Saturday 11th November 2023, 6.00pm

St. Michael & All Angels, Pond Road, Blackheath SE3 9JL

Erik Bosgraaf is generally considered to be one of the world’s leading recorder players, and he is definitely the most adventurous. He improvises, plays jazz, utilizes electronics and likes working with people in other areas of artistic endeavour such as cinematography (Werner Herzog, Paul and Menno de Nooijer). His repertoire extends from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons to tomorrow’s music. Bosgraaf’s recording of Jacob van Eyck’s Der Fluyten Lust-hof set a new standard and led to his international breakthrough. Many other hits followed, mainly for the Brilliant Classics label. Around 100 pieces have been composed for him, among which are 12 concertos. In 2011, Pierre Boulez gave him permission to adapt his clarinet composition Dialogue de l’ombre double for the recorder. The world premiere of this new version took place in the sold-out main auditorium of the Amsterdam Concertgebouw; the CD was recorded in 2015. Arvo Pärt allowed him to perform a concertante recorder version of Fratres, which had its world premiere in the composer’s hometown of Tallinn.

In the summer of 2023 he will make his appearance at the prestigious Boston Early Music Festival and the International Handel Festival in Göttingen, Germany. Bosgraaf is a visiting professor at the Cracow Music Academy (Poland), Amsterdam Conservatoire (Netherlands) and Tsing Hua University (Taiwan), and gives masterclasses all over the world. He received the Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award in 2009, and the Netherlands Music Prize in 2011.

erikbosgraaf.com

Founded in 2006 by Andrzej Kosendiak, the Wrocław Baroque Orchestra (WBO) is a resident ensemble of the Witold Lutosławski National Forum of Music (NFM), one of the few cultural institutions in Poland boasting its own baroque orchestra playing historical instruments.

During each NFM concert season, WBO presents its own concert series, always ardently applauded by the audience. The WBO repertoire encompasses works from early baroque to romanticism, from chamber line-ups to large oratorios. The superb cellist Jarosław Thiel has been Artistic Director of WBO since its inception.

Today, Wrocław Baroque Orchestra is counted among the most important Polish ensembles playing historical instruments. The orchestra’s output and high level of performance results in collaborations with the biggest names on the international early music scene. WBO has performed under the baton of Philippe Herreweghe, Giovanni Antonini, Andrew Parrott, Masaaki Suzuki, Ivor Bolton, Martin Haselböck, Jérémie Rhorer, Paul McCreesh, Howard Arman, Andreas Spering, Hans-Christoph Rademann, Laurence Cummings and Rubén Dubrovsky. The orchestra has also cooperated with excellent ensembles and soloists, such as Orchester Wiener Akademie, Bach Collegium Japan, Collegium Vocale Gent, Cantus Cölln, RIAS Kammerchor, Taverner Consort, Gli Angeli Genève, Julia Lezhneva, Vivica Genaux, Regula Mühlemann, Renata Pokupić, Andreas Scholl, Tim Mead, Daniel Taylor and Aleksandra Kurzak. WBO guest performs at prestigious festivals, participates in radio broadcasts and recording sessions.