Musicians of the Old Post Road "Rustic Classical"

Suzanne Stumpf, Classical flute; Sarah Darling, violin and viola; Jesse Irons, violin;  Marcia Cassidy, viola; Daniel Ryan, cello

Musicians of the Old Post Road is a chamber ensemble, based in the Boston area, that specializes in the period instrument performances of dynamic and diverse music from the Baroque to early Romantic eras. Its repertoire includes compelling "rediscovered" works that have been lost to audiences for centuries. Audiences and critics agree that Old Post Road's approach to historical performance is fresh and engaging. In both 2023 and 1998, the group was honored as the recipient of the Noah Greenberg Award from the American Musicological Society. The ensemble has toured North America and Europe and has eight CD recordings to its credit.

Old Post Road presents a subscription series of concerts in the Boston area and at historic sites along the Old Post Road to Worcester. As their presenters describe it, "The experience will transport you back in time as you sit in the pews of a beautiful old church full of local history with bold, graceful and spritely music filling the intimate venue. The program that lies in your lap details the rich history of the music you are listening to. In front of you, the ensemble charms on a variety of period instruments. - from the MOPR website

This concert, entitled "Rustic Classical," will explore boisterous chamber works from the Classical era with a Bohemian theme, including an arrangement for flute and strings of Mozart's Rondo 'alla Turca' from his Piano Sonata in A Major. Other selections also folkloric and dance melodies originating in Eastern Europe (Hungary and what is today the Czech Republic.) Additional notes by the ensemble's directors will be published in the concert program. A free reception with the artists will follow the performance, which will have no intermission.

The Program:

Quintet in D Major for flute and strings, op. 5 no. 1 by  Andreas Lidl (c. 1740 - c. 1789)

Nottorno in E Flat Major for two violas and cello, op. 19 by Johann Evangelist Brandl (c. 1739 - after 1767)

Quartet in G Major for flute and strings, op. 11 no. 2 by  Adalbert Gyrowetz (1763 - 1850)

Hungarian Dance no. 6 (from Ungarische Tänze, Vienna, c. 1800); Anonymous Hungarian Dance(from 6 originale Ungarische Tänze

Carl Dreigh Hungarian Dances no. 1, 2, and 5 (from Ungarishe Tänze, Vienna, c. 1800); Anonymous Kézfogó (Hand in Hand); Márk Rózsavölgyi (1789? - 1848)

Rondo "alla Turca," K. 300i, by W.A. Mozart, arranged by F.A. Hoffmeister

Described as "one of the discoveries" of the 2001 Early Music Festival in Regensburg, Germany, the Old Post Road ensemble has toured throughout the U.S., Germany, Austria and Mexico. US appearances include the Boston Early Music Festival Concert Series, the Castle Hill Festival, the Artists Series at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia, the Indianapolis Early Music Festival, and the Connecticut Early Music Festival. International appearances include performances at the Museo Nacional de Arte and Centro Nacional de las Artes in Mexico City, Mexico, Tage Alter Musik in Regensburg, Germany, and El Museo Regional in Cuauhnáhuac, Mexico.

In tandem with its formal concerts, Old Post Road is dedicated to improving community access to historical performance. The ensemble frequents schools in inner-city Boston to provide students with the opportunity to see and hear period instrument and to learn about early music. The ensemble is available for master classes, workshops and historical performance, lecture-demonstrations, and educational performances for children.