August 5 – 9 2026
BACH Partita in E Major for Solo Violin
BACH Sonata in E Minor for Flute & Basso continuo
BACH Suite in C Major for Solo Violoncello
BACH Sonata C Minor for Violin & Harpsichord
Toma Iliev & Elizabeth Blumenstock, violin
Bethanne Walker, flute
Gabriel Benton & Corey Jamason, harpsichord
Gretchen Claassen, cello
This all-Bach program opens American Bach’s 2026 San Francisco Bach Festival. Among the most highly valued works in Western art music are Bach’s compositions for solo violin and solo cello. They are considered masterpieces of counterpoint, form, and expressive depth, and require extreme subtleties in performance. This intimate concert presents Toma Iliev in the Violin Partita in E Major, music popularized by Wendy Carlos’s groundbreaking album, “Switched-On Bach.” Gretchen Claassen will perform the Suite for Solo Cello in C Major, and two dynamic duos — Bethanne Walker & Gabriel Benton and Elizabeth Blumenstock & Corey Jamason — will present chamber sonatas for violin, flute, and harpsichord, representing Bach at his best.
Bethanne Walker
flute
Toma Iliev
violin
Gretchen Claassen
cello
HATFIELD Roman Trio in A Minor
PURCELL Sonata in Four Parts “The Golden Sonata”
CANZANO Trio Sonata IX in C Major
TARTINI Violin Sonata in G Minor “Didone abbandonata”
BACH Trio Sonata from “The Musical Offering”
Eliana Estrada & Yue Qian, violin
Ian Kitchen, cello
Gabriel Benton & Corey Jamason, harpsichord
Tatiana Chulochnikova & Toma Iliev, violin
Joseph Howe & Gretchen Claassen, cello
Baroque music is alive and well! So much so that living composers are not only writing in the style of Bach, but they are doing so with consummate mastery. We present two 21st-century compositions that you’ll think were composed by Bach himself and his most accomplished colleagues. The true highlight of the program is the quintessential Trio Sonata from Bach’s “Musical Offering,” based on a musical theme given to him by Frederick the Great. The music is a rhapsodic conflation of both the cerebral and elegant aspects of Bach’s genius. Bravura works by Purcell and Tartini fill out the concert. This concert features the first appearances of our 2026 Drake Fellows. You don’t want to miss this!
Eliana Estrada
violin
Yue Qian
violin
Ian Kitchen
cello
BALTZAR “John, come kiss me now” from The Division Violin
TELEMANN Concerto “Polonois”
LULLY Trios pour le coucher du Roi
VIVALDI Trio Sonata Op. 1, No. 12 “La Follia”
BACH Mer hahn en neue Oberkeet (“Peasant Cantata”)
Elizabeth Blumenstock, violin
Toma Iliev & Tatiana Chulochnikova, violin
Joseph Howe, cello
Gabriel Benton & Corey Jamason, harpsichord
Nola Richardson, soprano
Mischa Bouvier, baritone
Jeffrey Thomas, conductor
We’ll take you on a musical journey through Europe, featuring the diverse flavors of Baroque works from England, Germany, Poland, France, Italy, and Spain. Bach’s “Peasant Cantata,” called a “Cantata Burlesque” by Bach himself, features a humorous dialogue between a farmer and his wife as they offer flattering praise to their new Chamberlain, while taking stabs at the local tax collector’s antics, all the while utilizing popular dance forms and folk tunes, making it charmingly accessible and thoroughly entertaining. Bach’s “Peasant Cantata” remains a delightful example of his ability to blend humor with musical artistry. And it will be performed in English by Nola Richardson and Mischa Bouvier!
Joseph Howe
cello
Mischa Bouvier
baritone
Gabriel Benton
harpsichord
BACH Violin Concerto in E Major
BACH Harpsichord Concerto in A Major
VIVALDI Violin Concerto in D Major, "L'Inquietudine”
TELEMANN Flute Concerto in D Major
BACH Concerto in C Minor for Oboe & Violin
VIVALDI Concerto in D Minor for Two Violins & Violoncello
Elizabeth Blumenstock, violin
Toma Iliev & Tatiana Chulochnikova, violin
Corey Jamason & Gabriel Benton, harpsichord
Bethanne Walker, flute
Stephen Bard, oboe
Eliana Estrada & Yue Qian, violin
Ian Kitchen, cello
“Scintillations” is a program full of sparkles of light as our amazing musicians perform dazzling concertos from the Baroque. Bach’s popular Violin Concerto in E Major is paired with an exuberant Concerto for Harpsichord. We’ve added in Vivaldi’s vivacious showcase for violin named “Inquietude” (“restlessness”), which challenges the soloist with an almost never-ending perpetuum mobile of rapid execution. Bach’s audience-favorite Concerto for Oboe and Violin brings a colorful sonority to the evening. And Vivaldi’s Concerto for Two Violins and Cello will feature our 2026 Drake Fellows in the program’s closing tour-de-force.
Tatiana Chulochnikova
violin
Corey Jamason
harpsichord
Elizabeth Blumenstock
violin
TELEMANN Concerto in A Major for 4 Violins
BACH Ouverture No. 3 in D Major (Orchestral Suite)
HANDEL Ode for St. Cecilia's Day
Toma Iliev & Tatiana Chulochnikova, violin
Eliana Estrada & Yue Qian, violin
Nola Richardson, soprano
Steven Soph, tenor
American Bach Cantorei
Jeffrey Thomas, conductor
Named after the opening lyrics of Handel’s ravishingly beautiful Ode for St. Cecilia's Day, the composer collaborated with England’s first named Poet Laureate, John Dryden. A tribute to the power of harmony and instruments, a sequence of arias sung by Nola Richardson and Steven Soph will entrance you. Handel’s exquisite music and Dryen’s unmatched poetry extol the magical beauty of instruments, including violins, flutes, trumpets, and organ, as their sounds reach into the heavens. Also on the program, a quartet of violinists will open the concert with a testament to collegial musical partnership. And a rare presentation of Bach’s third Orchestral Suite (with the famous “Air on the G String”) will be performed using its rarely heard original orchestration, making the lovely and lilting dances come to life with buoyant lightness.
Nola Richardson
soprano
Steven Soph
tenor
Jeffrey Thomas
conductor
Tickets start at $25 including fees.
Purchase three events • Get a 10% discount
Purchase four events • Get a 15% discount
Purchase all five events • Get a 20% discount
Mix or match seating locations and prices.
Tickets must be purchased together at the same time.
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ALL PERFORMANCES ARE APPROXIMATELY TWO HOURS IN LENGTH.
182 Howard Street, #536
San Francisco, CA 94105
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