Tuesday, April 2, 2019

A Love Affair

As anyone who has followed this  blog for a while will be aware, I have been conducting a one-sided love affair with Jane Glover. She is simply the best conductor I have ever seen; and I have worked with some of the best.

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In my student days in New York City I sang under the likes of Robert Shaw, Dmitri Metropolis, and Leopold Stokowski. I studied conducting under Elaine Brown and Margaret Hillis. I saw the major conductors that appeared in the New York Concert halls.

Jane Glover beats them all.

Last night at the Harris Theatre we saw her conduct  Music of the Baroque in a sensational concert of music by Bach and Haydn. The program included Symphony No. 59 in A Major (Fire) and Symphony No. 22 in E Flat Major (the Philosopher) by Haydn and Orchestral Suite No. 2 in B Minor and the 'Coffee Cantata' by Bach.

The excellent flute soloist was Mary Stolper and the singers were Joelle Harvey, soprano, Josh Lovell, tenor, and Neal Davies, baritone. The singers were all very good and had fun with the cantata.

Ms. Glover doesn't simply conduct the music, she is the music! You can see it emerge from her hands and body and go directly into the performers and out to the fortunate audience.