Marc Minkowski and the Period Instrument Institutionalization
ResMusica
Marc Minkowski’s appointment as Music Director of Boston Baroque signals a new phase for America’s oldest period-instrument ensemble. Minkowski brings a French baroque sensibility that prioritizes notes in gales (the rhythmic alteration where equal notes are played with unequal durations) and the rhetorical weight of the text. This shift moves the ensemble away from the more metronomic traditions of earlier American HIP (Historically Informed Performance) practices. Following his leadership at the Op ra National de Bordeaux, his arrival in Boston represents a significant transfer of early-music expertise from the European state-subsidized sector to the American private funding model.