In Sunday’s (2/13) Washington Post, Matt Schudel writes, “Blanche Moyse, a renowned violinist during her youth in Europe, who became one of the world’s foremost interpreters of the choral music of Johann Sebastian Bach during a second career as a conductor and teacher in Vermont, died Feb. 10 at her home in West Brattleboro, Vt. She was 101. The cause of death was not disclosed. Mrs. Moyse (pronounced moy-EESE) began her career as a violinist in the 1920s and performed across the European continent as a soloist and chamber musician. After World War II, she settled in Vermont and, with several other musicians, founded the Marlboro Music School and Festival, which has become a celebrated center of chamber music. Later, after an arm injury ended her career as a violinist in 1966, Mrs. Moyse turned to conducting, with a concentration on the hundreds of choral works composed by Bach in the 18th century. She worked with a chorus of amateur singers in a Vermont town of 8,000, building a reputation for performances of unrivaled subtlety, emotion and integrity. … Mrs. Moyse began to take her music beyond the borders of Vermont in 1969, when she founded the New England Bach Festival, which presented concerts throughout the region. The festival ended with her final performance as a conductor in 2004, when she was 95.”
Posted February 14, 2011
