4 Madison Ave.
Madison, NJ 07940
Alessandro Scarlatti - Concerto Grosso in D minor
Allessandro Scarlatti - Aria from La Giuditta - Teresa Giardina, mezzo-soprano
Domenico Scarlatti - Sinfonia in C
Georg Philipp Telemann - Viola Concerto - Noah Stevens, viola
Carl Philip Emanuel Bach - Symphonie in D in major
Johann Christian Bach - Sinfonia in D major
Johann Sebastian Bach - Keyboard Concerto in F minor, BWV 1056 - Peter Toth, pianist
Special guests
Hungarian pianist Peter Toth has concertized in many countries in Europe, including Hungary, Austria, Slovakia, Germany, Russia, France, Holland, Spain, Italy, and Switzerland. In addition, he performed in Japan, South Korea, Peru, Costa Rica, China, Australia, and the United States. His recent Carnegie Hall debut solo recital was hailed by the New York Concert Review as “music-making of true passion and intelligence.” As a competitor, Mr. Toth has won top prizes at numerous piano competitions, such as the American Paderewski Piano Competition (2013), the Franz Liszt International Piano and Voice Competition in Los Angeles (2010), and the Franz Liszt International Piano Competitions in Budapest (2001) and Weimar (2000). His first released CD recording won the Grand Prize of the Hungarian Liszt Society (2006). Mr. Toth is a piano faculty member at Fairleigh Dickinson University.
Violist Noah Stevens is a String Fellow with the Montclair State University Symphony, as well as a coach with the New Jersey Symphony Youth Orchestra. Noah was faculty at the 2025 Montclair Summer Strings Festival, and is a frequent guest conductor and coach for orchestral groups at Columbia High School. He also maintains a small private studio of viola and violin students. This summer, he will attend the Pierre Monteux School for Conductors in Hancock, Maine, as well as the Lucerne Festival Academy in Lucerne, Switzerland. Noah is a proud alum of Montclair State University’s Cali School of Music, where he graduated summa cum laude, studying viola performance with Kathryn Lockwood. This fall, he begins the ARCO career mentorship program led by Emily and Ranaan Meyer.
This Concert will honor the memory of violist Victor Bauer (1935-2025). Victor was one of the first musicians to perform with The Baroque Orchestra of New Jersey from the very first rehearsal in October, 1996. Victor performed with the orchestra through 2021.
"I first met Victor," Maestro Butts remembered, "when I was conducting the Highland Park Recorder Society. They performed a Purcell concert in Spring of 1995 with strings. Victor was a leader in that ensemble. When I founded the orchestra in 1996, Victor was one of the first to join. His artistry and support enabled the orchestra to develop. His support enabled me to become a conductor."
Laura Layton, BONJ violist, recalls Victor Bauer. "I met Victor Bauer in the early 90s during a performance of Handel’s Messiah. We shared a music stand that day, and little did I know then that we would share many more stands together at concerts throughout my lifetime. Victor was not only an extraordinary violist, but also someone with a remarkable spirit — generous, encouraging, and always ready with kind words, thoughtful advice, and wisdom about music and life. He had a way of making those around him better musicians and better people. I truly miss him, and always will. But I also know that his spirit remains here — with me, with this orchestra, and with all of us whose lives he touched through music. Having Noah Stevens perform the Telemann Concerto this afternoon is a beautiful way to honor a man who gave so much to BONJ. I know Victor is here with us in spirit looking down and smiling."
Teresa Giardina recalls her grandfather. "My grandfather was always one of my biggest supporters when it came to my music. I certainly inherited his love to music and I have been performing both as a singer and trombone player since I was young. He introduced me to Classical music and even took me to see my first opera at the Met. After I concluded my graduate degree, he introduced me to BONJ and we were able to perform together on the Scarlatti Oratorio La Giuditta in 2008 and 2016. It was wonderful to be able to share that with him."
Violist Noah Stevens will be guest soloist for Georg Philipp Telemann's Viola Concerto, musically remembering Victor Bauer.
Teresa Giardina, Victor's granddaughter, will sing an aria from Alessandro Scarlatti's La Giuditta. Teresa first sang with BONJ in 2008 when we premiered the new edition of Scarlatti's 1693 oratorio and has sung many roles with the orchestra.
