No one knew that Chris Hogwood’s five days with us in November, 2013 (see the previous week, when we took the horse on a big drive), would be his last time in the States. By the spring of 2014 he had a fatal brain tumor, and died in September. The preeminent journal Early Music devoted an entire issue to him, a unique honor. The volume contained many scholarly and historical articles related to or of interest to Chris, but it began with five personal reminiscences. We were invited to submit one; it was their only choice from this side of the Atlantic. The Oxford University Press accepted it exactly as written, placing it as the final tribute, and included the photo from our drive the previous fall, which we sent just as an explanation for a detail in the article. It is the only strictly personal illustration in the entire volume, and he looks so happy.
A well-endowed philanthropic organization in DC with a focus on the arts, the S & R Foundation, presented a concert series in a historic Georgetown house. They acquired a string quartet of antique Italian instruments, and when programming began to use the double bass more often, they decided to purchase one. We are fortunate to maintain a Giovanni Paolo Maggini (c. 1620) original, and felt that a copy would blend well with the S & R quartet. The design has proven versatile for chamber and orchestral use, so another half dozen have followed this first example.
The year began with significant recordings from Opera Lafayette, offering their own edition of the complete music of a Philidor opera mirrored by Mozart in Cosi fan tutte. And Jory Vinikour continued his ambitious output on the Sono Luminus label with all of the Bach Partitas. This time he used the German double we had made twenty years earlier for Albert Fuller. The expansive booklet for the 3-CD set showcased the harpsichord with beautiful photos.
