[applause]

Annie Bergen: Live from the Naumburg Bandshell in Central Park, I'm Annie Bergen, host on WQXR. Pleased to welcome you to another Naumburg Orchestral Concert. Thrilled to see such a large crowd come out on this beautiful summer night for a great program of music. We're broadcasting live tonight a performance from a group formed by Baroque violinist Aisslinn Nosky. She's brought her Baroque band here to the stage, and she's pretty much a regular here at the Naumburg Bandshell Concerts. This is her band's third year in a row with us here in Central Park. [applause]

Annie Bergen: You may have also seen her as concert master for the Handel and Haydn Society. We're going to have a little chat right now. Welcome, Aisslinn Nosky.

Aisslinn Nosky: Thank you so much.

Annie Bergen: Tell us about your Baroque band. How'd you bring this group of musicians together?

Aisslinn Nosky: Well, I just took my best friends, and I won't leave them alone until they say yes, they'll come and play a concert with me.

Annie Bergen: Third year in a row. You're a regular. What keeps bringing you back to Central Park?

Aisslinn Nosky: Well, the weather. Actually, really, it's the audience and the atmosphere. We love playing. Anytime we can get together and make music is really special, but there's nothing at all in the world like playing here in Central Park.

[applause]

Annie Bergen: We've got a great program tonight, beginning with, actually two pieces by Handel. Can you tell us a little bit about them?

Aisslinn Nosky: The first piece is a concerto grosso, which means big concerto, concerto for everyone. You'll see that everybody on the stage steps forward at some point with something fun and exciting. It's a big, grand work. Then we follow it up with a sonata in five parts by Handel, which is-- It's called that because it's five equal parts of interest spread throughout the orchestra. It's a very lyrical and, I find, very beautiful piece and not that often performed.

Annie Bergen: All right. Looking forward to hearing both of those works and more. Aisslinn Nosky's Baroque band live from the Naumburg Bandshell in Central Park.

[applause]

[MUSIC - Aisslinn Nosky's Baroque Band: George Frideric Handel (1685-1759 ), Concerto Grosso in D major, Op. 6, No. 5, HWV 323, (1739)] 1. Allegro.

[applause]

[MUSIC - Aisslinn Nosky's Baroque Band: George Frideric Handel (1685-1759 ), Concerto Grosso in D major, Op. 6, No. 5, HWV 323, (1739)] 2. Presto.

[applause]

[MUSIC - Aisslinn Nosky's Baroque Band: George Frideric Handel (1685-1759 ), Concerto Grosso in D major, Op. 6, No. 5, HWV 323, (1739)] 3. Largo.

[MUSIC - Aisslinn Nosky's Baroque Band: George Frideric Handel (1685-1759 ), Concerto Grosso in D major, Op. 6, No. 5, HWV 323, (1739)] 4. Allegro.

[applause]

[MUSIC - Aisslinn Nosky's Baroque Band: George Frideric Handel (1685-1759 ), Concerto Grosso in D major, Op. 6, No. 5, HWV 323, (1739)] 5. Minuet.

[applause]

Annie Bergen: Live from the Nomberg Bandshell in Central Park, Aisslinn Nosky's Baroque Band with Handel's Concerto Grosso in D major. The piece comes from his collection of 12 grand concertos, which he wrote in the fall of 1739 in just 5 weeks. Think about that. That's an average of one concerto every two to three days. Sounds impossible, but it's easy to do when you reuse material, which is what Handel did, taking movements from other works for this piece. That all came together beautifully performed by Aisslinn Nosky's Baroque Band.

I'm Annie Bergin. We're broadcasting live on WQXR from the Naumburg Bandshell in Central Park. You couldn't ask for a more perfect night. The weather is just gorgeous. Low humidity and it is an incredibly large crowd. Handel again, his sonata for 5 parts in B flat major, a work he wrote when he was just 22 years old.

[MUSIC - Aisslinn Nosky's Baroque Band: George Frideric Handel (1685-1759), Sonata a 5 in B flat major, HWV 288, (1707)] 1. Andante.

[applause]

[MUSIC - Aisslinn Nosky's Baroque Band: George Frideric Handel (1685-1759), Sonata a 5 in B flat major, HWV 288, (1707)] 2. Adagio.

[applause]

[MUSIC - Aisslinn Nosky's Baroque Band: George Frideric Handel (1685-1759), Sonata a 5 in B flat major, HWV 288, (1707)] 3. Allegro.

[applause]

Annie Bergen: That was Handel, Sonata in five parts in B flat, performed by Aisslinn Nosky's Baroque Band live as part of the Naumburg Orchestral Concerts here in Central park on WQXR. I'm Annie Bergen. This is listener-supported classical New York 105.9 FM and HD Newark and 90.3 FM WQXW, Ossining. A great night for Baroque music here in Central Park. The next piece from the band is by Joseph Haydn, Concerto for Organ and Violin in F major, a piece he composed when he was appointed Music Director at the Esterházy Court, a position he would stay in for the rest of his life. It's easy to imagine Haydn writing this to celebrate his exciting new position, and that was in 1766.

Still to come on the program, we'll have music by Vivaldi and also more from Haydn in the second half of the show.

[MUSIC - Aisslinn Nosky's Baroque Band: Joseph Haydn (1732-1809), Concerto for Organ and Violin in F major, Hob. XVIII:6, (1766)] 1. Allegro moderato.

[applause]

[MUSIC - Aisslinn Nosky's Baroque Band: Joseph Haydn (1732-1809), Concerto for Organ and Violin in F major, Hob. XVIII:6, (1766)] 2. Largo.

[applause]

[MUSIC - Aisslinn Nosky's Baroque Band: Joseph Haydn (1732-1809), Concerto for Organ and Violin in F major, Hob. XVIII:6, (1766)] 3. Presto.

[applause]

Annie Bergen: You just hear Joseph Haydn's Concerto for Organ and Violin in F major performed by Aisslinn Nosky's Baroque Band, featuring organist Ian Watson. The band taking a bow now live from the Naumburg Bandshell, part of the Naumburg Orchestral Concerts in Central Park, and we're live on WQXR. You can hear the tremendous applause. This place is packed. Everyone's come to enjoy the music and brought their friends and family and some having their picnic dinners and refreshments. What a glorious night.

I'm Annie Bergen. It is intermission. Coming up in the second half of the concert, we've got music by Vivaldi followed by some more Haydn. There is one more concert in this series at the Naumburg Bandshell coming up. It's by the group called ECCO, the East Coast Coast Chamber Orchestra. They're going to be here on Tuesday evening, August 5th, with music by Bach, Gershwin, David Ludwig, Jennifer Higdon and John Adams. I believe Terrance McKnight is your host for that on August 5th.

We're awaiting Aisslinn Nosky to come over to the WQXR bench here. The Naumburg Bandshell is one of New York City's great cultural icons. It has entertained generations of New Yorkers with an incredible variety of performances, Duke Ellington, Irving Berlin, even the Grateful Dead have all performed on the stage. Martin Luther King once stood there and John Lennon was eulogized also on the stage. Aisslinn Nosky is here. Our fearless leader of Nosky's Baroque Band has joined me here at the WQXR bench. Welcome, Aisslinn.

Aisslinn Nosky: Thank you so much for having me.

Annie Bergen: How'd that go?

Aisslinn Nosky: Oh, it was really fun. Good start, I think.

Annie Bergen: Absolutely. Could there be more glorious night?

Aisslinn Nosky: Oh, I couldn't have wished for more. This is from a picture book story about New York. It's beautiful.

Annie Bergen: Low humidity, so the instruments are faring well?

Aisslinn Nosky: Yes. Somewhat stable. Makes it nice.

Annie Bergen: All right. In the program notes, you track the relationship of the featured composers to the key keyboard, Handel and Haydn with direct performances from the keyboard, and Vivaldi featured it in many works. What role did that play in your planning the program tonight?

Aisslinn Nosky: Well, I think it was a pretty significant one because our resident harpsichord and organist, Ian Watson, is really a master of the keyboard, a different kind of keyboard, and so I really wanted to feature his talents in different pieces. It was natural. Actually, I didn't know the concerto we just played until Ian suggested it to me.

Annie Bergen: Really?

Aisslinn Nosky: Haydn is one of my absolute favorite composers, so it was amazing at the age of 47 years old to find a new friend among my Haydn collection. I can't believe I waited this long.

Annie Bergen: It's beautiful.

Aisslinn Nosky: Yes, it really is.

Annie Bergen: Great performance.

Aisslinn Nosky: Thank you.

Annie Bergen: We started with Handel, two pieces, both written at different times in his life, one, he was older, in his 50s, and the second one was when he was a young man at 22. Can you hear the difference in his age in the pieces?

Aisslinn Nosky: Yes. I certainly can. I imagine, whether I'm correct or not, that I hear maybe a different mood, that there's a lushness and a youthful energy in that one that he wrote when he was younger. He wrote it in Rome. I find it interesting to think that he might have written it for Corelli, the great violinist Arcangelo Corelli, to play. [unintelligible 00:51:33] Handel himself also played violin very well, especially when he was younger, but he was working in the same circles with Corelli and Rome, and we know they met. It's nice to have these wonderings if they-- how much they connected.

Annie Bergen: This is the third year in a row that you've come to perform at the Naumburg Bandshell. Are there any takeaways from previous years that you are putting into action this year?

Aisslinn Nosky: Oh, well, I think actually no. Every time I come, we try to feature different aspects of Baroque music, but one thing, one thread that came continues is really the warmth of reception, and the quality of listening that the audience gives us is really remarkable. We're outside in one of the busiest parks, literally in the world, and you can almost hear a pin drop a lot of the time. It's very moving to have that kind of communication from your audience.

Annie Bergen: Really?

Aisslinn Nosky: Yes.

Annie Bergen: It's amazing. We've mentioned that you've performed with other ensembles, including the Handel and Haydn Society. What does having your own band offer you the chance to do that those other ensembles don't?

Aisslinn Nosky: In this instance, I love working with all the different groups that I play with. The Handel and Haydn Society has one of its many features as a fantastic chorus. We do a lot of choral repertoire there, and of course, in my band we just have players rather than singers. In my own group, I'll have almost exclusive control over repertoire planning, which is nice. Having said that, I do take suggestions because my friends are so brilliant, so I'm also flexible in that regard.

It's really that I think I'm spoiled like a kid in a candy shop. If some piece really catches my imagination, I then plan a program around it, and I'm very fortunate to have the friends who will make themselves available to help me with that. It's really fun.

Annie Bergen: What drew you to the Baroque period and the Baroque violinist from the beginning?

Aisslinn Nosky: I was studying to be a modern violinist in Toronto, up in Canada, and I started to hang out with a group called Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra more and more, and I became really inspired by what they were doing. I would go to all their concerts. They were a bit of a gateway. They led me into finding out more about historical performance. I studied with almost every member of the group until I actually ended up joining the orchestra, and I was a member of the orchestra in Toronto for 10 years. It was really just initiation, I think. I noticed how much fun they were having and I wanted to figure out how I could do that too, so I'm incredibly fortunate to have had that chance.

Annie Bergen: You certainly bring a lot of fun to your performances. One thing you share with one of the composers we're going to hear, and that's Vivaldi, is your red hair. He's been known as the Red Priest because of his bright red hair. Do you have a special affinity for Vivaldi?

Aisslinn Nosky: Well, I have an affinity for Vivaldi in the way that most Baroque violinists do, in that he wrote some of the most fun to play music on the violin of any era by any composer. We will always be enormously indebted to him. I always joke with students saying a lot of times when you play Vivaldi, it sounds a lot harder than it is because he knows how to impress. He makes you look good, not only sound, but you look-- You can really get into it. There's always a sense of fun. There's a sense of deep feelings. We'll be playing the different contrasting moods our audience will hear in the next piece we play.

I do love the music of Vivaldi. I find it endlessly fascinating, which I think a lot of people might criticize him for writing similar-styled concertos over and over again, but I don't see it that way. I see that there's limitless opportunity for creativity within these templates that he uses.

Annie Bergen: We're going to hear Vivaldi in the second half. What else?

Aisslinn Nosky: Vivaldi, and then the final piece is Haydn's G major Violin Concerto.

Annie Bergen: Okay. Aisslinn Nosky, thanks so much for stopping by to talk to us, and we're looking forward to the second half of the concert.

Aisslinn Nosky: Thank you.

Annie Bergen: Coming up, we are going to hear Vivaldi and Haydn with Nosky's Baroque Band, but before we get there, we have a bit more time in this intermission. I mentioned earlier, the next concert in the series features ECCO, the East Coast Chamber Orchestra, coming up Tuesday, August 5th, right here in Central Park. Let's get a little preview. ECCO was last at the Naumburg Bandshell two years ago. From that concert, here is Josef Suk's Serenade for Strings.

[MUSIC - ECCO: Josef Suk, Serenade for Strings]

Annie Bergen: Welcome now to the second half of tonight's concert by Aisslinn Nosky's Baroque Band.

[applause]

Annie Bergen: I'm Annie Bergen, and we're broadcasting this concert live on WQXR. If you're listening on the radio, we just played a bit of a recording made by ECCO, the East Coast Chamber Orchestra with Josef Suk's Serenade for Strings. You can hear more from ECCO in the next concert of the Naumburg Orchestral series right here in Central Park on Tuesday night, August 5th at 7:30pm. The night is still young, and we have so much more great music from Aisslinn Nosky's Baroque band. Joining me now for the second half to tell us more about it is keyboardist Ian Watson. Ian, welcome. Just--

[applause]

[cheering]

Annie Bergen: You deserve it. Just before intermission, we heard you perform as soloist in that Haydn concerto for organ and violin, and you were fantastic.

Ian Watson: [unintelligible 01:06:10]

Annie Bergen: Right? Right, folks?

[applause]

Annie Bergen: What do you like about that piece?

Ian Watson: What do I like about the piece? Well, it's a very unusual piece. I don't think Haydn wrote very much music for organ at all. In fact, I think this piece is for keyboard and violin, which means it could be a harpsichord, it could be a fortepiano, it could be pretty much anything. We're using an organ tonight. I think it works beautifully on it. I think the sound here is extraordinary. I played a Handel organ concerto a couple of years ago here. I think it was the first time an organ was ever used. I think people are looking at this thing in the middle thinking it's a cocktail cabinet,-

[laughter]

Ian Watson: - which I wish it was, but [chuckles] it's actually a very small organ. It's a real organ. It's not electric, it's got pipes, works perfectly, and I think it did a lovely job.

Annie Bergen: It's true, and we rarely do get to see an organ on stage here at the Naumburg Bandshell. You do play many other keyboard instruments, so how do you approach this differently?

Ian Watson: I thought we agreed you're going to ask me easy questions.

[laughter]

Ian Watson: How do I approach this differently? Well, as I say, it's a unique piece, and so every piece has its own challenges. I suppose, because the sound of the organ, I mean, without the amplification, you wouldn't hear it, and I think we all agree that it works really well in this space, but you wouldn't hear it otherwise. I think maybe articulation is being clear, and clarity in touch is one of the major challenges, I would say.

I will say one other thing, actually, which I was talking to some of the players backstage, and that is we've all played in many, many halls all over the world, and honestly, especially in the slow movement of the Haydn and in other places too, you are so quiet and so attentive. Yes, I am buttering you up, but-

[laughter]

Ian Watson: - at the same time, it's true, and we really appreciate that. Thank you.

[applause]

Annie Bergen: We're about to hear Vivaldi concerto. What can you tell us about that?

Ian Watson: Okay, the next piece is a Vivaldi concerto for two violins and cello. It's not a concerto in the way we might think. This is a baroque concerto grosso, which means that the two violins and cello are pitted against the rest of the orchestra and also join with. It's a form which was perfected by or started really by Corelli and perfected by Handel and also Vivaldi too, of course. This particular one is a very dramatic piece. It's one of the staples of the baroque instrumental repertoire, and we're going to do it full justice.

Annie Bergen: All right, Ian Watson, thank you so much.

[applause]

Annie Bergen: Let's get ready to hear this Vivaldi concerto performed by Aisslinn Nosky's Baroque Band live from the Naumburg Bandshell on WQXR.

[MUSIC - Nosky's Baroque Band: Antonio Vivaldi's Concerto In D Minor, RV 565]

[applause]

[MUSIC - Nosky's Baroque Band: Antonio Vivaldi's Concerto In D Minor, RV 565]

[applause]

[cheering]

Annie Bergen: You just heard Vivaldi's Concerto in D minor live at the Naumburg Bandshell here in Central Park. That performance from Nosky's Baroque Band led by violinist Aisslinn Nosky. Coming up next, a violin concerto by Joseph Haydn. When Haydn joined the Esterházy Orchestra in 1761, the concertmaster was a violinist named Luigi Tomasini. The two men became close friends and collaborators, and this piece was likely written for Tomasini soon after Haydn's appointment as music director at Esterházy.

The sun has set. There's a gentle breeze blowing, and this fabulous performance is being enjoyed by hundreds of people who have gathered here in person and you listening at home on the air on WQXR.

[MUSIC - Nosky's Baroque Band: Joseph Haydn Violin Concerto in G major]

[applause]

[MUSIC - Nosky's Baroque Band: Joseph Haydn Violin Concerto in G major]

[applause]

[MUSIC - Nosky's Baroque Band: Joseph Haydn Violin Concerto in G major]

[applause]

[cheering]

Annie Bergen: Music by Joseph Haydn, a vibrant violin concerto performed by Aisslinn Nosky's Baroque Band. 10 musicians on stage now taking a bow. We're live on WQXR from the Naumburg Bandshell in Central Park. What a fabulous concert of baroque music. You can hear the applause from the rap audience. It has been a terrific night. The Naumburg Orchestra series is in its 120th season, the oldest continuous free outdoor concert series in the world. What a great night of music this has been. Oh, and it looks like we may be getting an encore here. Aislinn back on stage with her musicians taking another bow, the audience giving a standing ovation.

[applause]

Aisslinn Nosky: Thank you so much. This has been a really magical evening. I hope you will permit us to to leave you with one more small number.

[applause]

Aisslinn Nosky: This is academically known as a movement by Vivaldi with the title RV 273a. What you really need to know is that it's a beautiful, standalone slow movement that Vivaldi wrote on the manuscript for Chiaretta, which we know only about her that she was one of his students at the Pietà where he taught. I think he must have felt pretty strongly about this player, and that's how we feel about you. Thank you so much. We hope you enjoy.

[applause]

[MUSIC - Nosky's Baroque Band: Antonio Vivaldi's Violin Concerto, RV 273a]

[applause]

[cheering]

Annie Bergen: A beautiful encore performance. A movement of a Vivaldi violin concerto dedicated to one of his students, Chiaretta, by, once again, Aisslinn Nosky's Baroque Band. Their final piece tonight, and receiving a standing ovation from the hundreds of people who are here in Central Park at the Naumburg Bandshell. What a night of great music. I'm Annie Bergen, and I hope you enjoyed tonight's performance.

Our next concert from the Naumburg Bandshell is Tuesday, August 5th, with ECCO, the East Coast Chamber Orchestra, featuring music by Bach, Gershwin, John Adams, and others. Our great thanks to Christopher London, president of the Naumburg Orchestral Society, and Anthony Bracewell, the executive director, and the Naumburg staff, including stage manager extraordinaire Patty Dines. Also thanks to Wilson's Showtime Services and our friends at Summer Stage.

A big thanks to the WQXR team, including engineers George Wellington, Chase Culpon, Bill Siegmund, and Neal Shaw, and our production team, Laura Boyman, Lauren Purcell-Joiner, and Eileen Delahunty. Once again, I'm Annie Bergen. Thank you for listening. We return now to the studio where Miyan Levenson has a great evening of music in store for you.

[01:43:57] [END OF AUDIO]

 

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