Month: September 2023

7-9 p.m. EDT
2300-0100 UTC/GMT
WDCE, University of Richmond
90.1 FM
http://wdce.org

John Marsh: Symphony No. 10 in E flat major
(“A Conversation for Two Orchestras”)
London Mozart Players/Matthias Bamert
(Chandos)

Boccherini: Cello Concerto in D major, G. 479
Edgar Moreau, cello
Il Pomo d’Oro/Riccardo Minasi
(Erato)

Haydn: Symphony No. 92 in G major (“Oxford”)
Freiburger Barockorchester/René Jacobs
(Harmonia Mundi)

Berlioz: “Rob-Roy Macgregor” Overture
Orchestre symphonique de Montréal/Charles Dutoit
(Decca)

Dvořák: Symphony No. 9 in E minor (“From the New World”)
New York Philharmonic/Leonard Bernstein
(Sony Classical)

Daisuke Yamamoto is marking his 10th anniversary as concertmaster of the Richmond Symphony, launching the 2023-24 Symphony Series with new music – the premiere of Andrea Portera’s “Eudaimonic” Concerto for violin and orchestra in concerts on Sept. 30 and Oct. 1 – and his first full season playing an old fiddle.

The instrument is labeled as having been built in 1705 by Giovanni Battista Rogeri, a pupil of the master violin maker Nicolò Amati. The Richmond Symphony acquired the violin in January, on a permanent loan from an unnamed investor, as part of Music Director Valentina Peleggi’s drive to enrich the sound of the orchestra.

In a recent interview, Yamamoto demonstrated the difference between the new/old violin and the one he had been playing for years. The Rogeri’s “physical size is larger,” he observed. “It can be quite a challenge to adjust to a larger instrument. I have to adjust fingerings, and that can change the way I play, even with pieces I’m familiar with.”

The Rogeri also projects with greater volume, producing “a sound that fills larger spaces,” the violinist said, “but also a somewhat darker sound, with more [tone] colors available.”

The instrument’s capabilities should get a good test in the new piece. Although the composer’s principal instrument is the flute, Yamamoto finds Portera “expert at writing for the violin.”

The Italian composer, who will come to Richmond for the premiere, has written works in a wide variety of media, from solo guitar and percussion ensemble to symphonic and theater music, winning a string of awards in Europe, Japan and elsewhere and having his pieces performed by leading orchestras and contemporary music ensembles.

The “Eudaimonic” Concerto, inspired by poems of Laura Artusio (Portera’s wife) and Maya Angelou, “is more of an interactive piece” than many violin concertos, Yamamoto said, so the soloist’s sound will be heard alongside those of other orchestral instruments rather than riding above the full ensemble. “There are times when the violin has time to shine, but other times when it is contributing tones and colors in larger surroundings.”

A native of Marietta, GA, Yamamoto joined the Richmond Symphony in 2013 after playing in the New World Symphony, the Miami orchestra founded by Michael Tilson Thomas as a post-graduate performance program for young orchestral musicians. The Richmond Symphony and similar-sized orchestras recruit extensively from New World alumni – Yamamoto was one of eight playing in the orchestra last season.

The role of concertmaster – first among an orchestra’s first violinists – is not widely understood by non-musicians. In early orchestras, concertmasters (or “leaders,” as they’re known in Britain) were effectively conductors, standing before the ensemble, beating time and cueing players with gestures as they played. (The putative director, the Kapellmeister – “master of the chapel” – typically presided over performances from a keyboard.)

With the emergence of baton-wielding conductors in the 19th century, the concertmaster “became the conductor’s right-hand man,” Yamamoto said. “We’re interpreting what the conductor wants and says for the orchestra’s musicians, so mutual trust between the conductor and concertmaster is a big part of the job.”

On a more granular level, the concertmaster also is responsible for crafting the bowings of stringed instruments so that string ensembles project the desired collective sonority.

Yamamoto’s model for his role comes from chamber music, in which the first violin is a leading voice, often an arbiter, of the ensemble. “So I think of the orchestra as a big chamber group. Because it’s big, individual players may not be able to hear all the others clearly” – a problem that can be compounded in less-than-ideal acoustic spaces – “so it’s the concertmaster’s job to hear the full ensemble and help with the necessary adjustments.

“It takes careful hearing and a lot of flexibility.”

The Richmond Symphony has renewed Valentina Peleggi’s contract as the orchestra’s music director through the 2027-28 season.

The March 2020 program that secured her Richmond appointment was the last before the orchestra had to cease performing in the early months of the Covid pandemic. When concerts resumed that fall, Peleggi and other conductors led chamber contingents of the symphony in shortened concerts before a few hundred listeners in the 1,700-seat Carpenter Theatre of Dominion Energy Center, performances that also were streamed online. A regular symphony season with full seating availability resumed in the 2021-22 season, with streams continuing.

“It is impressive and empowering to see how much we have been able to build in such a short period of time, more than half of which was during Covid,” Peleggi said in a statement issued in the orchestra’s news release on her contract renewal. “The artistic level of the orchestra [musicians], their passion, their commitment, and their will to grow is a joy to witness and a huge responsibility that I accept with even more enthusiasm.”

On her watch, the Richmond Symphony has enlarged its repertory to include works by women and composers of color, one of whom, Damien Geter, was engaged as composer-in-residence with the symphony and Virginia Opera.

Peleggi has led several premieres, with another, the “Eudaimonic” Concerto for violin and orchestra by Andrea Portera, scheduled for this season’s opening mainstage concerts on Sept. 30 and Oct. 1.

“Valentina is especially passionate about drawing the emerging generation of music lovers into the symphony hall,” said Elizabeth Muhlenfeld Wollan, who chairs the Richmond Symphony board. She lauded Peleggi’s work “to build community partnerships, take concert programming to unexpected locations, and build out impactful conducting seminars and training programs.”

The Italian-born Peleggi, who studied in Rome and London, began her Richmond tenure after serving as resident conductor of Brazil’s São Paulo Symphony Orchestra, director of its chorus and guest music director of Theatro São Pedro, the city’s opera house. She held a Taki Alsop Conducting Fellowship in 2015-17, and in 2019 was appointed associate at the Royal Academy of Music in London.

A program exploring one of the most productive and mutually supportive circles of composers and performers in 19th-century European music, that of Robert and Clara Schumann, Johannes Brahms and Joseph Joachim.

7-9 p.m. EDT
2300-0100 UTC/GMT
WDCE, University of Richmond
90.1 FM
http://wdce.org

Robert Schumann: Introduction and Allegro appassionato in G major, Op. 92
Jan Lisiecki, piano
Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia/Antonio Pappano
(Deutsche Grammophon)

Robert Schumann: “Bunte Blätter,” Op. 99 –
IV: “Albumblätter I” in F sharp minor
Maria-João Pires, piano
(Apex)

Clara Wieck Schumann: “Variations on a Theme by Robert Schumann,” Op. 20
Susanne Grützmann, piano
(Hänssler Profil)

Albert Dietrich, Robert Schumann & Johannes Brahms: “F.A.E.” Sonata
Isabelle Faust, violin
Alexander Melnikov, piano
(Harmonia Mundi)

Joseph Joachim: “Hamlet” Overture
Oslo Philharmonic/Mariss Jansons
(Simax)

Brahms: Violin Concerto in D major
Leonidas Kavakos, violin
Gewandhausorchester Leipzig/Riccardo Chailly
(Decca)

Along with classics of Mozart, Beethoven and Prokofiev, “Dark Pastoral,” David Matthews’ adaptation of a fragment of Ralph Vaughan Williams’ never-completed cello concerto, and a hometown premiere: “Rags & Hymns of River City” by the Richmond-bred composer Mason Bates, introduced in 2019 and now recorded by Richmond’s Atlantic Chamber Ensemble.

7-9 p.m. EDT
2300-0100 UTC/GMT
WDCE, University of Richmond
90.1 FM
http://wdce.org

Mozart: Serenade in C minor, K. 388 (“Nacht Musik”)
KlangVerwaltung wind soloists
(Farao Classics)

Mason Bates: “Rags & Hymns of River City”
Atlantic Chamber Ensemble
(Imaginary Animals)

David Matthews: “Dark Pastoral”
(after Ralph Vaughan Williams)
Guy Johnston, cello
Royal Scottish National Orchestra/Martin Yates
(Dutton)

Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major
Claudio Arrau, piano
Staatskapelle Dresden/Colin Davis
(Decca)

Prokofiev: Violin Concerto No. 1 in D major
Vadim Gluzman, violin
Estonian National Symphony Orchestra/Neeme Järvi
(BIS)

Finland, a nation whose population of 6.5 million is smaller than that of the Washington, DC, metro area, has produced a wildly disproportionate share of the world’s leading conductors. The New York Times’ Joshua Barone profiles the teacher whose studio has produced this constellation of podium stars.

His subject is Jorma Panula, the 93-year-old teacher of generations of the country’s conductors: Osmo Vänskä, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Sakari Oramo, Mikko Franck, Susanna Mälkki, Santtu-Matias Rouvali, Klaus Mäkelä . . . the list goes on and on.

A teacher of few words – “I was in the orchestra, and most musicians, they hate talking” – and a gruff, at times sarcastic, manner, Panula “values close readings of scores, which to him entail more than simply following the notes on the page, Barone writes. ‘I can see in their faces if they know the music or not,’ he said, which means also knowing a composer’s particular style, as well as background. ‘What kind of literature were they reading?’ he added as an example. ‘What opera did they see? What ballet?’ ”

Panula “teaches every student to become his or her own teacher,” says Dalia Stasevka, chief conductor of Finland’s Lahti Symphony Orchestra. “What is so brilliant about his teaching is that it leads to giving space to grow and find your personal style in conducting.”

By now, most of Richmond’s 2023-24 classical events have been announced. Exceptions, as this is written, are choral concerts (especially around Christmas and other holy days), faculty and ensemble performances at Virginia Commonwealth University, and some concert series at churches.

As events are clustered on weekends, scheduling conflicts are inevitable; but, for all the clustering, there are relatively few conflicting dates this season. Several, alas, are one-night stands by prominent touring artists.

As usual, a number of artists’ programs remain to be announced. Those programs will be listed in Letter V’s monthly calendars as the season progresses.

The following thumbnail calendar lists all the season’s ticketed events and many performances open free of charge (often with donations requested). Freebies are marked with an asterisk (*), those requiring advance registration with two (**).

Contact information and venue addresses can be found after the monthly listings.

Here’s the 2023-24 lineup to date:

SEPTEMBER
9 – Richmond Symphony, Valentina Peleggi conducting; Gladys Knight, vocals (Altria Theater).
9 – Belvedere Series ensemble (Ryan Recital Hall, St. Christopher’s School).
**9 – Rhonda AbouHana, soprano (River Road Church, Baptist).
10 – Rennolds Chamber Concerts: Hermitage Piano Trio (Singleton Arts Center, Virginia Commonwealth University).
*16 – Richmond Symphony, conductor TBA (Heritage Amphitheater, Pocahontas State Park).
23 – Kyiv Symphony Orchestra & Chorus, Viktoriia Konchakovska conducting (Grace & Holy Trinity Episcopal Church).
*27 – Tabatha Easley, flute; other artists TBA (Singleton Arts Center, Virginia Commonwealth University).
*30 – Chamber Music of Central Virginia ensemble (Gellman Room, Richmond Public Library main branch).
30 – Richmond Symphony, Valentina Peleggi conducting; Daisuke Yamamoto, violin (Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center).

OCTOBER
1 – Richmond Symphony, Valentina Peleggi conducting; Daisuke Yamamoto, violin (Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center).
2 – Chamber Music Society of Central Virginia ensemble (First Unitarian Universalist Church).
5 – Richmond Symphony, Chia-Hsuan Lin conducting (Hardywood Park Craft Brewery).
*8 – Second Sunday South of the James: Tam Trio (Bon Air Presbyterian Church).
**13 – Michael Hey, organ (Cathedral of the Sacred Heart).
13/15 – Virginia Opera: “Siegfried” (Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center).
15 – Rennolds Chamber Concerts: Isidore String Quartet (Singleton Arts Center, Virginia Commonwealth University).
**15 – Vox Humana, William Bradley Roberts directing (River Road Church, Baptist).
*21 – Anamarie Diaz, flute; Hope Armstrong Erb, piano (Gellman Room, Richmond Public Library main branch).
21-22 – Richmond Symphony, Valentina Peleggi conducting; Paul Neubauer, viola (Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center).
27 – Modlin Arts Presents: Inon Barnatan, piano; James Ehnes, violin; Alisa Weilerstein, cello (Modlin Arts Center, University of Richmond).
27 – Paley Music Festival: Alexander Paley & Peiwen Chen, piano 4-hands (St. Luke Lutheran Church).
28 – Paley Music Festival: Alexander Paley, piano (St. Luke Lutheran Church).
29 – Chamber Music Society of Central Virginia: Carsten Schmidt, harpsichord (Church of the Holy Comforter, Episcopal).
*29 – University of Richmond Schola Cantorum & Women’s Chorale (Modlin Arts Center, University of Richmond).

NOVEMBER
*4 – Commonwealth Concert Opera (Gellman Room, Richmond Public Library main branch).
*5 – Richmond Philharmonic, Peter Wilson conducting (Ryan Recital Hall, St. Christopher’s School).
*5 – Stefan Palm, organ (River Road Church, Baptist).
9 – Modlin Arts Presents: J’Nai Bridges, mezzo-soprano (Modlin Arts Center, University of Richmond).
10 – Richmond chapter, American Guild of Organists Repertoire Recital Series: Anne Laver, organ (St. Benedict Catholic Church).
11-12 – Richmond Symphony, Valentina Peleggi & Chia-Hsuan Lin conducting; Lara Downes, piano; Richmond Symphony Chorus (Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center).
11-12 – Belvedere Series ensemble (Marburg House).
12 – Modlin Arts Presents: Terence Blanchard, trumpet & composer; ensemble (“Fire Shut Up in My Bones”) (Modlin Arts Center, University of Richmond).
16 – Richmond Symphony, Chia-Hsuan Lin conducting (Hardywood Park Craft Brewery).
**17 – Cathedral Choir; soloists TBA; Three Notch’d Road, Daniel Sañez conducting (Mozart Requiem) (Cathedral of the Sacred Heart).
*17 – Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra, conductor TBA (Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center).
17/19 – Virginia Opera: “The Barber of Seville” (Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center).
*18 – Sigma Alpha Iota musicians (Gellman Room, Richmond Public Library main branch).
*20 – University of Richmond Wind Ensemble (Modlin Arts Center, University of Richmond).
25-26 – Richmond Symphony Pops, Chia-Hsuan Lin conducting (“Let It Snow”) (Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center).
27 – Richmond Symphony, conductor TBA; other artists TBA (“Holiday Festival of Music”) (Cathedral of the Sacred Heart).
29 – Modlin Arts Presents: Canadian Brass (Modlin Arts Center, University of Richmond).

DECEMBER
1 – Richmond Symphony Brass Ensemble (Perkinson Arts Center, Chester).
**1 – Trio Mediaeval (Cathedral of the Sacred Heart).
2 – Richmond Symphony Brass Ensemble (Ryan Recital Hall, St. Christopher’s School).
**3 – River Road Chancel Choir & orchestra, Robert Gallagher conducting; soloists TBA (Handel “Messiah” Advent/Christmas portion (River Road Church, Baptist).
3 – Richmond Symphony Brass Ensemble (Blackwell Auditorium, Randolph-Macon College, Ashland).
*3 – University of Richmond Schola Cantorum & Women’s Chorale (Festival of Lessons and Carols) (Modlin Arts Center, University of Richmond).
**4 – Three Notch’d Road; Anne Timberlake, flute; Cameron Welke, lute (“Sacred Harp”) (Cathedral of the Sacred Heart).
*4 – University of Richmond chamber ensembles (Modlin Arts Center, University of Richmond).
*6 – University of Richmond Symphony Orchestra; Ben Nguyen, piano (Modlin Arts Center, University of Richmond).
**15 – Cathedral musicians (Advent Lessons and Carols) (Cathedral of the Sacred Heart).
18 – Chamber Music Society of Central Virginia ensemble (Church of the Holy Comforter, Episcopal).

JANUARY
12 – Belvedere Series: Diderot String Quartet (St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church).
*13 – Thomas Pandolfi, piano (Gellman Room, Richmond Public Library main branch).
13 – Richmond Symphony, Henry Panion conducting; choruses TBA (“Tribute to Richard Smallwood”) (Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center).
14 – Richmond Symphony, Henry Panion conducting (“Celebrate MLK”) (Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center).
20-21 – Richmond Symphony, Valentina Peleggi conducting; Francesca Dego, violin (Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center).
**26 – Allen Bean, organ (Cathedral of the Sacred Heart).
26 – Richmond Symphony, Valentina Peleggi conducting; Keila Wakao, violin (Perkinson Arts Center, Chester).
27 – Richmond Symphony, Valentina Peleggi conducting; Keila Wakao, violin (Ryan Recital Hall, St. Christopher’s School).
28 – Richmond Symphony, Valentina Peleggi conducting; Keila Wakao, violin (Blackwell Auditorium, Randolph-Macon College, Ashland).
*31 – Richard Becker, piano (Modlin Arts Center, University of Richmond).

FEBRUARY
*3 – Virginia State University Choir, Craig L. Robertson directing (Gellman Room, Richmond Public Library main branch).
3 – Richmond Symphony Pops, Steve Hackman conducting (“The Resurrection Mixtape”) (Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center).
4 – Richmond Symphony, conductor TBA; Shannon Gibson Brown, vocalist (“The Music of Patsy Cline”) (Cultural Arts Center of Glen Allen).
*4 – Paul Hanson, piano (Modlin Arts Center, University of Richmond).
8 – Richmond Symphony, Chia-Hsuan Lin conducting (Hardywood Park Craft Brewery).
**9 – Carina Brackin, organ (Cathedral of the Sacred Heart).
9/11 – Virginia Opera: “Sanctuary Road” (Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center).
10-11 – Belvedere Series ensemble (Marburg House).
*17 – Chamber Music Society of Central Virginia ensemble (Gellman Room, Richmond Public Library main branch).
18 – Rennolds Chamber Concerts: Academy of St. Martin in the Fields Wind Ensemble (Singleton Arts Center, Virginia Commonwealth University).
24 – Modlin Arts Presents: Zuill Bailey, cello; Natasha Pasremski, piano (Modlin Arts Center, University of Richmond).
24-25 – Richmond Symphony, Valentina Peleggi conducting; Dinara Klinton, piano; Richmond Symphony Chorus (Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center).
**25 – William & Mary Choir, Daniel Parks directing (River Road Church, Baptist).

MARCH
*2 – RVA Baroque (Gellman Room, Richmond Public Library main branch).
**2 – Furman Singers, Stephen Gusukuma directing (River Road Church, Baptist).
*2 – Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra, conductor TBA (Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center).
3 – Chamber Music Society of Central Virginia ensemble (St. Mary’s Episcopal Church).
*3 – Doris Wylee-Becker, piano (Modlin Arts Center, University of Richmond).
*4 – Richmond Piano Trio (Modlin Arts Center, University of Richmond).
8 – Richmond chapter, American Guild of Organists Repertoire Recital Series: Ken Cowan, organ (St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church).
14 – Richmond Symphony, Chia-Hsuan Lin conducting (Hardywood Park Craft Brewery).
*16 – Greater Richmond Children’s Choir, Crystal Jonkman directing (Gellman Room, Richmond Public Library main branch).
*17 – Richmond Philharmonic, Peter Wilson conducting; Daisuke Yamamoto, violin (Ryan Recital Hall, St. Christopher’s School).
20 – Richmond Symphony Pops, Chia-Hsuan Lin conducting (Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center).
22/24 – Virginia Opera: “Madame Butterfly” (Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center).
24 – Rennolds Chamber Concerts: Diana Adamyan, violin (Singleton Arts Center, Virginia Commonwealth University).
**24 – Vox Humana, William Bradley Roberts directing (River Road Church, Baptist).

APRIL
5 – Modlin Arts Presents: Emanuel Ax, piano (Modlin Arts Center, University of Richmond).
6-7 – Richmond Symphony, Carlos Miguel Prieto conducting (Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center).
*8 – University of Richmond Wind Ensemble (Modlin Arts Center, University of Richmond).
10 – Tallis Scholars, Peter Phillips directing (River Road Church, Baptist).
12 – Richmond chapter, American Guild of Organists Repertoire Recital Series: Raúl Prieto Ramírez, organ (First Presbyterian Church).
*13 – Victor Haskins, multiple instruments (Gellman Room, Richmond Public Library main branch).
13-14 – Belvedere Series ensemble (Marburg House).
*14 – University of Richmond Schola Cantorum & Women’s Chorale (Modlin Arts Center, University of Richmond).
*17 – University of Richmond Symphony Orchestra; Joanne Kong, piano; Anyango Yarbo-Davenport, violin; Christoph Wagner, cello (Modlin Arts Center, University of Richmond).
20 – Modlin Arts Presents: Danish String Quartet (Modlin Arts Center, University of Richmond).
21 – Chamber Music Society of Central Virginia ensemble (Second Presbyterian Church).
*22 – University of Richmond chamber ensembles (Modlin Arts Center, University of Richmond).
26 – Richmond Symphony, Chia-Hsuan Lin conducting; Victoria Chung, oboe (Perkinson Arts Center, Chester).
*27 – Marina Andeuza & Itzel Hamill, pianos (Gellman Room, Richmond Public Library main branch).
27 – Richmond Symphony, Chia-Hsuan Lin conducting; Victoria Chung, oboe (Ryan Recital Hall, St. Christopher’s School).
28 – Richmond Symphony, Chia-Hsuan Lin conducting; Victoria Chung, oboe (Blackwell Auditorium, Randolph-Macon College, Ashland).

MAY
4-5 – Richmond Symphony, Anthony Parnther conducting; Dominic Rotella, French horn (Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center).
*11 – Chamber Music Society of Central Virginia ensemble (Gellman Room, Richmond Public Library main branch).
*11 – Richmond Philharmonic, Peter Wilson conducting; Matt Stevens & Jack Price, trumpets (Ryan Recital Hall, St. Christopher’ School).
11 – Richmond Symphony Pops, Chia-Hsuan Lin conducting; Russell Wilson, piano (Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center).
*13 – Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra Program ensembles, conductors TBA (Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center).
*14 – Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra, conductor TBA (Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center).
18 – Richmond Symphony, Chia-Hsuan Lin conducting; Daniel Stipe, piano (Ryan Recital Hall, St. Christopher’s School).
19 – Richmond Symphony, Chia-Hsuan Lin conducting; Daniel Stipe, piano (Blackwell Auditorium, Randolph-Macon College, Ashland).

JUNE
1-2 – Richmond Symphony, Valentina Peleggi conducting; Jennifer Rowley, soprano; Guadalupe Barrientos, mezzo-soprano; Rodrick Dixon, tenor; David Leigh, bass; Richmond Symphony Chorus (Verdi Requiem) (Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center).

PRESENTERS
Richmond Symphony: (804) 788-1212; http://richmondsymphony.com
Virginia Opera: (804) 644-8168; http://vaopera.org
Richmond Philharmonic: (804) 556-1039; http://richmondphilharmonic.org
Chamber Music Society of Central Virginia: (804) 304-6312; http://cmscva.org
Belvedere Series: http://belvedereseries.org
Alexander Paley Music Festival: (804) 665-9516; http://paleymusicfestival.org
Richmond chapter, American Guild of Organists’ Repertoire Recital Series: http://richmondago.org

VENUES (all in Richmond unless listed otherwise)
Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center, Sixth and Grace streets:
(804) 592-3330; http://www.dominionenenergycenter.com
Altria Theater, Main and Laurel streets:
(804) 592-3384; http://www.altriatheater.com
Modlin Arts Center, University of Richmond, 453 Westhampton Way:
(804) 289-8980; http://modlin.richmond.edu
Singleton Arts Center, Virginia Commonwealth University, Park Avenue at Harrison Street:
(804) 828-1166; http://arts.vcu.edu/events
Blackwell Auditorium, Randolph-Macon College, 205 Henry St., Ashland:
(804) 752-7200; http://rmc.edu
Perkinson Arts Center, 11810 Centre St., Chester:
(804) 748-5555; http://www.perkinsoncenter.org
Ryan Recital Hall, St. Christopher’s School, 6010 Fergusson Road:
(804) 282-3185; http://www.stchristophers.com
Hardywood Park Craft Brewery, Overbrook Road at Ownby Lane:
(804) 420-2420; http://hardywood.com
Marburg House, 3102 Bute Lane:
(804) 604-0689
Gellman Room, Richmond Public Library, First and Franklin streets:
(804) 646-7223; http://rvalibrary.org
Pocahontas State Park, 10301 State Park Road, Chesterfield County:
(804) 796-4255; http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state-parks/pocahontas
Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, Laurel Street at Floyd Avenue:
(804) 359-5651; http://richmondcathedral.org
River Road Church, Baptist, River and Ridge roads:
(804) 288-1131; http://rrcb.org
Grace & Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, 8 N. Laurel St.:
(804) 359-5628; http://ghtc.org
St. Luke Lutheran Church, 7757 Chippenham Parkway:
(804) 272-0486; http://stlukerichmond.org
St. Benedict Catholic Church, 300 N. Sheppard St.:
(804) 254-0887; http://saintbenedictparish.org
St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, 12291 River Road, Goochland County:
(804) 784-5678; http://stmarysgoochland.org
Church of the Holy Comforter, Episcopal, Monument Avenue at Staples Mill Road:
(804) 355-3251; http://www.hoco.org
First Unitarian Universalist Church, 1000 Blanton Ave. at the Carillon:
(804) 355-0777; http://richmonduu.org
Second Presbyterian Church, 5 N. Fifth St.:
(804) 649-9148; http://www.2presrichmond.org
Bon Air Presbyterian Church, 9201 W. Huguenot Road:
(804) 272-7514; http://bonairpc.org

Britain’s Aurora Orchestra made a name for itself by playing works from memory – no music stands or scores; and, in most performances, no seats except for cellists and keyboard players.

The practice, says Nicholas Collon, Aurora’s conductor, produces higher levels of energy and engagement among musicians, and allows players to move, even to choreograph a piece of music or to segue from one piece to the next, giving a program a sense of musical continuity.

Ordinarily, audiences encounter standing orchestras only when a symphony season opens with the national anthem, or in concerts by early-music ensembles. Even then, they almost always play from scores. Standing up to play Beethoven, Brahms or Tchaikovsky from memory? Not a chance. Certainly not Igor Stravinsky’s fiendishly complex “Le sacre du printemps” (“The Rite of Spring”).

“From the exposed high register of the opening bassoon solo, to the mind-bending rhythmic maze of the closing ‘Sacrificial Dance,’ even the most hardened orchestral player[s] will have their eyes on [scores] throughout, carefully navigating these treacherous paths,” Collon writes in an article for The Guardian.

The difficulty of Stravinsky’s score is compounded when it’s played from memory, the conductor writes. “Take as an example the shockingly terrifying ‘Glorification of the Chosen One,’ which comes midway through the second part. This dance changes metre (i.e., time signature) 49 times within its 58 bars, meaning that nearly every bar has a jaggedly different feel to it. Within each single bar, each musician might be playing as many as 15 notes, often unpredictable and chromatic.

“Add to that the dynamics, articulation, listening to the other parts, and a huge amount of brain space is required. . . . [T]here is no time to think – everything needs to be immediately accessible to the fingers, or else you fall off the moving train. But here’s the thing; the ‘Glorification’ clocks in at 95 seconds, so once this is ticked off, there is still a good 10 minutes more of the piece left.”

Aurora took “The Rite” on a tour that wound up on Sept. 2 with two stagings of the piece in the BBC Proms at London’s Royal Albert Hall. (An arena-rock-scale 10,500 tickets to sell – no word yet on how many were bought.) The orchestra opened with “a dramatic and musical exploration” – i.e., listener’s guide – to the work, followed by a complete performance.

You can hear it here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001q14r

Collon asked Aurora’s musicians how hard it was to memorize their parts in “The Rite,” compared with a 19th-century symphony. He got “succinct, and sometimes surprising replies. Amy Harman, principal bassoon (who starts the piece with that iconic solo) told me: ‘Easier. Weirdly.’ Violinists said ‘Harder,’ ‘much harder’ and ‘way way way harder.’ A double-bassist said: ‘Difficult to say. I knew 90 percent of it already and 10 percent was, like, “Holy shit that’s hard!’ ” Violas all stated that Brahms’ First Symphony was the worst.”

As we bid farewell to summer, thumbing through sonic postcards from some of classical music’s most observant tourists.

7-9 p.m. EDT
2300-0100 UTC/GMT
WDCE, University of Richmond
90.1 FM
http://wdce.org

Gershwin: “An American in Paris”
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra/Louis Langrée
(Fanfare Cincinnati)

Dvořák: Quartet in F major, Op. 96 (“American”)
Smetana Quartet
(Testament)

William Grant Still: “Danzas de Panama” (excerpts)
Berlin Symphony Orchestra/Isaiah Jackson
(Koch International Classics)

Mendelssohn: “The Hebrides” Overture
London Symphony Orchestra/Peter Maag
(Decca)

Tchaikovsky: String Sextet in D minor, Op. 70 (“Souvenir de Florence”)
Valeriy Sokolov & Annabelle Meare, violins
Lawrence Power & Yura Lee, violas
Jan Vogler & Christian Poltéra, cellos
(Sony Classical)

Jacques Ibert: “Escales” (“Ports of Call”)
Minnesota Orchestra/Eiji Oue
(Reference Recordings)

Riccardo Muti, the esteemed Italian conductor who last season concluded a 13-year tenure as music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (and was promptly named conductor emeritus), unloads on opera stage directors imposing their ideas on composers’ works – Regieoper, as the Germans call the tendency – in an interview with Bachtrack’s Mark Pullinger.

When Pullinger notes that Muti, who was music director of Milan’s Teatro alla Scala for 19 years and a longtime presence in other major houses, now seems to prefer conducting opera in concert, Muti replies: “I had so many experiences of horrendous productions [in which] I had to fight with this director, that director.

“I come from the old school,” says the 82-year-old conductor, noting that he learned to conduct the operas of Giuseppe Verdi from Antonino Votto, who learned Verdi from Arturo Toscanini, who learned Verdi from Verdi.

“It’s not that I tell the stage director what to do, but I would like to talk with them beforehand. What I see on stage – modern, traditional, avant-garde – I don’t care, but I want something that doesn’t disturb what I am doing through the music.”

Muti cites a comment by Arnold Schoenberg: “If what you see disturbs what you hear, that’s wrong.”

“This was Schoenberg . . . not Giordano or Mascagni! Capisce? So I don’t want to spend the few years in front of me fighting with an idiot.”

http://bachtrack.com/interview-riccardo-muti-salzburg-chicago-vienna-opera-verdi-august-2023

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