Reviews...

Gainesville (FL), Sunday, July 13, 2006

"...the Winston-Salem initiative was highly satisfying…it exhibits a skillful mastering of talent and other resources that offer much hope for the future."

Classical Voice of North Carolina, June 20, 2006

“The Magnolia Baroque Festival, an intensive week of concerts, made a welcome return June 20th….Violinist Ingrid Matthews and harpsichordist Byron Schenkman…presented two works by J.S. Bach…There was an otherworldly quality about their playing of the opening Dolce. The Allegro was bright and cheerful. The Andante, with its lovely violin melody gliding a gorgeous lute stop, was a highlight for me. Both players were astonishing as they sustained clarity despite the fast clip of the concluding presto.”

Winston-Salem Journal, June 23, 2006

“This festival has uncovered one gem after another, each played by leading musicians on period instruments… I strongly recommend going to Saturday’s “Glorious Vivaldi” concert…If you don’t expect to wait until the summer of 2008 to hear another Magnolia program again.”

Classical Voice of North Carolina, June 21, 2006

“The second concert of the Magnolia Baroque Festival, heard in Salem College's Hanes Auditorium on June 21, was exciting and satisfying from several points of view…Ensemble within and among the sections was astonishingly high, especially considering the short and intense period of rehearsals….it was a treat it was to hear UNCG fortepianist Andrew Willis play the composer's miraculous Concerto No. 21 in C, K.467. He used a restrained and delicate-sounding reproduction of a fortepiano of the period; the lovely instrument looked like it may have been modeled after those of Johann Andreas Stein. The festival orchestra held its dynamics in check so as not to cover Willis' gentle but clear notes. The fortepiano's loudest notes were more rumblings than thundering. Willis' playing was masterful – it was simple, straightforward, and eloquent without a trace of Romantic affectation.”

Classical Voice of North Carolina, June 22, 2005

What a debut! What talent! What courage! What a performance!

On Wednesday, June 22, a large and enthusiastic audience witnessed the blooming of what this writer hopes will become a major festival in the southeastern United States: the Magnolia Baroque Festival. Festivals abound in the summertime and depend upon the generosity of all the elements which compose the community as well as on the enthusiasm of the audiences they generate through the quality and appeal of what they offer. The Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts was the instigator and prime mover of this budding festival, and if Wednesday nights performance was a test of the future of the festival, a resounding "Yeah, yes-encore" is the response. Full Review

Winston-Salem Journal, Friday, June 23, 2005

"Hallelujah!" is the last number in Johann Fredrich Peter's Fourth of July celebration Psalm of Joy, as performed last night for about 300 people in Salem College's Hanes Auditorium. And the song title is a good word to describe the joy, relief and gratitude felt at the opening concert for the new Magnolia Baroque Festival.

It was a dazzling start to a musical event this community can embrace with pride. Full Review

Classical Voice of North Carolina, June 23, 2005

The first concert of the new Magnolia Baroque Festival enjoyed a gratifying good turnout but no one – neither the presenters nor I – expected a completely packed, sold-out house for the second, heard June 23 in the Old Salem Visitor Center's Gray Auditorium.

The enterprising program featured the Tannenberg organ in both solo and accompanying roles. Used to the brighter and more assertive qualities of North German style organs, I was skeptical about its use as a continuo instrument, thinking a chamber organ would be more appropriate. This organ was designed and built by David Tannenberg of Lititz, Pennsylvania, for use in Moravian services, accompanying choirs. It has a warm and mellow tone that readily meshes with a variety of instruments. It is the oldest organ in North Carolina. And it was more than fine – it was wonderful! – in its "assignments" on this occasion. Full Review

Classical Voice of North Carolina, June 24, 2005

On Friday evening, June 24, in Watson Hall on the campus of the North Carolina School of the Arts, the Magnolia Baroque Festival featured two exquisite dancers in three different settings, first a blind man's bluff, then a feisty Spanish setting, complete with castanets, and finally a pantomime based on the antics of the Commedia del Arte characters, Columbine and Harlequin. The dance was delightful and showed various aspects of baroque dance as it migrated from Italy to France and Spain. All three dance segments were choreographed to music of Vivaldi. Full Review

Classical Voice of North Carolina, June 25, 2005

The first Magnolia Baroque Festival must be counted as a total artistic success. The fruit of some fifteen months of careful planning by founders Glenn Siebert and Margaret Mertz, Executive Director of the Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts, it fielded an extraordinary array of early music talent from across the nation. It was icing on the cake that so many had NCSA connections, and this emphasized the cultural value of the vital institution.

Because each concert was on a high level and explored unusual repertory, there was a frisson among the audience and the performers in Stevens Center for the June 25 concert. Both works on the program showcased the strengths of the festival. Full Review

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