Baroque & Classical Orchestra
EARLY MUSIC NEW YORK - Orchestra of Original Instruments (formerly New York's Grande Bande) specializes in music of the baroque and classical periods, programming seldom-heard gems alongside masterworks from Monteverdi to Mozart.
Founded in 1977 by Frederick Renz, this groundbreaking orchestra has won distinction at Lincoln Center (being the first to present a major series with original instruments), the Brooklyn Academy of Music (with Renée Fleming) and on tour in the United States and abroad.
Highlights include a series of critically acclaimed commemorative concerts for Henry Purcell (Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, 1995), Claudio Monteverdi (Hong Kong International Festival of the Arts and the Ravinia Festival, 1993), Joseph Haydn and J.S. Bach (Lincoln Center and the Library of Congress, 1982 & 1985). EM/NY Orchestra's re-creation of Handel's Musick for the Royal Fireworks features historic pyrotechnics by the Ruggieri family, lineal descendant of Gaetano Ruggieri, creator of the original spectacle devised in 1749 for the King of England. EM/NY’s performance set attendance records at Wolf Trap with a return engagement drawing audiences exceeding 7,000.
The EM/NY Orchestra can be heard on the Musicmasters and Musical Heritage Society labels.
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