Letter V Classical Radio this week

With the start of the fall semester at the University of Richmond, the show’s hours change.

Aug. 28
noon-2 p.m. EDT
1600-1800 UTC
1700-1900 GMT
WDCE, University of Richmond
90.1 FM
www.wdce.org

Aaron Jay Kernis: “New Era Dance”
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra/David Zinman (Argo)

J.S. Bach: Suite (Overture)
No. 4 in D major,
BWV 1069
Akademie für alte
Musik, Berlin
(Harmonia Mundi France)

Respighi: “Trittico botticelliano”
St. Paul Chamber Orchestra/Hugh Wolff
(Teldec)

Jennifer Higdon: “Zaka”
eighth blackbird
(Cedille)

Past Masters:
Mendelssohn: Symphony
No. 4 in A major
(“Italian”)
National Philharmonic/
Leopold Stokowski
(recorded 1977)
(Sony Classical)

Mozart: Rondo in A minor,
K. 511
Lars Vogt, piano (EMI Classics)

Review: Richmond Chamber Players

Aug. 24, Bon Air Presbyterian Church

In “A Nightmare Before Halloween,” the final program of their 2014 Interlude series, the Richmond Chamber Players departed from their norm in several respects. One was the rare addition of a harpist, Richmond Symphony principal Lynette Wardle, to the proceedings. Another was the insertion of recitations, by John Winn, better-known as a jazz reed player and teacher, before a couple of selections.

The more conventional spoken introduction was an abridgement of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Masque of the Red Death” before André Caplet’s “Conte fantastique,” a 1919 work for harp and string quartet that depicts Poe’s story in sound.

Far less expected – out of the blue, really – was a reading of Macbeth’s soliloquy on the death of Lady Macbeth (“To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow/Creeps in this petty pace from day to day”) from Act 5 of Shakespeare’s “Scottish play,” delivered before the central largo of Beethoven’s Piano Trio in D major, Op. 70, No. 1, known as the “Ghost” Trio.

Whyfor? Cellist Neal Cary recounted a tale told by Beethoven’s pupil Carl Czerny, that the trio’s slow movement was drawn from a sketch for an opera on “Macbeth,” which Beethoven never developed. (Perhaps one of the great “ones that got away” of classical music. Or maybe not: Other than Verdi’s “Otello,” operatic treatments of Shakespearian tragedies haven’t lived up to the originals; and, as the laborious evolution of “Fidelio” reminds us, opera didn’t come naturally to Beethoven.)

“Conte fantastique,” a more or less literal sonic echo of Poe’s narrative, is full of chilling sound effects, borrowed from quite liberally by composers of horror-movie scores, who evidently know this piece better than the rest of us. Harpist Wardle and the quartet of violinists Alana Carithers and Susy Yim, violist Stephen Schmidt and cellist Cary italicized those chills, giving special emphasis to the spooky combination of harp and low-register cello tones.

Their vivid rendering of the score’s impressionistic effects were a reminder of Caplet’s close association with Claude Debussy (Caplet’s orchestrations of “Clair de lune” and “The Children’s Corner” are better-known than his own works.)

Beethoven’s “Ghost” Trio, played by Carithers (substituting on short notice for an indisposed Catherine Cary), Cary and pianist John Walter, received a stylish reading, but one that needed more intensity and tension, especially in its “Macbeth” movement.

Yim, accompanied by Walter, took on the daunting task of playing Giuseppe Tartini’s Violin Sonata in G minor, the (in)famous “Devil’s Trill,” a showpiece for virtuoso fiddlers for nearly 300 years. Yim acquitted herself more than respectably in this rendition, taking a brisk but not lickety-split pace, trilling and double-stopping ably, utilizing the tonal resources of a modern violin and wisely not trying to play in “historically informed” style.

Wardle and the string quartet preceded the Caplet with a performance of Liszt’s “At the Grave of Richard Wagner,” a brief elegy that at its best evokes Wagner’s last opera, “Parsifal.”

Review: Summer at CenterStage

Susanna Klein & Ross Monroe Winter, violins
Charles Staples, piano
Aug. 21, Richmond CenterStage

For some years, the go-to guy in Richmond for Big Piano Music, especially major romantic works, has been Charles Staples. For technique, temperament and sheer stamina, no other pianist in these parts (and not many visitors) can touch him.

Staples excelled on those counts – and on exuberance, to boot – in solo performances of Brahms’ Intermezzo in E flat major, Op. 117, No. 1, and Rhapsody in G minor, Op. 79, No. 2; and in partnering violinist Susanna Klein in Brahms’ Sonata in D minor, Op. 108, and accompanying Klein and violinist Ross Monroe Winter in two pieces from Shostakovich’s “Gadfly” Suite.

In the intermezzo, which Staples described as “a Scottish lullaby in German,” the pianist demonstrated his deftness in coloring and subtle phrasing. In the larger Brahms rhapsody and sonata, he up-shifted in volume, intensity and drama, to often thrilling effect, although at the cost of some sonic congestion in the small, bright-sounding hall in which he was playing.

Klein’s violin tone – focused, relatively low-vibrato, with a touch of the dark, throaty sound of a viola – held its own alongside Staples’ assertive playing, and the violinist matched the pianist’s intensity of expression.

As a threesome with Winter in the lighter, more emotionally upbeat Shostakovich (yes, there is such music), the musicians had fun that proved infectious.

The high-fiber course in this musical meal was Prokofiev’s Sonata, Op. 56, for two, violins, a bright-sounding and at times quite dense exercise in counterpoint, an excellent showcase for the fiddlers’ concentration and ear for balance, but an endurance test for listeners. The contrast of its dark, Russian-soul first movement and slashing, quasi-brutalist second movement strikes the ear, if not exactly stroking it. Klein and Winter reveled in its technical and interpretive challenges.

“Summer at Center Stage” concludes with clarinetist Jared Davis and pianist Daniel Stipe playing works of Brahms, Schumann and Leo Weiner at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 28 in the Gottwald Playhouse of Richmond CenterStage, Sixth and Grace streets. Tickets: $20. Details: (800) 514-3849 (ETIX); www.richmondsymphony.com

Letter V Classical Radio this week

Aug. 21
noon-4 p.m. EDT
1600-2000 UTC
1700-2100 GMT
WDCE, University of Richmond
90.1 FM
www.wdce.org

Berlioz: “The Damnation of Faust” – “Rákóczy March”
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra/David Zinman (Telarc)

Schumann: “Waldszenen”
Mitsuko Uchida, piano (Decca)

Dohnányi: Serenade
in C major, Op. 10
(string orchestration by Dmitry Sitkovetsky)
NES Chamber Orchestra/Dmitry Sitkovetsky (Nonesuch)

Beethoven: Symphony
No. 2 in D major
Orchestra of the 18th Century/Frans Brüggen (Philips)

Stravinsky: “Chant du Rossignol” (“Song of the Nightingale”)
New York Philharmonic/Lorin Maazel (Deutsche Grammophon)

Haydn: Trumpet Concerto in E flat major
Maurice André, trumpet
London Philharmonic/
Jesus Lopez-Cobos
(EMI Classics)

Shostakovich: Piano Concerto No. 1
Martha Argerich, piano;  Guy Touvron, trumpet
Württemburg Chamber Orchestra, Heilbronn/
Jörg Faerber
(Deutsche Grammophon)

Past Masters:
Dag Wirén: Serenade, Op. 11
Academy of St. Martin in the Fields/Neville Marriner (Decca)
(recorded 1970)

Liszt: “Tasso”
Gewandhaus Orchestra, Leipzig/Kurt Masur
(EMI Classics)

Bartók: “Contrasts”
Charles West, clarinet; Laura Roelofs, violin; Landon Bilyeu, piano (Klavier)

J.C. Bach: Sinfonia concertante in G major
Anna McDonald & Julia Bishop, violins; Sebastian Comberti, cello; Rachel Brown, flute
The Hanover Band/Anthony Halstead (cpo)

Freeman takes Wintergreen post

Erin R. Freeman, director of the Richmond Symphony and Buffalo Philharmonic choruses and director of choral activities at Virginia Commonwealth University, has been selected as the next artistic director of Wintergreen Performing Arts, which presents a summer music festival and other performances at the Wintergreen Resort in Nelson County.

Freeman succeeds Larry Alan Smith, who will step down as of Oct. 1 to return to composing and pursue other musical activities. Smith has been Wintergreen Performing Arts’ artistic and executive director since 2006.

Freeman “brings a level of energy, a breadth of musical experience and a love of performing arts that will surely enrich the audience experience for all of us,” Tom Steele, president of Wintergreen Performing Arts’ board, said in a prepared statement.

In addition to the music festival, Freeman will take charge of the Wintergreen Summer Music Academy instructional program, and help organize other performing-arts events at the resort year-round.

Wintergreen Performing Arts, founded in 1995, has staged its four-week summer music festival since 1997. The 2015 festival runs from July 6 to Aug. 2.

For details, visit www.wintergreenperformingarts.org

Castleton launches jazz program

The Castleton Festival, the summer music festival launched by the late conductor Lorin Maazel at his estate in Rappahannock County in the northwestern Virginia highlands, will add jazz education and programming next summer, with the launching of a new Jazz at Lincoln Center Summer Jazz Academy.

The academy, planning for which began earlier this year when Maazel met with Wynton Marsalis, managing and artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center, will offer rigorous instruction from members of the New York-based jazz orchestra for 42 high-school-age students (grades 9-12) from around the world.

“It has long been our vision for Castleton to evolve for the shared joy and benefit of young performers and Virginia’s arts community, so it is a special honor to share the Castleton spirit with young people focused on jazz through the work of Wynton Marsalis, an artist whom my husband regarded with such an admiration and affection,” Dietlinde Turban Maazel, the conductor’s widow and successor as artistic director of the Castleton Festival, said a prepared statement. “When we heard [Marsalis] was looking for a location for his summer program, we knew it had to be at Castleton.”

The jazz academy will extend by two weeks the 2015 season of the Castleton Festival. Its opera, orchestral and chamber-music performances will run from June 27 to July 19; jazz concerts will be presented through Aug. 2.

Programming for the 2015 season will be announced early next year.

For more information about the festival, visit its website: www.castletonfestival.org

Tentative labor deal at Met

The Metropolitan Opera has reached a tentative deal with the unions representing its orchestral musicians, choristers and stage managers, averting a threatened lockout by management that would have endangered the coming season.

The New York Times’ Michael Cooper reports:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/19/arts/music/in-met-opera-deal-both-sides-give.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&version=HpSum&module=second-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news

Licia Albanese (1909-2014)

Licia Albanese, one of the most celebrated 20th-century interpreters of Cio-Cio San, the heroine of Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly,” has died at the age of 105. Albanese was mainstay in that and other Puccini roles at the Metropolitan Opera from 1940 to 1966, during which she performed more than 400 times.

She also was famed for singing Violetta in Verdi’s “La Traviata,” a role she essayed a record 90 times at the Met.

In 1974, she and her husband, Joseph A. Gimma, founded the Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation, which assists young singers.

After the old Metropolitan Opera House was torn down in 1966, “Miss Albanese could be seen on some fine days standing amid the rubble, dressed, as if in mourning weeds, in her Butterfly kimono,” Margalit Fox writes in an obituary for The New York Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/17/arts/music/licia-albanese-exalted-soprano-is-dead-at-105.html?hpw&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&version=HpHedThumbWell&module=well-region&region=bottom-well&WT.nav=bottom-well&_r=0

Frans Brüggen (1934-2014)

Frans Brüggen, the Dutch flutist-recorder player and conductor who was one of the singular figures in the historically informed, period-instruments movement, has died at 79 after years of poor health.

In the 1960s and ’70s, Brüggen was a leading revivalist of the recorder in baroque repertory, and a frequent collaborator with the likes of Gustav Leonhardt and Nikolaus Harnoncourt in pioneering recordings of early music.

In 1981, Brüggen co-founded the Orchestra of the 18th Century, and led the ensemble in numerous performances and memorable recordings, notably of the Haydn and Beethoven symphonies and choral and orchestral works of Johann Sebastian Bach.

An obituary in The Guardian:

http://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/aug/14/frans-bruggen-dutch-conductor-orchestra-of-the-18th-century

Letter V Classical Radio this week

Aug. 14
noon-4 p.m. EDT
1600-2000 UTC
1700-2100 GMT
WDCE, University of Richmond
90.1 FM
www.wdce.org

Mendelssohn: “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” Overture
Orchestre de Champs Elysées/Philippe Herreweghe (Harmonia Mundi France)

Past Masters:
Haydn: Quartet in D major, Op. 20, No. 4
Pro Arte Quartet (Classica d’Oro)
(recorded 1935)

Peter Schickele:
“A Year in the Catskills”
Blair Woodwind Quintet (Naxos)

Rachmaninoff: “Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini”
Bella Davidovich, piano
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Amsterdam/Neeme Järvi (Philips)

Poulenc: “Les Biches”
Ambrosian Singers; Philharmonia Orchestra/Georges Prêtre (EMI Classics)

Liszt: “Les Années de Pèlerinage: la Suisse” – “Vallée d’Obermann”
Carole Carniel, piano
(1840 Érard)
(Ligia)

Beethoven: Sonata in A major, Op. 69
Yo-Yo Ma, cello; Emanuel Ax, piano
(Sony Classical)

Dvořák: Romance in F minor, Op. 11
Josef Suk, violin
Czech Philharmonic/Václav Neumann (Supraphon)

Mozart: Symphony No. 23 in D major, K. 181
Geneva Chamber Orchestra/David Greilsammer
(Sony Classical)

Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 5
in D major
London Symphony Orchestra/André Previn (RCA Victor)

Past Masters:
J.S. Bach: “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring”
(arranged by Myra Hess)
Myra Hess, piano (EMI Classics)
(recorded 1957)

Review: Richmond Chamber Players

Aug. 10, Bon Air Presbyterian Church

Want to make even a sophisticated music lover flunk a blindfold test? Play Giuseppe Verdi’s String Quartet in E minor, and ask the identity of the composer. Subjected to the test myself, I would probably guess Bedrich Smetana or some more obscure mid- to late-romantic Slav. The piece bears little or no resemblance to the operatic Verdi, although several of its themes were lifted from his operas.

The quartet, written in 1872 as Verdi was marooned in a Naples hotel while rehearsals for “Aïda” were delayed by a singer’s illness, is the only significant instrumental work by the composer to have survived; but it remained a rarity until last year’s Verdi bicentennial. I’ve heard it played no less than three times in the past 18 months.

The latest performance, by violinists Catherine Cary and Susy Yim, violist Stephen Schmidt and cellist Neal Cary in the Richmond Chamber Players’ second Interlude series concert of this season, was in some ways the most convincing. The ensemble sounded warm and highly expressive – cellist Cary especially so in his solo in the trio of the third movement; and treated the most impressive part of the piece, the fugal scherzo opening the final movement, to a detailed and finely balanced reading.

Similar qualities came through in the “Rustiques” Wind Trio by Joseph Canteloube, the French composer best-known as the arranger-orchestrator of “Songs of the Auvergne.” Like the song cycle, the trio is rooted in French folk music; but its more animated sections recall in insouciant neo-classical Parisian style of Les Six in the 1920s.

Oboist Gustav Highstein, clarinetist Jared Davis and bassoonist Michael Gordon played the Canteloube, which Davis termed a “French morsel,” with affectionate treatment of its lyrical themes – Gordon melodized in the central rêverie to fine effect – and a gratifying tartness in its more urbane, modernist harmonies.

Davis, the new principal clarinetist of the Richmond Symphony, also was featured in an Adagio in D flat major for clarinet and string quartet that has been credited to the young Richard Wagner, but was probably the work of Heinrich Baermann, an influential German clarinetist of the early 19th century. The clarinetist treated this short air to a mellow reading of great tonal refinement.

Cellist Cary and pianist John Walter opened the program with its only even vaguely familiar entry, the “Twelve Variations on ‘Ein Mädchen oder Weibchen’ from Mozart’s ‘Die Zauberflöte’ ” by the young Beethoven. The piano is the dominant voice of the duo in most of the variations, and Walter played with a tone of animated whimsy well-suited to Papageno, the love-struck comic character who sings the aria in “The Magic Flute.” Cary seconded Walter stylistically in his more limited contributions to the set.

The Richmond Chamber Players’ Interlude series continues with concerts at 3 p.m. Aug. 17 and 24 at Bon Air Presbyterian Church, 9201 W. Huguenot Road. Tickets: 20. Details: (804) 217-7205; www.richmondchamberplayers.org

Skiano joins Detroit Symphony

Ralph Skiano, the Richmond Symphony’s principal clarinetist since 2002, has joined the Detroit Symphony Orchestra as its principal clarinetist.

Jared Davis, who has been assistant principal and E flat clarinetist of the Richmond Symphony since 2004, succeeds Skiano in the first chair.

Skiano, a native of Alexandria and graduate of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, has performed as a soloist several times with the Richmond Symphony, as well as playing as guest soloist with other orchestras.

He has been active in chamber music in the mid-Atlantic region, performing with the Richmond-based Atlantic Chamber Ensemble and the Washington-based Fessenden Chamber Ensemble. He also served as principal clarinet of the Des Moines Opera, and performed in a number of summer music festivals.

The collector

Writing for The New York Times Magazine, Monte Reel profiles the world’s most prodigious record collector, Zero Freitas, a Brazilian businessman who, Reel writes, is “driven to get his hands on all the records in the world.”

Freitas has amassed a collection of several million vinyl discs – he’s not sure of the exact number – and continues to acquire them in batches of dozens, hundreds and thousands, much more than his cataloguing staff can keep up with:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/10/magazine/the-brazilian-bus-magnate-whos-buying-up-all-the-worlds-vinyl-records.html?action=click&contentCollection=Politics&module=MostEmailed&version=Full&region=Marginalia&src=me&pgtype=article

Review: Summer at CenterStage

Charles West, clarinet
Yin Zheng & Xi Zhang, piano
Aug. 7, Richmond CenterStage

Clarinetist Charles West and pianist Yin Zheng are colleagues in the Virginia Commonwealth University music department and regular collaborators in chamber performances. Their performance of Brahms’ Sonata in F minor, Op. 120, in the latest Summer at CenterStage recital reflected their familiarity with each other’s musicianship.

Unfortunately, the reading was brisk, almost to the point of sounding brusque. Stylishness and efficiency too often trumped depth of expression. Balances also proved uneven, with one or the other instrument suddenly surging into the foreground, then receding.

The acoustics of Richmond CenterStage’s Gottwald Playhouse may have been a factor. Wind instruments have a tendency to glare in the space; big chords and heavy accents on the piano similarly sound oversized.

Zheng’s performance of Brahms’ Op. 118 set of six piano pieces had some comparable sonic issues, especially at high volume and intensity – as in, for example, the opening of the Ballade in G minor. Her playing in the great Intermezzo in A major and the Romance in F major, pieces of less extroverted expression, made a better impression.

Some of her phrasing and handling of dynamics came close to being too mannered, but never quite crossed the line. Her subtle colorations in the concluding Intermezzo in E flat minor made one wonder how she would treat impressionistic scores – Ravel, say, or the Études-tableaux of Rachmaninoff.

The Chinese pianist Xi Zhang joined Zheng in three of the better-known Slavonic dances of Dvořák, Op. 46, Nos. 2 and 8 and Op. 72, No. 2, in the original piano four-hands versions. Their performances were bright, energetic and colorful, although generally primary colored.

Summer at CenterStage’s Aug. 14 program, by violinist Jocelyn Vorenberg and pianist David Fisk, is sold out, although some seats may become available. That, and programs on Aug. 21 and 28, begin at 6:30 p.m. in Gottwald Playhouse of Richmond CenterStage, Sixth and Grace streets. Tickets: $20. Details: (800) 514-3849 (ETIX); www.richmondsymphony.com

Letter V Classical Radio this week

Aug. 7
noon-4 p.m. EDT
1600-2000 UTC
1700-2100 GMT
WDCE, University of Richmond
90.1 FM
www.wdce.org

Tchaikovsky: “Swan Lake” – Waltz
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic/Vasily Petrenko (Avie)

Stravinsky: Capriccio for piano and orchestra
Olli Mustonen, piano
Deutsches Symphony Orchestra, Berlin/
Vladimir Ashkenazy (London)

Mozart: Quartet in C major, K. 465 (“Dissonance”)
Quartetto Italiano (Philips)

Smetana: “Libuše” Overture
Cleveland Orchestra/Christoph von Dohnányi (Decca)

Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto in E minor
Itzhak Perlman, violin
Chicago Symphony Orchestra/Daniel Barenboim (Erato)

Past Masters:
Britten: Serenade for tenor, horn and strings
Peter Pears, tenor; Barry Tuckwell, French horn
London Symphony Orchestra/Benjamin Britten (London)
(recorded 1963)

Giovanni Gabrieli:
Magnificat à 33
Gabrieli Consort & Players/Paul McCreesh
(DG Archiv)

J.S. Bach: “The Art of the Fugue” –
Contrapunctus XIX
(orchestration by Luciano Berio)
Giuseppe Verdi Symphony Orchestra, Milan/Riccardo Chailly (Decca)

Brahms: Sonata in F minor, Op. 34b
Martha Argerich & Lilya Zilberstein, pianos
(EMI Classics)

Handel: Trio Sonata in G major, Op. 5, No. 4
Brook Street Band (Avie)

Past Masters:
Dvořák: Symphony No. 7
in D minor
Cleveland Orchestra/
George Szell (Sony Classical)
(recorded 1960)

Vivaldi: Flute Concerto in G major, Op. 10, No. 4
Matthias Maute, traverso
Rebel/Jörg-Michael Schwarz (Bridge)

Francis Church (1927-2014)

Francis Church, the longtime music critic of The Richmond News Leader, has died at 87. He had suffered a severe stroke earlier this year.

A Harvard University alumnus and cellist, Francis played in the Louisville Orchestra and the former Norfolk Symphony (now the Virginia Symphony) while working at newspapers. While serving as a critic and editor at The News Leader, he performed with the Richmond Philharmonic, Lynchburg Symphony and other orchestras, as well as chamber ensembles.

Francis and I were the classical-music critics of The News Leader and Richmond Times-Dispatch, respectively, during the 1980s and early ’90s, and as such were competitors. Sometimes we heard performances differently, but our differences were always respectful and cordial. On the most important issues – artistic integrity, developing and sustaining a substantive and thriving classical-music scene in Richmond – we agreed. Over time, competitors became good friends.

Francis retired when The News Leader ceased publication in 1992, but subsequently wrote reviews and commentaries for The Times-Dispatch and then for Letter V. He continued to play the cello until he was disabled by the stroke. He sang in the choir and was an active congregant at Bon Air Presbyterian Church.

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Aug. 8 at Bon Air Presbyterian, 9201 W. Huguenot Road.

UPDATE (Aug. 7): An obituary by Ellen Robertson in The Times Dispatch:
  http://www.timesdispatch.com/obituaries/featured/francis-l-church-cellist-and-retired-editor-music-critic-and/article_7b3408c7-1aa2-5e9d-a872-414e0ab0f460.html

Chamber Music Society 2014-15

Tickets go on sale Aug. 4 for the Chamber Music Society of Central Virginia’s 2014-15 season, which will include concerts focusing on classics and contemporary offshoots of Viennese music, Johann Sebastian Bach’s six suites for solo cello and “The Well-Tempered Clavier,” baroque trio sonatas and concertos, and romantic and modern music by Scandinavian, Baltic and Russian composers.

Joining cellist James Wilson, the society’s artistic director, will be a cast of longtime participants, among them harpsichordist-pianist Carsten Schmidt, flutist Mary Boodell, violinists Nurit Pacht and Jesse Mills, pianist Rieko Aizawa and lutenist David Walker.

Beiliang Zhu, winner of the 2012 Bach International Competition in Leipzig, will perform on a five-string baroque cello, sharing with Wilson the program of the Bach suites.

Soprano Jessica Petrus will be featured in a baroque vocal program, “Dido and Other Heroines,” singing Michel Monteclair’s “The Death of Dido.”

Altogether, the Chamber Music Society will stage 11 performances in the coming season – four free lecture-recital “informances” in the Gellman Room of the Richmond Public Library’s main branch at First and Franklin streets, and seven ticketed programs at three locations: Bon Air Presbyterian Church, 9201 W. Huguenot Road; First Unitarian Universalist Church, 1000 Blanton Ave. at the Carillon; and the Church of the Holy Comforter, Episcopal, Monument Avenue at Staples Mill Road.

Season subscriptions are $155 and single tickets $25, with senior and student discounts offered.

For more information, call (804) 519-2098 or visit www.cmscva.org

The Chamber Music Society of Central Virginia’s 2014-15 artists and programs:

Oct. 25 (2 p.m.)
Gellman Room, Richmond Public Library
Mary Boodell, flute
Nurit Pacht & Guillaume Pirard, violins
Melissa Reardon, viola
James Wilson, cello
Carsten Schmidt, piano
“NeoVienna”
Onuto Narbutaite: “Winter Serenade”
Arvo Pärt: “Mozart Adagio”
Alfred Schnittke: “Mozart à la Haydn”
Matthew Burtner: “(dis)integrations”
Judith Shatin: “Fledermaus Fantasy”

Oct. 27 (7:30 p.m.)
Bon Air Presbyterian Church
Mary Boodell, flute
Nurit Pacht & Guillaume Pirard, violins
Melissa Reardon, viola
James Wilson, cello
Carsten Schmidt, piano
Stephen Henley, organ
“Austro-Hungarian Waltz”
Johann Strauss II: “Roses from the South”
Haydn: Quartet in C major, Op. 76, No. 3 (“Emperor”)
Erich Wolfgang Korngold: Waltz for piano
Webern: Piece for string trio
Dohnányi: Piano Quintet in C minor, Op. 1

Dec. 16 (7:30 p.m.)
Church of the Holy Comforter, Episcopal
Beiliang Zhu & James Wilson, baroque cellos
J.S. Bach: suites Nos. 1-6 for solo cello

Jan. 10 (2 p.m.)
Gellman Room, Richmond Public Library
Fiona Hughes & Martin Davids, violins
Kyle Miller, viola
James Wilson, cello
David Walker, lute
Mark Shudiner, harpsichord
“3=4 (or More)”
trio sonatas TBA

Jan. 10 (7:30 p.m.)
First Unitarian Universalist Church
Jessica Petrus, soprano
Anne Timberlake, recorder
Fiona Hughes & Martin Davids, violins
Kyle Miller, viola
James Wilson, cello
David Walker, lute
Mark Shudiner, harpsichord
“Winter Baroque: Dido and Other Heroines”
Michel Monteclair: “The Death of Dido”
other works TBA

Jan. 12 (7:30 p.m.)
First Unitarian Universalist Church
Mary Boodell, traverso flute
Fiona Hughes & Martin Davids, violins
Kyle Miller, viola
James Wilson, cello
David Walker, lute
Mark Shudiner, harpsichord
“Concerti Barocchi”
program TBA

Feb. 21 (2 p.m.)
Gellman Room, Richmond Public Library
Carsten Schmidt, harpsichord & speaker
“Bach as Teacher”

Feb. 22 (4 p.m.)
Church of the Holy Comforter, Episcopal
Carsten Schmidt, harpsichord
J.S. Bach: “The Well-Tempered Clavier”

May 16 (2 p.m.)
Gellman Room, Richmond Public Library
Mary Boodell, flute
Jesse Mills & Daisuke Yamamoto, violins
Melissa Reardon, viola
James Wilson, cello
Rieko Aizawa, piano
“Ice Cubes”
Scandinavian, Baltic, Russian works TBA

May 17 (4 p.m.)
First Unitarian Universalist Church
Mary Boodell, flute
Jesse Mills & Daisuke Yamamoto, violins
Melissa Reardon, viola
James Wilson, cello
Rieko Aizawa, piano
“Romantics and Mystics”
Borodin: Quartet No. 2 in D major
Friedrich Kuhlau: Quintet in E major, Op. 51, No. 2, for flute and strings
Onuto Narbutaite: “Mozartsommer”

May 19 (7:30 p.m.)
First Unitarian Universalist Church
Mary Boodell, flute
Jesse Mills, violin
James Wilson, cello
Rieko Aizawa, piano
“Hot and Cold”
Grieg: Andante in C minor for piano, violin and cello
Peteris Vasks: “Landscapes with Birds”
Sibelius: “The Swan of Tuonela”
Arensky: Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor

August 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/youth, group and other discounts may be offered.

SCOUTING REPORT

* In and around Richmond: The Richmond Chamber Players’ August Interlude series opens on Aug. 3 with a tribute to the late Richmond composer Allan Blank, and continue on Aug. 10, 17 and 24, all at Bon Air Presbyterian Church. . . . Virginia Commonwealth University’s Global Summer Piano Institute presents recitals and workshops by resident and visiting artists, Aug. 4-9 at on- and off-campus venues. . . . The August Musicales series at Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church opens with pianist Hope Armstrong Erb, violinist Treesa Gold and cellist Teresa Bjornes, and continues with concerts by the U.S. Army Chorus on Aug. 20 and The Wren Masters early music ensemble on Aug. 27. . . . Summer at CenterStage, the chamber-music series focusing on Brahms, continues with mini-concerts featuring clarinetists Charles West and Jared Davis, violinists Jocelyn Vorenberg and Susannah Klein, pianists Charles Staples and David Fisk, and others, Aug. 7, 14, 21 and 28 in the Gottwald Playhouse of Richmond CenterStage.

* Noteworthy elsewhere: Cellist Yo-Yo Ma joins Thomas Wilkins and the National Symphony Orchestra for Dvořák’s Cello Concerto, Aug. 2 at Wolf Trap in Northern Virginia.
. . . Ash Lawn Opera stages the musical “Fiddler on the Roof,” Aug. 2, 3, 6 and 8 at the Paramount Theater in Charlottesville. . . . The Staunton Music Festival, Aug. 15-24, focuses on Bach, including performances of “The Musical Offering” and the “St. Matthew Passion,” and features several new works by the Richmond-bred composer Zachary Wadsworth. . . . Highlights of the month at Garth Newel Music Center near Hot Springs include the Daedalus Quartet playing Beethoven, Schubert, Bartók and more, Aug. 9-10, and two piano extravanzas with four performers, Aug. 30-31.


Aug. 2 (2 p.m.)
Aug. 3 (2 p.m.)
Aug. 6 (7:30 p.m.)
Aug. 8 (7:30 p.m.)
Paramount Theater, 215 E. Main St., Charlottesville
Ash Lawn Opera
Mark Sforzini conducting
Jerry Bock & Sheldon Harnick: “Fiddler on the Roof”
David Kravitz (Tevye)
Jenni Bank (Golde)
Tamara Rusqué (Tzeitel)
Julia Ebner (Hodel)
Zoe Johnson (Chava)
Ethan DePuy (Motel)
Clayton Brown (Perchik)
Peter Lake (Fyedka)
Joe Duquette (Lazar Wolf)
Meaghan Deiter (Yenta)
Erin Passmore (Grandma Tzeitel)
Elyse Mendelson (Fruma/Sarah)
Jeremy Serkin (Constable)
Crystal Manich, stage director
in English
$42-$65
(434) 979-1333
www.theparamount.net

Aug. 2 (5 p.m.)
Herter Hall, Garth Newel Music Center, Route 220, near Hot Springs, Bath County
Bayla Keyes & Teresa Ling, violins
Evelyn Grau, viola
Isaac Melamed, cello
Genevieve Feiwen Lee & Robert Merfeld, piano
Dvořák: “Cypresses”
Ravel: Violin Sonata, Op. posth.
Turina: “Circulo,” Op. 91
Dvořák: Piano Quintet in A major, Op. 81
$25 (concert); $84 (concert & dinner)
(877) 558-1689
www.garthnewel.org

Aug. 2 (8:15 p.m.)
Filene Center amphitheater, Wolf Trap, Trap Road, Vienna
National Symphony Orchestra
Thomas Wilkins conducting
Bernstein: “Candide” Overture and Suite
Grieg: “Peer Gynt” Suite No. 1
Dvořák: Cello Concerto in B minor
Yo-Yo Ma, cello
$25-$75
(877) 965-3872 (Tickets.com)
www.wolftrap.org

Aug. 3 (3 p.m.)
Bon Air Presbyterian Church, 9201 W. Huguenot Road, Richmond
August Interludes
Richmond Chamber Players
Brahms: Clarinet Quintet in B minor, Op. 115
David Niethamer, clarinet
Susy Yim & Catherine Cary, violins
Molly Sharp, viola
Neal Cary, cello
Barber: Quartet, Op. 11
Susy Yim & Catherine Cary, violins
Stephen Schmidt, viola
Neal Cary, cello
Allan Blank: “Study for solo viola”
Stephen Schmidt, viola
Blank: “Links” for clarinet, violin and piano
David Niethamer, clarinet
Catherine Cary, violin
John Walter, piano
$20
(804) 217-7205
www.richmondchamberplayers.org

Aug. 3 (3 p.m.)
Herter Hall, Garth Newel Music Center, Route 220, near Hot Springs, Bath County
“Young Artists Showcase”
performers TBA
Haydn: Quartet in D major, Op. 76, No. 5
Shostakovich: Quartet No. 7
Jalbert: Piano Trio
Turina: Piano Quartet in A minor, Op. 67
$25 (concert); $43 (concert & picnic)
(877) 558-1689
www.garthnewel.org

Aug. 4 (7 p.m.)
Gellman Room, Richmond Public Library, First and Franklin streets
VCU Global Summer Piano Institute:
Nikolai Kaputin: études Nos. 2-3
Scriabin: Sonata No. 5 in F sharp major, Op. 53
Bo Gao, piano
Brahms: intermezzi, Op. 117, Nos. 1 and 3
Schumann: “Carnaval,” Op. 9
Langiabao Ge, piano
$15
(804) 828-6776
https://wp.vcu.edu/gspi/events/

Aug. 5 (2 p.m.)
Vlahcevic Concert Hall, Singleton Arts Center, Virginia Commonwealth University, Park Avenue at Harrison Street, Richmond
VCU Global Summer Piano Institute:
Claire Chiu, piano & lecturer
“The Universe Encapsulated in Chinese Roots”
Fang Xiaomin: “Jin Ye”
Zhang Zhao: “Pi Huang”
Ge Ganru: “Gu Yue”
Chen Yi: “Ji-Dong-Nuo”
Zhou Long: “Wu Kui”
$15
(804) 828-6776
https://wp.vcu.edu/gspi/events/

Aug. 5 (7 p.m.)
Vlahcevic Concert Hall, Singleton Arts Center, Virginia Commonwealth University, Park Avenue at Harrison Street, Richmond
VCU Global Summer Piano Institute:
Jin Tang, piano
Mozart: Sonata in F major, K. 280
Liqing Yang: Sonatina
Barber: Sonata, Op. 26
$15
(804) 828-6776
https://wp.vcu.edu/gspi/events/

Aug. 6 (7 p.m.)
Vlahcevic Concert Hall, Singleton Arts Center, Virginia Commonwealth University, Park Avenue at Harrison Street, Richmond
VCU Global Summer Piano Institute:
Dizhou Zhao, piano
Chopin: 4 ballades
$15
(804) 828-6776
https://wp.vcu.edu/gspi/events/

Aug. 6 (7 p.m.)
Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church, 1627 Monument Ave., Richmond
August Musicales:
Hope Armstrong Erb, piano
Treesa Gold, violin
Teresa Bjornes, cello
program TBA
donations accepted
(804) 359-2463
www.grace-covenant.org

Aug. 6 (7 p.m.)
nTelos Wireless Pavilion, Charlottesville
Warren Hayes, vocals & guitar
Richmond Symphony
“Jerry Garcia Symphonic Celebration”
$39-$70
(877) 272-8849
www.thenteloswirelesspavilion.com

Aug. 7 (2 p.m.)
Vlahcevic Concert Hall, Singleton Arts Center, Virginia Commonwealth University, Park Avenue at Harrison Street, Richmond
VCU Global Summer Piano Institute:
Sonia Vlahcevic, piano
Justin Alexander, percussion
Rhythmic workshop and contemporary concert
program TBA
$15
(804) 828-6776
https://wp.vcu.edu/gspi/events/

Aug. 7 (6:30 p.m.)
Gottwald Playhouse, Richmond CenterStage, Sixth and Grace streets
Summer at CenterStage:
Charles West, clarinet
Xi Zhang, piano
Brahms: Clarinet Sonata in F minor, Op. 120, No. 1
Brahms: “Klavierstücke,” Op. 118
Dvořák: Slavonic dances, Op. 46, Nos. 1 and 8; Op. 72, No. 2
$20; includes free drink
(800) 514-3849 (ETIX)
www.richmondsymphony.com

Aug. 8 (7 p.m.)
Vlahcevic Concert Hall, Singleton Arts Center, Virginia Commonwealth University, Park Avenue at Harrison Street, Richmond
VCU Global Summer Piano Institute:
Xi Zhang, piano
Haydn: Sonata in F major, Hob. XVI:23
Rachmaninoff: preludes, Op. 23, Nos. 6 and 2
Liszt: Sonata in B minor
$15
(804) 828-6776
https://wp.vcu.edu/gspi/events/

Aug. 9 (7 p.m.)
Vlahcevic Concert Hall, Singleton Arts Center, Virginia Commonwealth University, Park Avenue at Harrison Street, Richmond
VCU Global Summer Piano Institute:
performers TBA
GSPI Culminating Participants Recital
program TBA
$15
(804) 828-6776
https://wp.vcu.edu/gspi/events/

Aug. 9 (5 p.m.)
Herter Hall, Garth Newel Music Center, Route 220, near Hot Springs, Bath County
Daedalus Quartet
Ullmann: Quartet No. 3, Op. 46
Weinberg: Quartet No. 8, Op. 66
Beethoven: Quartet in B flat major, Op. 130 (with “Great Fugue”)
$25 (concert); $84 (concert & dinner)
(877) 558-1689
www.garthnewel.org

Aug. 10 (3 p.m.)
Bon Air Presbyterian Church, 9201 W. Huguenot Road, Richmond
August Musicales:
Richmond Chamber Players
Beethoven: “Twelve Variations on ‘Ein Mädchen oder Weibchen’ from Mozart’s ‘Die Zauberflöte’ ”
Neal Cary, cello
John Walter, piano
Canteloube: Woodwind Trio (“Rustiques”)
Gustav Highstein, oboe
Jared Davis, clarinet
Martin Gordon, bassoon
Wagner: Adagio for clarinet quintet
Jared Davis, clarinet
Catherine Cary & Susy Yim, violins
Stephen Schmidt, viola
Neal Cary, cello
Verdi: Quartet
Catherine Cary & Susy Yim, violins
Stephen Schmidt, viola
Neal Cary, cello
(804) 217-7205
www.richmondchamberplayers.org

Aug. 10 (3 p.m.)
Herter Hall, Garth Newel Music Center, Route 220, near Hot Springs, Bath County
Daedalus Quartet
Mozart: Quartet in G major, K. 80
Bartók: Quartet No. 2
Schubert: Quartet in A minor, D. 804
$25 (concert); $43 (concert & picnic)
(877) 558-1689
www.garthnewel.org

Aug. 12 (8 p.m.)
Paramount Theater, 215 E. Main St., Charlottesville
Municipal Band of Charlottesville
Stephen R. Layton directing
Dick Orange, vocalist
James Tobin, clarinet
Michael Elswick, saxophones
“Celebrate the Big Bands”
works by Glenn Miller, The Gershwins, Benny Goodman, Richard Rodgers, others
free
(434) 979-1333
www.theparamount.net

Aug. 14 (6:30 p.m.)
Gottwald Playhouse, Richmond CenterStage, Sixth and Grace streets
Summer at CenterStage:
Jocelyn Vorenberg, violin
David Fisk, piano
Beethoven: Violin Sonata in A minor, Op. 23
Brahms: Violin Sonata in A major, Op. 100
Wieniawski: Caprice in E flat major
Elgar: “La Capriceuse,” Op. 17
$20; includes free drink
(800) 514-3849 (ETIX)
www.richmondsymphony.com

Aug. 15 (8 p.m.)
Hunt Hall, Mary Baldwin College, Staunton
Staunton Music Festival:
Carsten Schmidt directing
performers TBA
“Midsummer Ball: Vienna Meets Berlin”
Mozart: “The Magic Flute” (excerpts)
Johann Strauss II: “Tritsch-Tratsch Polka”
Schubert: Lieder TBA
Schoenberg: “Pierrot Lunaire” (excerpts)
Karas: “The Third Man” for solo harp
Weill: “The Threepenny Opera” (excerpts)
cocktails at 6 p.m., dinner at 7 p.m., dessert & dancing at 9 p.m.
$100
(540) 569-0267
www.stauntonmusicfestival.org

Aug. 16 (noon)
Trinity Episcopal Church, 214 W. Beverley St., Staunton
Staunton Music Festival:
Carsten Schmidt directing
performers TBA
Britten: “Canticle II: Abraham and Isaac”
Taira: “Sublimation” for harp
Tchaikovsky: “Romeo and Juliet” Fantasy-Overture for piano and string sextet (Vladimir Mendelssohn arr.)
free
(540) 569-0267
www.stauntonmusicfestival.org

Aug. 16 (7:30 p.m.)
Trinity Episcopal Church, 214 W. Beverley St., Staunton
Staunton Music Festival:
Carsten Schmidt directing
performers TBA
Johann Strauss II: “Die Fledermaus” Overture
Weelkes: 2 madrigals
Liszt: Legend No. 1 (“Franziskus”) for piano
Cage: Suite for toy piano (excerpt)
Rossini: “Cat Duet” for two sopranos and piano
Crumb: “Voice of the Whale”
Edwards: “Dance of the Dragonfly” for four percussionists
Zachary Wadsworth: songs TBA
Haydn: Symphony No. 83 (“The Hen”)
$22
(540) 569-0267
www.stauntonmusicfestival.org

Aug. 16 (5 p.m.)
Herter Hall, Garth Newel Music Center, Route 220, near Hot Springs, Bath County
Andres Díaz, cello
Genevieve Feiwen Lee, piano
Bach: Suite in C major, BWV 1009, for solo cello
Beethoven: Cello Sonata in D major, Op. 102, No. 2
Xi Wang: Rhapsody for cello
Shostakovich: Cello Sonata in D minor, Op. 40
$25 (concert); $84 (concert & dinner)
(877) 558-1689
www.garthnewel.org

Aug. 17 (3 p.m.)
Bon Air Presbyterian Church, 9201 W. Huguenot Road, Richmond
August Musicales:
Richmond Chamber Players
Shostakovich: Quartet No. 1
Susy Yim & Catherine Cary, violins
Stephen Schmidt, viola
Neal Cary, cello
Smetana: Piano Trio in G minor, Op. 15
Catherine Cary, violin
Neal Cary, cello
John Walter, piano
Beethoven: Quintet in C major, Op. 29
Susy Yim & Catherine Cary, violins
Molly Sharp & Stephen Schmidt, violas
Neal Cary, cello
$20
(804) 217-7205
www.richmondchamberplayers.org

Aug. 17 (3 p.m.)
Central United Methodist Church, 14 N. Lewis St., Staunton
Staunton Music Festival:
Carsten Schmidt directing
performers TBA
Prokofiev: “Peter and the Wolf”
free
(540) 569-0267
www.stauntonmusicfestival.org

Aug. 17 (7:30 p.m.)
Blackfriars Playhouse, 10 S. Market St., Staunton
Staunton Music Festival:
Carsten Schmidt directing
performers TBA
Handel: Sinfonia & chorus from “Acis and Galatea”
Dunstable: “Quam pulchra est”
Dowland: “Lachrimae” for lute
Britten: Quartet No. 2 in C major
Vaughan Williams: “Studies in English Folksong”
Clyne: “steelworks” for flute, bass clarinet, percussion and tape
Britten: “Canticle V: The Death of St. Narcissus” for tenor and harp
Elgar: “Pomp and Circumstance” March No. 1 (“Land of Hope and Glory”) for chorus and orchestra
$28
(540) 569-0267
www.stauntonmusicfestival.org

Aug. 17 (3 p.m.)
Herter Hall, Garth Newel Music Center, Route 220, near Hot Springs, Bath County
Teresa Ling, violin
Evelyn Grau, viola
Andres Díaz, cello
Genevieve Feiwen Lee, piano
Debussy: Cello Sonata
Beethoven: String Trio in G major, Op. 9, No. 1
Dvořák: Piano Quartet in E flat major, Op. 87
$25 (concert); $43 (concert & picnic)
(877) 558-1689
www.garthnewel.org

Aug. 18 (noon)
Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church, 2807 N. Augusta St., Staunton
Staunton Music Festival:
Francesco Pedrini, organ
works TBA by Byrd, Parabosco, Bach, Bovet, Zachary Wadsworth, others
free
(540) 569-0267
www.stauntonmusicfestival.org

Aug. 18 (7:30 p.m.)
Trinity Episcopal Church, 214 W. Beverley St., Staunton
Staunton Music Festival:
Carsten Schmidt directing
performers TBA
Vivaldi: Concerto in A minor for two violins
Burtner: “Syntax of Snow” for glockenspiel, snow and electronics
Anderson: “Three Duets” for two double-basses
Zachary Wadsworth: “Memory Etude” for violin and electronics
J.S. Bach: “Der Geist hilft unser Schwachheit auf” motet for double chorus
G.L. Frank: “Los Sambras de los Apus” for four cellos
Bartók: Sonata for two pianos and percussion
$22
(540) 569-0267
www.stauntonmusicfestival.org

Aug. 19 (noon)
Central United Methodist Church, 14 N. Lewis St., Staunton
Staunton Music Festival:
Carsten Schmidt directing
performers TBA
Beethoven: folksong arrangements TBA
Schoenberg-Webern: Chamber Symphony No. 1 for flute, clarinet, violin, cello and piano
free
(540) 569-0267
www.stauntonmusicfestival.org

Aug. 19 (7:30 p.m.)
Trinity Episcopal Church, 214 W. Beverley St., Staunton
Staunton Music Festival:
Carsten Schmidt directing
performers TBA
J.S. Bach: Concerto in C major for three harpsichords
Haydn: Piano Trio in G major
Storace: Ciacconna for three harpsichords, organ and theorbo
Rachmaninoff: “Trio elegaique” No. 1
Schumann: 2 songs TBA
J.S. Bach: Sonata in C minor for violin and harpsichord
Rameau: “Le Cupis, le Marais” for harpsichord, violin, gamba, flute and oboe
Chopin: “Andante spianato and Grande Polonaise brillante” for piano and string quintet
$22
(540) 569-0267
www.stauntonmusicfestival.org

Aug. 20 (7 p.m.)
Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church, 1627 Monument Ave., Richmond
August Musicales:
U.S. Army Chorus
program TBA
donations accepted
(804) 359-2463
www.grace-covenant.org

Aug. 20 (noon)
Trinity Episcopal Church, 214 W. Beverley St., Staunton
Staunton Music Festival:
Carsten Schmidt directing
performers TBA
Schumann: “Spanisce Liebeslieder,” for vocal quartet and piano four-hands
Zachary Wadsworth: new work TBA for chorus and harp
Judith Shatin: “Marvelous Pursuits” for vocal quartet and piano four-hands
free
(540) 569-0267
www.stauntonmusicfestival.org

Aug. 20 (7:30 p.m.)
Trinity Episcopal Church, 214 W. Beverly St., Staunton
Staunton Music Festival:
Carsten Schmidt directing
performers TBA
J.S. Bach: Chaconne for violin (from Partita No. 2)
J.S. Bach: “Christ lag in Todesbunden” for vocal quartet
E.I. Kahn: “Ciaconna dei tempo de guerra” for piano
Schütz: “Es steh Gott auf” for two sopranos, violins and continuo
Dotas: new work TBA for jazz ensemble
Brahms: Symphony No. 4 in E minor
$22
(540) 569-0267
www.stauntonmusicfestival.org

Aug. 21 (6:30 p.m.)
Gottwald Playhouse, Richmond CenterStage, Sixth and Grace streets
Summer at CenterStage:
Susannah Klein & Ross Winter, violins
Charles Staples, piano
Brahms: Violin Sonata in D minor, Op. 108
Prokofiev: Sonata, Op. 56, for two violins
Brahms: Capriccio in G minor, Op. 76
Shostakovich: Duo for two violins and piano (“The Gadfly”)
$20; includes free drink
(800) 514-3849 (ETIX)
www.richmondsymphony.com

Aug. 21 (noon)
Central United Methodist Church, 14 N. Lewis St., Staunton
Staunton Music Festival:
Carsten Schmidt directing
performers TBA
J.S. Bach: “The Musical Offering,” BWV 1079, for flute, string sextet and harpsichord
free
(540) 569-0267
www.stauntonmusicfestival.org

Aug. 21 (7:30 p.m.)
Trinity Episcopal Church, 214 W. Beverley St., Staunton
Staunton Music Festival:
Carsten Schmidt directing
performers TBA
Rachmaninoff: Vocalise for soprano and strings
Mozart: Gigue in G major, K. 574, for piano
Mozart: “Ave verum corpus” for chorus
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 15 for violin, cello, piano and percussion
Walter-Kühne: “Fantasie on Themes from ‘Eugene Onegin’ ” for solo harp
Tchaikovsky: Suite in G major (“Mozartiana”)
$22
(540) 569-0267
www.stauntonmusicfestival.org

Aug. 22 (noon)
Central United Methodist Church, 14 S. Lewis St., Staunton
Staunton Music Festival:
Carsten Schmidt directing
performers TBA
Zachary Wadsworth: “The New Wilderness” for English horn and piano
Fauré: Fantasie for flute and harp
Mozart: Serenade in C minor, K. 388, for wind octet
free
(540) 569-0267
www.stauntonmusicfestival.org

Aug. 22 (7:30 p.m.)
Trinity Episcopal Church, 214 W. Beverley St., Staunton
Staunton Music Festival:
Carsten Schmidt directing
performers TBA
Albinoni: Concerto in F major for two oboes and strings
Kapsberger: Toccata for theorbo
Monteverdi: madrigals, Book VIII (excerpts)
Castello: Sonata for recorder, violin and continuo
Merula: Ciaconna for strings and continuo
Geminiani: Concerto grosso in D minor (“La Folia”)
Vivaldi: “Dixit Dominus” for soloists, double chorus and orchestra
$22
(540) 569-0267
www.stauntonmusicfestival.org

Aug. 23 (noon)
Central United Methodist Church, 14 S. Lewis St., Staunton
Staunton Music Festival:
Carsten Schmidt directing
performers TBA
Zachary Wadsworth: new works TBA for baritone and chamber ensemble
Dohnányi: Sextet for piano, violin, viola, cello, clarinet and horn
free
(540) 569-0267
www.stauntonmusicfestival.org

Aug. 23 (7:30 p.m.)
Trinity Episcopal Church, 214 W. Beverley St., Staunton
Staunton Music Festival:
Carsten Schmidt directing
performers TBA
Mahler: Adagietto from Symphony No. 5
Maderna: “Honeyreves” for flute and piano
Monteverdi: “Zefiro torna” for two tenors
Britten: Quartet No. 3
Vivaldi: “Nel profundo” from “Orlando furioso”
Lotti: “Crucifixus” for eight voices
Nono: “sofferte onde serene” for piano and tape
Vivaldi: “Winter” from “The Four Seasons”
$22
(540) 569-0267
www.stauntonmusicfestival.org

Aug. 23 (5 p.m.)
Herter Hall, Garth Newel Music Center, Route 220, near Hot Springs, Bath County
Teresa Ling, violin
Evelyn Grau, viola
Isaac Melamed, cello
Paul DeNola, double-bass
Read Gainsford, piano & reader
Süsskind: “The Double-Bass, a One-Man Theater Piece”
Schubert: Piano Quintet in A major, D. 667 (“Trout”)
$25 (concert); $84 (concert & dinner)
(877) 558-1689
www.garthnewel.org

Aug. 24 (3 p.m.)
Bon Air Presbyterian Church, 9201 W. Huguenot Road, Richmond
August Musicales:
Richmond Chamber Players
Beethoven: Piano Trio in D major, Op. 70, No. 1 (“Ghost”)
Catherine Cary, violin
Neal Cary, cello
John Walter, piano
Tartini: Violin Sonata in G minor (“The Devil’s Trill”)
Susy Yim, violin
John Walter, piano
Liszt: “From the Grave of Richard Wagner”
Lynette Wardle, harp
Catherine Cary & Susy Yim, violins
Stephen Schmidt, viola
Neal Cary, cello
André Caplet: “Conte Fantastique d’après Edgar Allan Poe’s ‘The Masque of the Red Death’ ”
Stephen Henley, reader
Lynette Wardle, harp
Catherine Cary & Susy Yim, violins
Stephen Schmidt, viola
Neal Cary, cello
$20
(804) 217-7205
www.richmondchamberplayers.org

Aug. 24 (3 p.m.)
Trinity Episcopal Church, 214 W. Beverley St., Staunton
Staunton Music Festival:
Carsten Schmidt directing
performers TBA
J.S. Bach: “St. Matthew Passion”
$28
(540) 569-0267
www.stauntonmusicfestival.org

Aug. 24 (3 p.m.)
Herter Hall, Garth Newel Music Center, Route 220, near Hot Springs, Bath County
Teresa Ling, violin
Evelyn Grau, viola
Isaac Melamed, cello
Paul DeNola, double-bass
Paige Morgan, oboe
Richard Faria, clarinet
Read Gainsford, piano
Gabriele Lamb, Giorgia Bovo & Williams Cannon, dancers
Mozart: Oboe Quartet in F major, K. 370 (choreographed by Adam Barruch)
Brahms: Clarinet Trio in A minor, Op. 114
Prokofiev: Quintet, Op. 39 (choreographed by Gabrielle Lamb)
$25 (concert); $43 (concert & picnic)
(877) 558-1689
www.garthnewel.org

Aug. 27 (7 p.m.)
Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church, 1627 Monument Ave., Richmond
August Musicales:
The Wren Masters
Ruth van Baak Griffioen, recorder
Susan Via, baroque violin
Sarah Glosson, baroque cello & viola da gamba
Thomas Marshall, harpsichord
program TBA
donations accepted
(804) 359-2463
www.grace-covenant.org

Aug. 28 (6:30 p.m.)
Gottwald Playhouse, Richmond CenterStage, Sixth and Grace streets
Summer at CenterStage:
Jared Davis, clarinet
Daniel Stipe, piano
Schumann: “Fantasiestücke,” Op. 73
Leo Weiner: “Peregi Verbunk” (“Hungarian Dance”)
Brahms: Clarinet Sonata in E flat major, Op. 120, No. 2
York Bowen: Clarinet Sonata, Op. 109
$20; includes free drink
(800) 514-3849 (ETIX)
www.richmondsymphony.com

Aug. 30 (5 p.m.)
Herter Hall, Garth Newel Music Center, Route 220, near Hot Springs, Bath County
Audrey Andrist, Genevieve Feiwen Lee, Lois Svard & Patti Wolf, pianos
Poulenc: Sonata for piano four-hands
Barber: “Souvenirs” for piano four-hands
Ravel: “Mother Goose” Suite for piano four-hands
Rachmaninoff: Suite for two pianos
Khachaturian: “Sabre Dance” for two pianos eight-hands
$25 (concert); $84 (concert & dinner)
(877) 558-1689
www.garthnewel.org

Aug. 31 (3 p.m.)
Herter Hall, Garth Newel Music Center, Route 220, near Hot Springs, Bath County
Audrey Andrist, Genevieve Feiwen Lee, Lois Svard & Patti Wolf, pianos
Gershwin: “Variations on ‘I Got Rhythm’ ” for two pianos
Brahms: Hungarian dances for piano four-hands
Stravinsky: “Three Movements from ‘Petrouchka’ ” for two pianos
Debussy: “En blanc et noir” for two pianos
Ellington-Strayhorn: “Tonk” for two pianos
Sousa: “The Stars and Stripes Forever” for two pianos eight-hands
$25 (concert); $43 (concert & picnic)
(877) 558-1689
www.garthnewel.org