'Between the cracks'

The New York Times’ Corrina da Fonseca-Wollheim explores the complex sound world of Ben Johnston, whose compositions, which call for the sounding of microtones that fall between the notes of the equal-temperament scale, are among the most challenging
in the musical literature. Johnston’s String Quartet No. 7, for example, requires producing more than 1,000 “microscopically distinct pitches.”

Such writing “between the cracks” creates “an open, infinite spiral, a kind of harmonic questing and adventuring that is based on natural phenomena and on pitches generated one from the next,” Sharan Leventhal, first violinist of the Kepler Quartet, which has recorded Johnston’s quartets, tells Fonseca-Wollheim.

The 90-year-old composer uses mathematical terms to describe his tuning system, which is “interrelated to the emotional meaning. But I don’t tell people what it is. It’s like abstract expressionist painting.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/01/arts/music/players-are-wanted-for-ben-johnstons-works-some-sacrifice-is-required.html

Johnston’s father, also named Ben, was the boss of my father, also named Clarke, at the Richmond Times-Dispatch in the 1940s and ’50s.

ADDENDUM (May 1): The composer, via Kepler Quartet violinist Eric Segnitz, recalls that he worked as a runner for the Times-Dispatch copy desk, and that on April 12, 1945, he handed my father the bulletin reporting the death of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

Letter V Classical Radio this week

April 28
10 a.m.-1 p.m. EDT
1400-1700 UTC/GMT
WDCE, University of Richmond
90.1 FM
http://www.wdce.org

Past Masters:
J.S. Bach: Toccata, Adagio and Fugue in C major,
BWV 564
Michel Chapuis, organ (United Archives)
(recorded 1967)

Mozart: Violin Concerto No. 4 in D major, K. 218
Pamela Frank, violin
Tonhalle Orchestra, Zürich/David Zinman (Arte Nova)

Joseph-Nicolas-Pancrace Royer: “Pièces de clavecin” Book 1 – “Vertigo”
Jean Rondeau, harpsichord (Erato)

Ravel: “La Valse”
Khatia Buniatishvili, piano
(Sony Classical)

Messiaen:
“Oiseaux exotiques”
Jean-Yves Thibaudet, piano
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Amsterdam/
Riccardo Chailly (Decca)

Grieg: Piano Concerto
in A minor
Leif Ove Andsnes, piano
Berlin Philharmonic/
Mariss Jansons
(EMI Classics)

Mason Bates: “Rusty Air in Carolina”
Mason Bates, electronica
Boston Modern Orchestra Project/
Gil Rose (BMOP/sound)

Poulenc: “Les Biches” Suite
Orchestre National de France/Charles Dutoit (London)

Haydn: Quartet in F major, Op. 77, No. 2
Takács Quartet (London)

Handel: Coronation Anthem No. 3 – “The King Shall Rejoice”
Choir of Westminster Abbey
The English Concert/Simon Preston (DG Archiv)

Turning a page

The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Peter Dobrin writes about the under-appreciated, sometimes perilous art of page-turning for pianists in chamber-music concerts – soon to be an extinct art, perhaps, as more musicians turn to screening digitalized scores:

http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/peter_dobrin/20160424_Classical_music_page-turners_turn_the_page_into_the_modern_era.html

(via http://www.artsjournal.com)

While we’re on the subject, belated tips of the hat to Solomon Quinn, the University of Richmond student and pianist who turned pages as Garrick Ohlsson played Elgar’s Piano Quintet with the Takács Quartet on April 15 at UR’s Modlin Arts Center; and to Ohlsson, who showed his appreciation of Quinn’s unobtrusive efficiency with an onstage handshake. A classy act, hardly ever seen by an audience.

Radio special

Late substitution duty today on WDCE-FM at the University of Richmond. Seems like a good day for music by George Frideric Handel. (Is there a bad
day for Handel?) I’ll mix familiar pieces such as “Music for the Royal Fireworks” and “Zadok
the Priest” with some undeservedly lesser-
known compositions –
the selections from “Solomon” are some of
his finest choral works –
as well as treatments of Handel’s themes by Beethoven, Brahms (via Edmund Rubbra) and Andrés Segovia.

The menuet concluding the Concerto “a due cori” in
F major should sound familiar – it’s the theme music of Letter V Classical Radio.

April 24
5-7 p.m. EDT
2100-2300 UTC/GMT
WDCE, University of Richmond
90.1 FM
http://www.wdce.org

Handel: “Music for the Royal Fireworks”
Le Concert des Nations/Jordi Savall (Naïve)

Handel: Suite in D minor – Sarabande (“La Folía”)
Andrés Segovia, guitar (Deutsche Grammophon)

Beethoven: “12 Variations on a Theme from Handel’s Oratorio ‘Judas Maccabaeus’ ”
(“See the conqu’ring hero comes”)
Pierre Fournier, cello
Wilhelm Kempff, piano (Deutsche Grammophon)

Handel: Concerto “a due cori” No. 1 in B flat major
English Chamber Orchestra/Raymond Leppard (Philips)

Handel: Coronation Anthem No. 1 – “Zadok the Priest”
The Bach Choir
The English Concert/David Hill (BIS)

Handel: Concerto grosso in A major, Op. 6, No. 11
Andrew Manze, violin & director
Academy of Ancient Music (Harmonia Mundi)

Brahms: “Variations on a Theme by Handel”
(orchestratation by Edmund Rubbra)
Cleveland Orchestra/Vladimir Ashkenazy (Decca)

Handel: “Solomon” –
“Swell, swell the full chorus”
“Arrival of the Queen of Sheba”
“May no rash intruder” (“Nightingale Chorus”)
“From the censer curling rise”
Monteverdi Choir
English Baroque Soloists/John Eliot Gardiner (Philips)

Comments?

In a piece for The Washington Post, David Lat, founder and managing editor of the legal news website Above the Law, explains why it has discontinued comments from its postings: Offensive and/or irrelevant remarks, creating what’s known as the nasty effect. “[W]hen readers are exposed to uncivil, negative comments at the end of articles, they trust the content of the pieces less . . . and their views on issues become more polarized.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2016/04/21/comments-are-making-the-internet-worse-so-i-got-rid-of-them/

I was familiar with the nasty effect (although I didn’t know it by that name) when I launched Letter V. It was the reason I decided not to enable comments on this blog.

Comments are welcome here, but they are, in blogosphere parlance, moderated. To comment or ask questions, click on “e-mail Letter V” at the upper right-hand corner and say your piece.

If it’s germaine, insightful, witty or otherwise reader-friendly, I’ll append your comment to the appropriate posting.

If it points out an error, I’ll correct the posting.

If it’s nasty or irrelevant, you’ll vent into the void.

Letter V Classical Radio this week

April 23 is the 400th anniversary of the death of William Shakespeare. Over the centuries, no playwright
or poet has inspired more music – theatrical and film scores, symphonic tone poems, chamber music, songs, odes and more.

We’ll mark the anniversary by sampling the vast and varied repertory of Shakespearian music – 
familiar compositions by Mendelssohn, Tchaikovsky and Vaughan Williams, as well as lesser-known pieces inspired by the Bard, ranging from his time to ours.

April 21
10 a.m.-1 p.m. EDT
1400-1700 UTC/GMT
WDCE, University of Richmond
90.1 FM
http://www.wdce.org

Mendelssohn: “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” incidental music –
Overture, Scherzo,
Notturno, Wedding March
Orchestre des
Champs Élysées/
Philippe Herreweghe
(Harmonia Mundi)

anon.: “The Willow Song”
Meredith Hall, soprano
Jacob Herringman, lute (Philips)

Shostakovich: “Hamlet”
film music (excerpts)
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Amsterdam/
Riccardo Chailly (Decca)

Purcell: “Timon of Athens” –
Overture & curtain tune
The Parley of Instruments/
Peter Holman (Helios)

Paul Moravec:
“Tempest Fantasy”
David Krakauer, clarinet
Trio Solisti (Naxos)

Tchaikovsky:
“Romeo and Juliet”
Fantasy-Overture
Berlin Philharmonic/Claudio Abbado
(Deutsche Grammophon)

Thomas Linley Jr.:
“A Shakespeare Ode” –
Overture
“At Shakespeare’s
happy birth”
“And now is come”
“Be Shakespeare Born”
Minuetto
Julia Gooding, soprano
Musicians of the Globe/
Philip Pickett (Philips)

Past Masters:
Vaughan Williams: “Serenade to Music”
Norma Burrowes, Sheila Armstrong,
Susan Longfield & Marie Hayward, sopranos
Alfreda Hodgson, Gloria Jennings, Shirley Minty & Meriel Dickinson, contraltos
Ian Partridge,
Bernard Dickerson, Wynford Evans & Kenneth Brown, tenors
Richard Angas,
John Carol Case,
John Noble & Christopher Keyte, basses
London Philharmonic/
Adrian Boult
(EMI Classics)
(recorded 1969)

Korngold: “Much Ado about Nothing” incidental music (excerpts)
Gil Shaham, violin
André Previn, piano
(Deutsche Grammophon)

Henry Rowley Bishop:
“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” incidental music –
“Welcome to this place”
“Hark, hark, each Spartan hound”
“Flower of the purple dye”
“Spirits advance”
Rachel Ellliott,
Joanne Lunn & Helen Groves, sopranos
Jeanette Ager, mezzo-soprano
Mark Tucker, tenor
Musicians of the Globe/Philip Pickett (Philips)

Wilson & Schmidt reviewed

My review for the Richmond Times-Dispatch of cellist James Wilson and fortepianist Carsten Schmidt, playing Beethoven sonatas in a Chamber Music Society of Central Virginia program at Second Presbyterian Church:

http://www.richmond.com/entertainment/music/article_87ed8a80-8cbc-5bb5-a004-f91ed603c106.html

Takács & Ohlsson reviewed

My review for the Richmond Times-Dispatch of the Takács Quartet with pianist Garrick Ohlsson, performing at the University of Richmond’s Modlin Arts Center:

http://www.richmond.com/entertainment/music/article_e194c0e4-49bf-53ee-9fd6-1e170bb4b000.html

Levine era ending at the Met

James Levine, battling Parkinson’s disease and plagued by repeated injuries, is giving up his post as the artistic director of New York’s Metropolitan Opera. The announcement was not unexpected, given Levine’s infirmities, his prolonged absences and increasing difficulties in consistently managing performances.

The 72-year-old conductor plans to continue at the Met as music director emeritus with a more limited schedule.

Levine, who has led 2,551 performances at the company since his debut in 1971, was named its music director in 1976 and artistic director 10 years later. Today’s Met is often called “the house that Jimmy built.”

Although he has worked extensively with major orchestras (Berlin, Vienna, Chicago, Philadelphia), conducted at the Salzburg and Bayreuth festivals and served as music director of the Munich Philharmonic (1999-2004) and Boston Symphony Orchestra (2004-11), Levine has devoted most of his career to the Met, raising its orchestra to international stature and introducing many works, especially from the modern period, to its repertory. He has been the conductor of choice for many of the leading opera singers of the past two generations.

The Met has not named a successor or disclosed a timetable for appointing one, leading some musicians to tell The New York Times’ Michael Cooper that they are “concerned that a long wait for a new leader could leave the company without strong artistic leadership:”

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/15/arts/music/james-levine-transformative-at-the-met-opera-is-stepping-down.html

Ulery Trio, eighth blackbird reviewed

My review for the Richmond Times-Dispatch of the Matt Ulery Trio and eighth blackbird, playing ensemble pieces by Ulery at the University of Richmond’s Modlin Arts Center:

http://www.richmond.com/entertainment/music/article_52aabfab-cf20-5480-bc06-acef6620b6ab.html

Letter V Classical Radio this week

April 14
10 a.m.-1 p.m. EDT
1400-1700 UTC/GMT
WDCE, University of Richmond
90.1 FM
http://www.wdce.org

Berlioz: “The Damnation of Faust” –
“Minuet of the Will-o’-the-Wisps”
“Dance of the Sylphs”
“Rákóczy March”
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra/David Zinman (Telarc)

Debussy: “Images”
Pierre-Laurent Aimard,
piano (Warner Classics)

Henri Dutilleux: “Metaboles”
Orchestre de Paris/
Paavo Järvi (Erato)

Andrew Norman:
“Mine, Mime, Meme”
eighth blackbird (Cedille)

Elgar: Violin Concerto in B minor
Hilary Hahn, violin
London Symphony Orchestra/Colin Davis (Deutsche Grammophon)

Beethoven: “Coriolan”
Overture
Chicago Symphony Orchestra/Georg Solti (Decca)

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

Schumann: Symphony
No. 4 in D minor
(original version, 1841)
The Hanover Band/Roy Goodman
(RCA Victor)

'Communion' in music

Following the recent terrorist attacks in Europe, musicians and their audiences found solace in the music of Johann Sebastian Bach: Pianist Alexandre Tharaud played the “Goldberg Variations” in Paris; conductor John Eliot Gardiner led the “Saint Matthew Passion” in Brussels.

After the chaos of the Paris massacres, performing the Goldbergs provided “deep inner silence . . . a chance for to be quiet together . . . a communion,” Tharaud tells David Patrick Stearns of the Philadelphia Inquirer:

http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/david_patrick_stearns/20160406_Alexandre_Tharaud_brings_Bach_s_healing_power_to_a_terrorized_world.html

Neither of those Bach programs had been planned as a response to tragic events; but comfort and communion in music often comes without prior intent.

My most lingering musical memory from Richmond concerts after 9/11 was a Sept. 14, 2001, program by the Richmond Symphony and Symphony Chorus, Eckart Preu conducting, with Barber’s “Agnus Dei,” the choral reworking of his Adagio for strings, followed by Brahms’ “Alto Rhapsody,” sung by mezzo-soprano Martha Slay, and Beethoven’s “Choral Fantasy,” played by pianist Joanne Kong.

That program, marking the chorus’ 30th anniversary, had been planned months in advance as a celebration, not a commemoration, and the Beethoven is hardly elegiac in tone or spirit. Yet the three pieces proved to be perfect for the occasion: solace from Barber and Brahms, and then from Beethoven a fortifying fight song for Western civilization.

Another Richmond Symphony concert, led by Mark Russell Smith on April 20, 2007, a few days after the mass shooting at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, featured “The Lark Ascending,” the meditative rhapsody by Ralph Vaughan Williams, played by violinist Jessica Lee. Another long-planned selection that turned out to be just what we needed at the time.

Letter V Classical Radio this week

April 7
10 a.m.-1 p.m. EDT
1400-1700 UTC/GMT
WDCE, University of Richmond
90.1 FM
http://www.wdce.org

Jan Antonín Koželuh: Oboe Concerto in F major
Albrecht Mayer,
oboe & director
Kammerakademie Potsdam (Deutsche Grammophon)

Janáček: “The Cunning
Little Vixen” Suite
(arrangement by Václav Talich & Charles Mackerras)
Czech Philharmonic/
Charles Mackerras (Supraphon)

Smetana: “Souvenirs of Bohemia
in the Form of Polkas,” Op. 13
András Schiff, piano
(Warner Classics)

Schubert:
“Moments musicaux,” D. 780
Shai Wosner, piano (Onyx)

Berg: Violin Concerto
(“To the memory
of an angel”)
Renaud Capuçon, violin
Vienna Philharmonic/
Daniel Harding (Virgin Classics)

Brahms: Intermezzo in A major, Op. 118, No. 2
Orli Shaham, piano (Canary Classics)

Borodin: Piano Quintet
in C minor
Alexander Mogilevsky, piano
Andrey Baranov &
Géza Hosszu-Legocky, violins
Nora Romanoff, viola
Jing Zhao, cello
(Warner Classics)

Past Masters:
Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 3 in A minor (“Scottish”)
London Symphony Orchestra/Peter Maag
(Decca)
(recorded 1960)

VCU Rennolds Concerts 2016-17

Performances by violinist Anne Akiko Meyers, the Parker Quartet with violist Kim Kashkashian, and The Montrose Trio, formed in 2014 by pianist Jon Kimura Parker and two alumni of the Tokyo String Quartet, violinist Martin Beaver and cellist Clive Greensmith, highlight the 2016-17 season of the Mary Anne Rennolds Chamber Concerts at Virginia Commonwealth
University.

Next season’s Rennolds series also will feature debut performances in Richmond by cellist Joshua Roman and the Dover and Miró string quartets.

Dates of 2016-17 Rennolds concerts, all at 8 p.m. in Vlahcevic Concert Hall of VCU’s Singleton Arts Center, Park Avenue at Harrison Street:

Sept. 17 – Dover Quartet.

Oct. 15 – Parker Quartet with Kim Kashkashian, viola.

Jan. 28 – Anne Aikiko Meyers, violin.

Feb. 18 – The Montrose Trio.

April 1 – Joshua Roman, cello.

May 6 – Miró Quartet.

Programs for the concerts will be announced later.

Ticket subscriptions for all six concerts are $135, $115 for seniors (60 and older), VCU employees and members of the VCU Alumni Association. Three-concert mini-subscriptions are $90/$80. Single tickets are $34/$31.

Valet parking is also offered.

Existing subscriptions may be renewed through June. On July 1, new subscription orders will be filled and single tickets will go on sale.

For more information, call the VCU Music Department at (804) 828-6776 or visit series’ website, http://arts.vcu.edu/music/events/rennolds

Doric Quartet & Biss reviewed

My review for the Richmond Times-Dispatch of the Doric String Quartet with pianist Jonathan Biss, performing in the Rennolds Chamber Concerts series at Virginia Commonwealth University:

http://www.richmond.com/entertainment/music/article_388519f4-eee2-5489-9ef3-5d2199d62665.html

Richmond Symphony reviewed

My review for the Richmond Times-Dispatch of the Richmond Symphony’s Casual Fridays concert, featuring flutist Mary Boodell in “Waking Dream” by Laura Elise Schwendinger:

http://www.richmond.com/entertainment/music/article_6b058f07-7c76-5419-8bf8-4836e1117a9a.html

'Like sending satellites into space'

Richmond-bred Mason Bates, now in his first year as composer-in-residence and curator-host of new-music concerts at Washington’s Kennedy Center, talks with The Washington Post’s Anne Midgette about a creative career at its apogee – with premieres of several major orchestral works each season, an opera-in-the-making on Apple founder Steve Jobs due to be premiered by the Santa Fe Opera in 2017, new recordings of his works by the San Francisco Symphony and Boston Modern Orchestra Project – all of which he’s determined to keep in balance with family and home.

Composing for big orchestras and institutions is “like sending satellites into space,” he says. “How do you know what you’re going to do on Mars 20 years ahead of time?”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/a-composer-offers-the-field-just-what-it-needs/2016/03/31/9bd82884-d428-11e5-be55-2cc3c1e4b76b_story.html

Anne Akiko Meyers, with Hugh Wolff conducting the National Symphony, plays Bates’ Violin Concerto in subscription concerts on April 14 and 16, and a “Declassified” program also featuring Bates’ “The B-Sides” and “The Rise of Exotic Computing,” with the composer performing on electronica, on April 15, all in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall. “Mason Bates’ KC Jukebox: New Voices, Old Muses,” the last of this season’s series presenting new music in a club setting, will be staged on April 18 in the Kennedy Center Atrium. (See April calendar for details.)

April 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: The Richmond Symphony, Steven Smith conducting, performs Laura Elise Schwendinger’s “Waking Dream,” featuring the symphony’s principal flutist, Mary Boodell, and Brahms’ Second Symphony in a Casual Fridays concert on April 1, and the Brahms and Schwendinger with Copland’s “Appalachian Spring” Suite in a Masterworks program on April 2, both at the Carpenter Theatre of Dominion Arts Center. . . . The Doric String Quartet plays Haydn, Korngold and, with pianist Jonathan Biss, Brahms’ Piano Quintet in F minor in a Rennolds Chamber Concerts program, April 2 at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Singleton Arts Center. . . . Pianist Charles Staples plays Grieg’s Concerto in A minor with Alexander Kordzaia and the University of Richmond Symphony Orchestra, on a program also including music of Schubert and Schumann, April 6 at UR’s Modlin Arts Center. . . . The Richmond chapter of the American Guild of Organists presents two organists in recital: Scott Dettra, playing Sweelinck, Bach, Handel, Mendelssohn, Saint-Saëns, Duruflé and more, April 8 at Ginter Park Presbyterian Church; and Christopher Houlihan, playing Bach, Franck and Vierne, April 29 at Centenary United Methodist Church. . . . eighth blackbird, UR’s new-music sextet in residence, is joined by the Matt Ulery Trio in two programs of Ulery’s jazz/alt-classical works, April 11 and 13 at the Modlin Center. . . . The Takács Quartet, with pianist Garrick Ohlsson, plays Elgar’s Piano Quintet on a program also featuring music of Beethoven and Webern, April 15 at the Modlin Center.
. . . Virginia Opera’s production of Wagner’s “The Flying Dutchman” comes to the Carpenter Theatre on April 15 and 17, following performances on April 8, 10 and 12 in Norfolk and preceding performances on April 23-24 in Fairfax. . . . The Richmond Choral Society, with soprano Anne O’Byrne and other guests, presents “The Music of Downton Abbey,” April 16 at Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church.
. . . In two Chamber Music Society of Central Virginia programs, cellist James Wilson and fortepianist Carsten Schmidt play three Beethoven sonatas on April 17 at Second Presbyterian Church, and pianist Lori Piitz and narrators Anthony Smith and Nicholas Batten present “Beethoven in Words and Music,” curated by Angela Lehman, on April 23 in the Gellman Room of the Richmond Public Library. . . . The Oberlin Baroque Ensemble plays chamber works by Telemann, Corelli, J.S. Bach, Handel and others, April 24 at the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart. . . . Singer Steve Lippia headlines a Richmond Symphony Pops celebration of the centenary of Frank Sinatra, April 30 at the Carpenter Theatre. . . . VCU Opera presents Menotti’s “The Medium” and Rossini’s “La Cembiale di Matrimonio” (“The Marriage Contract”), April 30 and May 1 at the Singleton Center.

* Noteworthy elsewhere: Mahler’s Fifth Symphony is being performed five times in two weeks in the region: by the Virginia Symphony, JoAnn Falletta conducting, April 1-3 at venues in Newport News, Norfolk and Virginia Beach; by Mariss Jansons and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, April 11 at the Kennedy Center in Washington; and by Marin Alsop and the Baltimore Symphony, April 14 at Strathmore in the Maryland suburbs of DC. . . . The acclaimed young British pianist Benjamin Grosvenor joins violinist-turned-conductor Nikolaj Znaider and the National Symphony Orchestra in Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 27, on a program with Mahler’s First Symphony, April 7 and 9 at the Kennedy Center, April 10 at the Ferguson Arts Center of Christopher Newport University in Newport News. . . . Opera Roanoke stages Verdi’s “La Traviata,” April 8 and 10 at the Jefferson Center. . . . Alsop and the Baltimore Symphony present of a concert version of the Gershwins’ “Porgy and Bess,” with Derrick Parker and Laquita Mitchell in the title roles, April 9 at Strathmore.
. . . Cellist Yo-Yo Ma and pianist Emanuel Ax collaborate in an all-Beethoven sonata program, opening the spring season of the Virginia Arts Festival, April 12 at Chrysler Hall in Norfolk, and reprising the program on April 13 at the Kennedy Center (waiting list for tickets in DC). . . . Anne Akiko Meyers joins Hugh Wolff and the National Symphony in the Violin Concerto of Richmond-bred composer Mason Bates, April 14-16 at the Kennedy Center. . . . Michael Slon leads the University of Virginia’s University Singers and guest artists in Bach’s “St. John Passion,” April 16 at UVa’s Old Cabell Hall. . . . The Venice Baroque Orchestra performs in a Virginia Arts Festival program, April 14 at Barr Education Center in Norfolk. . . . Michael Tilson Thomas conducts the San Francisco Symphony in Schubert’s “Unfinished” Symphony and Mahler’s “Das Lied von der Erde,” April 16 at the Kennedy Center. . . . Violinist Hilary Hahn, with pianist Cory Smythe, performs on April 19 at Strathmore. . . . Pianist Awadagin Pratt joins Christopher Zimmerman and the Fairfax Symphony in a mostly Beethoven program, April 30 at George Mason University’s Center for the Arts. . . . Washington National Opera launches its long-awaited “Ring” cycle with Wagner’s “Das Rheingold,” starring Alan Held and Elizabeth Bishop, April 30 (with two more performances in May) at the Kennedy Center.


April 1 (6:30 p.m.)
Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Arts Center, Sixth and Grace streets, Richmond
Richmond Symphony
Steven Smith, conducting & speaking
Casual Fridays:
Laura Elise Schwendinger: “Waking Dream”
Mary Boodell, flute
Brahms: Symphony No. 2 in D major
$10-$50
(800) 514-3849 (ETIX)
http://www.richmondsymphony.com

April 1 (8 p.m.)
Ferguson Arts Center, Christopher Newport University, Newport News
April 2 (8 p.m.)
Chrysler Hall, 215 St. Paul’s Boulevard, Norfolk
April 3 (2:30 p.m.)
Sandler Arts Center, 201 S. Market St., Virginia Beach
Virginia Symphony
JoAnn Falletta conducting
Glazunov: Violin Concerto
Brendon Elliot, violin
Mahler: Symphony No. 5 in C sharp minor
$25-$110
(757) 892-6366
http://www.virginiasymphony.org

April 1 (11:30 a.m.)
April 2 (8 p.m.)
Kennedy Center Concert Hall, Washington
National Symphony Orchestra
Christian Macelaru conducting
Fauré: Pavane
Brahms: Violin Concerto in D Major
Nikolaj Znaider, violin
Pierre Jalbert: “In Aeternam”
Debussy: “La Mer”
$15-$89
(800) 444-1324
http://www.kennedy-center.org

April 2 (8 p.m.)
Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Arts Center, Sixth and Grace streets, Richmond
Richmond Symphony
Steven Smith conducting
Masterworks:
Copland: “Appalachian Spring” Suite
Laura Elise Schwendinger: “Waking Dream”
Mary Boodell, flute
Brahms: Symphony No. 2 in D major
pre-concert talk at 7 p.m.
$10-$78
(800) 514-3849 (ETIX)
http://www.richmondsymphony.com

April 2 (8 p.m.)
Vlahcevic Concert Hall, Singleton Arts Center, Virginia Commonwealth University, Park Avenue at Harrison Street, Richmond
Rennolds Chamber Concerts:
Doric String Quartet
Haydn: Quartet in G major, Op. 64, No. 4
Korngold: Quartet No. 2
Brahms: Piano Quintet in F minor, Op. 34
Jonathan Biss, piano
$34
(804) 828-1169
http://arts.vcu.edu/music

April 2 (4 p.m.)
Old Cabell Hall, University of Virginia, Charlottesville
Virginia Women’s Chorus
Katherine Mitchell directing
“Storm Comin’ ”
Ola Gjeilo: “Song of the Universal”
folk songs, spirituals TBA
$15
(434) 924-3376
http://music.virginia.edu/events

April 2 (8 p.m.)
Old Cabell Hall, University of Virginia, Charlottesville
April 3 (3:30 p.m.)
Martin Luther King Jr. Performing Arts Center, Charlottesville High Schoo, 1400 Melbourne Road
Charlottesville Symphony at the University of Virginia
Kate Tamarkin conducting
Butterworth: “The Banks of Green Willow”
Christopher Theofanidis: “Dreamtime Ancestors”
Vaughan Williams: “Five Variants of ‘Dives and Lazarus’ ”
Copland: “Appalachian Spring” Suite
$10-$45
(434) 924-3376
http://music.virginia.edu/events

April 2 (8 p.m.)
Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda, MD
National Philharmonic
Stan Engebretsson conducting
Haydn: Mass in D minor (“Nelson”)
Duruflé: Requiem
Danielle Talamantes, soprano
Magdalena Wór, mezzo-soprano
Robert Baker, tenor
Kevin Deas, baritone
National Philharmonic Chorale
Montgomery College Chorale
$39-$89
(301) 581-5100
http://www.strathmore.org

April 5 (8 p.m.)
Williamsburg Library Theatre, 515 Scotland St.
Chamber Music Society of Williamsburg:
Hermitage Piano Trio
Schubert: Notturno in E flat major, D. 897
Brahms: Piano Trio No. 3 in C minor, Op. 101
Tchaikovsky: Piano Trio in A minor, Op. 50
$15 (waiting list)
(757) 229-0385
http://chambermusicwilliamsburg.org

April 5 (8 p.m.)
Old Cabell Hall, University of Virginia, Charlottesville
Ensemble Berlin PianoPercussion
Oliver Schneller: “Cyan” (2011/14)
Charlotte Seither: “Running Circles” (2011)
Judith Shatin: “Trace Elements” (2014)
Daniel Vezza: “One of them, one of us” (2014)
Lansing D. McLoskey: “Rite” (2014)
free
(434) 924-3376
http://music.virginia.edu/events

April 6 (7:30 p.m.)
Camp Concert Hall, Modlin Arts Center, University of Richmond
UR Symphony Orchestra
Alexander Kordzaia conducting
Grieg: Piano Concerto in A minor
Charles Staples, piano
Schubert: Symphony No. 8 in B minor (“Unfinished”)
Schumann: Symphony No. 2 in C major – IV: Allegro molto vivace
free
(804) 289-8980
http://modlin.richmond.edu

April 7 (7:30 p.m.)
Camp Concert Hall, Modlin Arts Center, University of Richmond
UR Wind Ensemble
David Niethamer directing
program TBA
free
(804) 289-8980
http://modlin.richmond.edu

April 7 (7 p.m.)
April 9 (8 p.m.)
Kennedy Center Concert Hall, Washington
National Symphony Orchestra
Nikolaj Znaider conducting
Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 27 in B flat major, K. 595
Benjamin Grosvenor, piano
Mahler: Symphony No. 1 in D major
$15-$89
(800) 444-1324
http://www.kennedy-center.org

April 8 (7:30 p.m.)
Ginter Park Presbyterian Church, Walton and Seminary avenues, Richmond
Richmond chapter, American Guild of Organists Repertoire Recital Series:
Scott Dettra, organ
Sweelinck: “Ballo del granduca”
J.S. Bach: Toccata, Adagio, and Fugue in C Major, BWV 564
Handel: Organ Concerto in F major, Op. 4, No. 5
Saint-Saëns: Fantaisie in E-flat Major
Simon Preston: “Alleluyas”
Mendelssohn: Sonata in C Minor, Op. 65, No. 2
Percy Whitlock: Sonata in C Minor – III: Scherzetto
Duruflé: “Prélude et Fugue sur le nom d’Alain,” Op. 7
donation requested
(804) 359-5049
http://richmondago.org

April 8 (8 p.m.)
April 10 (2:30 p.m.)
April 12 (7:30 p.m.)
Harrison Opera House, 160 E. Virginia Beach Boulevard, Norfolk
Virginia Opera
Adam Turner conducting
Wagner: “The Flying Dutchman”
Wayne Tigges (The Dutchman)
Peter Volpe (Daland)
Christina Pier (Senta)
Corey Bix (Erik)
Rachelle Pike (Mary)
David Blalock (Steersman)
Sara Widzer, stage director
in German, English captions
$34-$116
(866) 673-7282
http://vaopera.org

April 8 (8 p.m.)
Old Cabell Hall, University of Virginia, Charlottesville
UVa Percussion Ensemble
I-Jen Fang directing
Fernando Rocha, percussion
Hermeto Pascoal: “Entrando pelo Canos,” “Tacho”
Kristina Warren: “Choose by”
Lindsay Stirling: “Transcendence”
Ney Rosauro: Marimba Concerto No. 1
Kristina Warren, marimba
trad.: “Samba batucada”
$10
(434) 924-3376
http://music.virginia.edu/events

April 8 (7:30 p.m.)
April 10 (3 p.m.)
Shaftman Performance Hall, Jefferson Center, 541 Luck Ave. SW, Roanoke
Opera Roanoke
Scott Williamson conducting
Verdi: “La Traviata”
Amy Cofield Williamson (Violetta)
Levi Hernandez (Alfredo)
other cast TBA
in Italian, English captions
$25-$100
(540) 345-2550
http://operaroanoke.org

April 8 (7:30 p.m.)
Fife Theatre, Moss Arts Center, Virginia Tech, 190 Alumni Mall, Blacksburg
Orlando Consort
“La Passion de Jeanne D’Arc”
live performance of Donald Greig’s score accompanying Carl Theodor Dreyer’s 1928 film
$20-$45
(540) 231-5300
http://www.artscenter.vt.edu

April 9 (8 p.m.)
Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda, MD
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Marin Alsop conducting
The Gershwins: “Porgy and Bess” (concert presentation)
Derrick Parker (Porgy)
Laquita Mitchell (Bess)
Leah Hawkins (Maria)
Larry D. Hylton (Sportin’ Life)
Lester Lynch (Crown)
Morgan State University Choir
Kwame Kwei-Armah, stage director
$90-$110
(877) 276-1444 (Baltimore Symphony box office)
http://www.strathmore.org

April 10 (3 p.m.)
Camp Concert Hall, Modlin Arts Center, University of Richmond
UR Schola Cantorum & Women’s Chorale
Jeffrey Riehl & David Pedersen directing
program TBA
free
(804) 289-8980
http://modlin.richmond.edu

April 10 (4 p.m.)
Bon Air Presbyterian Church, 9201 W. Huguenot Road, Richmond
Second Sunday South of the James:
Cantori
Agnes French directing
“The Many Facets of Love”
choral works TBA by Dan Forrest, Daniel Gawthrop, Eric Whitaker, Randall Stroope, James Erb, Kevin Riehl, David Dickau
donation requested
(804) 272-7514
http://www.bonairpc.org

April 10 (4 p.m.)
Vlahcevic Concert Hall, Singleton Arts Center, Virginia Commonwealth University, Park Avenue at Harrison Street, Richmond
Sam Dorsey, classical guitar
program TBA
$15
(804) 828-1169
http://arts.vcu.edu/music

April 10 (3 p.m.)
Ferguson Arts Center, Christopher Newport University, Newport News
National Symphony Orchestra
Nikolaj Znaider conducting
Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 27 in B flat major, K. 595
Benjamin Grosvenor, piano
Mahler: Symphony No. 1 in D major
$27-$87
(757) 594-8752
http://fergusoncenter.org

April 11 (7:30 p.m.)
Camp Concert Hall, Modlin Arts Center, University of Richmond
eighth blackbird
Matt Ulery Trio
UR Jazz Combo
works TBA by Ulery, others
free
(804) 289-8980
http://modlin.richmond.edu

April 11 (8 p.m.)
Kennedy Center Concert Hall, Washington
Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra
Mariss Jansons conducting
Korngold: Violin Concerto in D major
Leonidas Kavakos, violin
Mahler: Symphony No. 5 in C sharp minor
$60-$125
(202) 785-9727 (Washington Performing Arts)
http://www.washingtonperformingarts.org

April 12 (7:30 p.m.)
Chrysler Hall, 215 St. Paul’s Boulevard, Norfolk
Virginia Arts Festival:
Yo-Yo Ma, cello
Emanuel Ax, piano
Beethoven: Sonata in F major, Op. 5
Beethoven: Sonata in C major, Op. 102, No. 1
Beethoven: Sonata in D major, Op. 102, No. 2
Beethoven: Sonata in A major, Op. 69
$20-$85
(757) 282-2822
http://www.vafest.org

April 12 (7:30 p.m.)
Old Cabell Hall, University of Virginia, Charlottesville
Tuesday Evening Concerts:
Amit Peled, cello
Noreen Polera, piano
“Homage to Pablo Casals”
Handel: Sonata in G minor
J.S. Bach: Suite No. 3 in C major, BWV 1009
Beethoven: “Seven Variations on ‘Bei Männern, welche Liebe fühlen’ from Mozart’s ‘Die Zauberflöte’,” WoO46
Fauré: “Elegie,” Sicilienne, “Papillon”
J.S. Bach: aria
Saint Saëns: “Allegro appassionato”
Lera Auerbach: “Suite de Ocells”
$12-$35
(434) 924-3376
http://www.tecs.org

April 13 (7:30 p.m.)
Camp Concert Hall, Modlin Arts Center, University of Richmond
eighth blackbird
Matt Ulery Trio
works TBA by Ulery
$20
(804) 289-8980
http://modlin.richmond.edu

April 13 (7:30 p.m.)
Vlahcevic Concert Hall, Singleton Arts Center, Virginia Commonwealth University, Park Avenue at Harrison Street, Richmond
VCU Choral Arts
Erin R. Freeman directing
VCU Symphonic Wind Ensemble
Terry Austin directing
Tolga Kashif: “Queen Symphony”
Freddie Mercury: “Bohemian Rhapsody”
$7 in advance, $10 at door
(804) 828-1169
http://arts.vcu.edu/music

April 13 (8 p.m.)
Kennedy Center Concert Hall, Washington
Yo-Yo Ma, cello
Emanuel Ax, piano
Beethoven: Sonata in G minor, Op. 5
Beethoven: Sonata in C major, Op. 102, No. 1
Beethoven: Sonata in D major, Op. 102, No. 2
Beethoven: Sonata in A major, Op. 69
$72-$215 (waiting list)
(202) 785-9727 (Washington Performing Arts)
http://www.washingtonperformingarts.org

April 14 (7:30 p.m.)
Hixon Theater, Barr Education Center, 440 Bank St., Norfolk
Virginia Arts Festival:
Venice Baroque Orchestra
program TBA
$25-$35
(757) 282-2822
http://www.vafest.org

April 14 (7 p.m.)
April 16 (8 p.m.)
Kennedy Center Concert Hall, Washington
National Symphony Orchestra
Hugh Wolff conducting
Barber: “The School for Scandal” Overture
Mason Bates: Violin Concerto
Anne Akiko Meyers, violin
Ives: Symphony No. 2
$15-$89
(800) 444-1324
http://www.kennedy-center.org

April 14 (8 p.m.)
Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda, MD
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Marin Alsop conducting
Kevin Puts: Symphony No. 5 (“The City”)
Mahler: Symphony No. 5 in C sharp minor
$45-$105
(877) 276-1444 (Baltimore Symphony box office)
http://www.strathmore.org

April 15 (7:30 p.m.)
Camp Concert Hall, Modlin Arts Center, University of Richmond
Takács Quartet
Beethoven: Quartet in E minor, Op. 59, No. 2 (“Razumovsky”)
Webern: “Langsamer Satz”
Elgar: Piano Quintet in A minor
Garrick Ohlsson, piano
$40
(804) 289-8980
http://modlin.richmond.edu

April 15 (8 p.m.)
April 17 (2:30 p.m.)
Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Arts Center, Sixth and Grace streets, Richmond
Virginia Opera
Adam Turner conducting
Wagner: “The Flying Dutchman”
Wayne Tigges (The Dutchman)
Peter Volpe (Daland)
Christina Pier (Senta)
Corey Bix (Erik)
Rachelle Pike (Mary)
David Blalock (Steersman)
Sara Widzer, stage director
in German, English captions
$19-$109
(800) 514-3849 (ETIX)
http://vaopera.org

April 15 (7:30 p.m.)
Vlahcevic Concert Hall, Singleton Arts Center, Virginia Commonwealth University, Park Avenue at Harrison Street, Richmond
Commonwealth Singers
The Polyphonics
VCU Women’s Choir
“A Journey Towards Hope”
program TBA
cosponsored by VCU Humanities Research Center HIV-AIDS Initiative
$7 in advance, $10 at door
(804) 828-1169
http://arts.vcu.edu/music

April 15 (8 p.m.)
Christ and St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, 560 W. Olney Road, Norfolk
Virginia Arts Festival:
Chelsea Chen, organ
program TBA
$20
(757) 282-2822
http://www.vafest.org

April 15 (9 p.m.)
Kennedy Center Concert Hall, Washington
National Symphony Orchestra
Hugh Wolff conducting
“Declassified: The B-Sides”
Bates: “The B-Sides”
Bates: “The Rise of Exotic Computing”
Mason Bates, electronica
Bates: Violin Concerto
Anne Akiko Meyers, violin
$39
(800) 444-1324
http://www.kennedy-center.org

April 16 (2 p.m.)
Gellman Room, Richmond Public Library, First and Franklin streets
Greater Richmond Children’s Concert Choir
Hope Armstrong Erb & Crystal Jonkman directing
“Lyrics, Laughter & Learning”
musical selections, poetry TBA
free
(804) 646-7223
http://www.richmondpubliclibrary.org

April 16 (7 p.m.)
Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church, 1627 Monument Ave., Richmond
Richmond Choral Society
Markus Compton directing
Anne O’Byrne, soprano
Christopher Martin, organ
Keith Tan, piano
string ensemble
“The Music of Downton Abbey”
works TBA by Elgar, Parry, Gilbert & Sullivan, others
$15 in advance, $17.50 at door
(804) 353-9582
http://www.richmondchoralsociety.org

April 16 (8 p.m.)
Vlahcevic Concert Hall, Singleton Arts Center, Virginia Commonwealth University, Park Avenue at Harrison Street, Richmond
Tabatha Easley, flute
Justin Alexander, percussion
program TBA
free
(804) 828-1169
http://arts.vcu.edu/music

April 16 (8 p.m.)
Old Cabell Hall, University of Virginia, Charlottesville
University Singers & orchestra
Michael Slon conducting
J.S. Bach: “St. John Passion”
David Newman, baritone
Martha Eason, soprano
Barbara Hollinshead, alto
Andrew O’Shanick, bass-baritone
$15
(434) 924-3376
http://music.virginia.edu/events

April 16 (4 p.m.)
Kennedy Center Concert Hall, Washington
San Francisco Symphony Orchestra
Michael Tilson Thomas conducting
Schubert: Symphony No. 8 in B minor (“Unfinished”)
Mahler: “Das Lied von der Erde”
Sasha Cooke, mezzo-soprano
Simon O’Neill, tenor
$55-$120
(202) 785-9727 (Washington Performing Arts)
http://www.washingtonperformingarts.org

April 17 (4 p.m.)
Second Presbyterian Church, 5 N. Fifth St., Richmond
Chamber Music Society of Central Virginia:
James Wilson, cello
Carsten Schmidt, fortepiano
Beethoven: Sonata in A major, Op. 69
Beethoven: Sonata in C major, Op. 102, No. 1
Beethoven: Sonata in D major, Op. 102, No. 2
pre-concert talk at 3:30 p.m.
$25
(804) 519-2098
http://cmscva.org

April 17 (3:30 p.m.)
Old Cabell Hall, University of Virginia, Charlottesville
UVa Baroque Orchestra
David Sariti, violin & director
Telemann: “Le Bizarre” Suite
works TBA by Handel, Vivaldi
$10
(434) 924-3376
http://music.virginia.edu/events

April 17 (1 p.m.)
Kennedy Center Concert Hall, Washington
Zakir Hussain & Masters of Percussion
program TBA
$25-$65
(202) 785-9727 (Washington Performing Arts)
http://www.washingtonperformingarts.org

April 18 (7:30 p.m.)
Camp Concert Hall, Modlin Arts Center, University of Richmond
UR Chamber Ensembles
program TBA
free
(804) 289-8980
http://modlin.richmond.edu

April 18 (7 p.m.)
Terrace Theater, Kennedy Center, Washington
Vocal Arts DC:
Julia Bullock, soprano
Renate Rohlfing, piano
songs TBA by Fauré, Wolf, Cage, Pierre Revel
$50
(800) 444-1324
http://www.kennedy-center.org

April 18 (8 p.m.)
Kennedy Center Atrium, Washington
Mason Bates, composer, DJ & host
vocal & instrumental ensemble
Donato Cabrera conducting
“Mason Bates’s KC Jukebox: New Voices, Old Muses”
Bates: Bagatelles for string quartet and electronica
Edmund Finnis: “In Situ”
Anna Clyne: “As Sudden Shut”
Molly Joyce: “Sit and Dance” for cello and electronics
Donnacha Dennehy: “That the Night Come”
$20
(800) 444-1324
http://www.kennedy-center.org

April 19 (7 p.m.)
Terrace Theater, Kennedy Center, Washington
Young Concert Artists:
Ziyu Shen, viola
Jessica Osborne, piano
Brahms: “F.A.E.” Sonata – Scherzo in C minor
Rebecca Clarke: Viola Sonata
Prokofiev: “Romeo and Juliet” – Introduction, “Montagues and Capulets”
Qing-Wu Guan: “From Mongolian Folk Songs”
Brahms: Sonata in F minor, Op. 120, No. 1
$35
(800) 444-1324
http://www.kennedy-center.org

April 19 (8 p.m.)
Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda, MD
Hilary Hahn, violin
Cory Smythe, piano
program TBA
$50-$80
(202) 785-9727 (Washington Performing Arts)
http://www.washingtonperformingarts.org

April 20 (7 p.m.)
Terrace Theater, Kennedy Center, Washington
Fortas Chamber Music Series:
Takács Quartet
Dvořák: Quartet in A flat major, Op. 105
Webern: “Langsamer Satz”
Beethoven: Quartet in C major, Op. 59, No. 3 (“Razumovsky”)
$45
(800) 444-1324
http://www.kennedy-center.org

April 21 (8 p.m.)
Old Cabell Hall, University of Virginia, Charlottesville
UVa New Music Ensemble
I-Jen Fang directing
Frederic Rzewski: “Coming Together”
Judith Shatin: “Tape Music”
Maxwell Tfirn: “Cherry Blossom & Blood”
free
(434) 924-3376
http://music.virginia.edu/events

April 22 (8 p.m.)
Old Cabell Hall, University of Virginia, Charlottesville
UVa Chamber Singers
Michael Slon directing
program TBA
$10
(434) 924-3376
http://music.virginia.edu/events

April 23 (2 p.m.)
Gellman Room, Richmond Public Library, First and Franklin streets
Chamber Music Society of Central Virginia:
Lori Piitz, piano
Anthony Smith & Nicholas Batten, narrators
“Beethoven in Words and Music”
free
(804) 519-2098
http://cmscva.org

April 23 (8 p.m.)
April 24 (2 p.m.)
Center for the Arts, George Mason University, Fairfax
Virginia Opera
Adam Turner conducting
Wagner: “The Flying Dutchman”
Wayne Tigges (The Dutchman)
Peter Volpe (Daland)
Christina Pier (Senta)
Corey Bix (Erik)
Rachelle Pike (Mary)
David Blalock (Steersman)
Sara Widzer, stage director
in German, English captions
$48-$98
(888) 945-2468 (Tickets.com)
http://vaopera.org

April 24 (2 p.m.)
Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, Laurel Street at Floyd Avenue, Richmond
Oberlin Baroque Ensemble:
Marilyn McDonald, baroque violin
Michael Lynn, baroque flute and recorder
Catharina Meints, viola da gamba
Webb Wiggins, harpsichord
Telemann: Trio Sonata in F major
Corelli: Violin Sonata in A major, Op. 5, No. 9
Gottfried Finger: “A Ground by Mr. Finger” for recorder
Telemann: “Nouveaux Quatuors” No. 6 – Moderé
Johann Jakob Froberger: Suite II, Book 2 (1649) for harpsichord
J.S. Bach: Sonata in G major, BWV 1027, for viola da gamba and harpsichord
Handel: Trio Sonata in B minor, Op. 2, No. 1
donation requested
(804) 359-5651
http://www.richmondcathedral.org

April 24 (4 p.m.)
St. Matthias’ Episcopal Church, 11300 W. Huguenot Road, Midlothian
Anne O’Byrne, soprano
David Fisk, piano
“Look to the Heavens”
arias and songs by Dvořák, Schumann, Gilbert & Sullivan, Carlisle Floyd, others
donation requested
(804) 272-8588
http://www.stmatmidlo.com

April 24 (3 p.m.)
Berglund Performing Arts Theatre, Orange Avenue at Williamson Road, Roanoke
Roanoke Symphony
David Stewart Wiley conducting
Joan Tower: “Purple Rhapsody”
Kathleen Overfield-Zook, viola
Orff: “Carmina burana”
Adelaide Trombetta, soprano
Christopher Swanson, tenor
Robert Honeysucker, baritone
Roanoke Symphony Chorus
guest choruses TBA
pre-concert talk at 2 p.m.
$29-$52
(540) 343-9127
http://rso.com

April 24 (7 p.m.)
Terrace Theater, Kennedy Center, Washington
Antoine Tamestit, viola
J.S. Bach: Suite No. 1 in G major, BWV 1007
J.S. Bach: Suite No. 3 in C major, BWV 1009
J.S. Bach: Suite No. 5 in C minor, BWV 1011
Ligeti: Sonata for solo viola
$40
(202) 785-9727 (Washington Performing Arts)
http://www.washingtonperformingarts.org

April 25 (8 p.m.)
Old Cabell Hall, University of Virginia, Charlottesville
UVa Chamber Music Series:
Albemarle Ensemble
John Mayhood, piano
Poulenc: Sextet for piano and winds
works TBA by Beethoven, Rossini, Adrien Barthe, Chick Corea
$15
(434) 924-3376
http://music.virginia.edu/events

April 26 (7 p.m.)
Terrace Theater, Kennedy Center, Washington
Fortas Chamber Music Concerts:
Josef Spacek, violin
Miroslav Sekera, piano
J.S. Bach: Partita No. 2 in D minor, BWV 1004 – Chaconne
Szymanowski: “Mythes,” Op. 30
Ysaÿe: “Caprice d’après l’Étude en forme de valse de C. Saint-Saëns”
Prokofiev: Sonata in D major, Op. 115
Saint-Saëns: Sonata No. 1 in D minor, Op. 75
$32
(800) 444-1324
http://www.kennedy-center.org

April 28 (7 p.m.)
April 30 (8 p.m.)
Kennedy Center Concert Hall, Washington
National Symphony Orchestra
James Gaffigan conducting
Rodgers: “Carousel Waltz”
Weill: “The Seven Deadly Sins”
Storm Large, vocalist
Hudson Shad, male vocal quartet
Dvořák: “American Suite”
Ravel: “La Valse”
$15-$89
(800) 444-1324
http://www.kennedy-center.org

April 29 (7:30 p.m.)
Centenary United Methodist Church, 411 E. Grace St., Richmond
Richmond chapter, American Guild of Organists Repertoire Recital Series:
Christopher Houlihan, organ
J.S. Bach: Toccata, Adagio and Fugue in C Major, BWV 564
J.S. Bach: Prelude and Fugue in E Minor, BWV 548
J.S. Bach: Trio Sonata No. 5 in C Major, BWV 529
Franck: Choral No. 2 in B minor
Vierne: Symphony No. 6 – Aria and Final
donation requested
(804) 648-8319
http://richmondago.org

April 29 (9 p.m.)
Coolidge Auditorium, Library of Congress, First Street at Independence Avenue N.E., Washington
Del Sol String Quartet
Ruth Crawford Seeger: String Quartet (1931)
Frederic Rzewski: String Quartet (1955) (premiere)
free; tickets required
(202) 707-5502
http://www.loc.gov/concerts

April 29 (9 p.m.)
Kennedy Center Concert Hall, Washington
National Symphony Orchestra
James Gaffigan conducting
Storm Large, vocalist
Hudson Shad, male vocal quartet
“Declassified: Cabaret of Sins”
Weill: “The Seven Deadly Sins”
cabaret songs TBA
$39
(800) 444-1324
http://www.kennedy-center.org

April 30 (3 p.m.)
St. Luke Lutheran Church, 7757 Chippenham Parkway, Richmond
Michelle Huang, piano
works TBA by Scriabin, Debussy, Rachmaninoff, Ming-Hsiu Yen
free
(804) 272-0486
http://stlukerichmond.org

April 30 (7 p.m.)
May 1 (7 p.m.)
Vlahcevic Concert Hall, Singleton Arts Center, Virginia Commonwealth University, Park Avenue at Harrison Street, Richmond
VCU Opera
Melanie Kohn-Day directing
Menotti: “The Medium”
Rossini: “La Cembiale di Matrimonio” (“The Marriage Contract”)
casts TBA
$10
(804) 828-1169
http://arts.vcu.edu/music

April 30 (8 p.m.)
Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Arts Center, Sixth and Grace streets, Richmond
Richmond Symphony Pops
Keitaro Harada conducting
Steve Lippia, vocalist
“Centennial Celebration: a Frank Sinatra Tribute”
$10-$78
(800) 514-3849 (ETIX)
http://www.richmondsymphony.com

April 30 (8 p.m.)
Old Cabell Hall, University of Virginia, Charlottesville
May 1 (3:30 p.m.)
Martin Luther King Jr. Performing Arts Center, Charlottesville High School, 1400 Melbourne Road
Charlottesville Symphony at the University of Virginia
Kate Tamarkin conducting
Respighi: “Trittico botticelliano”
Tchaikovsky: “Variations on a Rococo Theme”
Denise Djokic, cello
Mussorgsky-Ravel: “Pictures at an Exhibition”
$10-$45
(434) 924-3376
http://music.virginia.edu/events

April 30 (8 p.m.)
Center for the Arts, George Mason University, Fairfax
Fairfax Symphony Orchestra
Christopher Zimmerman conducting
Martin Bresnick: “The Way It Goes”
Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor
Awadagin Pratt, piano
Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 in E flat major (“Eroica”)
$34-$58
(888) 945-2468 (Tickets.com)
http://cfa.gmu.edu/calendar

April 30 (7 p.m.)
Kennedy Center Opera House, Washington
Washington National Opera
Philippe Auguin conducting
Wagner: “Das Rheingold”
Alan Held (Wotan)
Elizabeth Bishop (Fricka)
Gordon Hawkins (Alberich)
Melody Moore (Freia)
Julian Close (Fasolt)
Soloman Howard (Fafner)
Lindsay Ammann (Erda)
Jacqueline Echols (Woglinde)
Catherine Martin (Wellgunde)
Renée Tatum (Flosshilde)
Richard Cox (Froh)
Ryan McKinny (Donner)
William Burden (Loge)
David Cangelosi (Mime)
Francesca Zambello, stage director
in German, English captions
$90-$515
(800) 444-1324
http://www.kennedy-center.org

April 30 (8 p.m.)
Coolidge Auditorium, Library of Congress, First Street at Independence Avenue N.E., Washington
Rzewski: “Dreams,” Part 1 – Nos. 1-4
Frederic Rzewski, piano
Rzewski: new work TBA (premiere)
Jennifer Koh, violin
Benjamin Hochman, piano
George Antheil: String Quartet No. 1
Ben Johnston: String Quartet No. 10
Del Sol String Quartet
pre-concert conversation with Rzewski, 6:30 p.m., Whittall Pavilion
free; tickets required
(202) 707-5502
http://www.loc.gov/concerts

April 30 (8 p.m.)
Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda, MD
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Andrey Boreyko conducting
Victoria Borisova-Ollas: “The Kingdom of Silence”
Tchaikovsky: “Variations on a Rococo Theme”
Dariusz Skoraczewski, cello
Prokofiev: Symphony No. 5
$35-$99
(877) 276-1444 (Baltimore Symphony box office)
http://www.strathmore.org