The Grammy Award-winning Oregon Bach Festival announces a commemorative Radio Festival, featuring a lineup of historic recordings from some of the world’s top classical musicians, and the rare opportunity for audiences to enjoy previously archived LIVE and studio recordings throughout the past five decades.

Hosted by Peter van de Graaff, the Radio Festival will be broadcast live on KWAX-FM from June 26 – July 10, 2020. Best known as the host of the Beethoven Satellite Network (BSN) overnight classical music service, which is carried on over approximately 150 radio stations across the USA, Peter van de Graaff is a celebrated radio personality and will be giving spoken introductions to each broadcast.

• June 26 - J. S. Bach: St. Matthew Passion (2000 recording)

• June 29 - Mozart: Mass In C minor (1979), J. S. Bach: Cantata 202 (1979), Handel: The Messiah (1997)

• June 30 - Verdi: Messa da requiem (2014), C. P. E. Bach: Selections from Magnificat (2014), Ralph M. Johnson: This House of Peace (2008, OBF Commission)

• July 1 - Claudio Monteverdi: Vespro della Beata Vergine (2014), J. S. Bach:  Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied, BWV 225 (2013)

• July 2 - Mendelssohn: Midsummer Night’s Dream (1993), Schubert: Mass in A-flat Major (1996)

• July 3 - J. S. Bach: St. John Passion with James Taylor and Thomas Quasthoff (1995)

• July 6 - J. S. Bach: Brandenburg Concertos (1994), Concerto in C Major for Two Harpsichords (1999)

• July 7 - J. S. Bach: Magnificat (2016), Macmillan: A European Requiem (world premiere 2016) and Alleluia, Beethoven: Choral Fantasy in C minor

• July 8 - Baritone Thomas Quasthoff: Recital (1998), Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Major featuring Jeffery Kahane, piano and conductor

• July 9 - Three World Premieres. Penderecki: Credo, Danielpour: Selections from The Passion of Yeshua , Sven-David Sandström: Selections from Messiah

• July 10 - J. S. Bach: Mass in B minor (2016, period instruments)

Numerous critically-acclaimed musicians are featured throughout the Radio Festival. German bass-baritone Thomas Quasthoff is especially beloved by OBF audiences. He made his festival debut in 1995, and will be featured five times in this series of OBF broadcasts. 

A favorite of Oregon Bach Festival, Tamara Wilson made her OBF debut as a last-minute replacement soloist in Verdi’s Messa da Requiem under Helmuth Rilling for the opening of OBF’s 40th Anniversary season in 2010. The June 30 Radio Festival broadcast features her role reprisal in the 2014 performance, conducted by Matthew Halls. 

C. P. E. Bach’s Magnificat features an outstanding cast of soloists with the Festival Choir and OBF Berwick Academy Orchestra, it is a broadcast not to be missed (June 30). The Berwick Academy is one of a handful of educational performance opportunities in the U.S. that exclusively features period performance for emerging professional musicians.

Other highlights include Monteverdi’s Vespers for the Blessed Virgin (July 1), Sir James MacMillan’s A European Requiem (July 7), Krzysztof Penderecki’s Credo (July 9), and performances featuring celebrated artists including Maria Jette (July 3), Jeffrey Kahane (July 6), Robert Levin (July 7), Thomas Quasthoff (July 8) and more.

This Radio Festival is broadcasted once and will not be archived for playback. For national or international listeners, tune into KWAX’s website.

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