France’s Ysaÿe Quartet, remembered locally for performances at Virginia Commonwealth University in 2004 and 2011, has disbanded after a career of 30 years, Le Figaro of Paris reports (in French):
http://www.lefigaro.fr/musique/2014/01/20/03006-20140120ARTFIG00277-la-valse-aux-adieux-du-quatuor-ysae.php
Pete Seeger, father of the American folk revival, author or co-author of some of its iconic songs – “If I Had a Hammer,” “Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season),” “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?” – and popularizer of the civil-rights anthem “We Shall Overcome,” has died at 94.
An obituary by Jon Pareles for The New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/29/arts/music/pete-seeger-songwriter-and-champion-of-folk-music-dies-at-94.html?hp&_r=0
Pianist Emanuel Ax will open the 2014-15 season of the Virginia Symphony, joining Music Director JoAnn Falletta and the Hampton Roads-based orchestra in 
Other guests of the orchestra in the coming season will be violinist-conductor Cho-Liang Lin (playing Mozart), violinists Alexandre de Costa (Tchaikovsky) and Tamas Kocsis (Bruch), cellist Amit Peled (Dvořák), pianists Prisca Benoit (Beethoven) and Sara Davis Buechner (Chopin), and vocal soloists to be announced, with the Virginia Symphony Chorus, in Handel’s “Messiah” and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.
Major orchestral repertory next season includes 
For information on ticket subscription packages, call the Virginia Symphony box office at (757) 892-6366, or visit www.virginiasymphony.org
The Virginia Symphony’s 2014-15 program lineup:
CLASSICS
at Ferguson Arts Center, Christopher Newport University, Newport News; Chrysler Hall, Norfolk; Sandler Arts Center, Virginia Beach
Sept. 19 (Newport News), Sept. 20 (Norfolk), Sept. 21 (Virginia Beach) – JoAnn Falletta conducting. Richard Strauss: “Don Juan;” Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 14; Richard Strauss: Burleske for piano and orchestra (Emanuel Ax, piano); Ravel: “La Valse.”
Oct. 17 (Newport News), Oct. 18 (Norfolk), Oct. 19 (Virginia Beach) – Cho-Liang Lin conducting. Elgar: Serenade for strings; Mozart: Violin Concerto No. 2 (Cho-Liang Lin, violin); Mozart: Symphony No. 40.
Nov. 7 (Newport News), Nov. 8 (Norfolk), Nov. 9 (Virginia Beach) – JoAnn Falletta conducting. Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 1 (Prisca Benoit, piano); Mahler: Symphony No. 1.
Dec. 5 (Newport News), Dec. 6 (location TBA) – Benjamin Rous conducting. Handel: “Messiah” (soloists TBA, Virginia Symphony Chorus).
Jan. 30 (Newport News), Feb. 1 (Norfolk), Feb. 2 (Virginia Beach) – JoAnn Falletta conducting. Roussel: “Bacchus et Ariane” Suite No. 2; Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 (“Choral”) (soloists TBA, Virginia Symphony Chorus).
Feb. 13 (Newport News), Feb. 14 (Norfolk), Feb. 15 (Virginia Beach) – JoAnn Falletta conducting. Wagner: Prelude and “Liebestod” from “Tristan und Isolde;” Tchaikovsky: “Romeo and Juliet” Fantasy-Overture; Rachmaninoff: Symphony No. 2.
Feb. 27 (Newport News), Feb. 28 (Norfolk), March 1 (Virginia Beach) – JoAnn Falletta conducting. Libby Larsen: “On the Floor;” Dvořák: Cello Concerto (Amit Peled, cello); Copland: Symphony No. 3.
March 20 (Newport News), March 21 (Norfolk), March 22 (Virginia Beach) – Benjamin Rous conducting. Rimsky-Korsakov: “Russian Easter” Overture; Shostakovich: Symphony No. 9; Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto (Alexandre de Costa, violin).
REGIONAL CLASSICS
at Crosswalk Community Church, Williamsburg; Regent University Theater, Virginia Beach; Phi Beta Kappa Hall, College of William and Mary, Williamsburg
Nov. 13 (Crosswalk, Williamsburg), Nov. 15 (Virginia Beach) – JoAnn Falletta conducting. Milhaud: “Le boeuf sur le toit” (“The Bull on the Roof”); Chopin: Piano Concerto No. 1 (Sara Davis Buechner, piano); Beethoven: Symphony No. 1.
Dec. 3 (Virginia Beach), Dec. 4 (Crosswalk, Williamsburg) – Benjamin Rous conducting. Handel: “Messiah” (soloists TBA, Virginia Symphony Chorus).
Jan. 22 (Crosswalk, Williamsburg), Jan. 24 (Virginia Beach) – JoAnn Falletta conducting. Hamilton Harty: “In Ireland;” Bruch: Violin Concerto No. 1 (Tamas Kocsis, violin); Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 3 (“Scottish”).
March 12 (Phi Beta Kappa, Williamsburg), March 14 (Virginia Beach) – JoAnn Falletta conducting. J.S. Bach: Orchestral Suite No. 3; Haydn: Sinfonia concertante (Vahn Armstrong, violin; Michael Daniels, cello; Sherie Aguirre, oboe; Laura Leisring, bassoon); Brahms: “Nänie,” “Schicksalslied” (Virginia Symphony Chorus).
POPS
at Ferguson Arts Center, Christopher Newport University, Newport News; Chrysler Hall, Norfolk; Sandler Arts Center, Virginia Beach
Oct. 3 (Newport News), Oct. 4 (Norfolk) – Benjamin Rous conducting. “A Night in Motown” (Spectrum, guest artists).
Dec. 19 (Virginia Beach), Dec. 20 (Norfolk) – Robert Shoup conducting. Holiday Pops (guest soloists TBA, Virginia Symphony Chorus).
Feb. 6 (Newport News), Feb. 7 (Norfolk) – Benjamin Rous conducting. “At the Movies with John Williams.”
March 6 (Newport News), March 7 (Norfolk) – Benjamin Rous conducting. “The Music of Benny Goodman” (Sal Andolina, clarinet).
March 27 (Newport News), March 28 (Norfolk) – Benjamin Rous conducting. “Wicked Divas in Concert” (guest vocalists TBA).
PB&J FAMILY CLASSICS
at Sandler Arts Center, Virginia Beach
Oct. 26 – Benjamin Rous conducting. “Halloween Spooktacular.”
Nov. 30 – Benjamin Rous conducting. “Jingle Bell Jam.”
Jan. 25 – Benjamin Rous conducting. Poulenc: “Babar the Elephant” (narrator TBA).
March 15 – Benjamin Rous conducting. “The Animated Orchestra” (Gregory Smith, narrator).
Classical Revolution RVA, the performance cooperative organized by Richmond Symphony violinist Ellen Cockerham, will present a Mozart festival on Sunday, Jan. 26 
Nine events are scheduled, beginning at 11 a.m., at various stores and restaurants along Cary Street. All are open free of charge except a screening of “Amadeus” at the Byrd Theatre. Tickets for the film are $4 in advance at AlterNatives, 3320 W. Cary St., or $5 at the door.
Here’s the festival schedule:
11 a.m.-noon (AlterNatives, 3320 W. Cary St.) – Quartet performance. Program TBA. Coffee and pastries served.
Noon-1 p.m. (Carytown Bistro, 3200 W. Cary St.) – Clarinet Quintet, Viola Quintet in G minor, flute quartet TBA.
Noon-2 p.m. (Can Can Brasserie, 3120 W. Cary St.) – “Eine kleine Brunch Musik,” chamber music, art-songs, piano sonatas TBA.
2-3 p.m. (Plan 9 Records, 3017 W. Cary St.) – “Operatic Incarnations,” vocal duos, trios, ensembles TBA.
2-3:30 p.m. (Cartwheels & Coffee, 2820 W. Cary St.) – “Story Time: ‘The Magic Flute’,” story narrated by Mark Mobley, with arias sung by members of Capitol Opera Richmond.
3-4 p.m. (Chop Suey Books, 2913 W. Cary St.) – “Wolfgang 101,” conductor Daniel Myssyk discusses Mozart.
4-5:30 p.m. (Babes of Carytown, 3166 W. Cary St.) – Symphonies Nos. 31 (“Paris”), 38 (“Prague”) and 41 (“Jupiter”), conducted by Daniel Myssyk and Erin R. Freeman.
6-7 p.m. (Can Can Brasserie, 3120 W. Cary St.) – “Mozart’s Greatest Hits,” Capitol Opera Richmond members perform arias from “The Marriage of Figaro,” “Cosí fan tutte,” “Don Giovanni,” other works, with orchestral accompaniment.
7:30 p.m. (Byrd Theatre, 2908 W. Cary St.) – “Amadeus.” Party after film at Portrait House, 2907 W. Cary St.
Details: http://classicalrevolutionrva.com/events/mozart-festival/
* * *
ADDENDUM (Jan. 26): How’d it go? Great fun, to judge from the symphonies set at Babe’s. The program turned out to be movements from the “Paris” (No. 31), “Haffner” (No. 35), “Prague” (No. 38), “Jupiter” (No. 41) and the nicknameless Nos. 34 and 40, plus the overtures to “The Marriage of Figaro” and “Don Giovanni,” played by an orchestra of professionals and students.
The Richmond Symphony’s Erin R. Freeman conducted the first half in a rather mellow vein, emphasizing the lyrical and moody. In the second half, Virginia Commonwealth University-based Daniel Myssyk obtained more rhythmically pointed and dynamic playing. He also tried to reprise some of a lecture he had just given up the street, which proved to be a mistake in a crowded bar.
Balances were dicey – several hundred of us now know the trumpet parts of the “Paris” and “Jupiter” symphonies in detail – and the performances rough-and-ready. The musicians were sight-reading the scores, Freeman revealed.
Considering that they were, and that Mozart is music without much margin for inaudible error, the results were never less than listenable, and at times were remarkably polished.
Claudio Abbado, the esteemed Italian conductor, has died at 80. A survivor of stomach cancer in the 
The former music director of La Scala, the Vienna State Opera, the London Symphony and Berlin Philharmonic, Abbado in his last years most prominently worked at the Lucerne Festival and with chamber orchestras.
“The loss of Abbado is irreparable,” writes Norman Lebrecht, the English chronicler of conductors.
The New York Times’ obituary, by Allan Kozinn:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/21/arts/music/claudio-abbado-italian-conductor-dies-at-80.html?hp
A 2009 interview with Abbado by Tom Service, from The Guardian:
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2009/aug/08/life-in-music-claudio-abbado
Just a few days ago, Service reported that Orchestra Mozart, one of the ensembles Abbado helped develop in the Lucerne years, has suspended operations in the conductor’s absence:
http://www.theguardian.com/music/tomserviceblog/2014/jan/17/abbado-orchestra-mozart-shuts-down
ADDENDUM: The Berlin Philharmonic, which Abbado led from 1990 to 2002, has made available at no charge 17 videos of the conductor’s performances with the orchestra:
http://www.digitalconcerthall.com/en/info/claudio-abbado
Virginia Opera will present Stephen Sondheim’s “Sweeney Todd” as its opening production next season. The 2014-15 lineup also features the Gilbert 
Dates have been set for all but “Traviata” in the spring. All four productions will be staged at Norfolk’s Harrison Opera House, the Carpenter Theatre of Richmond CenterStage and the Center for the Arts at George Mason University in Fairfax. “Pinafore” and “Traviata” also will be presented at the Sandler Arts Center in Virginia Beach.
Dates, and casting to date, for Virginia Opera’s coming season:
* “Sweeney Todd,” led by Adam Turner, the company’s resident conductor, Sept. 26, 28 and 30 in Norfolk; Oct. 3 and 5 in Richmond; Oct. 11 and 12 in Fairfax.
* “H.M.S. Pinafore,” directed by Nicola Bowie, Nov. 7, 9 and 11 in Norfolk; Nov. 14 and 15 in Virginia Beach; Nov. 21 and 23 in Richmond; Dec. 5 and 6 in Fairfax.
* “Salome,” starring Kelly Cae Hogan in the title role, Jan. 30, Feb. 1 and 3 in Norfolk; Feb. 6 and 8 in Richmond; Feb. 14 and 15 in Fairfax.
* “La Traviata,” starring Elizabeth Caballero as Violetta and directed by Lillian Groag, spring dates to be announced in Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Richmond and Fairfax.
For information on purchasing ticket subscriptions, call the box office at (866) 673-7282 or visit www.vaopera.org/season-tickets/subscription.html
Jan. 16
1-3 p.m. ET
1800-2000 UTC/GMT
WDCE, University of Richmond
90.1 FM
www.wdce.org
Mozart: Symphony No. 23 in D major, K. 181
Geneva Chamber Orchestra/David Greilsammer (Sony Classical)
Bohuslav Martinů: Symphony No. 3
Czech Philharmonic/Vaclav Neumann (Supraphon)
Peter Schickele: Piano Quintet No. 1
Peter Schickele, piano
Audubon Quartet (Centaur)
Debussy: “Danses sacrée et profane”
Nancy Allen, harp
Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra/Gerard Schwarz (EMI Classics)
Past Masters:
Beethoven: Symphony No. 7 in A major
Gewandhaus Orchestra Leipzig/Franz Konwitschny (Berlin Classics)
(recorded 1959)
