Reviews Laud Aston Magna’s First Festival Weekend

Aston Magna Festival’s first full opening weekend has garnered stellar reviews for Bach, Telemann, Handel & Burtzos!

Following a stellar evening at TSL in Hudson, N.Y., The Millbrook Independent’s Kevin McEneany wrote, of J.S. Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 5: “The delight of the second movement was the passing around of tunes between the seven players. I was especially fond of the violin and baroque flute dialogue duet in the French mode between violinist Daniel Stepner and flutist Christopher Krueger. In the third and final movement the violin and flute appear to have become such good friends that they run parallel instead of disagreeing in conversation. And that final Celtic gigue offers such an agreeable party of genial instruments emanating sheer fun!” Read more

Spotlight reviewer Barbara Stroup captured Saturday night’s impact at Saint James Place in Great Barrington,  “Aston Magna continues to provide solid programming and excellence in performance to the summer festival season in the Berkshires,” noting, “The robust, even sounds of the [Andrew Schwartz’s] baroque bassoon…brought a smooth clear tone to the program on his instrument, complementing Julie Leven’s baroque violin which held its own. The combination was exquisite.” Read more.

The Berkshire Eagle’s Andrew Pincus wrote, with levity: “Opening the program, the “Brandenburg” performance as a whole enjoyed light, clear textures and springy rhythms, all of which handily set off the stylish solo work by Stepner and flutist Christopher Krueger. The concerto was followed by a Telemann sonata for the unlikely combination of violin, bassoon and continuo (Julie Leven, Andrew Schwartz and Sponseller). If the gangling old bassoon sometimes sounded like a lovesick moose, the piece was informed by the spirit of dance. Witty and irresistible.” Read more.