A Bow to Bach

Bach’s name has been in the air more than usual recently because this year marks the 250th anniversary of his death in 1750. A tribute will take place Saturday in Glendale, as the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra collaborates with the Los Angeles Master Chorale to perform the masterpiece B-minor Mass.

The orchestra’s formidable conductor is Jeffrey Kahane, an ardent Bach fan who is regularly involved in the Oregon Bach Festival and who performed Bach’s challenging “Goldberg” Variations on solo piano at UCLA two seasons back. In an interview this week, Kahane acknowledged that he has admired the B-minor Mass for many years, but “this is my first time actually tackling it myself. It’s very thrilling.”

“It’s kind of an encyclopedia of the musical world. Each day I look at it, I’m more and more astounded at how incredibly different one piece is from the next and how much Bach was able to give us a picture of this very varied musical world.”

Kahane has been an important figure in Los Angeles’ music scene for many years. He has been music director of the L.A. Chamber Orchestra since 1996. The pianist-conductor settled in Santa Rosa five years ago and conducts the Santa Rosa Symphony.

Since its founding in 1968, the Chamber Orchestra has had a long history of performing Bach, including all the “Brandenburg” Concertos and part of the “Christmas” Oratorio over the last year.

“I think the Chamber Orchestra has done as much Bach as probably any orchestra in America,” Kahane said. “The general musical public doesn’t tend to think of Bach as being popular in the same way that Mozart and Beethoven are, and yet we have certainly found an audience.”

BE THERE

Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and Los Angeles Master Chorale perform Bach’s “B Minor Mass” on Saturday at 8 p.m. at the Alex Theater, 216 N. Brand Blvd., Glendale. $13-53. Call (213) 622-7001, Ext. 215.