presents
ACADEMY OF ST MARTIN IN THE FIELDS
GARY HOFFMAN, CELLO
TOMO KELLER, DIRECTOR
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2023 | 7:30 P.M.
Curtis M. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts
Sponsored by
RUSSELL AND BRENDA ROBINSON SFI
ACADEMY OF ST MARTIN IN THE FIELDS
GARY HOFFMAN, CELLO TOMO KELLER, DIRECTOR
Program
Fantasia Concertante on a Theme of Corelli (Omaggio a Italia) Michael Tippett
Cello Concerto No. 3 in A major Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach
I. Allegro
II. Largo maesto
III. Allegro assai
Gary Hoffman, cello
INTERMISSION
Concerto Grosso No. 2 in F major, Op. 6 Arcangelo Corelli
I. Vivace; Allegro
II. Allegro
III. Grave; Andante largo; Allegro
Battalia
Heinrich von Biber
Concerto Grosso No. 12 in D minor, Op. 5 Francesco Geminiani (after Corelli) (La folia)
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The Academy’s work in the US is supported by Maria Cardamone and Paul Matthews together with the American Friends of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields.
Mr. Hoffman appears courtesy of Clarisse de Monredon, Agence Artistique.
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Presents
PROGRAM NOTES
Fantasia Concertante on a Theme of Corelli (Omaggio a Italia) Michael Tippett
Born January 2, 1905 in Eastcote, England; died January 8, 1998 in London
Michael Tippett was an English composer who rose to prominence during and immediately after the Second World War. He was considered, alongside Benjamin Britten, the most significant and original British composer of his generation. Among his best known works, in addition to the Fantasia Concertante on a Theme of Corelli, are the oratorio A Child of Our Time and the opera, The Midsummer Marriage. In 1953, the Edinburgh Festival commissioned Tippett to write Fantasia Concertante on a Theme by Corelli, a work that was to celebrate the tercentenary of the birth of Corelli. It is one of a series of pieces Tippett composed using ‘found’ objects; in this case, the object was pre-existing music. Tippett frequently found great inspiration in his predecessors’ work, integrating it with his own design. Surprisingly enough, through it, he acquired a more original creative identity.
Tippett’s style developed slowly; he withdrew or destroyed his earliest compositions. Until the mid-to-late 1950s, his music was broadly lyrical in character, but then changed to a more astringent, experimental style. Although during his lifetime he became much honored, even receiving a knighthood, critical judgement on his legacy has been uneven with the greatest praise being usually given to his earlier works. Other than his very best-known works, his music has been performed rarely in the 21st century.
Tippett studied at the Royal College of Music between 1923 and 1928, despite his lack of formal entry qualifications. He embraced communism for a short time in the 1930s, but later avoided identifying with any political party. In 1939, his initial difficulties in accepting his homosexuality led him to psychoanalysis; the Jungian dichotomy of “shadow” and “light” became a recurring factor in his music. In November 1940, he formalized his pacifism by applying for registration as a conscientious objector, but he was imprisoned in 1943 because he refused to fulfill war-related responsibilities that were required by his military exemption. He became a strong advocate of music education and was active for much of his life as a radio broadcaster and writer on music.
Tippett conducted the premiere performance because Sir Malcolm Sargent refused to do so due of the work’s harmonic and contrapuntal complexity. When he returned the score to Tippett, Sargent wrote: “Dear boy, there are too many notes in this piece.” One of the themes of the festival celebrating Corelli’s tercentenary was “Four Centuries of the Violin” as Corelli’s mastery of the violin had had a profound influence on the development of Western music; it is this influence that Tippett explores. Although the Fantasia eventually became one of Tippett’s most popular works, the critic of The Times lamented the excessive complexity of the contrapuntal writing, commenting, “There was so much going on that the perplexed ear knew not where to turn or fasten itself.” Such observations helped establish the feeling that Tippett was a “difficult” composer, and even, to some, it indicated that his music was amateurish or poorly written.
Fantasia’s strength lies in its expressive arc of passion. Tippett uses a concertino group of three soloists, (made up of two violins and cello) in the center of the stage, with the orchestra divided into a ripieno (here also called a concerto grosso) seated on the conductor’s left, and a concerto terzo, seated on his right, and functioning as a substitute for a continuo. Tippett addresses the concept of Baroque improvisation by including brilliantly florid passages, similar to the written out “improvisations” Corelli had provided for his students.
The work, which is based on Corelli’s Concerto in F, Op. 6, No. 2 (see below) has seven variations before becoming a fugue. First comes the presentation of the Corelli theme, a slow richly orchestrated melody, and two variations, followed by a dark and passionate Andante joined to a sprightly, bright Vivace, with the violins’ virtuosic display. Tippett reimagines Corelli’s ideas: “If Corelli’s bass in F minor is put into the relative major of A flat major and somewhat extended,” he wrote, “it produces a melody of pure Puccini!” This romantic Puccini-like variation on the Corelli theme follows and then morphs into a fugue on new material that quotes Bach’s double fugue, BWV 579, written on themes Bach quoted from Corelli. The fugue reaches an intense and exciting climax before subsiding into a gentle pastorale similar to Corelli’s ‘Pastorale’ in his Christmas Concerto. A recapitulation of the Corelli theme closes the work.
Cello Concerto No. 3 in A major
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach
Born March 8, 1714, in Weimar; died December 14, 1788, in Hamburg
Johann Sebastian Bach’s second surviving son, Carl Philipp Emanuel, was Telemann’s godson and eventually became his successor as Music Director in Hamburg. C.P.E. was an enterprising young musician who, when only 17 years old, at about the same time as when his father’s music was published for the first time, engraved one of his own minuets and sold it as his Op. 1. His parents wanted him to be educated outside of music; in 1738, he graduated from his study of law at Frankfurt-an-der-Oder, but he soon abandoned law for an active role in the city’s musical life.
Turning to music as a profession, he went to Berlin, where he became involved with the Prussian royal family and spent 28 years in the service of Frederick the Great, the nephew of King George II, a ruler who was interested in music and was himself a fairly proficient and eager flutist. C.P.E. wrote many sonatas, trios, and concerti for him over the course of his long employ, composing works in the galant style which broke little or no ground, but also in addition, writing brilliant and original keyboard sonatas and fantasias, bold symphonies, and harpsichord concertos for his own performance, in which he modified the dominant structures. The concertos are now seen as a crucial link between the Baroque ritornello form and the Classical concerti of Mozart with its sonata form.
C.P.E.’s bolder music was not appealing to the king, who did not give him promotions at the Berlin court, a seat of conservatism in music; he never became Kapellmeister. Rebuffed, C.P.E. finally looked further afield. In 1767, he finally succeeded Telemann as Music Director at Hamburg, a position he held until his death. His early work had not generally displayed the freedom of form
and sentiment of the often highly dramatic later works he created when he worked in Hamburg, where he composed some of the century’s most original symphonies and keyboard works. By late in his life, C.P.E.’s reputation was such that when Bach was referred to, it was not J.S. Bach who was on people’s minds, but C.P.E., widely thought to be one of the best composers of the age. Haydn and Mozart much admired him and found inspiration and models in C.P.E.’s works, and Beethoven, in the year he composed the Emperor Concerto, was still polishing his technique by studying the music of C.P.E.
C.P.E.’s three cello concerti, dating from the 1750s, were composed when he was still in Berlin. Like the concerti of his father, these concerti also exist in versions for other instruments. He entered them in his thematic catalog as works for “harpsichord, two violins, viola and bass; also set for the cello and flute,” but Robert Nosow, the editor of the 2008 edition of C.P.E’s work, posited the idea that all three cello concerti were originally and specifically intended for cello. Regardless, there is no question that they all seem idiomatically suited to the cello.
C.P.E. Bach’s concerti have an important position in the development of the form, as his structures move the concerto from the purely Baroque form of his father and Vivaldi to the more developed structures based around sonata form which would be used by Mozart and Haydn. C.P.E. exploits the whole range of the cello in his cello concerti. Concerto No. 3, in particular, includes many virtuosic passages with wide leaps and string crossings.
C.P.E. explored the possibilities of a dialogue between soloist and orchestra instead of the simple alternation prominent in Baroque concerti. His music also celebrated feelings, which gives even a straightforward movement more emotional variety than had been present in earlier concerti. C.P.E.’s cello concerti all have three movements with faster outer movements and slower, more elegant central ones that contrast with them.
Cello Concerto No. 3, completed in 1753, begins with an adventurous, rather daring Allegro with an arpeggiated theme. There is some lyricism, but the orchestra often interjects, interrupting the more leisurely efforts of the cello. Later in the movement, the cello, in its lower registers, has some toccata figuration which has been compared to similar ones found in Vivaldi. Here they are used for a sequence of modulations into other keys.
In the central Largo con sordini, mesto (Slow, with mutes, sad) in the minor tonality, the cello’s upper register becomes prominently highlighted and the muted strings deliver a sorrowful lament with broken, emotional phrases. These phrases are characterized by descending half-tones and disturbing contrasts of dynamics. The cello (without a mute) and the accompanying strings (with mutes) carry on an impassioned, moving dialogue with the cello mostly in its upper register, occasionally interjecting outbursts of grief.
The last movement, Allegro assai, changes the mood dramatically. It is a fast and a jovial, dance-like particularly exuberant ending to the concerto, although it does belie some residual underlying tension in the sudden breaks and differing rhythms as the cello’s twos are set against the orchestral body’s triplets. The cello repeatedly tries to transition to the more lyrical, but is always brought back to the dominant, active expressions of the orchestra.
Concerto Grosso No. 2 in F major, Op. 6
Arcangelo Corelli
Born February 17, 1653, in Fusignano, Italy; died January 18, 1713, in Rome
Corelli did not originate the form of the concerto grosso, but his fine workmanship helped in its development and gave it coherence and power. Corelli, in his use of the form, gave an inspiring example for his young compatriot, Vivaldi. Handel heard and admired Corelli’s playing and wrote his own 12 concerti grossi for a similar group of instruments, using a similar form, a succession of short movements. There is little doubt that even Bach’s Brandenburg Concerti owe something to the Corelli model. But the word “concerto” owes credit for its first use as a musical title to a 1587 publication of Andrea and Giovanni Gabrieli. They had the new idea to combine voices and instruments in a mixed ensemble, not so much in collaboration as in contest; the name they chose came directly from the Latin concertare, to fight, dispute, or debate.
Within a century the term “concerto” had also acquired its present opposite meaning: to make music “in concert,” that is to say united and in agreement. Corelli called his works concerti grossi because they generally required that a large group of instruments (the ripieno) and a separate smaller one (the concertino) play together in ensemble yet with some sense of the original idea of competition between the groups. Corelli wrote his 12 concerti, Op. 6, among the first of their kind, around 1680; they were first published in Amsterdam in 1714.
Corelli probably studied not only in Italy, but he also traveled to Germany and perhaps to France to study, too. He settled in Rome sometime before 1685, the year of Bach and Handel’s birth, by which time he had achieved a reputation as an important violinist and composer. His output was small by the contemporary standards, 60 sonatas of various kinds in addition to the 12 concertos, but his works were published and widely circulated throughout Europe. He presumably lived simply and modestly, but his fame was such that royal visitors to Rome, like the Queen of Sweden and the King of Naples, sought him out. When he died, he was buried in the Roman Pantheon near the tomb of Raphael; his patron, Cardinal Ottoboni, erected a marble monument at his grave.
During the last years of his life, Corelli revised his concertos and prepared them for publication. The Concerti Grossi were published in 1713 by Estienne Roger in Amsterdam, but it is very likely, however, that they were actually composed decades earlier. A contemporary of Corelli, Georg Muffat, recorded that he saw and heard performances of Corelli’s concerti grossi in Rome as early as 1681-82. Typically, in Corelli’s concerti grossi, the larger body of players, the ripieno, is a string orchestra, and the smaller, the concertino, consists of two violins and a cello. In the practice of the time, a keyboard instrument, the basso continuo, filled out the harmony and helped to maintain the ensemble of each group. The first eight of the 12 concerti were concerti da chiesa (after the term sonata da chiesa); that is to say that they contain music of the kind that was played in church before or even during a High Mass, but although they were played in church, they were probably just as often heard either in halls or in the open air. These works are made up of a sequence of slow as well as fast movements.
The other four, concerti da camera (from the term sonata da camera), are made up of dance movements and could therefore be played only at the concerts performed in the private palaces of the rich and the noble. These typically are preceded by a prelude.
The first movement of this work, Vivace, begins with the full ensemble, answered by the solo group. After the introduction, there is a spirited quick section and then a short Adagio. The opening music then returns and is followed by the Allegro section again. The concertino group ends the movement with a slow Largo section. The second movement is a separate Allegro, which is characterized by its fugal imitative passages. The third movement begins with slow, widely spaced chords as a transitional section, Grave. The main part of the movement, Andante largo, highlights the full ensemble. In the final movement, Allegro, the concertino group delivers lively, animated, dance-like music.
Battalia
Heinrich von Biber
Born August 12, 1644 in Wartenberg, Bohemia, now Stráž pod Ralskem, Cz.Rep.; died May 3, 1704, in Salzburg
Biber was acknowledged in his time to be the only German violinist comparable to the brilliant violinists of France and Italy. Biber spent most of his life at the Salzburg court, rising from the low position of valet (1670) to that of deputy Kapellmeister (1679) and then to Kapellmeister and Dean of the choir school (1684). He was ennobled by Emperor Leopold in 1690. Not only did Biber’s works become known throughout Europe, but he also earned a high reputation as a violin virtuoso, although he is not known to have toured as a performer. Although he wrote several operas and many works of other kinds, the originality of his violin music can be credited with keeping his name alive through the centuries. Some of his works are programmatic music, like those he intended to describe the joyful, sorrowful, and glorious religious mysteries.
Biber composed Battalia in 1673, but the work was not published until 1971. Some historians have hypothesized that this work was intended to reflect the composer’s feelings toward the Thirty Years’ War, fought from 1618-1648, which began as a limited conflict, but spread to involve much of Europe; the war not only caused widespread devastation, but also spread famine and disease widely. Although it began as a limited conflict between Protestants and Catholics, over time almost half the male population of German states and more than a third of the Czech were killed. Battalia seems to have been a statement about all aspects of war, including the social and historical impact of war.
Composed in 1673, Battalia is a descriptive set of movements for string orchestra and is often translated as “a body of troops” or just “battle.” Other composers of battle music for instruments included Andrea Gabrieli, William Byrd, and Annibale Padovano. This tradition could be considered to have continued in later times with Beethoven’s Wellington’s Victory, Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture, and Prokofiev’s Battle on the Ice from Alexander Nevsky.
In the Battalia, which may have been composed for a carnival pantomime, much of Biber’s imagery is woven into the music itself. He calls for a number
of unusual instrumental techniques, such as: col legno, in which the players use the wood of their bows to beat the strings of their instruments; a percussive pizzicato in Die Schlacht (“The Battle”) to imitate cannon shots; he even has the bass player use a piece of paper to buzz on the strings in Der Mars (Mars, the god of war) to imitate a snare drum, while the solo violin imitates a military fife. The first movement is called Sonata. In the second movement, titled Die liederliche gesellschaft von allerley Humor (“The lusty society of all types of humor”), Biber uses a number of untraditional techniques in which German, Slovak, and Czech folk songs are joined into what is known as a quodlibet (combining of several melodies simultaneously that don’t necessarily fit together). Biber even notes on the second violone part that “hic dissonat ubique nam ebrii sic diversis Cantilenis clamare solent” (“Here it is dissonant everywhere, for thus are the drunks accustomed to bellow with different songs.”).
The third movement is simply Allegro, while the fourth is The March. The very fast fifth movement is only titled Presto, and the sixth, Aria, which may indicate, by its reflectiveness, a prayer before the battle. The last two movements are a bit more on point: the seventh is The Battle and the final movement reflects the realities of 17th century warfare; it is an Adagio: Lamento der verwundten Musquetir (“Lament of the wounded musketeers”).
Concerto Grosso No. 12 in D minor, Op. 5 (after Corelli) (La folia)
Francesco GeminianiBorn December, 1687, in Lucca, Italy; died September 17, 1762, in Dublin
Geminiani is not as well remembered today as some of the other great Italian violinist-composers of his time, but he was a very important figure in the 18th century as a composer, performer, teacher, and theoretician. He began his career in Italy, where he became known for the rhythmic freedom of his performances, and in 1714, after studying under both Corelli and Alessandro Scarlatti in Rome and Naples, he emigrated to London, seeking a better life. Geminiani’s association with Corelli paved the way for his success in London; Corelli’s music was very popular in England, and when Geminiani, arguably one of the greatest Baroque violinists of his day, arrived in London, he printed a number of works including the Concerto Grosso in D minor.
The fierce difficulty of his violin sonatas soon insured Geminiani’s fame in the British capital. He found an influential supporter, Baron Kielmansegg, who arranged that Geminiani, accompanied by Handel at the harpsichord, would perform for King George I at St. James’ Palace. Apart from three extended visits to Paris, Geminiani’s career was centered in London and in Dublin, where he owned a concert room with an art gallery. He was a teacher and the author of the first book of instruction in violin playing ever published, as well as another on guitar method and several other theoretical works. As a composer, he published two volumes of solo violin sonatas and three of Concerti Grossi, as well as the Op. 5 sonatas for violoncello, which he also published in violin arrangements; Veracini railed against this practice as what he called “reheating.” Geminiani also “reheated” works written by Corelli as concertos or trios.
Like many prominent, foreign musicians in England at the time, Geminiani engaged in business on the side. Others traded in music and musical instruments or were wine merchants. Geminiani bought and sold paintings; his questionable transactions once landed him in prison, but one of his noble pupils extricated him.
Concerto Grosso in D minor was published in 1726 in a series of arrangements of Corelli’s Op. 5 sonatas for violin and basso continuo. Geminiani created this orchestral version of Corelli’s Variations in D minor, “La Folia,” as a tribute to his teacher. “La Folia,” it is believed, originated in 15th century Portugal as a “fool’s dance,” which was performed by shepherds or peasants. The Italian follia translates as “The Folly;” in Tuscan dialect, the term means “mindless” or “crazy.” Eventually one particular melody became associated with the “folia” harmonic pattern that Corelli used. Many Baroque composers had used the “La Folia” theme; it features a standard melodic line, a slow sarabande, (a slow stately dance of Spanish origins) in triple meter. Standardly, the “La Folia” theme appears at the start and end of a given “Folia” composition, which is then followed by a set of variations within which both the melodic line and the meter vary.
Geminiani’s composition is not simply an orchestration or transcription of the Corelli work for violin, but a creative expansion or extension of it; Geminiani’s reworking, while retaining his master’s thematic material and harmonic structure, extends and enriches the music’s imaginative character. Geminiani’s point of departure (as it was, of course, Corelli’s before him) employs the same material that dozens of other composers have used as well, a series of variations on a harmonic progression set to sarabande rhythm (long-long-pause-short). Geminiani releases a hidden drama within the work with a tumultuous virtuosity, adding rich textures and new points of emphasis, changing some phrasings and introducing new counterpoint to enhance the subtle clarity, lyricism, and grace of the original. Going far beyond a simple orchestral arrangement or transcription, Geminiani’s reworking adds sonorities and contrapuntal voices. This concerto is very important as an example of Geminiani’s taste for and ability at arranging an original idea into something more elaborate and even more complex than its original model.
One of Geminiani’s chief contributions to the concerto grosso form was his addition of an independent viola part in the ripieno (larger) group, thus giving the piece a four-part rather than the customary three-part texture. This feature gives Geminiani’s work in the concerto grosso form historical importance.
In this concerto grosso, there are many spirited variations with changes of tempo; the work begins slowly and generally alternates between slow and fast variations, ending with an Allegro. It features solo playing within the ensemble, especially that of the principal chairs of the sections who function as the concertino, or small group. The eight-bar theme is presented twice in four-part harmony by the ripieno strings, the second time slightly varied. Many variations follow, some simple and straightforward, some quite virtuosic, some of considerable textural and contrapuntal complexity. Geminiani adheres exactly to Corelli’s sequence of variations, while elaborating on the earlier master’s score, subjecting each variation to changes in orchestral color, rhythmic pattern, texture, and tempo.
— Program notes © Susan Halpern, 2023
ACADEMY OF ST MARTIN IN THE FIELDS
The Academy of St Martin in the Fields (ASMF) is one of the world’s finest chamber orchestras, renowned for fresh, brilliant interpretations of the world’s greatest orchestral music.
Formed by Sir Neville Marriner in 1958 from a group of leading London musicians, the ASMF gave its first performance in its namesake church in November 1959. Through unrivalled live performances and a vast recording output — highlights of which include the 1969 bestseller Vivaldi’s Four Seasons and the soundtrack to the Oscar-winning film Amadeus — the orchestra gained an enviable international reputation for its distinctive, polished and refined sound. With more than 500 releases in a much-vaunted discography and a comprehensive international touring program, the name and sound of the ASMF is known and loved by classical audiences throughout the world. Today the orchestra is led by Music Director and virtuoso violinist Joshua Bell, retaining the collegiate spirit and flexibility of the original small, conductorless ensemble which is an ASMF hallmark. Under Bell’s direction, and with the support of Leader/Director Tomo Keller and Principal Guest Conductor Murray Perahia, ASMF continues to push the boundaries of player-directed performance to new heights, presenting symphonic repertoire and chamber music on a grand scale at prestigious venues around the globe. When COVID-19 necessitated a national lockdown, the ASMF responded by establishing a digital campaign to fund the production of new performance videos as well as launching a new concert series at its spiritual home of St Martin-in-the-Fields in London’s Trafalgar Square. The series — the first of its kind in the orchestra’s home city for many years — saw the ensemble collaborate with international artists on concert programs devised by members of the orchestra.
In June 2022 on Sky Arts UK, ASMF presented A London Dream, a musical celebration of Mendelssohn’s exquisite interpretation of Shakespeare’s beloved comedy A Midsummer Night’s Dream, conducted by Ryan Wigglesworth. A London Dream celebrates and champions music and musicians, placing them at the center of the production, driving the pulse of the narrative, observing and punctuating key moments with intimate cameos. The film is available on Sky on demand for subscribers, and will be repeated throughout the spring. Please visit www.asmf.org/alondondream for the most up-to-date screening information.
Photo © Benjamin EalovegaThe rest of the 2022-23 season will see the orchestra appear frequently at London’s St Martin-in-the-Fields, including a February concert with acclaimed US cellist Gary Hoffman and a performance of Bach’s St. John Passion with St Martin’s Voices on Good Friday. Internationally, the ASMF will tour Europe with Joshua Bell, culminating in a performance at Southbank’s Queen Elizabeth Hall. This precedes a tour to the US alongside cellist Gary Hoffman and mandolinist Avi Avital, and a concert in Ankara with violinist Roman Simovic. The spring brings a series of concerts across Germany and Italy in May with pianist Seong Jin Cho and violinists Julia Fischer and Lena Neudauer, before a busy festival season with ASMF performing at Bravo! Vail, Bradfield Music Festival, Meckpomm, and Rheingau. The ASMF Wind and String Chamber Ensembles also look forward to an eventful spring, with tours across the US and concerts in the UK.
This season sees the ASMF continue its dedication to Learning and Participation in a collaboration with Southbank Sinfonia; the players will also join violinist Julia Fischer for a special education project in Baden Baden as part of their summer tour to Germany.
To find out more about the Academy, please visit www.asmf.org or connect with the orchestra on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
GARY HOFFMAN, CELLO
Gary Hoffman is one of the outstanding cellists of our time, combining instrumental mastery, great beauty of sound, and a poetic sensibility in his distinctive and memorable performances. Mr. Hoffman gained international renown upon his victory as the first North American to win the Rostropovich International Competition in Paris in 1986.
A frequent soloist with the world’s most noted orchestras, he has appeared with the Chicago, London, Montreal, Toronto, San Francisco, Baltimore, and National symphony orchestras as well as the English, Moscow, and Los Angeles chamber orchestras, the Orchestre National de France, the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, and the Netherlands and Rotterdam Philharmonic, the Cleveland Orchestra for the Blossom Festival, and Philadelphia Orchestra, among many others. Mr. Hoffman collaborates regularly with such celebrated conductors as André Prévin, Charles Dutoit, Mstislav Rostropovich, Pinchas Zuckerman, Andrew Davis, Herbert Blomstedt, Kent Nagano, Jésus Lopez-Cobos, and James Levine.
Gary Hoffman performs on major recital and chamber music series throughout the world, as well as in such prestigious festivals as Ravinia, Marlboro, Aspen, Bath, Evian, Helsinki, Verbier, Mostly Mozart, Schleswig-Holstein, and Stresa. He is a frequent guest of string quartets including Emerson, Tokyo, Borromeo, Brentano, and Ysaye.
Photo © William BeaucardetMr. Hoffman is a regular guest of the Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society.
Gary Hoffman has premiered many concertos: Laurent Petitgirard, Joel Hoffman, Renaud Gagneux, Gil Shohat, Graciane Finzi, Dominique Lemaître, and the French Premiere of Elliott Carter Cello Concerto.
Sharing his time and engagements mainly between Europe and America, he also regularly travels for concerts in Asia. He is the guest of main halls such as the Théâtre du Châtelet, Théâtre des Champs Elysées, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Kennedy Center, and numerous festivals: Ravinia, La Jolla, Schleswig Holstein, Verbier, Festival International de Colmar, Evian, Prades Festival, Honk Kong International Chamber Music Festival, Vancouver, Storioni, etc. Gary Hoffman plays and gives master classes at the Ravinia Festival, Bloomington, Kobé, Manchester Cello Festival, Salzburger Mozarteum, Festival de Prades, and Santa Fe. He has been a close part of the Kronberg Academy family for years, intimately involved in the Academy Masters, the festivals, and the master class weeks.
Born in Vancouver, Canada, in 1956, Gary Hoffman devotes time to teaching, as well, having been the youngest faculty appointee in the history of the Indiana University School of Music, where he remained for eight years. Mr. Hoffman regularly holds master classes worldwide. He studied the cello with Janos Starker.
In September 2011, he has been appointed as Professor at the Musical Chapel in Brussels, opening the cello class.
Residing in Paris, Mr. Hoffman is an active recording artist with the BMG (RCA), Sony, EMI, Le Chant du Monde, and La Dolce Volta labels. La Dolce Volta is now his main label with Mendelssohn Sonatas with David Selig and Brahms Sonatas with Claire Désert released in 2017, and Elgar Concerto and Shelomo by Bloch with the Orchestre Royal Philharmonique de Liège/Christian Arming released in 2018.
His next recording will be devoted to all Beethoven Sonatas and Variations, with David Selig (2023). Gary Hoffman performs on a 1662 Nicolo Amati, the “exLeonard Rose.”
ACADEMY OF ST MARTIN IN THE FIELDS
Spring 2023 Orchestra Roster
VIOLIN I
Tomo Keller
Miranda Playfair
Amanda Smith
Fiona Brett
Richard Milone
Sijie Chen
VIOLIN II
Martin Burgess
Jennifer Godson
Mark Butler
Clare Hayes
Antonia Kesel
VIOLA
Ian Rathbone
Alexandros Koustas
Matthew Maguire
Richard Cookson
CELLO
Ursula Smith
Will Schofield
Reinoud Ford
Sarah Suckling
BASS
Lynda Houghton
David Stark
HARPSICHORD
Oliver-John Ruthven
STAGE MANAGER
Michael Pattison
ACADEMY OF ST MARTIN IN THE FIELDS
Chief Executive Annie Lydford
Executive Director, Concerts & Planning ....................................................... Alison Tedbury
Concerts & Tours Manager: Hannah Bache
Concerts & Participation Coordinator Aimee Walton
Orchestra Personnel Manager Lesley Wynne
Librarian ............................................................................................................................ Hal Hutchison
Director of Development David Nagle
Senior Development Manager Amy Scott
Head of U.S. Development Jacob Cohen
Marketing Manager ............................................................................................... Jackie Freshfield
PR Consultant ......................................................................... Rebecca Driver Media Relations
Finance Manager Silvia Ferrini
For Opus 3
Artists
Robert Berretta, Managing Director
Benjamin Maimin, Chief Operating Officer
Grace Hertz, Manager, Artists & Attractions
Jemma Lehner, Managerial Assistant
For the Academy of St Martin in the Fields Tour
Leonard Stein, Consulting Producer
Tania Leong, Associate Producer
Sarah Vardigans, Company Manager