Handel And Haydn Society

The music of Johann Sebastian Bach is nearly as crucial to Christmas as Santa Claus, Salvation Army bell ringers, and eggnog. So it’s no surprise that Boston audiences have been hearing a lot of Bach lately. The venerable Handel and Haydn Society added to the abundance on Thursday evening in Jordan Hall with “A Bach Christmas,’’ an enjoyable fruit basket of seasonal (and not-so-seasonal) selections by the master and some of his contemporaries conducted by John Finney, the associate conductor and chorus master.

HANDEL AND HAYDN SOCIETY Harry Christophers leads the Handel and Haydn Society and guest vocal soloists in one of Bach's most revered works, the "St. Matthew Passion. " 3 p.m., April 1, Symphony Hall. 617-266-3605, www.handelandhaydn.org ST. LAWRENCE STRING QUARTET This formidable ensemble comes to Rockport's Shalin Liu Performance Center with music by Beethoven and Dvorak alongside a new work by Osvaldo Golijov. 3 p.m., April 1. www.afarcry.org, rockportmusic.org Jeremy Eichler

To draw attention to its upcoming bicentennial season, the Handel and Haydn Society has been returning to landmark works it introduced in this country, including Bach's "St. Matthew Passion. " That was in 1871, at a time when Baroque music was often performed with a sense of Romantic grandeur: the chorus for the occasion numbered no less than 700 people. Last night in Symphony Hall, H&H once more performed the "St. Matthew Passion," gesturing towards its history while presumably sounding nothing like the days of old. For the occasion artistic director...

To draw attention to its upcoming bicentennial season, the Handel and Haydn Society has been returning to landmark works it introduced in this country, including Bach's "St. Matthew Passion. " That was in 1871, at a time when Baroque music was often performed with a sense of Romantic grandeur: the chorus for the occasion numbered no less than 700 people. Last night in Symphony Hall, H&H once more performed the "St. Matthew Passion," gesturing towards its history while presumably sounding nothing like the days of old. For the occasion artistic director...

HANDEL AND HAYDN SOCIETY Harry Christophers leads the Handel and Haydn Society and guest vocal soloists in one of Bach's most revered works, the "St. Matthew Passion. " 3 p.m., April 1, Symphony Hall. 617-266-3605, www.handelandhaydn.org ST. LAWRENCE STRING QUARTET This formidable ensemble comes to Rockport's Shalin Liu Performance Center with music by Beethoven and Dvorak alongside a new work by Osvaldo Golijov. 3 p.m., April 1. www.afarcry.org, rockportmusic.org Jeremy Eichler

More than 300 guests recently attended the Society Ball for the Handel and Haydn Society 2012 Gala Benefit and Auction. The event was held at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel. They raised more than $100,000. For all of Bill Brett's latest party photos, see the gallery on boston.com.

The Handel and Haydn Society launches its season with Monteverdi's masterpiece, "Orfeo," staged by the Chinese director Chen Shi-Zheng. Grant Llewellyn conducts. Tonight, tomorrow, and Sunday at the Shubert Theatre. . . . Music at Eden's Edge concludes its summer series with the violinist Eric Rosenblith leading an ensemble in two blockbusters of the chamber music repertoire, Brahms's G-Major String Sextet and Schoenberg's "Verklärte Nacht," tonight at New England Biolabs in Ipswich and tomorrow at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Greater Lynn in Swampscott.

With Harry Christophers recently installed as artistic director, the Handel and Haydn Society will be broadening its circle of guest conductors. Christophers himself leads only three programs this season but he had clear opinions about who should be guiding the orchestra in his absence. For the season opener, he tapped Jean-Christophe Spinosi, a young rising star of the early music movement. For Thursday’s concert in Jordan Hall, Handel and Haydn turned to a veteran early music performer, the Dutch cellist and conductor Jaap ter Linden.

Nov. 25 Boston Ballet's "The Nutcracker" at the Boston Opera House. www.bostonballet.org Dec. 2 Radio City Christmas Spectacular (at right) opens at Citi Performing Arts Center Wang Theatre. www.citicenter.org/radiocity Dec. 4 Vienna Boys Choir at Jordan Hall. www.celebrityseries.org Dec. 5 The Canadian Tenors at the Wilbur Theatre. www.thewilbur.com Dec. 6 "La Cage Aux Folles" opens at Citi Performing Arts Center Shubert Theatre. www.broadwayinboston.com Tori Amos at Orpheum Theatre.

FEB. 9 Nora Theatre Company's "Photograph 51" opens at Central Square Theater in Cambridge. www.centralsquaretheater.org FEB. 11 "The Mind's Eye: 50 Years of Photography by Jerry Uelsmann" opens at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem. www.pem.org Emmanuel Music's "Connected by Bach" at Emmanuel Church. www.emmanuelmusic.org FEB. 12 Howie Mandel (pictured) at the Wilbur Theatre. www.thewilbur.com Boston Baroque's "Mystery Sonatas" at First Church in Cambridge.

More than 300 guests recently attended the Society Ball for the Handel and Haydn Society 2012 Gala Benefit and Auction. The event was held at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel. They raised more than $100,000. For all of Bill Brett's latest party photos, see the gallery on boston.com.

What's in a name? Haydn's Symphony No. 48 is called "Maria Theresia," on the assumption that it was composed in honor of a visit the Holy Roman Empress paid to the Eszterházy palace, though Haydn probably wrote his piece earlier, in 1769. Beethoven's Symphony No. 3 was to have been dedicated to Napoleon, but when he gave himself the title of emperor, Beethoven changed the name of the work from "Bonaparte" to "Eroica. " These symphonies joined Beethoven's "Egmont" overture on the program the Handel and Haydn Society presented at Symphony Hall last night under Canadian guest...

FEB. 9 Nora Theatre Company's "Photograph 51" opens at Central Square Theater in Cambridge. www.centralsquaretheater.org FEB. 11 "The Mind's Eye: 50 Years of Photography by Jerry Uelsmann" opens at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem. www.pem.org Emmanuel Music's "Connected by Bach" at Emmanuel Church. www.emmanuelmusic.org FEB. 12 Howie Mandel (pictured) at the Wilbur Theatre. www.thewilbur.com Boston Baroque's "Mystery Sonatas" at First Church in Cambridge.

WHO  Aisslinn Nosky  WHAT  The new concertmaster of the Handel and Haydn Society has led a colorful life. And that's not a pun about her anime-red hair. Nosky, who was appointed to her new position late last year by the 197-year-old chamber and choral music organization, has performed across the globe in two dozen countries. As she prepared for her solo debut in Boston - at performances of Vivaldi's "The Four Seasons" Friday and Jan. 22 - the British Columbia native took a few moments to give a better understanding of the person behind the instrument, the bow . . . and the hair.  ...

Nov. 25 Boston Ballet's "The Nutcracker" at the Boston Opera House. www.bostonballet.org Dec. 2 Radio City Christmas Spectacular (at right) opens at Citi Performing Arts Center Wang Theatre. www.citicenter.org/radiocity Dec. 4 Vienna Boys Choir at Jordan Hall. www.celebrityseries.org Dec. 5 The Canadian Tenors at the Wilbur Theatre. www.thewilbur.com Dec. 6 "La Cage Aux Folles" opens at Citi Performing Arts Center Shubert Theatre. www.broadwayinboston.com Tori Amos at Orpheum Theatre.

The music of Johann Sebastian Bach is nearly as crucial to Christmas as Santa Claus, Salvation Army bell ringers, and eggnog. So it’s no surprise that Boston audiences have been hearing a lot of Bach lately. The venerable Handel and Haydn Society added to the abundance on Thursday evening in Jordan Hall with “A Bach Christmas,’’ an enjoyable fruit basket of seasonal (and not-so-seasonal) selections by the master and some of his contemporaries conducted by John Finney, the associate conductor and chorus master.

Orfeo Opera by Monteverdi, co-production of the Handel and Haydn Society and the English National OperaAt: Shubert Theatre, yesterday afternoon On Feb. 24 , 1607, in the ducal palace of Mantua, modern opera came into the world. Yes, there were other contenders before the premiere of Monteverdi's "Orfeo," but this brilliant re telling of the Orpheus myth had a dramatic sweep and an expressive grandeur that were completely new. Even today, when treated right, the music still crackles with freshness -- some 400 years later.

With Harry Christophers recently installed as artistic director, the Handel and Haydn Society will be broadening its circle of guest conductors. Christophers himself leads only three programs this season but he had clear opinions about who should be guiding the orchestra in his absence. For the season opener, he tapped Jean-Christophe Spinosi, a young rising star of the early music movement. For Thursday’s concert in Jordan Hall, Handel and Haydn turned to a veteran early music performer, the Dutch cellist and conductor Jaap ter Linden.