Letter V Classical Radio this week

June 25
11 a.m.-2 p.m. EDT
1500-1800 UTC/GMT
WDCE, University of Richmond
90.1 FM
www.wdce.org

Past Masters:
Elgar: “Cockaigne” Overture (“In London Town”)
Royal Philharmonic/Thomas Beecham
(Sony Classical)
(recorded 1954)

George Onslow: Quartet
in C minor, Op. 8, No. 1
Quatuor Ruggieri (Aparte)

Chausson: Poème
Nicola Benedetti, violin
London Symphony Orchestra/Daniel Harding (Deutsche Grammophon)

Ravel: “La Valse”
Shelest Piano Duo (Sorel Classics)

Dvořák: Symphony No. 6 in D major
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra/Marin Alsop (Naxos)

Bloch: “From Jewish Life”
Sol Gabetta, cello
Amsterdam Sinfonietta
(Sony Classical)

Brahms: “Paganini Variations,” Op. 35
Jean-Yves Thibaudet, piano (London)

Boccherini: Quintet in D major (“Fandango”)
Le Concert des Nations (AliaVox)

Gunther Schuller (1925-2015)

Gunther Schuller, the composer, conductor and musicologist who coined the term “third stream” to describe his own and others’ hybrids of classical music and jazz, has died at 89.

In an obituary for The New York Times, Allan Kozinn notes that Schuller lived a musical “double life” as a composer, scholar and performer, at one time playing for both the Metropolitan Opera orchestra and in a group led by the jazz trumpeter Miles Davis:

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/22/arts/music/gunther-schuller-composer-who-synthesized-classical-and-jazz-dies-at-89.html

Smith extends symphony tenure

Steven Smith has extended his contract as the Richmond Symphony’s music director for another three years, agreeing to serve through the 2018-19 season, and the orchestra projects running a budget surplus in its current fiscal year.

David Fisk, the symphony’s executive director, announced at the annual meeting of the organization’s board of directors that the orchestra has raised the funds needed to match a $500,000 grant from the Mary Morton Parsons Foundation to purchase a “big tent” stage that can be transported and set up for outdoor concerts.

Those funds largely account for a reported six-figure surplus on a $6 million annual budget, the third time in as many years that the symphony has run in the black.

Rebecca J. Horner, a community volunteer, has been elected the new chair of the symphony board, succeeding Philip H. Bennett. Other officers elected at the annual meeting are Richard Smith, vice chair; Elizabeth Cabell Jennings, treasurer; and D. Brennen Keene, secretary. Fisk, George Mahoney, Sarah Knakmuhs and Mark T. Cox IV also will serve on the board’s executive committee.

Ronald Crutcher, incoming president of the University of Richmond and a performing cellist, will join the symphony board. Other new board members are Priscilla Burbank, Steve Girard and Brandon C. Taylor.

Letter V Classical Radio this week

A special guest, Erin R. Freeman, the Richmond Symphony and Virginia Commonwealth University choral director, joins me to discuss her recent appointment as artistic director of Wintergreen Performing Arts and its summer festival, running from July 6 until Aug. 2 at the western Virginia resort community. We’ll sample some of the music Freeman has programmed for this year’s 20th anniversary season, and discuss her plans for future Wintergreen festivals.

June 18
11 a.m.-2 p.m. EDT
1500-1800 UTC/GMT
WDCE, University of Richmond
90.1 FM
www.wdce.org

Mozart: “The Marriage of Figaro” Overture
Academy of St. Martin in the Fields/
Neville Marriner (EMI Classics)

Mason Bates: Violin Concerto
Anne Akiko Meyers, violin
London Symphony Orchestra/Leonard Slatkin (EOne)

Past Masters:
Beethoven: Sonata in C minor, Op. 13 (“Pathétique”)
Radu Lupu, piano (Decca)
(recorded 1970)

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

Schubert: “Gretchen am Spinnrade;” “Nacht und Träume”
(orchestrations by Max Reger)
Camilla Nylund, soprano
Hannover Radio Philharmonic/
Werner Andreas Albert (cpo)

Nielsen: Wind Quintet – finale
Emmanuel Pahud, flute;
Sabine Meyer, clarinet;
Stefan Schweigert, bassoon;
Jonathan Kelly, oboe;
Radek Baborák, French horn (EMI Classics)

Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 4 in A major (“Italian”) – finale
National Philharmonic/Leopold Stokowski
(Sony Classical)

Debussy: Sonata for flute, viola and harp
Philippe Bernold, flute;
Gérard Caussé, viola;
Isabelle Moretti, harp (Harmonia Mundi France)

Past Masters:
Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 3
Martha Argerich, piano
Berlin Philharmonic/
Claudio Abbado
(Deutsche Grammophon)
(recorded 1967)

John Dowland: Pavana (1622), “Mr. Knight’s Galliard”
Paul O’Dette, lute (Harmonia Mundi USA)

Is flatter better?

Ted Gioia, writing for The Daily Beast, examines the movement to retune the now-standard pitch, based on 440 Hertz for A on the treble stave, down to 432 Hz. Advocates of the flatter pitch point out that A=440 was imposed on German musicians by Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi propaganda chief, “as part of a heinous plan to warp the consciousness of the masses,” although, as Gioia notes, U.S. musicians adopted the sharper pitch years before the Nazis came to power:

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/06/06/are-we-all-mistuning-our-instruments-and-can-we-blame-the-nazis.html

Gioia’s article comes with a video offering pitch comparison. Its electronic-keyboard sound samples and weirdly worded captions (A=432 “is logic, pure and rich of arguments”) do not help make its case.

Summer at CenterStage 2015

“Debussy and the French Romantics” will be the theme of the second season of the Summer at CenterStage Recital Series, presented by the Richmond Symphony and the music departments of the University of Richmond and Virginia Commonwealth University.

The series runs from July 9 through Aug. 27, with performances at 6:30 p.m. Thursdays in the Gottwald Playhouse of Richmond CenterStage, Sixth and Grace streets.

Musicians from the symphony, UR and VCU will play chamber works by Debussy, Ravel, Fauré, Saint-Saëns, Franck, Poulenc and other romantic, modern and contemporary French composers.

Seating in the Gottwald Playhouse is limited. Most of the concerts in last summer’s series played to full or near-full houses.

Subscription tickets are $130 for adults, $96 for children 18 and younger, $40 for college students (valid identification required), with a 10 percent discount on tickets for mini-series of three or more concerts. Single tickets are $20 for adults, $12 for those aged 3-18, $7 for college students. Adult tickets include a voucher for a free beverage.

For more information on the series, call the symphony’s patron services office at (804) 788-1212 or visit www.richmondsymphony.com

Artists and programs for this season’s Summer at CenterStage:

July 9 – James Ferree, French horn; Richard Becker, piano. Fauré: five songs (Sterling Proctor transcriptions); Chabrier: Larghetto; Damase: Berceuse, Op. 19; Koechlin: Sonata, Op. 70 – andante; Satie: “Gnossienne No. 1 (David Jolley arrangement); Debussy: Préludes, Book 1 – “La cathédrale engloutie;” Debussy: “Images,” Book 1 – “Reflets dans l’eau;” Dukas: “Villanelle.”

July 16 – Ellen Cockerham, violin; Maria Yefimova, piano. Debussy: Violin Sonata; Ravel: “Jeux d’eau;” Fauré: Violin Sonata No. 1 in A major, Op. 13.

July 23 – Stephen Schmidt, viola; John Walter, piano. Berlioz: “Harold in Italy” – “Harold in the Mountains” (Franz Liszt transcription); Debussy: “Estampes;” Clarke: Viola Sonata.

July 30 – Jason McComb, cello; Joanne Kong, piano. Debussy: Cello Sonata; Fauré: Nocturne, Op. 33, No. 2; Dutilleux: “Trois strophes sur le nom de Sacher;” Franck: Cello Sonata (Delsart transcription).

Aug. 6 – Thomas Schneider, bassoon; Russell Wilson, piano. Bitsch: Concertino; three French tenor arias; Ravel: Sonatine for piano; Debussy: Préludes, Book 2 – “Bruyères;” Dutilleux: “Sarabande et Cortège;” Saint-Saëns: Bassoon Sonata, Op. 168.

Aug. 13 – Jared Davis, clarinet; Daniel Stipe, piano. Debussy: “Première rhapsodie;” Debussy: “Images,” Book 2; Cahuzac: “Cantilène;” Milhaud: Duo concertant, Op. 351; Poulenc: Clarinet Sonata.

Aug. 20 – Susanna Klein, violin; Yin Zheng, piano. Debussy: “Valse romantique;” Boeck: Violin Sonata; Saint-Saëns: Violin Sonata No. 1, Op. 75.

Aug. 27 – Jennifer Lawson, flute; David Fisk, piano. Fauré: Fantasie; Dutilleux: Sonatine; Debussy: “L’ilse joyeuse;” Jolivet: “Chant de Linos;” Poulenc: Flute Sonata.

Letter V Classical Radio this week

June 11
11 a.m.-2 p.m. EDT
1500-1800 UTC/GMT
WDCE, University of Richmond
90.1 FM
www.wdce.org

Telemann: Concerto in A major (“Die Relinge”)
Musica Antiqua Köln/Reinhard Goebel (DG Archiv)

Stravinsky: Violin Concerto
Hilary Hahn, violin
Academy of St. Martin in the Fields/Neville Marriner (Sony Classical)

J.S. Bach: “Brandenburg” Concerto No. 1
Le Concert des Nations/Jordi Savall (AliaVox)

Holst: “St. Paul’s Suite”
St. Paul Chamber Orchestra/Christopher Hogwood
(Universal Classics)

Saint-Saëns: Piano Concerto No. 4 in C minor
Stephen Hough, piano
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra/
Sakari Oramo (Hyperion)

Richard Strauss: “Don Juan”
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra/Manfred Honeck (Reference Recordings)

Past Masters:
Tchaikovsky: Symphony
No. 5 in E minor
Boston Symphony Orchestra/Serge Koussevitzky
(BSO Classics)
(recorded 1944)

Liszt: “Hungarian Rhapsody” No. 19 (“Csárdás nobles de K. Ábrányi”)
Leslie Howard, piano (Hyperion)

Letter V Classical Radio this week

June 4
11 a.m.-2 p.m. EDT
1500-1800 UTC/GMT
WDCE, University of Richmond
90.1 FM
www.wdce.org

Hamish MacCunn: “The Land of the Mountain
and the Flood”
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic/Grant Llewellyn (Argo)

Haydn: Symphony No. 86 in D major
Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra/Dennis Russell Davies
(Sony Classical)

Schubert: Fantasia
in F minor, D. 940
Murray Perahia & Radu Lupu, pianos
(Sony Classical)

Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K. 466
Leif Ove Andsnes, piano & director
Norwegian Chamber Orchestra (EMI Classics)

Britten: Serenade for tenor, horn and strings
Ian Bostridge, tenor
Radek Baborák, horn
Berlin Philharmonic/
Simon Rattle
(EMI Classics)

Smetana: “Vltava”
(“The Moldau”)
(two-piano arrangement by Smetana)
Anna & Dmitri Shelest, pianos (Sorel Classics)

Brahms: Violin Concerto in D major
Maxim Vengerov, violin
Chicago Symphony Orchestra/Daniel Barenboim (Teldec)

Vaughan Williams: “Fantasia on ‘Greensleeves’ ”
New Queen’s Hall Orchestra/Barry Wordsworth (Argo)

June 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 and around Richmond: St. James’s Episcopal Church’s Welcome Summer Concerts feature cellist Dana McComb and pianist Lauren Cony on June 3, the Oberon String Quartet on June 10 and an all-star quartet of vocalists from Anonymous 4, The Tallis Scholars and The King’s Singers, in music of the 16th and 17th centuries on June 17. . . . The Chancel Choir of River Road Church, Baptist, presents an all-Haydn program, including the Trumpoet Concerto, played by Mary Bowden, and the “Mass in Time of War,” on June 7. . . . Three of the region’s leading early music ensembles, the Third Practice chamber chorus, the instrumental consort Three Notch’d Road and the Washington Cornett and Sackbutt Ensemble, give what’s believed to be the first complete performance in Richmond of Monteverdi’s “Vespro della beata Vergine” (the Vespers of 1610), June 21 at Centenary United Methodist Church.

* Noteworthy elsewhere: Marin Alsop leads the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and a cast of vocalists in Leonard Bernstein’s “Candide,” June 11 at Strathmore in the Maryland suburbs of Washington. . . . The Oratorio Society of Virginia and the Charlottesville Ballet join forces for a performance of Arthur Honegger’s “King David,” June 12 at Piedmont Virginia Community College. . . . The Wolf Trap Opera Company stages Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro” in four performances from June 12-20 at the Barns at Wolf Trap. . . . Pianist Emanuel Ax joins Andrew Litton and the National Symphony Orchestra in a program of Brahms and Tchaikovsky, June 21 at Wolf Trap’s Filene Center amphitheater. . . . The Castelton Festival launches its 2015 season with Rafael Payare conducting the festival’s orchestra and singers in “Toujours l’amour: French Masterpieces of Love,” June 28 at the Hylton Performing Arts Center of George Mason University in Manassas.


June 2 (8 p.m.)
Paramount Theater, 215 E. Main St., Charlottesville
Charlottesville Municipal Band
Stephen R. Layman directing
“Americana”
works by Sousa, Gershwin, Goldman, others
free
(434) 979-1333
www.theparamount.net

June 3 (7 p.m.)
St. James’s Episcopal Church, 1205 W. Franklin St., Richmond
Welcome Summer Concerts:
Dana McComb, cello
Lauren Cony, piano
works by Schumann, Debussy, Cowell, Beethoven
donation requested; proceeds benefit St. James’s Children’s Center
(804) 355-1779
www.doers.org

June 5 (8 p.m.)
June 6 (8 p.m.)
Kennedy Center Concert Hall, Washington
National Symphony Orchestra Pops
Steven Reineke conducting
Tony DeSare, Ryan Silverman, Storm Large & Frankie Moreno, guest stars
“Let’s Be Frank: The Songs of Frank Sinatra”
$30-$99
(800) 444-1324
www.kennedy-center.org

June 6 (8 p.m.)
Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda, MD
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Christoph König conducting
Sibelius: Symphony No. 7
Shostakovich: Cello Concerto No. 1
Alban Gerhardt, cello
Beethoven: Symphony No. 5 in C minor
$45-$100
(877) 276-1444 (Baltimore Symphony box office)
www.strathmore.org

June 7 (2 p.m.)
Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, Laurel Street at Floyd Avenue, Richmond
“Pershing’s Own” U.S. Army Brass Quintet
program TBA
free
(804) 359-5651
www.richmondcathedral.org

June 7 (8 p.m.)
River Road Church, Baptist, River and Ridge roads, Richmond
River Road Church Chancel Choir & orchestra
Haydn: Trumpet Concerto
Mary Bowden, trumpet
Haydn: Te Deum
Haydn: “Mass in Time of War”
donation requested
(804) 288-1131
www.rrcb.org

June 10 (7 p.m.)
St. James’s Episcopal Church, 1205 W. Franklin St., Richmond
Welcome Summer Concerts:
Oberon String Quartet
works by Beethoven, Shostakovich, Edwards
donation requested; proceeds benefit FeedMore’s Central Virginia Foodbank
(804) 355-1779
www.doers.org

June 11 (6 p.m.)
Work | Release, 759 Granby St., Norfolk
Virginia Symphony musicians
Sunny & Gabe
program TBA
$20
(757) 892-6366
www.virginiasymphony.org

June 11 (8 p.m.)
Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda, MD
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Baltimore Choral Arts Society
Marin Alsop conducting
Bernstein: “Candide”
Joshua Hopkins (Dr. Pangloss)
Keith Jameson (Candide)
Marie Lenormand (Paquette)
Lauren Snouffer (Cunegonde)
Mark Diamond (Maximillian)
in English
$50-$110
(877) 276-1444 (Baltimore Symphony box office)
www.strathmore.org

June 12 (7:30 p.m.)
Dickinson Theater, Piedmont Virginia Community College, Charlottesville
Oratorio Society of Virginia & orchestra
Michael Slon conducting
Charlottesville Ballet
Honegger: “King David”
$30
(434) 295-4385
www.oratoriosociety.org

June 12 (7:30 p.m.)
June 14 (3 p.m.)
June 17 (7:30 p.m.)
June 20 (7:30 p.m.)
The Barns at Wolf Trap, Trap Road, Vienna
Wolf Trap Opera Company
Kathleen Kelly conducting
Mozart: “The Marriage of Figaro”
Thomas Richards (Figaro)
Talya Lieberman (Susanna)
Reginald Smith Jr. (Count Almaviva)
Kerrian Otaño (Countess Almaviva)
Abigail Levis (Cherubino)
Christian Zaremba (Bartolo)
Jenni Bank (Marcellina)
Amy Owens (Barbarina)
Anthony Ciaramitaro (Basilio)
David Paul, stage director
in Italian, English captions
$32-$88
(877) 965-3872 (Tickets.com)
www.wolftrap.org

June 13 (8 p.m.)
Filene Center, Wolf Trap, Trap Road, Vienna
New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players
Albert Bergeret conducting
Gilbert & Sullivan: “The Pirates of Penzance”
cast TBA
in English
$15-$55
(877) 965-3872 (Tickets.com)
www.wolftrap.org

June 13 (7:30 p.m.)
Terrace Theater, Kennedy Center, Washington
Washington Men’s Camerata
Frank Albinder directing
“Anniversaries”
works by Sibelius, John Rutter, Arvo Pärt, Bob Chilcott, others
$35
(800) 444-1324
www.kennedy-center.org

June 16 (8 p.m.)
Paramount Theater, 215 E. Main St., Charlottesville
Charlottesville Municipal Band
Stephen R. Layman & Gary Fagan directing
Sunshine Express Barbershop Quartet
“What’s New?”
works by Sousa, Goldman, Christiannsen, others
free
(434) 979-1333
www.theparamount.net

June 17 (7 p.m.)
St. James’s Episcopal Church, 1205 W. Franklin St., Richmond
Welcome Summer Concerts:
Philip Cave, Jacqueline Horner-Kwiatek & Gabriel Crouch, vocalists
Jeremy Filsell, organ
works TBA from 16th, 17th centuries
donation requested; proceeds benefit CARITAS
(804) 355-1779
www.doers.org

June 19 (8:30 p.m.)
Filene Center, Wolf Trap, Trap Road, Vienna
National Symphony Orchestra
Emil de Cou conducting
“Back to the Future,” film with live orchestral accompaniment
$30-$58
(877) 965-3872 (Tickets.com)
www.wolftrap.org

June 21 (3 p.m.)
River Road Church, Baptist, River and Ridge roads, Richmond
Maurice Clerc, organ
program TBA
donation requested
(804) 288-1131
www.rrcb.org

June 21 (5 p.m.)
Centenary United Methodist Church, 411 E. Grace St., Richmond
Third Practice
Brian Bartoldus directing
Three Notch’d Road
Washington Cornett and Sackbutt Ensemble
Michael Holmes directing
Monteverdi: “Vespro della beata Vergine” (Vespers of 1610)
$20
(240) 232-7826
https://eventbrite.com/event/16850401003/

June 21 (8:15 p.m.)
Filene Center, Wolf Trap, Trap Road, Vienna
National Symphony Orchestra
Andrew Litton conducting
Tchaikovsky: “Romeo and Juliet” Fantasy-Overture
Tchaikovsky: “1812 Overture”
Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 2 in B flat major
Emanuel Ax, piano
$20-$58
(877) 965-3872 (Tickets.com)
www.wolftrap.org

June 22 (8:15 p.m.)
Filene Center, Wolf Trap, Trap Road, Vienna
National Symphony Orchestra
Andy Einhorn conducting
Audra McDonald, guest star
program TBA
$25-$75
(877) 965-3872 (Tickets.com)
www.wolftrap.org

June 24 (7 p.m.)
Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, Laurel Street at Floyd Avenue, Richmond
Minnesota Boys Choir
program TBA
free
(804) 359-5651
www.richmondcathedral.org

June 27 (7:30 p.m.)
Fife Theatre, Street and Davis Performance Performance Hall, Virginia Tech Arts Center, 190 Alumni Mall, Blacksburg
Ash Lawn Opera Young Artists
Joseph Hodge conducting
Shelby Rhoades, piano
Puccini: “Madame Butterfly”
Tamara Rusqué (Cio-Cio San)
Adam Cromer (Pinkerton)
Rachael Braunstein (Suzuki)
Anthony Eversole (Sharpless)
Philip Morgan (Goro)
Raymond Zilberberg, stage director
in Italian
$20
(540) 231-5100
www.artscenter.vt.edu

June 27 (8 p.m.)
Kennedy Center Concert Hall, Washington
National Symphony Orchestra Pops
Steven Reineke conducting
Fantasia Barrino, guest star
program TBA
$20-$88
(800) 444-1324
www.kennedy-center.org

June 28 (4 p.m.)
Merchant Hall, Hylton Performing Arts Center, George Mason University, Manassas
Castleton Festival:
Castleton Festival Orchestra
Rafael Payare conducting
singers TBA
“Toujours l’amour: French Masterpieces of Love”
arias and duets from Bizet’s “Carmen,” Gounod’s “Romeo et Juliette,” other works TBA
$30-$50
(888) 945-2468 (Tickets.com)
www.castletonfestival.org

June 30 (8 p.m.)
Paramount Theater, 215 E. Main St., Charlottesville
Charlottesville Municipal Band
Stephen R. Layman directing
“Family Night”
works by Sousa, Goldsmith, Goldman, Brubaker, others
free
(434) 979-1333
www.theparamount.net