H+H 2024-25 Season Brochure

WHAT’S OLD IS NEW AGAIN

2024-25 SEASON

Artistic Director Jonathan Cohen

Dear Music Lover,

I was immensely proud of our stellar 2023-24 Season, with so many memorable concerts, my first as artistic director of the Handel and Haydn Society. The warmth and engagement of our Boston audience, your embrace and passion for the music and for the orchestra and chorus is deeply motivating and inspiring, and I thank you for your warm welcome.

As we look forward to next season, I’m excited that we will bring well-known works and lesser-known jewels alive. The season opener of Mozart’s Requiem paired with Michael Haydn’s Requiem will illuminate the influence of contemporary composers on one another. Similarly, his older brother Joseph Haydn’s music made a deep impression upon Beethoven, and I’m very much looking forward to the concert of Haydn’s “Spring” from his Seasons, a work I have deep admiration for, and Beethoven’s Mass in C Major.

Also, we devote a Jordan Hall concert to Handel’s beautiful early Italian cantatas featuring the wonderful Joélle Harvey. His Italian period was a very creative time for him, and I admire how Handel brings out distinctive colors in the orchestra with solos popping up everywhere in the wonderful cantatas Tra le fiamme and Il delirio amoroso.

And finally, in that inspiring original spirit of the “society” of H+H, a project is in the works to involve more singers from the community, and to showcase our H+H Youth Choruses. Our annual Messiah this year will incorporate these wider choral community elements alongside our great H+H Chorus. I’m excited for these endeavors and to continue to share our passion for choral music together.

I look forward to seeing you in the concert hall.

Sincerely,

Jonathan Cohen

—Audience Members:

“The applause and ovation at the end was as loud as a Bruins game! So well deserved. The city LOVES you.”

“The H+H Orchestra and Chorus are always exquisite, joyful voices and sounds.”

“The mutual support and enjoyment shown by the conductor, the orchestra, and the chorus was a joy to watch.”

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE SEASON

“The H+H Chorus illuminated the music with fire and force throughout the evening.”

—The Washington Post

Handel’s Messiah

NOVEMBER 29 + 30 + DECEMBER 1

Mozart Requiem

SEPTEMBER 27 + 29

“Mobley’s presence elevated the evening from superb to sublime.”

—Boston Globe

Beethoven, Mozart + The Bear

WHAT MAKES US HIP?

When you hear H+H perform Baroque and Classical music, you’ll experience the same joy, exhilaration, and awe that its first audiences felt hundreds of years ago—joining a musical and emotional tradition that unites us all. That’s because H+H is a leader in the Historically Informed Performance (HIP) movement, striving to fulfill the vision of history’s great composers with the same dedication, freshness, and energy that they felt when composing their music.

Our orchestra plays on the period instruments these composers wrote for—winds made from wood, gut strings instead of steel, brass without valves, and more. After perfecting the historical techniques used to play them, these brilliant musicians know their instruments like old friends, creating nuanced sounds sure to draw you in closer. Our ensembles have just 25 to 50 members, bringing a rare sense of intimacy to each concert. Whether we’re singing a medieval chant or playing a 19th-century concerto, our musicians—among the global leaders in HIP—dust off the cobwebs. Even a beloved piece you’ve heard a hundred times can feel like a brand-new discovery.

Join us on an ever-surprising journey to a soundworld you never expected—all while connecting more closely to your community in the here and now.

Noah Gladstone displaying a serpent, a Classical-era wind instrument

SEASON

Mozart Requiem

Artistic Director Jonathan Cohen and the superb H+H Chorus “let perpetual light shine” in this stunning season opener, a double feature of moving masterpieces. Performing this heartfelt music with the instruments for which it was composed, the H+H Orchestra and Chorus trace the influence of the opening requiem by Michael Haydn (our namesake’s brother) on Mozart’s main event.

SYMPHONY HALL

FRI, SEP 27, 2024 | 7:30PM

SUN, SEP 29, 2024 | 3:00PM

Handel’s Messiah

For the 171st consecutive year, H+H brings Boston together with the magic of Messiah. This much-loved music fills Symphony Hall with new joy and passion in the voices of the H+H Chorus and Artistic Director Jonathan Cohen reprises his “seismic” rendition of this iconic celebration (The Boston Globe) alongside superstar soloists including Jeanine De Bique, “one of the most exciting sopranos to catch onstage these days” (OperaWire).

SYMPHONY HALL

FRI, NOV 29, 2024 | 7:30PM

Baroque Christmas

Festive German and Latin American Christmas traditions will delight you and provide a healthy dose of holiday cheer during this annual musical event. Led by conductor Ruben Valenzuela, a rising star “well known for his masterful Baroque music interpretations” (The San Diego Union-Tribune).

NEC’S JORDAN HALL

THURS, DEC 19, 2024 | 7:30PM

SUN, DEC 22, 2024 | 3:00PM

Ruben Valenzuela, conductor H+H Orchestra and Chorus

“The full sweep and depth of H+H’s sound was on display.”

—New

Jonathan Cohen, conductor Lucy Crowe, soprano

TBD, alto

TBD, tenor

Brandon Cedel, bass-baritone H+H Orchestra and Chorus

Michael Haydn: Requiem, MH. 155 Mozart: Requiem

SAT, NOV 30, 2024 | 3:00PM

SUN, DEC 1, 2024 | 3:00PM

Jonathan Cohen, conductor Jeanine De Bique, soprano

Reginald Mobley, countertenor

Nicholas Phan, tenor Sumner Thompson, baritone H+H Orchestra and Chorus

Handel: Messiah

J.S. Bach: Cantata, Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, BWV 62

Christoph Graupner: Overture in F Major

Antonio de Salazar: Conceptio Gloriosae

Francisco Lopez Capillas: Canticum Beatae Mariae Virginis: Magnificat a 8 Capillas: Cui Luna, Sol et omnia

Juan de Araujo: Ay andar, a tocar, a cantar, a baylar

Jeanine de Bique Ruben Valenzuela

Crossing the Deep

Parallel lives, shared stories, and transatlantic musical traditions intertwine in this revelatory choral drama. Premiered by H+H in 2023 to sold-out houses, Crossing the Deep explores the resonances and juxtapositions between sacred music by Handel and Negro spirituals by enslaved Africans in America, written at the same time and often using the same Biblical texts. “There should be next performances and then some,” raved The Boston Globe, and we’re glad to deliver: Now, we’re inviting even more Bostonians to join us for this one-of-a-kind emotional journey.

NEC’S JORDAN HALL

FRI, JAN 17, 2025 | 7:30PM SUN, JAN 19, 2025 | 3:00PM

Anthony Trecek-King, conductor and co-creator Reginald Mobley, countertenor and co-creator Regie Gibson, spoken word artist Brianna Robinson, soprano H+H Orchestra and Chorus

Love, Handel

Love gone wrong has never sounded so right. From the unrequited longing of Il delirio amoroso to the breathless frisson of Tra le fiamme, Artistic Director Jonathan Cohen takes you on a thrilling tour through three pieces from Handel’s heart, music driven by passion and dramatic flair. Cohen serves as conductor, director, and storyteller all in one, working with the unmatched H+H Orchestra and audience favorite Joélle Harvey—who is “radiantly sublime” and “most impressive” (Los Angeles Times)

NEC’S JORDAN HALL

“One of the most important concerts in H+H’s illustrious history... The electrifying combination should dispel forever the notion that period music performed on period instruments is merely a museum outing.”

—

The Boston Musical Intelligencer

FRI, FEB 7, 2025 | 7:30PM SUN, FEB 9, 2025 | 3:00PM

Jonathan Cohen, conductor Joélle Harvey, soprano H+H Orchestra

Handel: Cantata, Il delirio amoroso

Handel: Concerto Grosso in G Major, Op. 6, No. 1

Handel: Cantata, Tra le fiamme

Joélle Harvey

Anthony Trecek-King

H+H Orchestra

Brandenburg Concertos

Revel in the splendor of J.S. Bach’s complete Brandenburg Concertos, the best of the Baroque. Our riveting concertmaster Aisslinn Nosky joins brilliant principal keyboardist Ian Watson to steer a crew of top-tier musicians through virtuosic passages, captivating cadenzas, and towering waves of talent. No matter how many times you’ve heard them, the Brandenburgs never fail to amaze and delight.

NEC’S JORDAN HALL

THURS, FEB 20, 2025 | 7:30PM

SAT, FEB 22, 2025 | 7:30PM

SANDERS THEATRE

FRI, FEB 21, 2025 | 7:30PM

SUN, FEB 23, 2025 | 3:00PM

Aisslinn Nosky and Ian Watson, co-directors

J.S. Bach: Brandenburg Concertos Nos. 1-6

Haydn + Beethoven

Reawaken your senses, reinvigorate your spirit, and celebrate spring with your H+H community! Harmonies burst through the Symphony Hall air like daffodils through the snow as Jonathan Cohen leads the superlative H+H Orchestra and Chorus in that sweetest of Haydn’s Seasons. Then, our “gem of a chorus…makes a truly glorious noise” (The Boston Musical Intelligencer) as serenity gives way to rapture in Beethoven’s mesmerizing Mass in C Major.

SYMPHONY HALL

FRI, MAR 28, 2025 | 7:30PM

SUN, MAR 30, 2025 | 3:00PM

Jonathan Cohen, conductor Soloists TBD H+H Orchestra and Chorus

Haydn: “Spring” from The Seasons Beethoven: Mass in C Major

Beethoven, Mozart + The Bear

End the 2024–25 Season on a high note with three showstopping surprises. Kristian Bezuidenhout, known worldwide as one of today’s most exciting fortepianists, opens with Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4. Next, incidental music from Mozart tells a stirring story of power, betrayal, and revenge. And finally, Jonathan Cohen takes you to the carnival with a symphony nicknamed for dancing bears: ferocious majesty meets unexpected delight.

SYMPHONY HALL

FRI, MAY 2, 2025 | 7:30PM

SUN, MAY 4, 2025 | 3:00PM

Jonathan Cohen, conductor Kristian Bezuidenhout, fortepiano H+H Orchestra

Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 4 Mozart: Suite from Thamos, King of Egypt

Haydn: Symphony No. 82, The Bear

Kristian Bezuidenhout

Jonathan Cohen

HELPING OUR YOUTH FIND THEIR VOICE FOR 30 YEARS.

The H+H Youth Choruses is a collaborative community where singers aged 7–18 hone their craft, express their creativity, and make unforgettable memories alongside forever friends. Over its 30 years, HHYC has grown from a handful of dedicated young people to seven choruses welcoming more than 150 singers each semester. Through large- and small-group instruction, weekly musicianship classes, collaborations with leading professional ensembles, and international tours (including the 2024 HHYC tour throughout Austria), world-class faculty partner with these young artists to create a rigorous yet welcoming environment for musical and personal growth— a chance for everyone to find their voice. Singers also treat H+H audiences to inspiring (and impressive) performances onstage at Symphony Hall and NEC’s Jordan Hall—often joined by the H+H Orchestra and Chorus—throughout each subscription season, sharing their passion for the living tradition of choral music with all of us.

The H+H Youth Choruses are a component of the Karen S. and George D. Levy Education Program.

YOUR VIP TICKET TO AN EXCEPTIONAL COMMUNITY

YOUR CALENDAR, YOUR WAY.

Choose your own concerts or choose them all and you’ll save!

FULL SEASON SUBSCRIBERS SAVE $377 AND ENJOY THE COMPLETE H+H 8-CONCERT SEASON IN THE VERY BEST SEATS.

• Highest priority seating for the 4 concerts at Symphony Hall, plus 4 concerts at NEC’s Jordan Hall and Sanders Theatre.

• Free Parking vouchers for 4 Symphony Hall concerts ($140 savings).

• Ticket price savings of up to $237, equivalent to two free seats.

SYMPHONY HALL SUBSCRIBERS (4 CONCERTS) SAVE UP TO $131.

There’s no better place to experience the H+H orchestra and chorus than in world-renowned Symphony Hall.

THE H+H MONEY BACK GUARANTEE

We’re so sure you’ll love our concert community that if you are not completely satisfied after your first concert, return your tickets and we will refund the balance of your payment.

• Priority Seating for 4 concerts at Symphony Hall

• Prepaid Parking vouchers available to purchase

CREATE YOUR OWN CONCERT CONCERT SERIES (3+ CONCERTS) YOUR CALENDAR, YOUR WAY.

Pick all the concerts that work for you and subscribe today. Enjoy preferred seating at discounted prices, plus exchange your tickets for free if something comes up.

ALL H+H SUBSCRIBERS ENJOY:

• 20% off tickets to additional concerts all season long and we waive the handling fee.

• Plus highest priority seating, lower prices, and free ticket exchange. An H+H subscription is the best option for the price, seat location and piece of mind. Set it and forget it.

2024-25 PACKAGES + PRICES

HOW TO ORDER:

Online: handelandhaydn.org, skip the $9 handling fee

By phone: 617.262.1815 M–F, 9–5

When ordering select your concert series, concert time and price, For a Create Your Own Series, please select the concerts you’d like to purchase and your seating preference.

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PACKAGES AND PRICES

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“The Handel and Haydn Society Chorus, 35 strong, seized each verse with exciting attack and illuminated the music with fire and force through the evening.”

FLOO RB ALCO NY1B ALCO NY2

FLOO RB ALCO NY1B ALCO NY2

—The Washington Post

NEC’s Jordan Hall

NEC’s Jordan Hall

NEC’s Jordan Hall

NEC’s Jordan Hall

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All dates, repertoire, and artists subject to change. All sales are final; no refunds. Priority seating is given to Conductor’s Circle donors, then to subscribers based on package size and date of purchase.

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the Option to Reserve Prepaid Parking.

Please consider adding a donation. H+H is dependent upon your additional support to create the life-changing musical experiences you enjoy.

“H+H

Photo Credits: Marco Borggreve, Sam Brewer, Stu Rosner, Robert Torres, Kat Waterman