Virtual Program Series will introduce Boston audiences to the Music Archives of the House of Lobkowicz, a Czech noble family
BOSTON, MA—Boston Baroque is delighted to announce a new partnership in their Virtual Program series with The Lobkowicz Collections, one of Europe’s oldest and finest private collections. Best known for their patronage of composer Ludwig van Beethoven, the Lobkowicz family’s musical archives contain 4,500 volumes assembled over three centuries of collecting. This partnership will allow Boston Baroque’s audiences exclusive inside access to the archives through a virtual conversation series with The Lobkowicz Collections scholars.
“The Lobkowicz family’s profound commitment to sharing The Collections with the world is inspiring,” says Executive Director Jennifer Hughes. “We’re thrilled to partner with The Lobkowicz Collections on a series of programs that share the stories of this tremendous art and music collection with our audiences. The pandemic has taught us that there are many ways to deepen our connections with art, and we’re delighted to bring Boston Baroque audiences on what promises to be an enlightening and exciting virtual journey to the Prague Castle and beyond.”
The virtual conversations will feature Dr. Kathryn Libin, Associate Professor of Music at Vassar College, who has been directing the project to catalogue the Music Archive of The Lobkowicz Collections, and will be hosted by Boston Baroque.
“We are delighted to be partnering with Boston Baroque,” says William and Sandra Lobkowicz. “After seven years of researching and cataloguing the Lobkowicz Music Archive, we have made some wonderful new discoveries that we are now able to share not only in our new music rooms at the Lobkowicz Palace in Prague, but also virtually with a broader audience of music lovers around the world. We hope that our shared commitment to keeping classical music relevant will inspire the next generation of musicians.”
The Music Archive of The Lobkowicz Collections, begun by Ferdinand August, 3rd Prince Lobkowicz, was assembled over three centuries by principal members of the family who were not only great patrons but also enthusiastic collectors, and often talented performers. The Music Archive contains works by over five hundred composers and musicians, including the world’s largest private collection of Baroque music for plucked instruments, and its celebrated late 18th– and early 19th– century collection of works by Handel, Mozart, Haydn, and Beethoven.
The first conversation, “Beethoven’s Music at the Lobkowicz Palace in Vienna,” will be held on Sunday, November 7th at 2pm EST. This conversation will introduce valuable documents and musical manuscripts, preserved in the Lobkowicz Library and Archives, that shed light on the significant partnership between Beethoven and the Lobkowicz household.
The second, “Haydn, Prince Lobkowicz, and Creation Mania in Vienna & Bohemia” will be held on Sunday, February 13th at 2pm EST. This conversation will discuss the Creation mania that swept Central Europe at the turn of the 19th century, and the role of Prince Lobkowicz and his musicians in spreading and promoting it.
Tickets to the virtual programs can be purchased at baroque.boston or by calling 617-987-8600.
ABOUT BOSTON BAROQUE
The six-time GRAMMY®-nominated Boston Baroque is the first permanent Baroque orchestra established in North America and, according to Fanfare Magazine, is widely regarded as “one of the world’s premier period instrument bands.” The ensemble produces lively, emotionally charged, groundbreaking performances of Baroque and Classical works for today’s audiences performed on instruments and using performance techniques that reflect the eras in which the music was composed.
Founded in 1973 as “Banchetto Musicale” by Music Director Martin Pearlman, Boston Baroque’s orchestra is composed of some of the finest period instrument players in the United States, and is frequently joined by the ensemble’s professional chorus and by world-class instrumental and vocal soloists from around the globe. The ensemble has performed at major music centers across the United States and performed recently in Poland for the 2015 Beethoven Festival, with sold-out performances of Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610 in Warsaw and Handel’s Messiah in Katowice.
Boston Baroque reaches an international audience with its twenty-five acclaimed recordings. In 2012, the ensemble became the first American orchestra to record with the highly-regarded UK audiophile label Linn Records, and its release of The Creation received great critical acclaim. In April 2014, the orchestra recorded Monteverdi’s rarely performed opera, Il Ritorno d’Ulisse in patria, which was released on Linn Records and received two nominations at the 2016 GRAMMY® Awards.
Boston Baroque’s recordings have received six GRAMMY® Award Nominations: its 1992 release of Handel’s Messiah, 1998 release of Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610, 2000 release of Bach’s Mass in B Minor, 2015 release of Monteverdi’s Il Ritorno d’Ulisse in patria, and 2018 release of Biber’s The Mystery Sonatas.
High-res photos available for download online: https://baroque.boston/press-kit
ABOUT THE LOBKOWICZ COLLECTIONS
The Lobkowicz Collections are one of Europe’s oldest and finest private collections, comprised of items dating back over 2,000 years. Among tens of thousands of objects are outstanding fine and decorative arts, arms and armor, musical manuscripts, and a 65,000-volume rare books library, along with millions of archival documents—built upon centuries of patronage and stewardship.
The Collections were confiscated under the Nazi and Communist regimes of the 20th century. With the passage of the Czechoslovak restitution laws in the early 1990s, the Lobkowicz family reclaimed and reassembled the Collections, making these previously hidden treasures fully available to the public for the first time in history. The Collections are currently exhibited at the Lobkowicz Palace in Prague Castle and Nelahozeves Castle.
The Lobkowicz Music Collection, comprising about 5,000 items, was assembled over three centuries by principal members of the Lobkowicz family who were not only patrons, but also enthusiastic collectors, performers, and composers. The family’s personal tastes and affinities are reflected in the collection, which include 18th-century lute tablatures, oratorios and operas in manuscript and early prints, and scores and performing parts for symphonies and quartets—some with hand-written annotations—by Mozart, Haydn, and Beethoven.
