Columbia Baroque closes season with The Danube

Winding through Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Germany, Hungary, Moldova, Serbia, Slovakia and Ukraine for more than 1,700 miles, the Danube River is Europe’s second longest.

Along the way, the river has inspired both literature and music, including The Danube Pilot, which was written by Jules Verne and, Johann Strauss II’s classic waltz “On the Beautiful Blue Danube.” Mozart lived and worked in several cities along the Danube as well, including Vienna, Salzburg, Bratislava and Prague.

The Danube is also the inspiration for Columbia Baroque’s final concert of the season, The Danube, which will focus on 17th-century music of the Austro-Hungarian courts. Composers featured include Claudio Monteverdi, Johann Philipp Krieger, Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber, Antonio Vivaldi and Johann Pachelbel.

“Although Bach and Handel are now the most familiar baroque composers, these men were indebted to their predecessors, many of whom had connections to Vienna and the Danube,” said Peter Hoyt, a past president of the Mozart Society of America. “This concert provides a glimpse of the musical styles that influenced some of the most beloved music in the concert repertoire.”

Guest artist soprano Serena Hill-LaRoche will perform Krieger’s “Rise up with Joy;” other soloists include Jean Hein on baroque recorder and Gail Ann Schroeder on viola da gamba. They will be joined by Columbia Baroque members Brittnee Siemon, mezzo soprano; Erika Cutler, baroque violin and Jerry Curry, harpsichord.

The Danube will be performed Friday at the University of South Carolina School of Music Recital Hall. Concert Conversations with Hoyt begins at 7 p.m.; the performance starts at 7:30.

Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door; for more information, visit www.columbiabaroque.com