Great Barrington — When the Berkshire Bach Ensemble launched into Corelli’s Christmas Concerto at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center on December 31, all eyes were on Eugene Drucker, longtime director of the group’s “Bach at New Year’s” concert series. Berkshire Bach Society Executive Director Terrill McDade had just delivered from the Mahaiwe stage the news everyone had been hoping for since 2021, the year Drucker’s old group, the Emerson String Quartet, announced its 2023 retirement: Drucker had recently been named artistic director of the Berkshire Bach Society, McDade reported, and more than one savvy audience member gave their audible approval.
Why? Because when the Emersons disbanded in order to focus on teaching and solo work, public sentiment among Berkshire concertgoers went something like this: “Yippee! Now Gene can focus more of his attention on the Berkshire Bach Society!”
And what might result from such enhanced focus?
Enhanced music. Mr. Drucker, it seemed to many of us on the 31st, has already inspired the group to perform at its highest level. Or did we only imagine that their ensemble and intonation were better than ever? Perhaps not, because they kept it up all evening, ending the program with a tight and vigorous performance of Bach’s “Brandenburg” Concerto No. 2 without breaking a sweat.
A graduate of Columbia University and the Juilliard School, Eugene Drucker served as concertmaster and in solo roles with the Juilliard Orchestra, making his New York debut as a Concert Artists Guild winner in the fall of 1976. A founding member of the Emerson String Quartet, Drucker has appeared as a soloist with orchestras of Jerusalem, Omaha, Richmond, Montreal, Hartford, Brussels, Antwerp, Liege, and the Rhineland-Palatinate, as well as with the the Aspen Chamber Symphony, Las Vegas Philharmonic, and American Symphony Orchestra. A nine-time GRAMMY and three-time Gramophone Magazine Award winner, Drucker has recorded the complete works of Bach for unaccompanied violin (on Parnassus Records); all of Bartók’s sonatas and duos (on Biddulph Recordings); and, with the Emerson Quartet, a staggering number of recordings for Deutsche Grammophon of works ranging from Bach and Haydn to contemporary repertoire. He has taught at Stony Brook University for 21 years and has recently joined the faculty of the Manhattan School of Music.
Mr. Drucker will continue to perform in solo roles with various ensembles, but here in the Berkshires, his Baroque music performances will be exclusively with the Berkshire Bach Society.
In a written statement, Ms. McDade said, “[The Society is] thrilled that Eugene Drucker is stepping into this new position at The Berkshire Bach Society …. This is a unique opportunity for us to grow the footprint of The Berkshire Bach Society with an artist of exceptional distinction. It allows him to explore the repertoire and develop new, more varied programs as we continue to present the music of Bach and his contemporaries, educating our audiences about all things Baroque.”
As the Berkshires’ oldest continuously operating membership-based music organization, the Berkshire Bach Society’s mission is to promulgate the wonders and pleasures of Baroque music through world-class performances and educational presentations in the Berkshires, Pioneer Valley, and Capital Region.
