reviews & press

“After half a century on the water, Bargemusic has come ashore.

On April 5, the org christened its terrestrial new home, the Brooklyn Bridge Park Boathouse, with some classical music […] fans old and new made their way to the boathouse and filled it to capacity.

‘I couldn’t believe it, you know, the first concert — a full house,’ Peskanov exclaimed. ‘That was very nice to see.’

The April 5 concerts were the start of a jam-packed season. At least two concerts a day are scheduled every Saturday and Sunday through the end of May, with more to come…

All of those concerts, Peskanov said, will be free.”

“The last time I visited Bargemusic in that storied venue’s original floating location, Boston-based guitarist Aaron Larget-Caplan rocked the boat with an impressively rangy program encompassing Bach, Spanish music, a wide span of contemporary fare, and his own original compositions. The same holds true of this newest visit…”

“…Those in need of a pause can journey to the Brooklyn Bridge Boathouse this weekend to hear the daring pianist Adam Tendler play two extended minimalist works: The first is John Adams’s ‘Phrygian Gates,’ an early crystallization of the composer’s style, with musical cells replicating, expanding and tightening. The second is Johnson’s own ‘An Hour for Piano,’ which starts with a crunch before settling into a pensive tenderness, the piano recalling faraway bells.

Each work gets its own performance with Adams’s piece presented first at 2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, and Johnson’s at 4. You can pick just one concert, or attend both and enjoy the time in between watching the East River flow. Admission is free.”

“If I were told I had twelve minutes to live and could hear anything I wanted, I would choose the sublime first movement of the “Archduke.” Messrs. Peskanov and Arron, and Ms. Park, did a rendition that, to my ear, was the equal of the first I had heard, by Vladimir Ashkenazy, Itzakh Perlman, and Lynn Harrell.”

“Last Saturday Bargemusic began its spring season in its new quarters, the Brooklyn Bridge Park Boathouse, located just north of the Pier 5 uplands, most easily reached from the Park’s Joralemon Street entrance. It’s a splendid space, with capacity for a sizeable audience, wonderful acoustics, and a stunning view of the Park and harbor…”

“Bargemusic, Brooklyn’s formerly-floating chamber music concert hall, will be kicking off the season’s concerts on dry land — for the first time — at the Brooklyn Bridge Park Boathouse on Saturday, according to Mark Peskanov, violinist and Bargemusic’s artistic director.

In January, the 50-year-old organization’s beloved but rusting barge was towed from its slip at Fulton Ferry Landing near the Brooklyn Bridge, to meet its end. Until a new boat can be found, Brooklyn Bridge Park has provided a venue in its Boathouse near Pier 5. The space is roughly the size of the barge, with the same gorgeous views of the East River and Manhattan skyline. There are also restrooms conveniently located right outside the performance area […]

‘The ultimate mission of Bargemusic is to serve the community,’ [Peskanov] said. ‘And so we decided in this new phase, moving onto land at the Boathouse in Brooklyn Bridge Park, that all of our concerts will be admission-free. We think it’s in the spirit of Bargemusic, and in the spirit of this parkland, and we hope this partnership goes on for the next 50 years.’ […]

‘Bargemusic has been a cultural gem on the Brooklyn waterfront for almost 50 years now,’ Brooklyn Bridge Park President Eric Landau told the Eagle. ‘While Bargemusic figures out their next steps, we are thrilled to provide a space so they can continue the wonderful tradition of providing admission-free chamber music on the waterfront,’ he said. […]”

“In a city full of unlikely marvels, Bargemusic is among the foremost treasures any music lover could hope to know. Housed on a converted coffee barge moored at Fulton Ferry Landing just below the Brooklyn Bridge, the floating concert hall welcomed chamber-music cognoscenti and curiosity seekers alike since Olga Bloom, a violinist and violist, launched the venue in 1977…As [Artistic Director Mark] Peskanov stated in his note to supporters, concerts under the Bargemusic banner will continue at a new site: specifically, the Brooklyn Bridge Park Boathouse, where programming is planned to resume on April 5. ‘To have this new, incredible place for the musicians and the whole community, it’s a great miracle and evolution,’ Peskanov wrote in a message. ‘We are very grateful to Eric Landau, the President of Brooklyn Bridge Park Corporation, and his great team at the Brooklyn Bridge Park…'”

“If we can bring in any people, even at six feet apart, we want to put on concerts,” [Artistic Director Mark Peskanov] continued. “If we have to be exact [about capacity and stage space] we can do that, we’ve been planning that. We are ready at the drop of a hat!” 

“Weiss: We love Brooklyn Bridge Park, which is so democratic and lively. But we loved the […] charm of the waterfront before the park was built.  The River Café and Bargemusic, the concert venue, are left from the old days. Manfredi: We were married at the Barge. We still go to concerts there.”