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Classical New EnglandHappy Birthday, Bach!By Benjamin K. RoeManaging Director of Classical ServicesBach opens a vista to the universe. After experiencing him, peoplefeel there is meaning to life after all.—Helmut WachaPerhaps you’ve noticed that the world of classical music is filled withmilestones: premieres, passings, debuts, and most especially, birthdayanniversaries. Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz almost single-handedlyestablished December 16 (Beethoven’s Birthday) as an unofficial holiday,with Schroeder-the-toy-piano-virtuoso as Celebrator-in-Chief. TheAmadeus effect similarly made January 27th (Mozart’s Birthday) a redletterday on the classical music calendar.And on March 21 we celebrate the birthday of the man fellowcomposer Max Reger described as “the beginning and end of all music”:Johann Sebastian Bach. Universal, to be sure, but with a very specialresonance in the Hub of the Universe.Boston, after all, is where the Handeland Haydn Society presented theAmerican premiere of the St. MatthewPassion in 1879—and where HarryChristophers and company will againpresent Bach’s monumental work laterthis month.From his perch at HarvardUniversity, Christoph Wolff is arguablythe world’s foremost scholar on themusic, life and times of Bach. TheCantata Singers were founded in 1964Portrait of Bach by Elias Gottlob Haussmanwith the express purpose of performing the neglected works of Bach.Under the musical direction of Bálint Karosi, winner of the 16thInternational Bach Competition in Leipzig, Germany, Boston’s FirstLutheran Church will present a special Bach Birthday program onMarch 24 with the Boston chapter of the American Guild of Organists.And, lest we forget, presenting—and broadcasting!—the cantatasof Johann Sebastian Bach has been a Boston tradition for more than40 years, thanks to the pioneering efforts of the late conductor CraigSmith, who founded the Emmanuel Music ensemble to perform thecomplete cycle of Bach’s 200-plus cantatas in the liturgical setting andcalendar for which they were written. And at virtually the same timeWGBH launched a Sunday morning tradition of broadcasting Bachcantatas on Morning pro musica.In 2012, both traditions are going strong. Now under the dynamicleadership of Ryan Turner, Emmanuel Music has begun its third Bachcantatacycle, the core of an ambitious music series that ranges frombaroque to contemporary in large and small ensembles throughoutthe week.And on Classical New England, we provide you an entire Sundaymorning of inspiring and beautiful music written from Bach’s time andbefore. The Bach Hour with Brian McCreath offers you a weekly gatewayinto the world of Bach’s sacred and secular works, followed by Baroquein Boston with Laura Carlo, which journeys into the richness of Boston’searly music scene. Listen to both programs all month long for celebrationsand explorations of the world of Bach, and hopefully you’ll findthe same inspirations as did Claude Debussy: “…on each page we discoverthings which we thought were born only yesterday, from delightful arabesquesto an overflowing of religious feeling greater than anything we have sincediscovered. And in his works we will search in vain for anything the leastlacking in good taste.”What’s on Classical New England5am10am2pm7pm9pmMonday–FridayClassical Music with Laura CarloClassical Music with Alan McLellan12pm Café EuropaClassical Music with Cathy FullerThursdays: 4pm BSO PreviewFridays: 4pm Drive Time LivePerformance Today with Fred ChildClassical Music with James David JacobsFridays: Concierto6am7am12pm5pm6pm7pm10pmClassical Online Channelsclassicalnewengland.orgKids Classical, Boston Early Music and BSO RadioSaturdayIn Performance with Cathy FullerClassical Music with James DavidJacobs9am Classics For KidsClassical Music with Ray BrownFrom the TopNew England Summer FestivalsBoston Symphony OrchestraBSO on RecordOnline: classicalnewengland.orgOn-air: 99.5 Boston-NH | 89.7 HD2 Boston | 96.3 Beacon Hill89.5 Nantucket | 88.7 Providence6am7am11am12pm1pm3pm5pm6pm6:30pm10pm11pmSundayThe Bach Hour with Brian McCreathBaroque in Boston with Laura CarloLive from FraserNew England Summer FestivalsBoston Symphony OrchestraSunday ConcertThe Bach Hour with Brian McCreathArias & Barcarolles with Cathy FullerWorld of OperaLive from FraserPipedreamsClassical New England is made possible by your contributionsto the Classical Founders Fund.24 Schedules, program info, playlists: classicalnewengland.org