Aston Magna Music Festival is back at Saint James Place with a roster of chamber music concerts – four, to be exact – and celebrating its 49th year. Aston Magna presented its first concert of the summer season here on June 30 and offers upcoming concerts on July 9, 16 & 23. Buy tickets here.
Before the “Chamber Music of Robert and Clara Schumann” concert last Saturday, we asked Aston Magna’s executive director Susan Obel why Aston Magna loves playing at Saint James Place. She enthusiastically said, “It’s our first home! The raised seating. The acoustics are fabulous. Our musicians love playing here.” Aston Magna has been performing in our Sanctuary space for 49 years – long before Saint James Place became a secular art and culture center.
What makes Aston Magna unique? It “seeks to interpret the music of the past as the composer imagined it. Original period instruments — or historically accurate reproductions – are essential performance elements. Performance techniques are appropriate to the period, national styles, culture and aesthetics of the time.” Learn more about Aston Magna here.
This Saturday, July 9, Aston Magna presents “Chamber Music by J. S. Bach.” This concert features sonatas and fugues, including excerpts from “The Musical Offering,” for baroque flute, violin, gamba and harpsichord. Buy tickets here. And learn more about all their concerts.
During the darkest days of COVID, live music was not to be found in the Berkshires; now it abounds! It’s a joy to watch (and listen to!) our arts partners in action! You can hear a snippet from last Saturday’s Aston Magna performance here.