Travel through the heartland of J.S. Bach Early Music on the Elbe May 19 – June 2, 2018 (15 days) prague – liToMerice – Bad Schandau – Meissen – dreSden leipzig – luTherstadT wittenBerg – MagdeBurg – potsdaM – Berlin r Goetzinge photo: Helwin photo: herrpyko.de photo: cocoparisienne Join host Matthew White of Early Music Vancouver for a scenic river cruise from Prague to Berlin on the Moldau and Elbe Rivers featuring a Concert Program selected by impresario George Zukerman, OC, OBC FEatuRinG performances By: • Guest artists alexander Weimann, Chloe Meyers and nate Helgeson • Collegium 1714, in Prague • Harpsichordist Jean Rondeau in Dresden • Ensemble amarcord at Mendelssohn Haus and thomasschule in Leipzig • Musical Offering with the sans souci Ensemble in Potsdam Special Travel inTernaTional 4603 Main Street Vancouver, BC V5V 3R6 Canada tel: (604) 291-1332 or 1(800) 665-0998 Fax: (604) 291-1378 e-mail: [email protected] website: www.sticanada.com A woRd fRoM SpeciAl Travel Dear Travelers, Our 2018 Classical Music Cruise will take us to the Czech Republic and Germany where great cities, charming villages and exciting music await. Our route begins in glorious Prague and wends its way downstream on the Elbe all the way to Berlin. We have selected a unique new ship, the ELBE PRINCESSE, for our journey, and included everything that one could wish for on a special trip. We believe in value for your money and not hiding numerous extra charges in the “not included” section. Working closely with legendary Canadian musician and impresario George Zukerman, O.C., O.B.C. and Early Music Vancouver we have put together a truly memorable program reflecting the impeccable quality of Vancouver’s Early Music experts. Mr. Zukerman is a celebrated broadcaster and raconteur, recently stepping down as the long-standing Artistic Director of White Rock Concerts. He retired from performing in 2012, but during his 62- year career playing on international stages he was acclaimed world-wide as the “High Priest” of the bassoon. This is our 4th fabulous Classical Music collaboration and we are confident that the Elbe cruise will be a legendary successor to the wonderful trips on Danube, Rhone and Douro! Enjoy spectacular historic cities, exemplary food and services, fascinating background on the sites and music we’ll be experiencing and exquisite musical performances both during our river Cruise and on shore in beautiful concert halls. We have a selection of special artists accompanying us on the cruise. With an Early Music theme enticing us down the Elbe, you can expect a unique adventure! Everyone should make at least one once-in-a-lifetime trip, and this is an opportunity we don’t want you to miss. The combination of great cultures, wonderful sites and the finest music will be an experience you will never forget. We look forward to having you join us! Gery Valtiner, Program Director photo: Fclaudios notes fRoM ThE artistiC directoR Greetings music lovers, I invite you to join Early Music Vancouver for another extraordinary Classical Music Cruise of the great rivers of Europe. This time it is on the Moldau and the Elbe from Prague to Berlin. The tour will take you through the heartland of Johann Sebastian Bach, and into the very crucible of Early Music in central Europe. photo: Fclaudios On board the Elbe Princesse will be Alexander Weimann, Musial Director of the Pacific Baroque Orchestra, joined by violinist Chloe Meyers, and bassoon virtuoso Nate Helgeson. Following the geography of the rivers, they will be performing music from Bohemia, the legendary court chapel in Dresden, the land of Martin Luther, and from the world of Bach, Telemann and Handel. Plans are under way for you to hear Collegium 1714 in Prague, Harpsichordist Jean Rondeau in Dresden, the Amarcord vocal Ensemble in Leipzig and Europe’s leading Early Music ensemble, Sans Souci, in Potsdam and Berlin. photo: kruhme In Potsdam there will be a performance of the trio from the Musical Offering close to the site where King Frederick first presented the “royal theme” to Bach. It will be a symbolic and historical musical moment. The cruise will offer a remarkable feast of early music with some of the world’s leading practitioners on board as your travelling companions and musical guides. Matthew White, Artistic Director of Early Music Vancouver will be your host and Gery Valtiner of Special Travel will be there to make sure we enjoy smooth sailing and get the most from the time we have to explore these magnificent sites. I invite you to join this most splendid of musical and historical adventures in May 2018! Happy sailing! George Zukerman, O.C., O.B.C © Administration Bavarois des chateaux des Bavarois Administration © EARly MuSiC VAnCouver & ouR artists EARly MuSiC vanCouVER Celebrating its 46th anniversary in 2016, Early Music Vancouver (EMV) has a long-standing reputation for the presentation, production and study of predominantly western classical music repertoires in an historical context. It offers one of the most ambitious programs of its type in North America, presenting and producing an average of 25-30 concerts per year through its Main Season, plus an annual Summer Bach Festival centred in downtown Vancouver. It is one of the most active non-profit presenting and producing organizations in Vancouver. The Pacific Baroque Orchestra (PBO) is now an integrated division of Early Music Vancouver. For May 2018, EMV is working with Special Travel International and its Director of Music, George Zukerman, O.C., O.B.C., on plans for the first Elbe river cruise from Prague to Berlin, traveling through the heartland of J.S. Bach, and in the crucible of Early Music in central Europe. matthEw whiTE ExECuTiVE & artiSTiC diRECToR, EARly MuSiC VAnCouVER Before joining Early Music Vancouver as Executive Director at the beginning of the 2013 season, Matthew White gained international acclaim as one of Canada’s leading countertenors. His operatic engagements included work with the Glyndebourne Festival Opera, New York City Opera, Houston Grand Opera, and Toronto’s Opera Atelier,Collegium Vocale Ghent, Le Concert Spirituel, Nederlands Bach Vereniging, Le Concert D’Astrée, Tafelmusik, Les Violons du Roy, Ensemble Arion, Portland Baroque Orchestra, Concerto Palatino, Oregon Bach Festival, San Francisco Symphony and Toronto Symphony. He is both a Juno and Grammy nominated artist who has recorded for Analekta, Atma, Channel Classics, CBC records, ASV, BIS, Naxos, Glossa, and Harmonia Mundi. Prior to EMV Mr. White was Executive Director of Pacific MusicWorks in Seattle. He continues to consult for the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival, and resides in Victoria, BC with his family. AlExAndER wEiMAnn Conductor and harpsichordist Alexander Weimann is Music Director of the Pacific Baroque Orchestra in Vancouver and the Seattle Baroque Orchestra. Born in 1965 in Munich, he studied the organ, church music, musicology, theatre, Medieval Latin, and jazz piano and has traveled the world with ensembles such as Tragicomedia, Cantus Cölln, the Freiburger Barockorchester, the Gesualdo Consort and Tafelmusik. Increasingly in demand as a guest conductor, Weimann has conducted Les Violons du Roy, the Arion Baroque Orchestra, Mercury Baroque, the Portland Baroque Orchestra, Victoria Symphony and, Symphony Nova Scotia. With an impressive discography of over 100 recordings, his latest album, Prima Donna ,with soprano Karina Gauvin was awarded a 2013 Juno. He recently moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, and tries to spend as much time as possible in his garden and kitchen. ChloE MEyERS Violinist Chloe Meyers is concertmaster of Vancouver’s Pacific Baroque Orchestra, as she has recently made her home inthe Pacific Northwest. In pursuit of her professional studies at both the University of Victoria and McGill University in Montreal, she was introduced to, and fell in love with, the baroque violin. Chloe has regularly played principal second with Montreal’s Arion Baroque Orchestra and has recently been an invited guest soloist with the Seattle Baroque Orchestra and Pacific MusicWorks. Chloe has performed with, among others, Les Violons du Roy, Tafelmusik, the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Ensemble Les Boreades, the Theatre of Early Music, and Les Idees Heureuses. Nate hElGESon Nate Helgeson is principal bassoon of the Pacific Baroque Orchestra in Vancouver, the Seattle and Portland Baroque Orchestras, and Mercury Baroque in Houston. He performs frequently throughout Canada and the United States on modern and historical instruments. He has performed with the Oregon Bach Festival Orchestra, the Boston Philharmonic and as soloist both in the United States and in Switzerland. A native of Eugene, Oregon, Nate holds degrees from the University of Oregon and the New England Conservatory of Music and is a recent graduate of the Historical Performance program at the Juilliard School. 1 Early Music on the Elbe ClassiCal MuSiC RiVeR cruiSe froM pRague to BeRlin May 19 – June 2, 2018 (15 days) day 1 Sat, May 19 day 5 wed, May 23 canAdA - PraguE PraguE – liToMERiCE Departure for Europe. We’ll spend the morning cruising. Luxuriate in the landscape as it unfurls before us while day 2 Sun, May 20 enjoying a concert by our featured performers. ARRiVE PraguE Once we arrive in Horin, we’ll skip ahead to We transfer to the hotel. After check in there is Tour litomerice, one of the oldest Bohemian time to relax before dinner. (D) cities, established in the 10th century on the site of day 3 Mon, May 21 a Slavic fort. The multi-colored Gothic, Baroque PraguE and Renaissance buildings in the city center are We begin with a Morning Tour of the beautiful not to be missed. We return to the ship for dinner “City of a Hundred Spires”. and a brief cruise to our port for the night. (B,L,D) 1000-year-old Prague Castle presides over the ThiS MoRninG city, encompassing the Old Royal Palace and Enjoy a concert by our featured performers as state residence, the Basilica of St.