HAYDN ON HARPSICHORD

I’m excited to host my 8th Groupmuse concert at 7:30 on Friday, June 28th featuring Dylan Sauerwald playing works by Haydn on harpsichord.

Haydn is one of my heroes, having built “something from nothing” as he described his life after being pushed out of St. Stephen’s Cathedral choir at 15 with only the clothes he wore & no idea where to sleep that night. Instead of returning home to become a wheelwright with his father, he pursued his dream, struggling through abject poverty to support himself & learn his craft-- eventually becoming one of the most celebrated composers of his time and creating the amazing music we now enjoy.

I love the intelligence, elegance and scope of Haydn’s music. But even more, I treasure the intimate musical spaces that he created filled with brilliant ideas presented as delicacies to be savored—a rapturous turn connecting two notes, a fleeting fast run up & down like a comet surrounded by silence, a beautiful cameo of classical embellishments, trills strung like diamonds over an unfolding melody, a tangy dissonance resolving into consonance like a sigh, or the relief of a warm & comfy cadence when you arrive home at the end of a journey.

And, while there is certainly nothing wrong with playing Haydn’s keyboard music on the piano, how wonderful it is to be able to hear these works on the harpsichord, played by an artist steeped in the performance practices of Haydn’s time/place and in a smaller space where everyone is close enough to hear all the beautiful details of the music.

DYLAN’S PROGRAM:
Sonata in A Major (Hob XVI:26)
Sonata in B Minor (Hob XVI:32)
--intermission—
Sonata in E Minor (Hob XVI:34)
Capriccio in G Major “Acht Sauschneider mussen sein” (Hob XVII:1)

Snacks and beverages will be provided during intermission, and you are welcome to bring snacks/beverages to share.

Come join us at 7:30 on Friday, June 28th in my Wash Hts apt for an evening enjoying wonderful music with friends & neighbors and meet other New Yorkers who have discovered the fun of Groupmuse, the Salon of the 21st Century.

ABOUT THE ARTIST: To listen & read more, see Dylan’s website: dylansauerwald.com

Dylan Sauerwald is a distinctive historical keyboardist and conductor. At the keyboard, he has been praised for his “fleet fingers” and “sophisticated playing,” (Capriccio), and as a conductor, his productions have been called “heart-wrenching and self-reflecting” (OperaWire). Dylan has performed in venues from New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art to Taipei's National Recital Hall, and his playing is featured in the BBC historical drama Poldark.

As a recording artist, Dylan can be heard on the New Focus, Coro, and Urtext labels, as soloist and continuo player on the harpsichord, organ, fortepiano, and lautenwerck. Standout recordings include the world premiere of David Funck's 1677 collection Stricturae Viola-di Gambicae, as well as appearances at the fortepiano with the Handel & Haydn Society in a disc of Haydn's orchestral works, and as harpsichord soloist in Manuel de Falla's Retablo del Maese Pedro with Unitas Ensemble.

A champion of early opera, he has led productions of rarely-performed works acclaimed as “refined and flexible,” (Boston Globe) “fearless,” (Voce di Meche) and “a remarkable musical experience” (OperaWire). He is in demand as a guest conductor, appearing with MIRYAM ensemble, Dorian Baroque, Sunshine City Opera, the Cantanti Project, Ensemble Musica Humana, and others.

Dylan directs Polyphemus, an early music collective and concert series in lower Manhattan, and is Director of Music at the New Dorp Moravian Church. He can be heard performing with the Handel & Haydn Society, Emmanuel Music, Lorelei Ensemble, Dorian Baroque, The Weckmann Project, Ensemble Musica Humana, Ensemble ad Libitum and many others. He lives in New York City and holds a Bachelor of Music degree in early keyboard performance from McGill University and a Master of Music degree from Boston University.

What's the music?

Polyphemus Solo harpsichord

Attendees

+1

Stan S.

+1

Dennis

Dee

Nicole G.

Meredith G.

Wendy M.

Johanna S.

Chris B.

Jeffrey A.

Sylvia V.

Marghretta M.

Amy R.

Daniel Alejandro E.

+1

Donna B.

Annette L.

David S.

Peter C.

Jennifer M.

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Kate G.