H+H 2023-24 Season Brochure

WHAT’S OLD IS NEW AGAIN

2023-24 Season

Welcoming Artistic Director Jonathan Cohen

Dear Music Lover,

I am overjoyed to join the H+H family as your next Artistic Director. From my very first performance, I sensed something remarkable about H+H, and rarely found in standard classical music concerts.

The musicians of the H+H Orchestra and Chorus approach every piece of music with a passion, vitality, and freshness that makes it sound new, regardless of when it was written. The notes may have been penned by Bach, Vivaldi, Mozart, or Beethoven, but the performance is now, immediate, and alive. This in-the-moment vibrancy reaches out and connects you, the audience, with the music, the musicians, the composer, and each other. The musicians and I feel your energy, and the connection is complete. It is exactly the kind of music I love making and it doesn’t happen without you.

I invite you to set aside time this season to join me and my colleagues, the musicians of H+H, to once again feel the special magic of live music — together.

Sincerely,

Jonathan Cohen

“Heading into the new year, at least one thing seems certain: With Cohen at the helm, H+H’s future looks awfully bright.”

—Boston Classical Review

YOUR VIP TICKET TO EXCEPTIONAL EXPERIENCES

Subscribers are guaranteed the extraordinary music of H+H is there for them when they need it. And they get so much more:

FULL SERIES SUBSCRIBERS SAVE UP TO $407 AND ENJOY THE VERY BEST SEATS

• Top priority seating for 7 great concerts at Symphony Hall, plus four performances at NEC’s Jordan Hall and Sanders Theatre

• Free parking vouchers for 7 Symphony Hall concerts ($175 savings)

• Ticket price savings of up to $232, equivalent to two free seats!

SYMPHONY HALL SERIES SUBSCRIBERS SAVE UP TO $170

• Priority seating for 7 great concerts at Symphony Hall

• Prepaid parking vouchers available for purchase CUSTOMIZE YOUR CONCERT COLLECTION

• Just pick a minimum of 3 concerts in this brochure and subscribe today – enjoy preferred seating at discount prices, plus free ticket exchange, and our Money Back Guarantee

ALL SUBSCRIBERS RECEIVE

• Better seats – subscribers are seated first

• Lower prices – discounts vary by package size and location

• Free ticket exchange if there’s ever a schedule conflict

• 20% off additional tickets you buy, all season long. And there is no handling fee for those add-on tickets

• Delight Guaranteed – we’re so sure you’ll love the H+H experience that if you aren’t completely satisfied after your first concert, return the rest of your tickets and we’ll give you your money back

ARE YOU HIP?

H+H stands at the forefront of the Historically Informed Performance (HIP) movement, treating audiences to a timeless, one-of-a-kind listening experience. The orchestra plays on period instruments—the very kind that the great Baroque and Classical composers once wrote for. Woodwinds are made of wood, not metal or plastic. Brass instruments don’t have valves. Strings are crafted of gut, rather than steel.

As you’d imagine, this gives the music a wholly different sound. But there’s more to the story. Our orchestra is smaller—with 25 to 50 musicians as opposed to the 100 found in contemporary orchestras. These musicians share a stage with a chorus of just 25 to 30 members. There’s an intimacy to each H+H performance that’s a throwback to the great performances of the past.

And how sweet, how unexpected, the sound! Beloved masterpieces take on a whole new life. You feel different textures. Hear subtle and graceful variations. And notice beautiful nuances. You’ve never heard music like this. Until now. Welcome to music the way history’s greatest composers— including Handel and Haydn—intended.

Israel in Egypt

SYMPHONY HALL

Jonathan Cohen launches his first season as artistic director with Handel’s epic tale of triumph over adversity. Performing on the period instruments for which this powerful music was written, our unrivaled orchestra and chorus bring the story to life, evoking buzzing flies, raging fire, and parting seas from the stage of Symphony Hall—and reminding us all to hold fast to hope.

Luks Leads Beethoven

SYMPHONY HALL

Audience favorite Václav Luks offers a high-spirited program that’s sure to delight, keeping you on your figurative toes while he leads from his literal ones. After a cheerful Louise Farrenc overture and Beethoven’s tantalizingly dramatic Piano Concerto No. 3, Luks continues his tour through the Beethoven symphonies: This time, it’s a rousing rendition of the composer’s effervescent Eighth.

Handel’s Messiah

SYMPHONY HALL

For the 170th consecutive year, H+H reignites your sense of wonder and joy with the greatest story ever told in song. Our new Artistic Director Jonathan Cohen leads this centuries-old Boston tradition. Joining our resplendent orchestra and chorus are a slate of spectacular soloists, including John Holiday, “one of the finest countertenors of his generation” (Los Angeles Times)

FRIDAY, OCT 6, 2023 AT 7:30PM

SUNDAY, OCT 8, 2023 AT 3:00PM

Jonathan Cohen, conductor H+H Orchestra and Chorus

Handel: Israel in Egypt

“The Handel and Haydn Society presented some of the liveliest, most characterful and engaging period-playing I’ve heard.”

— The Strad

FRIDAY, OCT 27, 2023 AT 7:30PM

SUNDAY, OCT 29, 2023 AT 3:00PM

Václav Luks, conductor

Lukáš Vondrácˇek, piano

H+H Orchestra

Farrenc: Overture No. 1

Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 3

Beethoven: Symphony No. 8

FRIDAY, NOV 24, 2023 AT 7:30PM

SATURDAY, NOV 25, 2023 AT 3:00PM

SUNDAY, NOV 26, 2023 AT 3:00PM

Jonathan Cohen, conductor

Joélle Harvey, soprano

John Holiday, countertenor

Stuart Jackson, tenor

José Coca Loza, bass-baritone

H+H Orchestra and Chorus

Handel: Messiah

Baroque Christmas

NEC’S JORDAN HALL

Celebrate the spirit of the season with Boston’s biggest, Baroque-est holiday party! This program features a diverse slate of merry masterpieces, sparkling in the December darkness like a starlit sky. Under the direction of H+H principal keyboard Ian Watson, our brilliant orchestra pairs these glad tidings with unparalleled technique and passion.

The British Masters

NEC’S JORDAN HALL

This bold collection of works by composers of the British Baroque—be they British by birth, choice, or force—will enchant and enrapture. Alongside familiar favorites from Purcell and Handel, discover a long under-recognized voice in Ignatius Sancho, a composer who was enslaved at birth yet became the first Black man to vote in a British election.

Harry, Haydn + Mozart

SYMPHONY HALL

Harry Christophers returns in his first appearance as Conductor Laureate. Following a smile-inducing Haydn symphony, the spotlight falls on our H+H Chorus for two of Mozart’s beloved masterworks. Then, Harry adds a special treat: a cappella choral gems from Hildegard von Bingen and Raphaella Aleotti.

THURSDAY, DEC 14, 2023 AT 7:30PM

SUNDAY, DEC 17, 2023 AT 3:00PM

Ian Watson, director

Teresa Wakim, soprano

David McFerrin, baritone

H+H Orchestra

J.S. Bach: Selections from Christmas Oratorio

Charpentier: Noels pour les instruments

Scarlatti: Cantata pastorale per la Nativita di Nostro Signore Gesu Christo

Corelli: Christmas Concerto

Telemann: Trumpet Sonata in D Major

FRIDAY, FEB 2, 2024 AT 7:30PM

SUNDAY, FEB 4, 2024 AT 3:00PM

Rachel Podger, director and violin

Reginald Mobley, countertenor

H+H Orchestra

Purcell: Suite from Gordion Knot

Purcell: “O Solitude” and “Here the Deities Approve”

Sancho/arr. Canzano: Suite of Dances and Songs

Handel: Sonata a 5 in B-flat Major, HWV 288

Handel: Arias from Rinaldo and The Choice of Hercules

Handel: Concerto grosso in F Major, Op. 3, No. 4

FRIDAY, FEB 23, 2024 AT 7:30PM

SUNDAY, FEB 25, 2024 AT 3:00PM

Harry Christophers, conductor

Joélle Harvey, soprano

Helen Charlston, mezzo-soprano

Aaron Sheehan, tenor

Matthew Brook, bass-baritone

H+H Orchestra and Chorus

Haydn: Symphony No. 49, La passione

Mozart: Mass in C Major, Coronation

Mozart: Vesperae solennes de confessore

Hildegard von Bingen: Chants

Raphaella Aleotti: Motets from The Song of Songs

Beethoven 9

SYMPHONY HALL

Guest conductor Raphaël Pichon, the maestro behind last season’s blockbuster Marriage of Figaro, delivers a fervently fresh take on this magnum opus in honor of its bicentennial. And it’s no surprise that our chorus and orchestra tackle this uplifting music with both compassion and conviction.

Bach + Telemann

NEC’S JORDAN HALL

In the spirited hands of our new Artistic Director Jonathan Cohen, these exquisite choral treasures are nothing short of divine. First, our “unimpeachably excellent” chorus (The Boston Globe) keeps vigil in two contemplative Bach cantatas. Then, after a rollicking romp through Brandenburg No. 6, Telemann gets the final word, comforting us even as he captivates.

Bach B Minor Mass

SYMPHONY HALL

Feel your heart skip a beat as the first chords of Bach’s choral masterpiece transform Symphony Hall into a cathedral. Then, buckle up for two hours of the master’s lush harmonies and intricate orchestral writing, performed with H+H’s trademark vigor on the period instruments Bach intended. Frequent guest conductor Masaaki Suzuki returns to the podium to illuminate the music’s magnificence anew.

FRIDAY, MAR 15 2024 AT 7:30PM

SATURDAY, MAR 16, 2024 AT 2:00PM — NOTE TIME

Raphaël Pichon, conductor Soloists TBA

H+H Orchestra and Chorus

Beethoven: Symphony No. 9

“Pichon nailed every nuance…Everyone in the house realized that we had experienced a great and memorable night.”

— The Boston Musical Intelligencer

FRIDAY, MAR 22, 2024 AT 7:30PM

SUNDAY, MAR 24, 2024 AT 3:00PM

Jonathan Cohen, conductor Soloists TBA

H+H Orchestra and Chorus

J.S. Bach: Cantatas 4 + 106

J.S. Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 6

Telemann: Cantata, Du aber Daniel gehe hin

FRIDAY, APR 5, 2024 AT 7:30PM

SUNDAY, APR 7, 2024 AT 3:00PM

Masaaki Suzuki, conductor Soloists TBA

H+H Orchestra and Chorus

J.S. Bach: Mass in B Minor

“You will find yourself in an entirely different sound world where the music sings in a new voice.”

— Bachtrack

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.”

— The Washington Post

Brahms Requiem

SYMPHONY HALL

Savor the richness of Brahms in this profound performance that captures the full shimmering spectrum of human emotion. It’s a perfect showcase for our chorus—almost as if this deeply spiritual music were written just for them. With celebrated period instrument conductor Bernard Labadie at the helm, you’ll take part in the rare thrill of hearing these pieces played on the instruments Brahms knew best, surrounding yourself with the healing sounds that brought him solace following his mother’s death.

Brandenburg Concertos

SANDERS THEATRE + NEC’S JORDAN HALL

Revel in the splendor of J.S. Bach’s complete Brandenburg Concertos, the best of the Baroque. From the clarion call of the trumpet in No. 2 to the tour de force harpsichord solo in No. 5, there’s always something new to discover in this much-loved collection. H+H’s charismatic concertmaster Aisslinn Nosky joins principal keyboard Ian Watson to co-pilot the ensemble from within. This is historically informed performance at its finest.

FRIDAY, APR 19, 2024 AT 7:30PM

SUNDAY, APR 21, 2024 AT 3:00PM

Bernard Labadie, conductor

Erin Morley, soprano

Baritone soloist TBA

H+H Orchestra and Chorus

Brahms: Begräbnisgesang (Funeral Song)

Brahms: Ein deutsches Requiem (A German Requiem)

THURS, MAY 2, 2024 AT 7:30PM — Sanders Theatre

FRI, MAY 3, 2024 AT 7:30PM — Sanders Theatre

SAT, MAY 4, 2024 AT 7:30PM — NEC’s Jordan Hall

Aisslinn Nosky, co-director

Ian Watson, co-director

H+H Orchestra

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

2023-24 PACKAGES AND PRICES

PACKAGES AND PRICES

PLEASE NOTE: CYO subscribers who wish to include Beethoven 9 in their package must select at least a 4-concert package.

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.

H+H offers several different packages so you can find the one that suits you best. And each is covered by our Money Back Guarantee: attend your first concert and if you’re not completely satisfied we will cancel your subscription and refund the balance of your payment.

Full Season Series (11 concerts)

Enjoy the complete H+H experience at Symphony Hall, NEC’s Jordan Hall, and Sanders Theatre. Includes FREE parking for all Symphony Hall concerts, a savings of $175. The Full Season includes all concerts in this brochure.

Symphony Hall Series (7 concerts)

There is no better place to experience the full H+H orchestra and chorus than historic Symphony Hall. This series includes the option to reserve prepaid parking for each concert.

How to Order

The fastest and easiest way to order is online at handelandhaydn.org and we’ll waive the $9 handling fee. You can also call 617.262.1815 Monday through Friday, 9am to 5pm or fax us at 617.266.4217

When ordering be sure to select a series, concert time and price. If selecting a Create Your Own Series, please tell us which concerts you’d like to purchase. You will also be able to select your seating preference.

Please Consider Adding a Donation

H+H can only create and share life-changing musical experiences with your support. Consider a donation of $100 or more to ensure the music you love plays on.

9 HARCOURT STREET BOSTON, MA 02116

BOX OFFICE: 617.262.1815 HANDELANDHAYDN.ORG DELIGHT GUARANTEED: PLEASE SEE PAGE 2 FOR ALL YOUR SUBSCRIBER BENEFITS.

ISRAEL IN EGYPT HANDEL’S MESSIAH

HARRY, HAYDN + MOZART

BEETHOVEN 9 BRANDENBURG CONCERTOS

The Handel and Haydn Society is committed to the health and safety of our musicians and audiences. H+H will follow all health guidelines established by Federal, state, and local health departments and the venues in which H+H performs. Please see our website for the most up to date information

Photo Credits: Sam Brewer, Shervin Lainez, Chris Lee, Chris Petre-Baumer, Stu Rosner, Jonas Sacks, Hilary Scott, Ursula Sprecher, Robert Torres