Aston Magna continues its work of offering a deeper understanding of classical music through education about the world and times in which music was composed; and by using period instruments.
This is the 48th summer season for the Aston Magna Foundation, based in Great Barrington, Mass. Concerts this year will be performed and filmed on stage at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center and Saint James Place, and then presented online at no charge on weekends in June and July.
The virtual concerts will feature music from the Renaissance, Baroque and early Classical periods, with the music of Monteverdi, Marais, Leclair, Mozart, Beethoven and others.
The season begins on Sunday, June 13, at 7 p.m. with “Early Duos for Fortepiano and Violin” and the music of Mozart, CPE Bach, Joseph Boulogne and Beethoven, performed by Sylvia Berry, fortepiano and Aston Magna Musical Director Daniel Stepner, on violin.
“Mozart: The String Trios” is Sunday, June 27, at 7 p.m. Information on other concerts during this summer’s season can be found online at www.astonmagna.org.
A highlight of the season will be the celebration of Beethoven’s 250th birthday, one year late because of COVID-19.
“Celebrating Beethoven’s 251st Birthday” will be on Saturday, July 24, at 7 p.m. Musicians are Daniel Stepner and Julie Leven, violins; Jason Fisher, viola, and Jacques Lee Wood, cello.
The quartet will offer Beethoven’s “Eyeglass Duo,” a string trio in C Minor, and selected quartet movements, including the Grosse Fuge.
To see the concerts, go to www.Mahaiwe.org on June 13 and 27, and www.astonmagna.org, for the July dates, shortly before “curtain time” for each event.
Although the events are free, donations to help underwrite the recordings are welcome for this virtual season.
