Absolute Baroque
Apollo’s Fire Quartet
Sunday, September 27, 2015 at 5:00 p.m.
Christ Church Episcopal
21 Aurora St
Hudson, OH 44236
Presented by Music from the Western Reserve
Rene Schiffer, cello
Karina Schmitz, violin
Kathie Stewart, traverso
Joseph Gascho, harpsichord
Program
J.S. Bach - Trio Sonata in G major BWV 1038
Henry Purcell - Theatre Ayres
Ahron Beer, arr. Schiffe - Kol Nidrei for solo cello
George Philip Telemann - Paris Quartet in E minor, TWV 42:hi
Anonymous, arr. K. Stewart - Traditional Irish Flute Set
Baroque is not described. It is felt. Where what has come before is challenged and new passion is breathed into what lies ahead, that is baroque. And nowhere is this more acutely felt than in the grace and grandeur of Apollo’s Fire. In addition to their illustrious performing and recording careers, Rene Schiffer, cello, and Kathie Stewart, traverso, are founding members of Apollo’s Fire. Joining them will be Karina Schmitz, violin, principal second violin with Tempesta di Mare in Philadelphia and Joseph Gascho, harpsichord, whose recent performances include Carnegie Hall with the National Symphony and the Kennedy Center Opera Orchestra.
RENÉ SCHIFFER, cello, studied with renowned baroque cellists Anner Bijlsma and Jaap Ter Linden in the Netherlands, and later studied viola da gamba with Catharina Meints at Oberlin Conservatory. He has toured the world with La Petite Bande and performed with the European ensemble Il Gardellino, Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, Les Musiciens du Louvre, and in numerous projects with Tafelmusik. He can be heard on the Harmonia Mundi, Philips, Virgin Classics, Erato, and Sony labels. He is a featured composer on the Apollo’s Fire CD Vivaldi & Friends.
KARINA SCHMITZ, violin, holds degrees from the New England Conservatory and the Cleveland Institute of Music. Her early music studies began at Oberlin Conservatory with Marilyn McDonald, Miho Hashizume and David Breitman. She continued her training in the Apollo’s Fire Apprentice Program while serving as concertmaster of the Case Baroque Orchestra. She is currently principal second violin with Tempesta di Mare in Philadelphia, assistant-principal violist of the Carmel Bach Festival Orchestra, and violist with the Coriolan String Quartet, a period ensemble based in Boston.
JOSEPH GASCHO, harpsichord, enjoys a multifaceted musical career as a keyboard artist, conductor, teacher and producer. He is on faculty at the University of Michigan where he teaches harpsichord, coaches chamber music, and conducts an early music choir and orchestra. In 2002, he won first prize in the Jurow International Harpsichord Competition. Recent performing highlights include concerts with the National Symphony at Carnegie Hall, the Mark Morris Dance Group and the Kennedy Center Opera Orchestra, and conducting Idomeneo for the Maryland Opera Studio. A graduate of the Peabody Institute and the University of Maryland, he also teaches basso continuo and conducts the student orchestra at Oberlin Conservatory’s Baroque Performance Institute.
KATHIE STEWART, traverso, teaches baroque flute in Oberlin Conservatory’s Historical Performance Department, where she also the Curator of Harpsichords. A founding member of Apollo’s Fire, she has performed extensively with the ensemble as a soloist and in the flute/recorder section. She is an avid proponent of Irish music, playing Irish flute in Cleveland-based band Turn the Corner. She has also performed with the Cleveland Orchestra, Oberlin Baroque Ensemble, ARTEK, Cleveland Lyric Opera, and Cleveland Opera.