September 2008 calendar

Classical performances in and around Richmond, with selected events elsewhere in Virginia and the Washington area. Program information, provided by presenters, is updated as details become available. Adult single-ticket prices are listed; senior, student, group and other discounts may be offered.

SCOUTING REPORT

* In Richmond: The Daedalus String Quartet, one of this country’s most highly touted young chamber ensembles, plays Haydn, Janáček and Mendelssohn in the 2008-09 opener of the Rennolds Chamber Concerts, Sept. 13 at Virginia Commonwealth University. . . . Mikhail Agrest, the young Russian conductor who’s first in line of nine candidates for music director of the Richmond Symphony, leads a Masterworks program highlighted by Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony, Sept. 19, 20 and 22 at three area churches, and launches the Kicked Back Classics series in its new venue, The National, Sept. Sept. 25 and 28. . . . Alexander Paley returns for the 11th year of his Richmond festival, playing Schumann’s three piano sonatas and, with spouse and piano four hands partner Pei-Wen Chen and friends, music of Weber, Schubert, Reinecke and Brahms, Sept. 26-28 at First English Lutheran Church.

* New and/or different: eighth blackbird reprising works from its Grammy Award-winning album “Strange Imaginary Animals,” with remixes by sound designer Dennis DeSantis, Sept. 17 at the University of Richmond. . . . Michael Mulcahy playing Christopher Rouse’s Trombone Concerto (which won Rouse the 1993 Pulitzer Prize for music) with Agrest and the Richmond Symphony, Sept. 19, 20 and 22. . . . Contemporary works by Eric Moe, Giovanni Sollima and Lou Harrison – plus an improvisation for violin and amplified cardboard tube – alongside Schoenberg and Berg, Mozart and Beethoven, Reger and Enescu, in Charlottesville Chamber Music Festival programs, Sept. 7, 11, 14, 18 and 21 at the University of Virginia. . . . Richmond-bred composer Mason Bates’ “Rusty Air in Carolina,” reprised by the Virginia Symphony with Robert Moody, the conductor who led the 2006 premiere of this tone poem for orchestra and electronica, Sept. 27 at Chrysler Hall in Norfolk, Sept. 28 at Christopher Newport University in Newport News.

* Star turns: Elizabeth Futral stars in the Washington National Opera’s season-opening production of Verdi’s “La Traviata,” Sept. 13, 18, 21, 24, 27 and 30 (and more dates in October) at the Kennedy Center (many dates already sold out). . . . Violinist-conductor Itzhak Perlan, violist Pinchas Zukerman and cellist Alisa Weilerstein play Mozart and Tchaikovsky in the season-opening gala of Washington’s National Symphony, Sept. 20 at the Kennedy Center. . . . The celebrated young violinist Jennifer Koh performs at the Charlottesville Chamber Festival, Sept. 11 at U.Va., and plays Saint-Saëns with the Virginia Symphony, Sept. 27-28 in Norfolk and Newport News.

* Bargains of the month: The Paley Festival, Sept. 26-28 at First English Lutheran. Admission by donation.

* My picks: The Daedalus Quartet, Sept. 13 at VCU. . . . eighth blackbird and DeSantis in “Strange Imaginary Remix,” Sept. 17 at UR. . . . Agrest, Mulcahey and the Richmond Symphony, Sept. 20 at First Baptist Church (best acoustics of the three Masterworks venues). . . . The Washington National Opera production of Bizet’s delightful and rarely staged “The Pearl Fishers,” Sept. 20, 22, 25 and 28 at the Kennedy Center (more dates in October). . . . The Paley Festival’s German romantic cornucopia, Sept. 26-28 at First English Lutheran.


Sept. 7 (3 p.m.)
Old Cabell Hall, University of Virginia, Charlottesville
Charlottesville Chamber Music Festival:
Soovin Kim & Timothy Summers, violins
Joel Hunter & Nokuthula Ngwenyama, violas
Raphael Bell & Konstantin Pfiz, cellos
David Cossin, percussion
Cossin-Summers: “Improvisations for Violin and Amplified Cardboard Tube”
Giovanni Sollima: “Spasimo” for solo cello, string trio and percussion
Brahms: Viola Quintet No. 2 in G major, Op. 111
$16-$22
(434) 295-5395
http://www.cvillechambermusic.org/

Sept. 11 (8 p.m.)
Old Cabell Hall, University of Virginia, Charlottesville
Charlottesville Chamber Music Festival:
Matthew Hunt, clarinet
Jennifer Koh & Timothy Summers, violins
Joel Hunter, viola
Raphael Bell & Konstantin Pfiz, cellos
Benjamin Hochman, piano
Berg: Adagio from “Kammermusik” for violin, clarinet and piano
Richard Strauss: “Two Pieces” for piano quartet
Beethoven: String Trio in C minor, Op. 9
Mozart: Clarinet Quintet
$16-$22
(434) 295-5395
http://www.cvillechambermusic.org/

Sept. 11 (8 p.m.)
Sept. 12 (8 p.m.)
Kennedy Center Concert Hall, Washington
National Symphony Orchestra
Richard Kaufman conducting
“Nights at the Movies: Classical Hollywood”
$20-$65
(800) 44401324
http://www.kennedycenter.org/

Sept. 13 (6 p.m.)
Heritage Amphitheater, Pocahontas State Park, 10301 State Park Road, Chesterfield County
Richmond Symphony
Erin Freeman conducting
Family program TBA
Free
(804) 788-1212
http://www.richmondsymphony.com/

Sept. 13 (8 p.m.)
Vlahcevic Concert Hall, Singleton Arts Center, Virginia Commonwealth University, Park Avenue at Harrison Street, Richmond
Rennolds Chamber Concerts:
Daedalus String Quartet
Haydn: Quartet in G minor, Op. 20, No. 3
Janáček: Quartet No. 2 (“Intimate Letters”)
Mendelssohn: Quartet in A major, Op. 13
$32
(804) 828-6776
www.pubinfo.vcu.edu/artweb/music/concerts/events.html?School=Arts&Dept=Music

Sept. 13 (8 p.m.)
Chrysler Hall, 201 Brambleton Ave., Norfolk
Sept. 14 (2:30 p.m.)
Sandler Arts Center, 201 S. Market St., Virginia Beach
Sept. 19 (8 p.m.)
Ferguson Arts Center, Christopher Newport University, Newport News
Virginia Symphony
JoAnn Falletta conducting
Copland: “El Salón Mexico”
Dohnányi: Suite in F sharp minor
Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1
Ian Parker, piano
$23-$83
(757) 892-6366
http://www.virginiasymphony.org/

Sept. 13 (7 p.m.)
Sept. 18 (7:30 p.m.)
Sept. 21 (2 p.m.)
Sept. 24 (7:30 p.m.)
Sept. 27 (7:30 p.m.)
Sept. 30 (7:30 p.m.)
Kennedy Center Opera House, Washington
Washington National Opera
Dan Ettinger conducting
Verdi: “La Traviata”
Elizabeth Futral (Violetta)
Arturo Chacón-Cruz (Alfredo)
Lado Ataneli (Giorgio Germont)
Margaret Thompson (Flora)
Marta Domingo, stage director
in Italian, English captions
$45-$600 (limited availability)
(800) 876-7372
http://www.dc-opera.org/

Sept. 14 (3 p.m.)
Old Cabell Hall, University of Virginia, Charlottesville
Charlottesville Chamber Music Festival:
Júlia Gállego, flute
Matthew Hunt, clarinet
Jennifer Koh & Timothy Summers, violins
Raphael Bell, cello
Benjamin Hochman & Mimi Solomon, pianos
Schubert: Fantasia in F minor for piano four hands
Schoenberg-Webern: Chamber Symphony No. 1
Lou Harrison: Grand Duo for violin and piano
Eric Moe: “Time Will Tell”
$16-$22
(434) 295-5395
http://www.cvillechambermusic.org/

Sept. 15 (7:30 p.m.)
Terrace Theater, Kennedy Center, Washington
2008 Marian Anderson Award Recital:
Indira Mahajan, soprano
Pianist TBA
Program TBA
$18
(800) 444-1324
http://www.kennedycenter.org/

Sept. 17 (7:30 p.m.)
Camp Concert Hall, Modlin Arts Center, University of Richmond
eighth blackbird
Dennis DiSantis, sound design
“Strange Imaginary Remix,” live selections from “Strange Imaginary Animals” album with sound remixes
$20
(804) 289-8980
http://www.modlin.richmond.edu/

Sept. 17 (8 p.m.)
Vlahcevic Concert Hall, Singleton Arts Center, Virginia Commonwealth University, Park Avenue at Harrison Street, Richmond
VCU Symphonic Wind Ensemble
Terry Austin directing
Program TBA
$5
(804) 828-6776
www.pubinfo.vcu.edu/artweb/music/concerts/events.html?School=Arts&Dept=Music

Sept. 18 (8 p.m.)
St. Bede Catholic Church, 3686 Ironbound Road, Williamsburg
Sept. 20 (8 p.m.)
Regent University Theatre, 1000 Regent University Drive, Virginia Beach
Virginia Symphony
JoAnn Falletta conducting
Rossini: “The Barber of Seville” Overture
Kenneth Fuchs: “Canticle of the Sun” (2005)
David Wick, French horn
Guitar concerto TBA
Guitar Competition winner TBA
Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 4 (“Italian”)
$26-$46
(757) 892-6366
http://www.virginiasymphony.org/

Sept. 19 (8 p.m.)
Second Baptist Church, River and Gaskins roads, Richmond
Sept. 20 (8 p.m.)
First Baptist Church, Boulevard at Monument Avenue, Richmond
Sept. 22 (8 p.m.)
St. Michael Catholic Church, 4491 Springfield Road, Glen Allen
Richmond Symphony
Mikhail Agrest conducting
Verdi: “La Forza del Destino” Overture
Christopher Rouse: Trombone Concerto (1993)
Michael Mulcahy, trombone
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4
$20-$50
(804) 788-1212
http://www.richmondsymphony.com/

Sept. 20 (7 p.m.)
Sept. 22 (7 p.m.)
Sept. 25 (7:30 p.m.)
Sept. 28 (2 p.m.)
Kennedy Center Opera House, Washington
Washington National Opera
Giuseppe Grazioli conducting
Bizet: “The Pearl Fishers”
Norah Amsellem (Leïla)
Charles Castronovo (Nadir)
Trevor Scheunemann (Zurga)
Denis Sedov (Nourabad)
Andrew Sinclair, stage direction
in French, English captions
$45-$300
(800) 876-7372
http://www.dc-opera.org/

Sept. 18 (8 p.m.)
Williamsburg Library Theatre, 515 Scotland St.
Chamber Music Society of Williamsburg:
Claremont Piano Trio
Debussy: Piano Trio in G major
Beethoven: Piano Trio in G major, Variations on “Ich bin der Schneider Kakadu”
Brahms: Piano Trio in C major, Op. 87
$15 (waiting list)
(757) 229-2901
http://www.chambermusicwilliamsburg.org/

Sept. 18 (8 p.m.)
Old Cabell Hall, University of Virginia, Charlottesville
Charlottesville Chamber Music Festival
Júlia Gállego, flute
Jesse Mills & Timothy Summers, violins
Dov Scheindlin, viola
Raphael Bell, cello
Mimi Solomon, piano
Weber: Trio in G minor for flute, cello and piano
Reger: Serenade for flute, violin and viola
Schumann: Piano Quintet in E flat major
$16-$22
(434) 295-5395
http://www.cvillechambermusic.org/

Sept. 18 (8 p.m.)
Kennedy Center Concert Hall, Washington
National Symphony Orchestra Pops
John Nardolillo conducting
Arlo Guthrie, guest star
$20-$65
(800) 444-1324
http://www.kennedycenter.org/

Sept. 19 (7:30 p.m.)
Camp Concert Hall, Modlin Arts Center, University of Richmond
Department of Music Family Weekend Concert
Program TBA
Free
(804) 289-8980
http://www.modlin.richmond.edu/

Sept. 20 (8 p.m.)
Center for the Arts, George Mason University, Fairfax
Fairfax Symphony
Paul Haas conducting
Joshua Penman: “Songs the Plants Taught Us” (2004)
Rachmaninoff: “Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini”
Alexander Ghindin, piano
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4
$25-$55
(888) 945-2468 (Tickets.com)
http://www.fairfaxsymphony.org/

Sept. 20 (8 p.m.)
Kennedy Center Concert Hall, Washington
National Symphony Orchestra
Itzhak Perlman conducting
Glinka: “Russlan and Ludmilla” Overture
Johann Strauss II: “Wiener Blut”
Tchaikovsky: “Rococo Variations”
Alisa Weilerstein, cello
Mozart: Sinfonia concertante for violin, viola and orchestra
Itzhak Perlman, violin
Pinchas Zukerman, viola
Ravel: “Boléro”
$20-$85
(800) 444-1324
http://www.kennedycenter.org/

Sept. 21 (3 p.m.)
Chrysler Hall, 201 Brambleton Ave., Norfolk
Virginia Symphony
Matthew Kraemer conducting
“Orchestra Games” family concert
$9-$22
(757) 892-6366
http://www.virginiasymphony.org/

Sept. 21 (3 p.m.)
Old Cabell Hall, University of Virginia, Charlottesville
Charlottesville Chamber Music Festival:
Jennifer Frautschi, Colin Jacobsen, Jesse Mills & Timothy Summers, violins
Nicholas Cords & Dov Scheindlin, violas
Raphael Bell & Edward Arron, cellos
Janáček: String Quartet No. 1 (“Kreutzer Sonata”)
Enescu: String Octet, Op. 7
Mozart: String Quartet in D minor, K. 421
$16-$22
(434) 295-5395
http://www.cvillechambermusic.org/

Sept. 23 (7:30 p.m.)
American Theatre, 125 E. Mellen St., Hampton
St. Petersburg String Quartet
Maxim Mogilevsky, piano
Program TBA
$25-$30
(757) 722-2787
www.hamptonarts.net/american_theatre

Sept. 25 (6:30 p.m.)
Sept. 28 (4 p.m.)
The National, 708 E. Broad St., Richmond
Kicked Back Classics:
Richmond Symphony
Mikhail Agrest conducting
“The Music Effect,” program TBA
$10-$17
(804) 788-1212
http://www.richmondsymphony.com/

Sept. 25 (7 p.m.)
Sept. 26 (8 p.m.)
Sept. 27 (8 p.m.)
Kennedy Center Concert Hall, Washington
National Symphony Orchestra Pops
Marvin Hamlisch conducting
Linda Eder, vocalist
Songs of Judy Garland
$20-$85
(800) 444-1324
http://www.kennedycenter.org/

Sept. 26 (8 p.m.)
First English Lutheran Church, Monument Avenue at Lombardy Street (Stuart Circle), Richmond
Alexander Paley Music Festival:
Alexander Paley, piano
Alexander Paley & Pei-Wen Chen, piano four hands
Charles West, clarinet
Patrick Smith, horn
Kathy Judd, violin
Schumann: Piano Sonata No. 1 in F sharp minor
Reinecke: Trio, Op. 274, for clarinet, horn and piano
Brahms: Horn Trio
Weber: eight pieces, Op. 60, for piano four hands
Donation requested
(804) 355-9185

Sept. 26 (8 p.m.)
Vlahcevic Concert Hall, Singleton Arts Center, Virginia Commonwealth University, Park Avenue at Harrison Street, Richmond
VCU Guitar Series:
Dennis Koster, flamenco guitar
Program TBA
$5
(Free master class, 11 a.m. Sept. 27, Room B-15, Singleton Center)
(804) 828-6776
www.pubinfo.vcu.edu/artweb/music/concerts/events.html?School=Arts&Dept=Music

Sept. 27 (8 p.m.)
First English Lutheran Church, Monument Avenue at Lombardy Street (Stuart Circle), Richmond
Alexander Paley Music Festival:
Alexander Paley, piano
Alexander Paley & Pei-Wen Chen, piano four hands
Charles West, clarinet
Kathy Judd, violin
Clyde Thomas Shaw, cello
Schumann: Piano Sonata No. 2 in G minor
Schumann: “Fantasiestücke,” Op. 73, for clarinet and piano
Mendelssohn: Piano Trio in D minor, Op. 49
Schubert: Piano Trio in B flat major, Op. 99
Weber: six “Pieces faciles” for piano four hands
Donation requested
(804) 355-9185

Sept. 27 (8 p.m.)
Sept. 28 (3:30 p.m.)
Old Cabell Hall, University of Virginia, Charlottesville
Charlottesville and University Symphony Orchestra
Kate Tamarkin conducting
Argentino: “Valentino Dances”
Mozart: Sinfonia concertante for violin, viola and orchestra
Max Rabinovitsj, violin
Ayn Balija, viola
Rachmaninoff: Symphonic Dances
$10-$35
(434) 924-3984
http://www.cvillesymphony.org/

Sept. 27 (8 p.m.)
Chrysler Hall, 201 Brambleton Ave., Norfolk
Sept. 28 (2:30 p.m.)
Ferguson Arts Center, Christopher Newport University, Newport News
Virginia Symphony
Robert Moody conducting
Mason Bates: “Rusty Air in Carolina”
Saint-Saëns: Violin Concerto No. 3
Jennifer Koh, violin
Berlioz: “Symphonie fantastique”
$23-$83
(757) 892-6366
http://www.virginiasymphony.org/

Sept. 27 (2 p.m.)
Terrace Theater, Kennedy Center, Washington
Anna Vinnitskaya, piano
Gubaidulina: Chaconne
Medtner: “Sonata Reminiscenza,” Op. 38, No. 1
Rachmaninoff: Sonata No. 2 in B flat minor, Op. 36
Liszt: Sonata in B minor
$40
(202) 785-9727 (Washington Performing Arts Society)
http://www.wpas.org/

Sept. 28 (3:30 p.m.)
First English Lutheran Church, Monument Avenue at Lombardy Street (Stuart Circle), Richmond
Alexander Paley Music Festival:
Alexander Paley, piano
Alexander Paley & Pei-Wen Chen, piano four hands
Charles West, clarinet
Schumann: Piano Sonata No. 3 in F minor (“Concerto Without Orchestra”)
Schumann: “Bilder aus Osten,” Op. 66 for piano four hands
Brahms: Sonata in E flat major, Op. 120, No. 2, for clarinet and piano
Weber: six “Pieces faciles,” Op. 3, for piano four hands
Donations requested
(804) 355-9185

Sept. 28 (7:30 p.m.)
Terrace Theater, Kennedy Center, Washington
Shunske Sato, violin
Tao Lin, piano
Lekeu: Sonata in G major
Fauré: Berceuse, Op. 16
Ravel: Tzigane
Grieg: Sonata No. 2 in G major
$30
(800) 444-1324
http://www.kennedycenter.org/

Sept. 28 (4 p.m.)
St. Ann's Catholic Church, 4400 Wisconsin Ave. N.W., Washington
Paul Jacobs, organ
Dupré: Prelude and Fugue in B Major, Op. 7
Vierne: "Naiades," Op. 55, No. 4
Barber: Prelude and Fugue in B Minor (1928)
Sowerby: "Pageant"
Liszt: Fantasia and Fugue on "Ad nos, ad salutarem undam"
$10 donation suggested
(202) 966-6288