austrian Consulate in Los Angeles. Ultimately, the two agreed to work together on a project that would bridge and reflect both Southern California´s and Austria´s cultures. Austrian writer and director Michael Sturminger wrote the libretto.

Currently Musica Angelic has a contract for four recordings on the New Classical Adventure (NCA) label in Germany. The first recording – Handel´s Acis and Galatea – was released in 2007.

Based in Santa Monica, California, Musica Angelica collaborates with leading performing arts institutions throughout Southern California, including Los Angeles Opera, Long Beach Opera, the J. Paul Getty Museum, the Norton Simon Museum, and the Los Angeles Master Chorale. Guest conductors have included Rinaldo Alessandrini, Giovanni Antonini, Harry Bicket, Paul Goodwin, and Jory Vinikour, among others. The ensemble was co-founded by Michael Eagan, widely considered one of the foremost lute players in the country, and gambist Mark Chatfield. Eagan passed away in 2004; Chatfield, in 1998.

For more information or a brochure listing schedules for Musica Angelica´s 5-concert Orchestral Series or its Chamber Series, call 310.458.4504 or visit www.MusicaAngelica.org.