Letter V Classical Radio this week

A four-hour special on New Year's Day: A twist on the traditional Viennese waltz program, which I’m calling, with no offense intended toward any archdukes out there . . .

The Habsburg Sock-Hop

The program features the waltz and its folk ancestor, the Ländler, along with other music based on dances from the Czech and Slovak lands, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and the Eastern European Roma and Jewish cultures, in their authentic folk forms and as adapted by composers of the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries.

Jan. 1
noon-4 p.m. EST
1700-2100 UTC/GMT
WDCE, University of Richmond
90.1 FM
www.wdce.org

Past Masters:
Rossini: “La gazza ladra” (“The Thieving Magpie”) Overture
Royal Philharmonic/Colin Davis (EMI Classics)
(recorded 1961)

Haydn: Symphony
No. 97 in C major –
III: menuetto
Orchestra of the 18th Century/Frans Brüggen (Philips)

Past Masters:
Mahler: Symphony No. 9 – II: “In the tempo of a leisurely Ländler” 
Columbia Symphony Orchestra/Bruno Walter (Sony Classical)
(recorded 1961)

Joseph Lanner: “Die Werber” (“The Suitors”) Waltz
Willi Boskovsky Ensemble (Regis)

Johann Strauss II: “Tales from the Vienna Woods”
London Philharmonic/Franz Welser-Möst
(EMI Seraphim)

*Schubert: Ecossaises
Willi Boskovsky Ensemble (Regis)

traditional:
“Wallachian Lament”
Apollo Chamber Ensemble (Navona)

Past Masters:
Dvořák: Piano Quintet
in A major, Op. 81
Smetana Quartet;
Pavel Stepán, piano
(Testament)
(recorded 1966)

Dvořák: Dumka and Furiant, Op. 12
Radoslav Kvapil, piano (Alto)

Smetana: Polka in A major
András Schiff, piano (Apex)

Past Masters:
Brahms: Hungarian dances
No. 5 in G minor
(orchestration by Albert Parlow)
No. 6 in D major
(orchestration by Parlow)
No. 21 in E minor
(orchestration by Dvořák)
No. 1 in G minor
(orchestration by Brahms)
Vienna Philharmonic/
Fritz Reiner (Decca)
(recorded 1960)

Haydn: Quartet in D major, Op. 20, No. 4 – III: Menuetto alla zingarese
Daedalus Quartet (Bridge)

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

Kodály:
“Dances of Galanta”
Chicago Symphony Orchestra/Neeme Järvi (Chandos)

traditional:
“Seremoj és Románca”
Apollo Chamber Ensemble (Navona)

Past Masters:
*Bartók: "Romanian Folk Dances”
Philharmonia Orchestra/Charles Mackerras (Testament)
(recorded 1960)

Past Masters:
Enescu: “Romanian Rhapsody” No. 1
Philharmonia Orchestra/Charles Mackerras (Testament)
(recorded 1960)

Chopin: mazurkas
in F minor, Op. 63, No. 2
in A minor, Op. 67, No. 4
in C sharp minor, Op. 63,
No. 3
in F minor, Op. 68, No. 4
Stephen Hough, piano (Hyperion)

traditional: “Beckman’s Hora”
Budowitz (Koch Schwann)

Mahler: Symphony No. 1
in D major – III: “Solemn and measured, without dragging – very simple and modest, like a folk song”
San Francisco Symphony Orchestra/
Michael Tilson Thomas (SFS Media)

Ligeti: Quartet No. 1 (“Metamorphoses nocturnes”)
Hagen Quartet (Deutsche Grammophon)

* Time permitted adding the Schubert Ecosaisses and Bartók’s “Romanian Folk Dances” to the originally posted program.

Radio special

In my second week substituting for Mark Lederway on Tuesday Classics, an end-of-the-year special: An all-Beethoven, all-Past Masters program of exceptional recordings, made between 1926 and 1985.

The featured artists: the duo of violinist Fritz Kreisler and pianist Sergei Rachmaninoff; the Budapest String Quartet; pianists Claudio Arrau and Walter Gieseking; and, in three of the most compelling Beethoven symphony performances ever recorded, conductors George Szell (No. 5), Franz Konwitschny (No. 7) and Klaus Tennstedt (No. 9).

Dec. 30
noon-4 p.m. EST
1700-2100 UTC/GMT
WDCE, University of Richmond
90.1 FM
www.wdce.org

all-Beethoven program:

Symphony No. 5 in C minor
Concertgebouw Orchestra, Amsterdam/
George Szell (Philips)
(recorded 1966)

Sonata in G major, Op. 30, No. 3
Fritz Kreisler, violin; Sergei Rachmaninoff, piano (Biddulph)
(recorded 1926)

“The Ruins of Athens” – “Turkish March”
Concertgebouw Orchestra, Amsterdam/
Willem Mengelberg (Grammofono 2000)
(recorded 1930)

Piano Concerto
No. 4 in G major
Claudio Arrau, piano
Staatskapelle Dresden/
Colin Davis
(Philips)
(recorded 1984)

Quartet in C minor, Op. 18, No. 4
Budapest String Quartet (Sony Classical)
(recorded 1941)

Symphony No. 7 in A major
Gewandhaus Orchestra, Leipzig/
Franz Konwitschny (Berlin Classics)
(recorded 1960)

Sonata in C major, Op. 53 (“Waldstein”)
Walter Gieseking, piano (Andromedia)
(recorded 1938)

Symphony No. 9 in D minor (“Choral”)
Mari Anne Häggander, soprano; Alfreda Hodgson, contralto; Robert Tear, tenor; Gwynne Howell, bass
London Philharmonic Choir
London Philharmonic/Klaus Tennstedt (BBC Music)
(recorded 1985)

Claude Frank (1925-2014)

Claude Frank, the eminent German-born American pianist and teacher, has died at 89. A student of Artur Schnabel, Frank was admired for his interpretations of Beethoven and other Austro-German repertory.

He was active for six decades as a soloist and chamber musician – notably in duos with his wife, the late pianist Lilian Kallir, and his daughter, violinist Pamela Frank; but he exerted his widest influence through his teaching at Philadelphia’s Curtis Institute of Music.

An obituary by The New York Times’ Anthony Tommasini:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/29/arts/music/claude-frank-pianist-admired-for-performances-of-beethoven-is-dead-at-89.html

Castleton Festival 2015

The Castleton Festival, in its first season since the death of its founding maestro, Lorin Maazel, will present Charles Gounod’s “Roméo et Juliette,” Maurice Ravel’s “L’heure espagnole”
(“The Spanish Hour”), Thornton Wilder’s “Our Town,” and premiere performances of Derrick Wang’s comic opera “Scalia/Ginsburg.”

The 2015 festival, staged at Castleton Farms in Rappahanock County, VA, and now under the artistic direction of Dietlinde Turban Maazel, the conductor’s widow, will run from July 2 to Aug. 2.

Its lengthened season accommodates a new Castleton Jazz Academy, a residential program for high-school musicians, hosted by Wynton Marsalis and run in conjunction with Jazz at Lincoln Center, the New York performance troupe founded in 1987 by Marsalis.

The jazz academy, one of the last initiatives of Lorin Maazel for the festival, will run from July 19 to Aug. 2, with four concerts on the schedule.

Fabio Luisi, principal conductor of the Metropolitan Opera, will lead a July 19 concert featuring opera highlights. Rafael Payare, a Castleton alumnus who has been named the festival’s principal conductor, and Salvatore Percaccio will share conducting duties for the operas and other concerts.

Also on the schedule are chamber-music and vocal recitals, and Castleton’s popular bluegrass and “All-American Band” concerts during the July 4 weekend.

The festival, founded in 2009, brings more than 200 young musicians and theatrical artists to the Maazel family’s 600-acre estate in the foothills of Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains. Performances are staged in the 650-seat Festival Theatre and 140-seat Theatre House.

Tickets for the 2015 festival go on sale on Jan. 5. The Castleton box-office number is (866) 974-0767.

For a complete schedule, ticket prices and availability and other information, visit the festival’s website, www.castletonfestival.org

Holiday cheer from NYC

A quartet of busking fiddlers are playing Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Brandenburg” Concerto No. 3 in a New York subway station, when who should turn up but . . .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nh8AcKzm3Uw

As several commenters observe, only in New York.

via www.jalopnik.com

Radio special

For the next couple of weeks, I’ll be substituting for Mark Lederway on WDCE’s Tuesday Classics. The Christmas Eve-eve program is an all-English affair, with a complete performance of Handel’s “Messiah,” a set of carols by Peter Warlock, and Vaughan Williams’ Christmas cantata “Hodie (This Day).”

Dec. 23
noon-4 p.m. EST
1600-2100 UTC/GMT
WDCE, University of Richmond
90.1 FM
www.wdce.org

Handel: “Messiah”
Lynne Dawson, soprano; Hilary Summers, contralto; John Mark Ainsley, tenor;
Alastair Miles, bass
Choir of King’s College, Cambridge
Brandenburg Consort/
Stephen Cleobury
(Argo)

Peter Warlock:
“Benedicamus Domino”
“A Cornish Carol”
“A Cornish Christmas Carol”
“Corpus Christi”
“I Saw a Fair Maiden”
“As Dew in Aprylle”
“The Birds”
“Carillon, Carilla”
Margaret Cable, mezzo-soprano;
Julian Empett, baritone
Allegri Singers/Louis Halsey
Matthew Morley, organ
Rosemary Barnes, piano
Rosamunde String Quartet (Somm)

Vaughan Williams: “Hodie (This Day): a Christmas Cantata”
Elizabeth Gale, mezzo-soprano;
Robert Tear, tenor;
Stephen Roberts, baritone
London Symphony Chorus
Choristers of St. Paul’s Cathedral
London Symphony Orchestra/Richard Hickox 
(EMI Classics)

* * *

Letter V Classical Radio will not air on Christmas Day, but will return for a four-hour special on New Year’s Day.

James Erb memorial service

(Re-posted from Nov. 18)

A celebration of the life of James Erb will be held at 11 a.m. Dec. 20 in Cannon Memorial Chapel at the University of Richmond.

Erb, the former music professor and choral director at the university and founding director of the Richmond Symphony Chorus, died on Nov. 11.

The memorial service will include congregational singing, with music provided to those who wish to join, as well as quiet time for reflection.

Following the service, a reception will be held at River Road Church, Baptist, River and Ridge roads, near the UR campus.

Review: Chamber Music Society

James Wilson & Beiliang Zhu, baroque cellos
Dec. 16, Episcopal Church of the Holy Comforter

In the beginning (or nearabouts), there was Bach in the dark: James Wilson, in one of the early installments of what would become the concert series of the Chamber Music Society of Central Virginia, played three of Johann Sebastian Bach’s suites for solo cello to 150 or so patrons in a room lit very dimly by a pair of candelabras.

As part of the society’s 10th anniversary season, Wilson reprised that remarkable recital. Doubled down on it, in fact, as he and the Chinese cellist Beiliang Zhu, a winner of the 2012 Bach Competition in Leipzig, alternated in playing all six of the Bach suites – as before, with sparse lighting.

It was, as Wilson said, a presentation of music experienced rarely in a lifetime. And not surprisingly so: A nearly three-hour program of works nearly identically formatted – prelude, allemande, courante, sarabande, minuet/bourée/gavotte, gigue – for a single instrumentalist, distantly visible to most of the audience, sitting in the dark in a spacious church sanctuary, is almost as challenging to the listener as playing a Bach suite is to a cellist.

A sizeable audience turned out. About half left during the second intermission, having heard the first four suites.

Wilson and Zhu played baroque cellos, his a five-stringed English instrument from the 1720s, hers a four-stringed modern reproduction (by John Terry) of a period cello. The tones and timbres of the two instruments and instrumentalists differed markedly. Zhu produced generally heftier bass and more focused high-register tones. Wilson summoned greater variety of voicings from his instrument, although with more variable intonation.

Zhu’s performance of the Suite No. 3 in C major, BWV 1009, was the evening’s showpiece. An overtly virtuosic treatment of the prelude gave way to an unusually long-lined, lyrical reading of the allemande. The closing gigue was another display of dazzling technique, although at some cost to the rhythmic “groove” of the piece.

Her borderline-romantic approach to the stylized expressiveness of baroque music – affectus, in period parlance – was displayed again in the sarabande of the Suite No. 6 in C major, BWV 1012.

Wilson, behaving like a considerate host, took on the relatively less familiar and somewhat less decorous Second, Fourth and Fifth suites.

His interpretive approach and instrumental sound cast the cello as a surrogate human voice, with differentiated chest, throat and head tones and phrasing that at times seemed translatable into German sung in a guttural Eastern accent. He sustained the dance rhythms of these pieces, even in their most elaborated or distended passages.

Letter V Classical Radio this week

Dec. 18
noon-2 p.m. EST
1700-1900 UTC/GMT
WDCE, University of Richmond
90.1 FM
www.wdce.org

Corelli: Concerto in G minor, Op. 6, No. 8
(“Christmas Concerto”)
Brandenburg Consort/
Roy Goodman
(Hyperion)

Past Masters:
Wagner: “Siegfried Idyll”
Columbia Symphony Orchestra/Bruno Walter (Sony Classical)
(recorded 1959)

Michel Corrette: Sinfonia
“de Noël” No. 5
La Fantasia/
Rolf Voskuilen
(Brilliant Classics)

Adolphe-Charles Adam: “Cantique de Noël”
(“O Holy Night”)
Depue Brothers Band
(Beat the Drum Entertainment)

Beethoven: Piano Trio in
B flat major, Op. 97 (“Archduke”)
Kyung-Wha Chung, violin;
Myung-Wha Chung, cello;
Myung-Whun Chung, piano
(EMI Classics)

Past Masters:
Mozart: Sonata
in A major, K. 526
Yehudi Menuhin, violin; Hephzibah Menuhin, piano (Membran)
(recorded 1933)

Symphony players have new contract

The Richmond Symphony and its musicians have agreed to a new four-year contract that during its course will restore income concessions the musicians absorbed under management-imposed terms in 2012.

The musicians, members of Local 123 of the American Federation of Musicians, continued to perform after cuts of about 15 percent in their total compensation, which the symphony said were necessary because of strains on the orchestra’s budget.

In recent years, demands for concessions in pay and benefits have led to lengthy lockouts and departures of musicians at the Minnesota Orchestra and Atlanta Symphony, a threat of a work stoppage at the Metropolitan Opera, and contention between musicians and management at a number of other orchestras.

The new Richmond contract calls for the symphony players to receive wage increases of 1.5 percent in 2014-15, 2.5 percent in 2015-16, 2.5 percent in 2016-17, and 1 percent in 2017-18.

Under those terms, musicians will be earning in 2016 what they had been making in 2011. In the final year of the contract, full-time section players will earn $34,210.80; assistant principals, $39,003.12; and principals, $46,007.52.

The agreement also lengthens the musicians’ working season from 38 to 39 weeks in 2017-18.

Culture tracker

NBC’s Dec. 4 telecast of “Peter Pan” drew 9.1 million viewers. Discovery Channel’s “Eaten Alive,” a documentary about very large snakes, drew 4.1 million viewers on Dec. 7.

The US population is about 319.5 million, according to the Census Bureau’s most recently published (Nov. 1) estimate.

Cough suppressor

Classical music’s tempest du jour is about the Korean violinist Kyung-Wha Chung, who in a London recital, her comeback after nine years off the stage due to a finger injury, reacted verbally to coughing in the audience.

The account that’s circulating most widely has Chung singling out a child, suggesting that the youngster wasn’t old enough to be there. Outrage has ensued in mass and social media: Chung is cast as a highbrow bully who picked on a tot to compensate for her own nervousness and artistic shortcomings.

Others who were at the concert, however, report that the violinist suggested that the child be given a glass of water, and that the child was fidgeting and making assorted noises before the coughing fit. Everyone who was there seems to agree that the adults in the audience were noisy enough, never mind the underage contributions.

As is so often the case in classical concert contretemps, this one boils down to a question of etiquette, also known (in some quarters) as good manners.

Is it acceptable for a performer to correct an ill-behaved audience? Or should the artist stare silently but meaningfully at the offender(s)? Or just soldier on, no matter what?

Is it out-of-bounds to tell parents that their children aren’t ready to sit through a classical recital (if indeed that’s what Chung did), and if so, in response to what degree of disruptive behavior? How about grownups? (Ever sat next to someone who hums or sings along?)

Nothing I’ve read about this incident mentions the concert hall’s ushers or management. Do the people running the house have some responsibility to intervene when things get out of hand? The hands-off approach to audience misbehavior has led to some confrontations among patrons in recent years – nothing too physical yet, as far as I recall; but I suspect it’s only a matter of time before blows are exchanged somewhere.

I don’t for a minute buy into the notion that this was a temperamental artist trying to impose an outdated, persnickety code of conduct on paying customers, further alienating people from classical music.

How many in Chung’s audience paid – handsomely, we may safely guess, for such a high-profile performance – to hear other people cough, fidget and otherwise insert themselves between the musician and listeners?

Some undoubtedly attended to see and be seen at a heavily publicized celebrity event; but I think we can be reasonably sure that, in a program of Mozart, Prokofiev, Bach and Franck (glitzy showpieces notably absent), the vast majority came to hear Chung make music.

What got in the way of that exchange was the problem. Chung’s response to it may not have been an ideal solution. But an outrage? Hardly. 

Letter V Classical Radio this week

Dec. 4
noon-2 p.m. EST
1700-1900 UTC/GMT
WDCE, University of Richmond
90.1 FM
www.wdce.org

Mozart: “The Abduction from the Seraglio” Overture
Concerto Köln/Werner Ehrhardt; Sarband/Vladimir Ivanoff
(DG Archiv)

Hummel: Piano Concerto in B minor, Op. 89
Stephen Hough, piano
English Chamber Orchestra/Bryden Thomson (Chandos)

Past Masters:
Ravel: “Tzigane”
Ginette Neveu, violin; Jean Neveu, piano (Dutton Laboratories)
(recorded 1946)

Baldassare Galuppi: Sonata No. 3 in C minor
Ilario Gregoletto, harpsichord (Newton Classics)

Brahms: Sextet No. 2 in G major, Op. 36
Isabelle Faust & Julia-Marie Kretz, violins;
Stefan Fehlandt & Pauline Sachse, violas;
Christoph Richter & Xenia Jankovic, cellos
(Harmonia Mundi France)

Tomás Luis de Victoria:
“O magnum mysterium”
Henry John Gauntlett:
“Once in Royal David’s City”
St. Paul’s Choir School Boys Choir/John Robinson
Jonathan Wessler, organ
(De Montfort Music/Decca)

December 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.

* In the spirit of the season: It’s all good . . . 

Several programs, though, look especially good: The Bohemian String Quartet sampling folk and classical music from the Balkans, Russia and India, Dec. 2 at the Williamsburg Regional Library Theatre. . . . Steven Isserlis, Raphael Bell and Steven Doane in a rare three-cello program, including the premiere of Olli Mustonen’s Triptych, Dec. 6 at the Paramount Theater in Charlottesville. . . . The Tallis Scholars singing William Byrd and more, Dec. 9 at the Ferguson Arts Center of Christopher Newport University in Newport News. . . . James Wilson and Beiliang Zhu playing Bach’s six cello suites on 4- and 5-string baroque instruments, Dec. 16 at the Episcopal Church of the Holy Comforter in Richmond.


Dec. 1 (7:30 p.m.)
Camp Concert Hall, Modlin Arts Center, University of Richmond
UR Chamber Ensembles
program TBA
free
(804) 289-8980
www.modlin.richmond.edu

Dec. 2 (7:30 p.m.)
Dec. 3 (7:30 p.m.)
Vlahcevic Concert Hall, Singleton Arts Center, Virginia Commonwealth University, Park Avenue at Harrison Street, Richmond
choral concerts
performers TBA 
program TBA 
$7 in advance, $10 day of event
(804) 828-6776
www.arts.vcu.edu/music

Dec. 2 (8 p.m.)
Williamsburg Regional Library Theatre, 515 Scotland St.
Chamber Music Society of Williamsburg:
Bohemian String Quartet
trad. Bulgarian: “Sweet Rakia,” “Hungarian Suite,” “Romanian Suite”
trad. Romanian: “Sirba,” “Briul,” “Geamparele”
trad. Indian: Kaylan Raga 
trad. Russian: “Horses of the Troika”
Janos Bihari: “Bihari Verbunkos”
trad. Bulgarian: “Grozdanka i Bogdan, Voivoda,” “Koichovoto Horo”
trad. Romanian: “Tribal Dances”
Brahms: Hungarian Dance No. 5
Dinicu: “Hora Staccato”
Hubay: “Scene of the Csarda” (“Waves of the Balton”)
Enescu: Doina
Brahms: Hungarian Dance No. 1
Dinicu: “Hora Martisorlui”
Brahms: Hungarian Dance No. 3
Hubay: “Scene of the Csarda” (“Hejre Kati”)
Dinicu: “Lark”
$15 (waiting list)
(757) 229-0385
www.chambermusicwilliamsburg.org

Dec. 2 (7:30 p.m.)
Old Cabell Hall, University of Virginia, Charlottesville
Tuesday Evening Concerts:
Alessio Bax, piano
Beethoven: Sonata in A flat major, Op. 110 
Mussorgsky-Rachmaninoff: “Sorochinsky Fair” – Hopak 
Rachmaninoff: Prelude in G major, Op. 32, No. 5
Rachmaninoff: Prelude in G minor, Op. 23, No. 5
Kreisler-Rachmaninoff: “Liebeslied”
Kreisler-Rachmaninoff: “Liebesfreud”
Mussorgsky: “Pictures at an Exhibition”
$12-$33
(434) 924-3376
www.tecs.org

Dec. 3 (7:30 p.m.)
Camp Concert Hall, Modlin Arts Center, University of Richmond 
UR Symphony Orchestra
Alexander Kordzaia conducting
Handel: “Messiah”– “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion”
Erin Vidlak, soprano
Louise Chaminade: Concertino, Op. 107
Marie Fernandez, flute 
Saint-Saëns: “The Muse and the Poet”
Leslie Kinnas, violin
Kevin Westergaard, cello
Rimsky-Korsakov: “Scheherazade” (excerpts)
Elgar: “Enigma Variations” (excerpts)
free
(804) 289-8980
www.modlin.richmond.edu

Dec. 3 (7:30 p.m.)
Ferguson Arts Center, Christopher Newport University, Newport News
Mark O’Connor, fiddle
“An Applachian Christmas” 
$27-$42
(757) 594-8752
www.fergusoncenter.org

Dec. 3 (8 p.m.)
Regent University Theater, 1000 Regent University Drive, Virginia Beach
Dec. 4 (8 p.m.)
Crosswalk Community Church, 7575 Richmond Road, Williamsburg
Dec. 5 (8 p.m.) 
Harrison Opera House, 160 E. Virginia Beach Boulevard, Norfolk
Dec. 6 (8 p.m.) First Baptist Church, 12716 Warwick Boulevard, Newport News
Virginia Symphony
Benjamin Rous conducting
Handel: “Messiah”
Clara Rottsolk, soprano
Kirsten Sollek, alto
Zach Finkelstein, tenor
Andrew Garland, baritone
Virginia Symphony Chorus 
Robert Shoup directing
$25-$107
(757) 892-6366
www.virginiasymphony.org

Dec. 4 (7 p.m.)
Glen Allen branch, Henrico County Public Library, 10501 Staples Mill Road
Short Pump Symphonette
holiday program TBA
free
(804) 290-9500
www.henricolibrary.org

Dec. 4 (7:30 p.m.)
Vlahcevic Concert Hall, Singleton Arts Center, Virginia Commonwealth University, Park Avenue at Harrison Street, Richmond
VCU Symphony Orchestra
Daniel Myssyk conducting
VCU Women’s Choir
program TBA
$7 in advance, $10 day of event
(804) 828-6776
www.arts.vcu.edu/music

Dec. 4 (7 p.m.)
Dec. 5 (8 p.m.)
Dec. 6 (8 p.m.) 
Kennedy Center Concert Hall, Washington
National Symphony Orchestra
Helmuth Rilling conducting
J.S. Bach: Suite No. 3 in D major, BWV 1068 
J.S. Bach: Concerto in C minor, BWV 1060 
Nicholas Stovall, oboe
Marissa Regni, violin
J.S. Bach: Cantata 110, “Unser Mund sei voll Lachens”
J.S. Bach: Cantata 63, “Christen, ätzet diesen Tag”
Julia Sophie Wagner, soprano
Anke Vondung, alto
Nicholas Phan, tenor
Michael Nagy, baritone
University of Maryland Concert Choir
Edward Maclary directing
$10-$85
(800) 444-1324
www.kennedy-center.org

Dec. 5 (7:30 p.m.)
Vlahcevic Concert Hall, Singleton Arts Center, Virginia Commonwealth University, Park Avenue at Harrison Street, Richmond
VCU Holiday Gala
faculty and student performers & ensembles
program TBA
$10; proceeds benefit VCU/MCV Hospitality House
(804) 828-6776
www.arts.vcu.edu/music

Dec. 5 (8 p.m.)
Old Cabell Hall, University of Virginia, Charlottesville
Dec. 13 (8 p.m.)
First Presbyterian Church, 500 Park St., Charlottesville
Virginia Glee Club 
Frank Albinder directing
Christmas program TBA
$15
(434) 924-3376 
www.music.virginia.edu

Dec. 5 (8 p.m.)
Dec. 6 (4 p.m.)
UVa Chapel, University of Virginia, Charlottesville
Virginia Women’s Chorus
KaeRenae Mitchell directing
Anastasia Jellison, harp
“Candlelight Concerts”
Holst: “Choral Hymns from the Rig Veda,” group 3
holiday music TBA 
$15
(434) 924-3376
www.music.virginia.edu

Dec. 5 (7:30 p.m.)
Salem Civic Center, 1001 Roanoke Boulevard
Dec. 6 (4 p.m.)
Center for the Arts, Virginia Tech, 190 Alumni Mall, Blacksburg
Dec. 7 (7 p.m.)
Martinsville High School auditorium, 351 Commonwealth Boulevard
Roanoke Symphony Pops
David Stewart Wiley conducting 
Roanoke Symphony Chorus 
Roanoke Valley Children’s Choir 
Ariana Wyatt, soprano
“Home for the Holidays”
$15-$52
(540) 343-9127
www.rso.com

Dec. 5 (8 p.m.)
Dec. 6 (2 p.m.)
Center for the Arts, George Mason University, Fairfax
Virginia Opera
Adam Turner conducting
Gilbert & Sullivan: “H.M.S. Pinafore”
Jake Gardner (Sir Joseph Porter)
Christopher Burchett (Captain Corcoran) 
Cullen Gandy (Ralph Rackstraw)
Matthew Scollin (Dick Deadeye) 
Brian Mextorf (Bill Bobstay)
Keith Brown (Bob Becket)
Shannon Jennings (Josephine)
Courtney Miller (Cousine Hebe)
Margaret Gawrysiak (Little Buttercup)
Nicola Bowie, stage director
in English, English captions 
$44-$98 
(888) 945-2468 (Tickets.com)
www.vaopera.org

Dec. 5 (8 p.m.)
Coolidge Auditorium, Library of Congress, First Street at Independence Avenue N.E., Washington
Chiara String Quartet
Simone Dinnerstein, piano 
Jefferson Friedman: “The Heart Wakes” (premiere)
Irving Fine: String Quartet 
Mozart: Quartet in C major, K. 465 (“Dissonance”)
free; tickets required 
(703) 573-7328 (Ticketmaster)
www.loc.gov/concerts

Dec. 6 (8 p.m.)
Dec. 7 (3 p.m.)
Carpenter Theatre, Richmond CenterStage, Sixth and Grace streets
Richmond Symphony Pops
Richmond Symphony Chorus 
Erin R. Freeman conducting
“Let It Snow!”
$10-$78
(800) 514-3849 (ETIX)
www.richmondsymphony.com

Dec. 6 (8 p.m.)
Paramount Theater, 215 E. Main St., Charlottesville
Steven Isserlis, Raphael Bell & Steven Doane, cellos
Connie Shih, piano 
Jean Barrière: Sonata in G major for cello duo
J.S. Bach: Sonata in G major, BWV 1027, for viola da gamba and keyboard
Schumann: “Fantasiestücke,” Op. 73 
Olli Mustonen: Triptych for three cellos (premiere)
David Popper: Requiem, Op. 66, for three cellos and piano
Beethoven: Sonata in A major, Op. 69, for cello and piano 
$29.50
(434) 979-1333
www.theparamount.net

Dec. 6 (8 p.m.)
Dec. 7 (3:30 p.m.) 
Old Cabell Hall, University of Virginia, Charlottesville
Charlottesville Symphony at the University of Virginia
Michael Slon conducting
UVa University Singers
Chris Owens, vocalist
holiday program TBA 
$10-$45
(434) 924-3376
www.music.virginia.edu

Dec. 6 (4 p.m.)
Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda, MD
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Ken Lam conducting
Step Afrika! dancers
Tchaikovsky-Duke Ellington: “The Nutcracker”
$20-$40
(877) 276-1444 (Baltimore Symphony box office)
www.strathmore.org

Dec. 6 (8 p.m.)
Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda, MD
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Edward Polochick conducting
Handel: “Messiah” 
Sydney Mansacola, soprano
Daniela Mack, mezzo-soprano 
Ross Hauck, tenor 
Sidney Outlaw, bass-baritone
Concert Artists of Baltimore Symphony Chorale 
$32-$95 
(877) 276-1444 (Baltimore Symphony box office)
www.strathmore.org

Dec. 7 (4 p.m.)
Trinity Lutheran Church, 2315 N. Parham Road, Richmond
Richmond Choral Society
Markus Compton directing
City Singers Youth Choirs
Leslie Dripps directing
Christmas program TBA
$15 in advance, $17.50 at door 
(804) 353-9582
www.richmondchoralsociety.org

Dec. 7 (5 and 8 p.m.)
Cannon Memorial Chapel, University of Richmond
UR Schola Cantorum 
UR Women’s Chorale
Virginia Girls’ Choir
Jeffrey Riehl & David Pedersen directing
“Festival of Lessons and Carols”
free
(804) 289-8980
www.modlin.richmond.edu

Dec. 7 (7 p.m.)
Carpenter Theatre, Richmond CenterStage, Sixth and Grace streets
Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra Program:
Youth Concert Orchestra
Amy Birdsong conducting
Camerata Strings
Rebecca Jilcott conducting
String Sinfonietta
Christie-Jo Adams conducting
Tchaikovsky: “The Nutcracker” (excerpts) 
holiday music TBA
free
(804) 788-4717
www.richmondsymphony.com

Dec. 7 (8 p.m.)
River Road Church, Baptist, River and Ridge roads, Richmond
River Road Church Chancel Choir & orchestra
Robert Gallagher conducting
Handel: “Messiah” – Part 1
soloists TBA
Corelli: Concerto in G minor, Op. 6, No. 8 (“Christmas Concerto”)
free
(804) 288-1331
www.rrcb.org

Dec. 7 (5 p.m.)
Walnut Hills Baptist Church, 1014 Jamestown Road, Williamsburg 
Cantori
Agnes French directing
“Light Came Down”
Christmas works TBA by John Rutter, Eleanor Daley, Stephen Main, Stephen Caracciolo, Andrew Carter, others
donation requested
(757) 220-5900
www.cantoriwilliamsburg.org

Dec. 9 (7:30 p.m.)
Ferguson Arts Center, Christopher Newport University, Newport News
The Tallis Scholars
Peter Phillips directing
William Byrd: “Vigilate”
Josquin Desprez: “Missa Gaudeamus”
Byrd: “Laetentur caeli”
Byrd: “Plorans ploravit”
Byrd: “Ye sacred muses”
Byrd: “Ne irascaris Domine”
Edmund Turges: Magnificat
$27-$42
(757) 594-8752
www.fergusoncenter.org

Dec. 9 (8 p.m.)
Old Cabell Hall, University of Virginia, Charlottesville
“Messiah” Sing-In
Donald Loach directing
vocal, orchestral scores provided
$10
(434) 924-3376 
www.music.virginia.edu

Dec. 9 (7:30 p.m.)
Terrace Theater, Kennedy Center, Washington
Young Concert Artists:
Stephen Waarts, violin
Chelsea Wang, piano
Beethoven: Sonata in G major, Op. 30, No. 3
Bartók: Sonata for solo violin
Ravel: Sonata in G major
Ravel: “Pièce en forme de Habanera”
Bizet-Waxman: “Fantasy on Themes from ‘Carmen’ ”
$35
(800) 444-1324
www.kennedy-center.org

Dec. 10 (7:30 p.m.)
Terrace Theater, Kennedy Center, Washington 
Vocal Arts DC:
John Brancy, baritone 
Peter Dugan, piano
“Silent Night: a World War I Centenary Tribute in Song”
songs TBA from England, Germany, Austria, France and America
$50
(800) 444-1324
www.kennedy-center.org

Dec. 11 (7 p.m.)
Shaftman Performance Hall, Jefferson Center, 541 Luck Ave., Roanoke
Roanoke Symphony Baroque Orchestra
David Stewart Wiley conducting
Handel: “Messiah” – Part 1 and “Hallelujah” Chorus
Amy Williamson, soprano
Leah Malfi, alto
Scott Williamson, tenor
bass/baritone TBA
Roanoke Symphony Chorus
Karl Jenkins: “Palladio”
C.P.E. Bach: Sinfonia in C major
$32-$52
(540) 343-9127
www.rso.com

Dec. 11 (7 p.m.)
Dec. 12 (8 p.m.)
Dec. 13 (2 and 8 p.m.)
Kennedy Center Concert Hall
National Symphony Orchestra Pops
Steven Reineke conducting
Cirque de la Symphonie 
“Happy Holidays!”
$20-$98
(800) 444-1324
www.kennedy-center.org

Dec. 11 (7:30 p.m.)
Terrace Theater, Kennedy Center, Washington
Anonymous 4
“On Yoolis Night”
medieval Christmas music from British sources
$65
(800) 444-1324 
www.kennedy-center.org

Dec. 11 (8 p.m.)
Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda, MD
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Pops
Jack Everly conducting
Baltimore Choral Arts Society
Tom Hall directing
Baltimore School for the Arts dancers
“Holly Jolly Pops”
$31-$94
(877) 276-1444 (Baltimore Symphony box office)
www.strathmore.org

Dec. 12 (7 p.m.)
Trinity Lutheran Church, 2315 N. Parham Road, Richmond
Dec. 14 (5 p.m.)
Episcopal Church of the Holy Comforter, Monument Avenue at Staples Mill Road, Richmond
James River Singers
David Pedersen directing
Christopher Martin, organ
Pachelbel: Magnificat in G major
Lauridsen: “Midwinter Songs”
Palestrina: “Alma redemptoris Mater”
Mendelssohn: “There Shall a Star”
Hassler: “Verbum catro factum est”
Rachmaninoff: “Bogoroditse Devo”
Whitacre: “Lux aurumque” 
Christmas carols TBA
$15
(757) 814-5446
www.jamesriversingers.org

Dec. 12 (8 p.m.)
Center for the Arts, George Mason University, Fairfax
The 5 Browns, pianos
“Holiday Celebration”
$30-$50
(888) 945-2468 (Tickets.com)
www.cfa.gmu.edu

Dec. 13 (2 p.m.)
Gellman Room, Richmond Public Library, First and Franklin streets
Richmond Boys Choir
holiday program TBA
free
(804) 646-7223
www.richmondpubliclibrary.org

Dec. 13 (7 p.m.)
Chesterfield Towne Center, Midlothian Turnpike at Huguenot Road, Midlothian
Dec. 14 (3 p.m.)
Virginia Center Commons, U.S. 1 north, Glen Allen
Central Virginia Wind Symphony
Mike Goldberg directing
Rex Richardson, trumpet
Kat Simons, host (Dec. 13)
Lorenzo Hall, host (Dec. 14)
holiday program TBA
free
(804) 342-8797
www.thewindsymphony.com

Dec. 13 (8 p.m.)
Carpenter Theatre, Richmond CenterStage, Sixth and Grace streets
Richmond Symphony
Keitaro Harada conducting
Handel: “Messiah”
Sari Gruber, soprano
Magdalena Wór, mezzo-soprano
David Portillo, tenor
Calvin Griffin, baritone
Richmond Symphony Chorus
Erin R. Freeman directing
$20-$50
(800) 514-3849 (ETIX) 
www.richmondsymphony.com

Dec. 13 (4:30 and 7 p.m.)
Paramount Theater, 125 E. Main St., Charlottesville
Ash Lawn Opera
Kate Tamarkin conducting
Menotti: “Amahl and the Night Visitors”
Georgia Castleman (Amahl) 
Brandy Lynn Johnson (Mother)
Benjamin Bunsold (King Kaspar)
Hyung Yun (King Melchior)
Kenneth Kellog (King Balthazar)
Gideon Dabi (Page)
Andrea Dorf McGray, stage director
in English
$27-$45
(434) 979-1333
www.theparamount.net

Dec. 13 (8 p.m.)
Center for the Arts, George Mason University, Fairfax
American Festival Pops Orchestra
Anthony Maiello conducting
“Holiday Pops: Songs of the Season”  
$30-$50
(888) 945-2468 (Tickets.com)
www.cfa.gmu.edu

Dec. 14 (3 p.m.)
Grace Baptist Church, 4200 Dover Road, Richmond 
Dec. 19 (7:30 p.m.)
River Road Church, Baptist, River and Ridge roads, Richmond
Dec. 21 (2 p.m.)
Duncan Memorial United Methodist Church, 201 Henry St., Ashland
Central Virginia Masterworks Chorale & orchestra
David Sinden conducting
Vivaldi: Gloria
holiday music TBA
$10 in advance, $15 at door
(800) 838-3006
www.cvam.org

Dec. 14 (4 p.m.)
Bon Air Presbyterian Church, 9201 W. Huguenot Road, Richmond
Second Sunday South of the James: 
“Messiah” sing-along
Anne Carr Regan directing
Karen Floyd Savage, soprano
Ellen Broen, mezzo-soprano 
Aaron Jones, tenor
Chase Peak, bass
rehearsal at 1 p.m. Dec. 13 
donation requested
(804) 272-7514 
www.bonairpc.org

Dec. 14 (7 p.m.)
Ginter Park Presbyterian Church, Seminary and Walton avenues, Richmond
Ginter Park Presbyterian Adult Choir
Doug Brown directing
“Moravian Love Feast”
Chrstmas carol arrangements by John Rutter
sweet buns and hot chocolate served in pews 
free
(804) 359-5049
www.ginterparkpc.org

Dec. 14 (2 and 5 p.m.)
Dec. 20 (4 p.m.)
Dec. 22 (7 p.m.)
Kennedy Center Concert Hall, Washington
The Washington Chorus
Julian Wachner directing
“A Candlelight Christmas” 
$15-$70
(800) 444-1324
www.kennedy-center.org

Dec. 14 (7:30 p.m.)
Terrace Theater, Kennedy Center, Washington
Pro Musica Hebraica:
Ariel Quartet
“Zion’s Muse: Three Generations of Israeli Composers”
Ben-Haim: Prelude for string quartet (based on a traditional Sephardic tune)(1973) 
Ben-Haim: String Quartet No. 1 (1937)
Kopytman: String Quartet No. 3 (1969)
Wiesenberg: “Between the Sacred and the Profane” (1998)
$44
(800) 444-1324
www.kennedy-center.org

Dec. 15 (7 p.m.)
Dec. 21 (7 p.m.)
Dec. 24 (1 p.m.)
Kennedy Center Concert Hall, Washington
Choral Arts Society of Washington
Scott Tucker conducting
Jeff “Skunk” Baxter, guitar
“A Capital Christmas”
$15-$75
(800) 444-1324
www.kennedy-center.org

Dec. 16 (7:30 p.m.)
Episcopal Church of the Holy Comforter, Monument Avenue at Staples Mill Road, Richmond
Chamber Music Society of Central Virginia:
James Wilson & Beiliang Zhu, baroque cellos
J.S. Bach: 6 suites for solo cello
$25
(804) 519-2098
www.cmscva.org

Dec. 16 (7:30 p.m.)
Altria Theater, Main and Laurel streets, Richmond
Richmond Pops Band
Mark W. Poland directing
Richmond Choral Society
Markus Compton directing
holiday program TBA
free
(804) 275-5253
www.altriatheater.com

Dec. 18 (7 p.m.)
Dec. 19 (8 p.m.)
Dec. 20 (8 p.m.)
Dec. 21 (1 p.m.)
Kennedy Center Concert Hall, Washington
National Symphony Orchestra
Nicholas McGegan conducting
Handel: “Messiah”
Sherezade Pantaki, soprano
Jay Carter, countertenor
Thomas Cooley, tenor
Christopher Purves, baritone
The Washington Chorus
Julian Wachner directing
$10-$85
(800) 444-1324
www.kennedy-center.org

Dec. 18 (8 p.m.)
Coolidge Auditorium, Library of Congress, First Street at Independence Avenue N.E., Washington
St. Lawrence String Quartet
Hsin-Yun Huang, violin
Erwin Schulhoff: “Five Pieces for String Quartet”
Mozart: String Quintet in G minor, K. 516
Beethoven: Quartet in C sharp minor, Op. 131
sold out; Rush/tickets distributed at 6 p.m.
(703) 573-7328 (Ticketmaster) 
www.loc.gov/concerts

Dec. 19 (8 p.m.)
Sandler Arts Center, 201 S. Market St., Virginia Beach
Dec. 20 (8 p.m.)
Chrysler Hall, 215 St. Paul’s Boulevard, Norfolk
Virginia Symphony Pops 
Robert Shoup conducting
Virginia Symphony Chorus
Raleigh Ringers
other guest artists TBA
holiday program TBA 
$25-$93
(757) 892-6366
www.virginiasymphony.org

Dec. 20 (2:30 and 7:30 p.m.)
Paramount Theater, 215 E. Main St., Charlottesville
Oratorio Society of Central Virginia
Michael Slon directing
Monticello High School Vocal Jazz
Janet Whitmore directing
Charlottesville High School In One A-Chord
Will Cooke directing
“Christmas at the Paramount”
Daniel Pinkham: “Christmas Cantata” 
other holiday music TBA
$25
(434) 979-1333
www.theparamount.net

Dec. 20 (8 p.m.)
Dec. 21 (4 p.m.) 
Center for the Arts, George Mason University, Fairfax
Vienna Choir Boys
David Srebnik directing
“Christmas in Vienna”
$30-$50
(888) 945-2468 (Tickets.com)
www.cfa.gmu.edu

Dec. 20 (1 p.m.) 
Kennedy Center Concert Hall, Washington
Choral Arts Society of Washington 
Scott Tucker directing
“A Family Christmas” 
$15-$45
(800) 444-1324
www.kennedy-center.org

Dec. 20 (8 p.m.)
Dec. 21 (3 p.m.)
Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda, MD
National Philharmonic
Stan Engebretson conducting
Handel: “Messiah”
Rosa Lamoreaux, soprano 
Margaret Mezzacappa, mezzo-soprano
Matthew Smith, tenor
Kevin Deas, bass
National Philharmonic Chorale 
$28-$84
(301) 581-5100
www.strathmore.org

Dec. 23 (8 p.m.) 
Kennedy Center Concert Hall, Washington
“Messiah” sing-along (parts 1 and 2)
Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra
Barry Hemphill conducting
soloists TBA 
free; tickets distributed at 6 p.m. in Hall of Nations
(800) 444-1324
www.kennedy-center.org

Dec. 23 (7:30 p.m.)
Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda, MD
The Washington Chorus
Julian Wachner directing
“A Candlelight Christmas” 
$15-$70
(301) 581-5100
www.strathmore.org

Dec. 31 (8:30 p.m.) 
Kennedy Center Concert Hall, Washington 
National Symphony Orchestra Pops
Steven Reineke conducting
Ozomatli, guest stars
“New Year’s Eve at the Kennedy Center”
dancing follows concert
$55-$120
(800) 444-1324
www.kennedy-center.org