Violinist Rodolfo Richter Returns as Guest Director for A Grand Tour of Italy, December 1 to 4 & 6, 2016 “Rodolfo Richter led with his violin; when his solo playing came to the fore he displayed a notably smooth, glowing tone.” (Concerto.net) Toronto, Canada, October 20, 2016 … Acclaimed violin virtuoso Rodolfo Richter returns as guest director for A Grand Tour of Italy, December 1 to 4 at Jeanne Lamon Hall, Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre, and December 6 at Toronto Centre for the Arts. This Tafelmusik program captures the ambitious, experimental energy that characterized the Seventeenth-century Italian music scene, and demonstrates how early innovators inspired later masters, including Vivaldi and Corelli. A Grand Tour of Italy features the Tafelmusik solo concerto debut of the orchestra’s own Cristina Zacharias, violin. Seventeenth-century Italy was at the vanguard of European musical trends, and tourists flocked there to devour the new “baroque” style, finding music that was fresh, exhilarating, and even shocking in its use of free form and improvisation. A Grand Tour of Italy includes music by Dario Castello and Giovanni Legrenzi, who experimented with the sonata form as early as 1629; a lively set of variations on the bergamasca bass line by Marco Uccellini; and selections by two well-travelled musicians, Antonio Bertali and Biagio Marini, who brought their compositions and musical influence to Austria, Germany, and Belgium. These early innovators paved the way for a subsequent generation of Italian composers whose music will be performed on the program: the Concerto grosso in A Minor by Giuseppe Valentini, the beloved Christmas Concerto by Arcangelo Corelli, and the Concerto no. 1 for violin in C Major from Vivaldi’s La Cetra, featuring Tafelmusik’s Cristina Zacharias. The program concludes with the Chaconne from Phaëton, written at the French court in Versailles by the Italian ex-patriate, Jean-Baptiste Lully. ABOUT RODOLFO RICHTER Guest director Rodolfo Richter last appeared with Tafelmusik in the inaugural concerts of the 2015/16 season. The British/Brazilian violinist appears as soloist and director with, among others, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Academy of Ancient Music, and English Concert (UK), B'Rock (Belgium), Academia Montis Regalis (Italy), Barokkanerne (Norway), and Bach Collegium San Diego (US). He is also very active as a chamber musician, and is a member of the acclaimed Palladian Ensemble. His extensive discography includes concertos by Bach, Telemann, and Vivaldi, and sonatas by Handel, Petersen, Tartini, Erlebach, and Veracini. Richter was trained as a modern violinist with Moysés de Castro, Klaus Wusthoff, and Pinchas Zuckermann, and has studied composition with Hans Joachim Koellreutter and Pierre Boulez. He later specialized in the baroque violin with Monica Huggett at the Royal Academy of Music and was a prizewinner at the prestigious International Early Music Competition for Ensembles in Bruges (2000), and won first prize at the Antonio Vivaldi International Violin Competition (2001). Richter is professor of baroque violin at the Royal College of Music in London, and director of the Early Music Course and Festival at the Oficina de Música de Curitiba in Brazil. Rodolfo Richter returns for The Baroque Diva, featuring quintessential baroque soprano Karina Gauvin singing music by Handel and Vivaldi at Koerner Hall, March 23 to 26, 2017. Audience members are invited to join Tafelmusik orchestra members Patricia Ahern, violin, and Charlotte Nediger, harpsichord, for a free pre-concert chat one hour before each performance. Rodolfo Richter offers a Guest Artist Masterclass on Saturday, December 3 from 11am to 1pm at Trinity- St. Paul’s Centre, Jeanne Lamon Hall. Tafelmusik’s Guest Artist Masterclasses are open to the public and admission is free. Tafelmusik.org/Masterclass A Tafelscene 35 & under intermission party takes place at the concert on Saturday, December 3. LISTING INFORMATION: Tafelmusik presents A Grand Tour of Italy | Guest Directed by Rodolfo Richter, violin Dates & Times: Jeanne Lamon Hall, Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre (TSP) Thu Dec 1, Fri Dec 2, Sat Dec 3, 2016 at 8pm Sun Dec 4 at 3:30pm George Weston Recital Hall, Toronto Centre for the Arts (TCA) Tue Dec 6 at 8pm Full program: M. Uccellini Aria sopra “La Bergamasca”** A. Vivaldi “La Cetra,” op. 9: Violin Concerto in C Major, RV 181a ** G. Legrenzi “La Cetra,” op. 10: Sonata prima à 4 violini & continuo** G. Valentini Concerto grosso op. 7, no. 11 in A Minor ** A. Corelli Concerto grosso in G Minor, op. 6, no. 8 * D. Castello Sonata 15 à 4 (Venice, 1629) A. Bertali Sonata à 4 in D (Vienna, c.1640)** B. Marini Passacaglia from Op. 22 (Venice, 1655)* G.B. Lulli Chaconne from Phaëton (Paris, 1683)* *Recorded by Tafelmusik **First time performed on Tafelmusik stage Ticket Prices: TSP: Regular: Start at $39| 65+: Start at $31 | 35 & Under: Start at $15 TCA: Regular: Start at $38| 65+: Start at $33| 35 & Under: Start at $15 Venues: Jeanne Lamon Hall, Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre, 427 Bloor Street West George Weston Recital Hall, Toronto Centre for the Arts, 5040 Yonge Box Office: Tafelmusik Box Office: (416) 964-6337 George Weston Recital Hall Box Office: 1 (815) 985-2787 Website: www.tafelmusik.org ABOUT TAFELMUSIK Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, founded in 1979, is one of the world’s leading period performance ensembles. The Tafelmusik Chamber Choir, under the direction of Ivars Taurins, was formed in 1981 to complement the Orchestra. The orchestra performs some 80 concerts each year at home in Toronto, and travels extensively around the world. The choir and orchestra’s multi-platform recording label Tafelmusik Media was launched in January 2012, along with the Watch and Listen site. Tafelmusik’s discography of 80-plus CDs has been recorded on the Sony Classical, CBC Records, Analekta and Tafelmusik Media labels. Since 1991, Tafelmusik has received nine JUNO Awards and a Grammy Award nomination. Tafelmusik is the Baroque Orchestra-in-Residence at the Faculty of Music, University of Toronto and operates annual artist training programs, Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Institute and Tafelmusik Winter Institute. Tafelmusik has been led by Jeanne Lamon since 1981, with Managing Director William Norris joining the team in 2015. In June 2014, Ms. Lamon stepped down as Music Director and continues her association with Tafelmusik as Music Director Emerita. 2016/17 SEASON PARTNERS Tafelmusik wishes to thank the following for their generous support: BMO Financial Group, RBC Foundation, TD Bank Group, John and Margaret Catto, Margaret and Jim Fleck, Great West Life, London Life, Canada Life, Hal Jackman Foundation, KPMG, Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, Toronto Arts Council, Classical 96.3 FM and NOW Magazine. Tafelmusik is a proud partner of the Bloor St. Culture Corridor. Media contact: Luisa Trisi, Big Picture Communications, 416 456-0499 | [email protected] 427 Bloor Street West, Toronto, ON M5S 1X7 Join the conversation on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube High‐resolution photos of Tafelmusik are available for download at www.tafelmusik.org/PressPhotos. If you no longer wish to receive Tafelmusik media releases, please reply to this message with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the subject line, and you will be removed from our list immediately. .