Venice Baroque Orchestra To Revive Classical Hits at Sanders

Friday in Sanders Theatre, the Venice Baroque Orchestra will attempt to recreate one of the exemplary epochs in classical music and to transport its audience to the golden age of 17th- and 18th- century classical Italian Baroque music.

Established in 1997 by Baroque conductor, musician and scholar Andrea Marcon, the Venice Baroque Orchestra has garnered international acclaim after several world tours to destinations in England, France, Japan, Greece, Germany, and, recently, New York. The musicians have collaborated in the past with the likes of composer Philip Glass, Italian violinist Giuliano Carmignola and mezzo-soprano singer Romina Basso. On Friday, the period instrument ensemble’s concert will feature a solo performance of a Baroque Italian concerto, played by Marcon on the harpsichord. The performance will also include pieces written by famed Baroque musician composer Antonio Vivaldi, a native of Venice.

Brian R. Stuart, marketing and publicity director of the Boston Early Music Festival, says, “[What distinguishes the Orchestra is] its close interaction and interplay between the full orchestra and the soloists themselves.”

The orchestra prides itself on using techniques and instruments authentic to the Italian Baroque. “We’re bringing some of the greatest artists in the world that perform some of this classical music better than anyone else,” Stuart says. “It’ll be a unique opportunity for the Boston community to hear this music from the best ensemble in the world, who are really unparalleled in terms of performance.”  Almost 4,000 miles away from Venice and over 300 hundred years after its composition, the VBO will give the music of the Italian Baroque era new life.