Drucker happily immersed in Bach at New Year’s series

Violinist Eugene Drucker barely missed a beat after the Emerson String Quartet, which he’d played with for the past 47 years, retired a few months ago. He headed right to his seasonal job as music director of Bach at New Year’s with the Berkshire Bach Ensemble at Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, set for Jan. 1.

“We were never active at this time of year in the quartet and we always had opportunities to do other things,” Drucker said. “I had been playing with the Berkshire Bach Ensemble when I was still in the Emerson. But when Ken Cooper, who had been music director, retired in 2016, he asked me. I hesitated, but by that January I said yes.”

The Bach at New Year’s series has been going since at least the early 1990s. But Drucker has discovered that even though his duties are only for three concerts that make up the Bach at New Year’s series, he has much more to do than just lead the group through the various pieces.

“I do research on the program; get the parts and determine who plays and what role they’ll be in; and the seating chart; and all to keep the concert in a two-and-a-half hour time frame,” he said.

Although he does lead the 18-member ensemble, especially if he’s playing a solo concerto, Drucker likes to spread the solo wealth around.

“I like the players to shine,” he said.

So he’ll schedule works that focus on the other players such as the violas, the oboes or even someone else playing in the first violin position. He also began offering a special piece during intermission when the rest of the ensemble would take a break. For this concert, he’s having the two violists play Telemann’s “Gulliver Suite for Two Violas,” which Drucker said had a kind of Baroque humor.

He’s also spotlighting harpsichordist Ken Weiss in Bach’s “Harpsichord Concerto in D Minor.”

Weiss, who joined the ensemble about five years ago, said he hadn’t heard of the group before joining.

“My career has been based in Paris for the last 26 years where I’ve taught at the Paris Conservatory,” he said. “But I’ve also taught at Juilliard – I was the first harpsichord teacher at Juilliard – and through cellist David Finckel became a member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center 15 years ago. Gene asked David for a harpsichordist and David gave him my name.”

He was delighted when he discovered the Berkshire Bach Ensemble.

“They’re a fantastic group of musicians,” he said. “I jumped into a group who’ve bonded together and make music. It’s a wonderful experience.”

As for the Bach work, Weiss said it’s his favorite and was one of Bach’s best.

“It’s the largest and most intense dramatically,” he said. “It’s extremely virtuosic but also profound. It’s unusual for Bach . . .  severe but intense.”

The rest of the program includes: Corelli’s “Christmas Concerto”; “Bach’s Violin Concerto in A Minor (Drucker will do the solo); Telemann’s “Concerto alla Franzese”; Handel’s “Concerto Grosso in G Major,” Op. 3, No 8; and Bach’s “Brandenburg Concerto #2”, which people love, he said.

Drucker gets started with rehearsals with a few people in New York City before scheduling the full group in a five-hour rehearsal on Dec. 29. Then come the three consecutive concerts, each with a rehearsal and a dress rehearsal. The first concert is Dec. 30 in Northampton; the second in Great Barrington on Dec. 31, and the final at Troy on Jan. 1.  

Bach at New Year’s

WHEN: 3 p.m. Ja. 1

WHERE: Troy Savings Bank Music Hall

HOW MUCH: $40 – $85

MORE INFO: troymusichall.org; 518 273-0038