Author: letterv13

Fast Company’s Eve Upton-Clark reports on a survey by the career development firm TopResume on piped-in Christmas music’s effect on worker productivity.

The key is BPM – beats per minute – in the song. TopResume cites research showing that 50 to 80 BPM “is optimal for focus and productivity,” Upton-Clark writes. “When background music at a workplace is out of sync with what workers need to get on with their jobs, it can affect their energy and mood – and even performance.”

Holiday songs that hit the BPM sweet spot include Nat “King” Cole’s version of “The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting),” Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ around the Christmas Tree,” Whitney Houston’s “Do You Hear What I Hear?” and the Vince Guaraldi Trio’s “Christmas Time Is Here.” Andy Williams’ “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” and Ariana Grande’s “Last Christmas” were too juiced on BPM.

Upton-Clark’s report:

https://www.fastcompany.com/91455739/science-says-these-christmas-songs-tank-productivity-at-work

(via https://artsjournal.com)

People who have to spend their working hours with Christmas tunes in the background, especially tunes that lay on the merriment with a trowel, probably spend much of January with the cultural equivalent to post-traumatic stress disorder.

I once got a taste of an especially ghastly playlist – B- and C-list stuff, likely from the late 1950s and early ’60s, judging by the tinny sound and relentless cutesiness– being piped into a medical facility where invasive procedures were performed. I imagined that the practicioners’ wanted, more than anything, to finish what they were doing as quickly as possible, and flee to a quiet place. Medical people are trained to endure a lot, but three or four weeks of this?

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 ticket prices are listed; senior, student/youth, military, group and other discounts may be offered. Prices may include service fees.

Dec. 1 (7 p.m.)
Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, Laurel Street at Floyd Avenue, Richmond
Richmond Symphony
conductor TBA
other artists TBA
“Holiday Festival of Music”
$57.50-$73, via https://www.cccofva.org/concert/tickets; proceeds benefit Commonwealth Catholic Charities
(804) 359-5651
https://richmondcathedral.org

Dec. 1 (7:30 p.m.)
Camp Concert Hall, Modlin Arts Center, University of Richmond
UR Chamber Ensembles
program TBA
free; reservation recommended
(804) 28908980
https://modlin.richmond.edu

Dec. 2 (7 p.m.)
Vlahcevic Concert Hall, Singleton Arts Center, Virginia Commonwealth University, Park Avenue at Harrison Street, Richmond
VCU choirs
Fall concert
program TBA
$14
(804) 828-2787
https://arts.vcu.edu/music/#concerts-events

Dec. 2 (7:30 p.m.)
Old Cabell Hall, University of Virginia, Charlottesville
Tuesday Evening Concerts:
Chanticleer
“A Chanticleer Christmas”
$12-$45
(434) 924-3376
https://tecs.org

Dec. 3 (7 p.m.)
Vlahcevic Concert Hall, Singleton Arts Center, Virginia Commonwealth University, Park Avenue at Harrison Street, Richmond
VCU Symphony Orchestra
Daniel Myssyk conducting
program TBA
$14
(804) 828-2787
https://arts.vcu.edu/music/#concerts-events

Dec. 3 (7:30 p.m.)
Camp Concert Hall, Modlin Arts Center, University of Richmond
UR Symphony Orchestra
Naima Burrs conducting
Ethan Rodgers-Gates, cello
Adam Kasti, clarinet
program TBA
free; reservation recommended
(804) 28908980
https://modlin.richmond.edu

Dec. 3 (7:30 p.m.)
Moss Arts Center, Virginia Tech, 190 Alumni Mall, Blacksburg
Itraab Music Ensemble
Anne Elise Thomas directing
Asian, African traditional & contemporary music TBA
free
(540) 231-5100
https://artscenter,vt.edu

Dec. 4 (7 p.m.)
Vlahcevic Concert Hall, Singleton Arts Center, Virginia Commonwealth University, Park Avenue at Harrison Street, Richmond
VCU Percussion Ensemble
Justin Alexander directing
program TBA
$14
(804) 828-2787
https://arts.vcu.edu/music/#concerts-events

Dec. 4 (7:30 p.m.)
Terrace Theater, Kennedy Center, Washington
Fortas Chamber Music Concerts:
Jennifer Koh, violin
Thomas Sauer, piano
Beethoven: Violin Sonata in D major, Op. 12, No. 1
Vijay Iyer: “Bridgewater Fantasy”
Beethoven: Violin Sonata in A major, Op. 47 (“Kreutzer”)
$61
(800) 444-1324
https://kennedy-center.org

Dec. 5 (7 p.m.)
Vlahcevic Concert Hall, Singleton Arts Center, Virginia Commonwealth University, Park Avenue at Harrison Street, Richmond
VCU faculty & student artists & ensembles
38th annual Holiday Gala
program TBA
$14
(804) 828-2787
https://arts.vcu.edu/music/#concerts-events

Dec. 5 (7:30 p.m.)
Churchland High School, 4301 Cedar Lane, Portsmouth
Virginia Symphony Orchestra
Adam Turner conducting
“Classical Christmas”
free
(757) 892-6366
https://virginiasymphony.org

Dec. 5 (5:30 p.m.)
Dec. 6 (3:30 p.m.)
University Baptist Church, 1223 W. Main St., Charlottesville
Virginia Women’s Chorus
Addison Walton directing
Anastasia Jellison, harp
“Candlelight Concert”
$20
(434) 924-3376
https://music.virginia.edu/events

Dec. 5 (7:30 p.m.)
Salem Civic Center, 1001 Roanoke Boulevard
Roanoke Symphony Pops
David Stewart Wiley conducting
“Holiday Pops Spectacular”
$32-$72
(540) 343-9127
https://rso.com

Dec. 6 (7 p.m.)
Vlahcevic Concert Hall, Singleton Arts Center, Virginia Commonwealth University, Park Avenue at Harrison Street, Richmond
Neave Trio
“In Her Hands”
Jennifer Higdon: “A Vast Palette”
works TBA by Dora Pejačević, Cécile Chaminade
$14
(804) 828-2787
https://arts.vcu.edu/music/#concerts-events

Dec. 6 (1:30 & 3 p.m.)
Dec. 7 (1:30 & 3 p.m.)
Kimball Theatre, 428 W. Duke of Gloucester St., Williamsburg
Williamsburg Symphony Orchestra
Michael Butterman conducting
Tiffany Haas, vocalist
Holiday Pops
$40
(757) 229-9857
https://williamsburgsymphony.org

Dec. 6 (7:30 p.m.)
Southampton High School Auditorium, 23350 Southampton Way, Courtland
Virginia Symphony Orchestra
Adam Turner conducting
“Classical Christmas”
$30
(757) 653-8901
https://franklinsouthamptonconcerts.org/category/concerts/

Dec. 6 (7:30 p.m.)
Old Cabell Hall, University of Virginia, Charlottesville
Charlottesville Symphony at the University of Virginia
UVa University Singers
Michael Slon conducting
Family Holiday Concert
$11-$59
(434) 924-3376
https://music.virginia.edu/upcoming-events-list

Dec. 6 (8 p.m.)
University Baptist Church, 1223 W. Main St., Charlottesville
Virginia Glee Club
Frank Albinder directing
Ting Ting Yen, piano
85th annual Christmas Concert
$20
(434) 924-3376
https://music.virginia.edu/events

Dec. 6 (2 & 7:30 p.m.)
Historic Academy Theater, 600 Main St., Lynchburg
Lynchburg Symphony Orchestra
David Glover conducting
Adelaide Trombetta, soprano
The Seven Hills Chorus
“Happy Holidays with the LSO”
$20-$100
(434) 528-3256
https://lynchburgsymphony.org

Dec. 6 (8 p.m.)
Center for the Arts, George Mason University, Fairfax
Fairfax Symphony Orchestra
Christopher Zimmerman conducting
Shostakovich: Cello Concerto No. 1 in E flat major
Yo-Yo Ma, cello
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 6 in B minor
sold out; waiting list
(703) 563-1990
https://fairfaxsymphony.org

Dec. 7 (4 p.m.)
St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church, Patterson & Forest avenues, Richmond
Richmond Choral Society
Markus Compton directing
Christopher Martin, organ
Keith Tan, piano
string & percussion ensemble
“Christmas with the Richmond Choral Society”
works TBA by J.S. Bach, André J. Thomas, others
$11.90-$20.34
(804) 353-9582
https://www.richmondchoralsociety.org/

Dec. 7 (4 p.m.)
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Ninth & Grace streets, Richmond
St. Paul’s Choir
Christopher Reynolds directing
Advent Lessons & Carols
free
(804) 643-3589
https://stpaulsrva.org

Dec. 7 (5 & 8 p.m.)
Cannon Memorial Chapel, University of Richmond
UR Schola Cantorum
Jeffrey Riehl directing
reciters TBA
52nd annual Candlelight Festival of Lessons and Carols
free; reservation recommended; seating limited
(804) 289-8980
https://modlin.richmond.edu

Dec. 7 (7:30 p.m.)
River Road Church, Baptist, River & Ridge roads, Richmond
E. Carl Freeman Concert Series:
River Road Chancel Choir & orchestra
Robert Gallagher conducting
Handel: “Messiah” – Part 1 & “Hallelujah” Chorus
soloists TBA
free; tickets required via https://eventbrite.com
(804) 288-1131
https://rrcb.org/e-carl-freeman-concert-series/

Dec. 7 (7 p.m.)
Virginia Museum of History & Culture, Arthur Ashe Boulevard at Kensington Avenue, Richmond
Dec. 8 (7 p.m.)
Bon Air Baptist Church, 2531 Buford Road, Richmond
Richmond Philharmonic
Peter Wilson conducting
Holiday Pops
free
(804) 556-1039
https://richmondphilarmonic.org

Dec. 7 (4 p.m.)
Petersburg High School auditorium, 3101 Johnson Road
Petersburg Symphony Orchestra
Alex Wilkerson conducting
Holiday concert & sing-along
$23
(804) 732-0999
http://petersburgsymphony.org

Dec. 7 (2:30 & 7 p.m.)
William & Mary Concert Hall, College of William & Mary, Williamsburg
Virginia Symphony Orchestra
Adam Turner conducting
“Classical Christmas”
$15-$39 (2:30 p.m. performance sold out)
(757) 892-6366
https://virginiasymphony.org

Dec. 7 (3:30 p.m.)
Paramount Theater, 215 E. Main St., Charlottesville
Charlottesville Band
Doug Schneider & Leslie Claire Wood, vocalists
Holiday concert
free
(434) 979-1333
https://theparamount.net

Dec. 9 (8 p.m.)
Old Cabell Hall, University of Virginia, Charlottesville
University Singers
UVa Chamber Singers
Virginia Glee Club
Virginia Women’s Chorus
instrumental ensemble
Michael Slon conducting
“ ‘Messiah’ Sing-In”
vocal scores & orchestral parts available
$15
(434) 924-3376
https://music.virginia.edu/events

Dec. 10 (noon)
Grace & Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, 8 N. Laurel St., Richmond
Cheryl Van Ornam, organ
“A Musical Offering: an Advent Organ Recital”
works TBA by Böhm, Carter, Dupré, Guilain
free
(804) 359-5628
https://ghtc.org

Dec. 11 (6 p.m.)
Virago Spirits Scott’s Addition, 1727 Rhoadmiller St., Richmond
Richmond Symphony chamber ensembles
“Santa’s Symphony Soirée”
program TBA
$150
(804) 788-1212
https://richmondsymphony.com

Dec. 11 (7:30 p.m.)
Ferguson Arts Center, Christopher Newport University, Newport News
Dec. 13 (7:30 p.m.)
Chrysler Hall, 215 St. Paul’s Boulevard, Norfolk
Dec. 14 (7 p.m.)
Sandler Arts Center, 201 S. Market St., Virginia Beach
Virginia Symphony Orchestra & Chorus
Virginia Children’s Chorus
Robert Shoup conducting
Patrice Covington, vocalist
“Holiday Pops!”
$15-$135
(757) 892-6366
https://virginiasymphony.org

Dec. 12 (7:30 p.m.)
Church of the Holy Comforter, Episcopal, Monument Avenue at Staples Mill Road, Richmond
Dec. 13 (7:30 p.m.)
All Saints Episcopal Church, 8787 River Road, Richmond
James River Singers
David Pedersen directing
“Year of Joy”
works TBA by Rachmaninoff, Britten, Franz Biebl, André Thomas, Dan Forrest, Z. Randall Stroope, others
$20
(757) 814-5446
https://jamesriversingers.org

Dec. 12 (7:30 p.m.)
Grace Baptist Church, 4200 Dover Road, Richmond
Dec. 14 (3 p.m.)
Duncan Memorial United Methodist Church, 201 Henry St., Ashland
Central Virginia Masterworks Chorale
Ryan J. Tibbetts directing
Daniel Stipe, piano
instrumental ensemble
Britten: “Ceremony of Carols”
Conrad Sousa: “Carols and Lullabies: Christmas in the Southwest”
$20, via https://brownpapertickets.com
https://cvamc.org

Dec. 12 (7:30 p.m.)
Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, Floyd Avenue at Laurel Street, Richmond
Cathedral Choir
Daniel Sáñez directing
Advent Lessons & Carols
free; registration required via https://www.ticketleap.events/tickets/richmondcathedral-music/advent-lessons-and-carols-1747145299
(804) 359-5651
https://richmondcathedral.org

Dec. 12 (8 p.m.)
Cosby High School, 14300 Fox Club Parkway, Midlothian
Central Virginia Wind Symphony
Mike Goldberg directing
Bill Fitzgerald, host
20th anniversary “Holiday Spectacular”
free
https://thewindsymphony.com

Dec. 12 (7 p.m.)
Cave Spring United Methodist Church, 4505 Hazel Drive, Roanoke
Roanoke Symphony Brass Ensemble
“Holiday Brass”
$34-$52
(540) 343-9127
https://rso.com

Dec. 12 (8 p.m.)
Dec. 13 (2 & 8 p.m.)
Kennedy Center Concert Hall, Washington
National Symphony Pops
Steven Reineke conducting
Melinda Doolittle, guest star
“A Holiday Pops!”
$39-$132
(800) 444-1324
https://kennedy-center.org

Dec. 13 (7:30 p.m.)
Paramount Theater, 215 E. Main St., Charlottesville
Vienna Boys Choir
“Christmas in Vienna”
$41.25-$58
(434) 979-1333
https://theparamount.net

Dec. 13 (4 p.m.)
Center for the Arts, George Mason University, Fairfax
American Festival Pops Orchestra
Peter Wilson conducting
“Holiday Pops: Songs of the Season”
$45-$71
(703) 992-2787
https://cfa.gmu.edu

Dec. 14 (3 p.m.)
Bon Air Presbyterian Church, 9201 W. Huguenot Road, Richmond
Second Sunday South of the James:
“Messiah” Sing-along
Zarah Brock, soprano
Jessica Harika, mezzo-soprano
DeVonté Saunders, tenor
Eric Charles Brown, bass
instrumental ensemble
Naima Burrs conducting
rehearsal, 10 a.m. Dec. 13; warmup, 2 p.m. Dec. 14
donation requested
(804) 272-7514
https://bonairpc.org/concert-series/

Dec. 14 (4 p.m.)
Moss Arts Center, Virginia Tech, 190 Alumni Mall, Blacksburg
Blacksburg Master Chorale & orchestra
Dwight Bigler conducting
Handel: “Messiah”
soloists TBA
$25-$65
(540) 231-5100
https://artscenter.vt.edu

Dec. 14 (4 p.m.)
Center for the Arts, George Mason University, Fairfax
Vienna Boys Choir
“Christmas in Vienna”
$45-$71
(703) 992-2787
https://cfa.gmu.edu

Dec. 14 (3 p.m.)
Dec. 20 (2 p.m.)
Dec. 21 (7 p.m.)
Dec. 22 (8 p.m.)
Kennedy Center Concert Hall, Washington
The Washington Chorus
Eugene Rogers directing
“A Candlelight Christmas”
$17-$114
(800) 444-1324
https://kennedy-center.org

Dec. 15 (11 a.m.)
Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, Laurel Street at Floyd Avenue, Richmond
Washington Cornett and Sackbutt Ensemble
Sara McKimmie, soprano
Samuel Scheidt: “Galliard Battaglia”
Johann Rosenmüller: “Lieber Herre Gott”
Johann Walther: “Joseph Lieber, Joseph Mein”
Heinrich Schütz: “Bring her dem Herren”
Daniel Speer: Sonata á 5
Giovanni Gabrieli: “Beata es virgo Maria” á 6
Andrea Gabrieli: “Sancta et immaculata virginitas”
Andrea Gabrieli: “Angelus ad pastores ait” á 4
Archangelo Crotti: “Sonata sopra sancta Maria”
Michael Praetorius: Dance Suite
“Piae Cantiones” – Psallite
Michael Praetorius: Psallite
anon.: “Riu riu chiu”
Johannes Eccard: “In dulci jubilo” à 5
Michael Praetorius: “Es ist ein Ros’ entsprungen”
free; registration required via https://www.ticketleap.events/tickets/richmondcathedral-music/holiday-luncheon-concert-washington-cornett-sackbutt-ensemble-with-sara-mackimmie
(804) 359-5651
https://richmondcathedral.org

Dec. 15 (7 p.m.)
Church of the Holy Comforter, Episcopal, Monument Avenue at Staples Mill Road, Richmond
Chamber Music Society of Central Virginia:
Nicholas DiEugenio, Chloe Fedor & Carmen Johnson-Pájaro, baroque violins
Jessica Eig, violone
Kyle Miller, viola
James Wilson, baroque cello
Carsten Schmidt, harpsichord
“Fire and Ice”
Vivaldi: “The Four Seasons” – IV: “Winter”
Chloe Biggs: work TBA (premiere)
other works TBA
$33.85
(804) 304-6312
https://cmscva.org

Dec. 15 (7 p.m.)
Dec. 24 (2 p.m.)
Kennedy Center Concert Hall, Washington
Choral Arts Society of Washington & orchestra
Marie Bucoy-Calavan conducting
“O Night Divine!”
$23-$118
(800) 444-1324
https://kennedy-center.org

Dec. 16 (7:30 p.m.)
Christ & St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, 560 W. Olney Road, Norfolk
Dec. 17 (7:30 p.m.)
St. Bede Catholic Church, 3686 Ironbound Road, Williamsburg
Dec. 18 (7:30 p.m.)
River Road Church, Baptist, River & Ridge roads, Richmond
Virginia Arts Festival:
Voces8
Holiday program TBA
$64.50 (Norfolk); $60 (Williamsburg); $59 (Richmond)
(757) 282-2822
https://vafest.org

Dec. 16 (7 p.m.)
Shaftman Performance Hall Jefferson Center, 541 Luck Ave., Roanoke
Roanoke Symphony Baroque Virtuosi
David Stewart Wiley conducting
Handel: “Messiah” – Part 1 & “Hallelujah” Chorus
Adelaide Trombetta, soprano
Brian Thorsett, tenor
Cecelia McKinley, mezzo
Daryl Duff, bass
Roanoke Symphony Chorus
$34-$61
(540) 343-9127
https://rso.com

Dec. 16 (7:30 p.m.)
Center for the Arts, George Mason University, Fairfax
Celtic Women
Fairfax Symphony Orchestra
conductor TBA
“Celtic Women Symphony Christmas Tour 2025”
$54-$105
(703) 992-2787
https://cfa.gmu.edu

Dec. 18 (7 p.m.)
Chesapeake Conference Center, 700 Conference Center Drive
Dec. 19 (7:30 p.m.)
St. Bede Catholic Church, 3686 Ironbound Road, Williamsburg
Dec. 20 (7:30 p.m.)
Historic Palace Theatre, 305 Mason Ave., Cape Charles
Virginia Symphony Brass Ensemble
“Holiday Brass”
free (Chesapeake), $15-$39 (Williamsburg), $40 (Cape Charles)
(757) 892-6366
https://virginiasymphony.org

Dec. 18 (7:30 p.m.)
Regent University Theater, 1000 regent University Drive, Virginia Beach
Dec. 19 (7:30 p.m.)
Harrison Opera House, 160 W. Virginia Beach Boulevard, Norfolk
Dec. 20 (2:30 p.m.)
First Baptist Church, 12716 Warwick Blvd, Newport News
Virginia Symphony Orchestra
Eric Jacobsen conducting
Handel: “Messiah”
Rachel Blaustein, soprano
Lisa Marie Rogali, mezzo-soprano
David Walton, tenor
Joshua Conyers, baritone
Virginia Symphony Orchestra Chorus
$15-$135
(757) 892-6366
https://virginiasymphony.org

Dec. 18 (7 p.m.)
Dec. 19 (8 p.m.)
Dec. 20 (8 p.m.)
Dec. 21 (1 p.m.)
Kennedy Center Concert Hall, Washington
National Symphony Orchestra
Ton Koopman conducting
Handel: “Messiah”
Amanda Forsythe, soprano
Maarten Engeltjes, countertenor
Kieran White, tenor
John Taylor Ward, bass-baritone
University of Maryland Concert Choir
$21-$128
(800) 444-1324
https://kennedy-center.org

Dec. 20 (2:30 & 7:30 p.m.)
Paramount Theater, 215 E. Main St., Charlottesville
Oratorio Society of Central Virginia
instrumental ensemble
Michael Slon conducting
Saint-Saëns: “Christmas Oratorio”
Christmas carols TBA
$11.75-$63.75
(434) 979-1333
https://theparamount.net

Dec. 20 (11 a.m.)
Dec. 24 (111 a.m.)
Kennedy Center Concert Hall, Washington
Choral Arts Society of Washington
Eugene Rogers directing
“A Family Christmas”
$23-$68
(800) 444-1324
https://kennedy-center.org

Dec. 20 (7:30 p.m.)
Dec. 21 (3 p.m.)
Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda, MD
National Philharmonic
Anthony Blake Clark conducting
Handel: “Messiah”
Sarah Hayashi, soprano
Lucia Bradford, mezzo-soprano
Brian Giebler, tenor
Edmund Milly, baritone
Baltimore Choral Arts Society
$29-$125.08
(301) 581-5100
https://strathmore.org

Dec. 21 (4 p.m.)
Grace & Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, 8 N. Laurel St., Richmond
Grace & Holy Trinity choirs
“Festival of Christmas Lessons and Carols”
reception follows concert
free
(804) 359-5628
https://ghtc.org

Dec. 22 (5 p.m.)
All Saints Episcopal Church, 8787 River Road, Richmond
All Saints Parish Choir
All Saints Choristers
Scott Hayes directing
Festival of Lessons & Carols
free
(804) 288-7811
https://allsaintsrichmond.org

Jan. 2 (7 p.m.)
Trinity Episcopal Church, 214 W. Beverley St., Staunton
Jan. 3 (4 p.m.)
Emmanuel Episcopal Church, 7599 Rockfish Gap Turnpike, Greenwood
Jan. 4 (4 p.m.)
Grace Episcopal Church, 5607 Gordonsville Road, Keswick
Three Notch’d Road:
Benjamin Geier, tenor
Christa Patton, Italian triple harp & duduk
Fiona Hughes, violin
René Schiffer, viola da gamba
William Simms, lute & theorbo
“Bethlehem: a Christmas Pilgrimage”
baroque works TBA
$30
(434) 409-3424
https://tnrbaroque.org

Jan. 8 (8 p.m.)
Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda, MD
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Anthony Parnther conducting
Bernstein: “West Side Story” Overture (Maurice Peress arrangement)
Copland: Piano Concerto
David Kaplan, piano
Wynton Marsalis: “Blues Symphony” – I. “Born in Hope”
Florence Beatrice Price: Symphony No. 3 in C minor
$37-$107
(877) 276-1444
https://strathmore.org

11 p.m.-1 a.m. EST
0400-0600 UTC
WDCE, University of Richmond
90.1 FM
http://wdce.net

Roberto Sierra: “Fandangos”
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic/Domingo Hindoyan
(Onyx)

Dvořák: Symphony No. 5 in F major
London Symphony Orchestra/Witold Rowicki
(Decca)

Borodin: “In the Steppes of Central Asia”
Minnesota Orchestra/Eiji Oue
(Reference Recordings)

Osvaldo Golijov: “The Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind”
David Orlowsky, clarinet
Vogler Quartett
(Sony Classical)

Ravel: “Trois chansons madécasses”
Magdalena Kožená, mezzo-soprano
Simon Rattle, piano
Kaspar Zehnder, flute
David Adorján, cello
(Pentatone)

Respighi: Pastorale for violin & strings
(after Giuseppe Tartini)
Ingolf Turban, violin
English Chamber Orchestra/Marcello Viotti
(Claves)

Dave Hurwitz, the online sphere’s most prolific commentator on classical music, has thoughts on its perennially predicted demise: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kh0JnFEaOno

Like Hurwitz, I don’t think classical music is dying; but I’m less sanguine than he is about the challenges that classical performers and presenters are facing now.

The good news for classical music, a niche interest, is that every other kind of music is a niche interest, and has been for years: https://newmusicusa.org/nmbx/your-niche-or-mine/

The bad news for classical music is that it must adjust pretty rapidly to an environment of low-overhead production of low-cost or free entertainment.

It costs me nothing to watch Hurwitz praise or pan classical recordings, and then to access most of those recordings, on YouTube. For the price of a middling seat at the opera, I can buy a year’s worth of ad-free access. And I would invest in quality speakers or headphones if I didn’t already own them.

I can access well-made concert videos of A-list soloists and orchestras playing some favorite concerto. So what’s my motivation for spending a week’s worth of grocery money to see and hear the latest competition winner playing the concerto in my local concert hall? At a set date, time and location, which is a long drive from home? Among people who are in bronchial distress or forgot to turn off their phones? In a not especially comfortable seat that’s half a block from the stage?

Will I be compensated with an unforgettable live musical experience? I’ve been that lucky maybe a dozen times in 50-plus years of concertgoing; but the prohibitive odds are that the experience will be OK at best.

My real motivation wouldn’t be to experience this or that performance, but to support the organization that employs local musicians, whose work extends from the concert stage into schools, community events and places that otherwise wouldn’t have access to classical music.

Or would they? Updating Virgil Thomson’s quip, “Every town in America has two things – a five-and-dime and a Boulanger pupil,” every town now has a dollar store and a Juilliard graduate playing for donations. Such low- or no-cost performances are some of the most memorable live music I’ve heard.

Musicians who don’t have a trust fund or wealthy patrons, or aren’t keen on constant travel to free-lance gigs, had better find a non-musical job that pays the bills. (Some things never change.)

If I were an ambitious young classical musician today, I would work almost as hard on becoming a camera-friendly performer able to speak conversationally (i.e., non-technically) to an audience, and figuring out how to monetize those skills, as I would on mastering my instrument. And on mastering more TikTok-length solo pieces than concertos. We got a preview of this trend during Covid lockdown.

Alongside those challenges to artists, there are challenges to classical and other fine-arts institutions. The most significant is the passing of a generation of big individual donors and the disappearance-by-merger of hometown corporate sponsors.

The very rich of the 2020s are less prominent patrons of arts groups than the very rich of the 1970s, let alone the 1920s. Maybe they’ll grow into that role, or maybe they’ll just be aging gazillionaires-at-play. Collecting sports cars may get you through a midlife crisis; endowing the principal cellist’s chair probably won’t. If you own homes in four places, you might have a real stake in the cultural vitality of just one of them. Or none: Why settle for Scottsdale when your private jet can whisk you to Salzburg?

On the corporate philanthropic front: A national/international firm that has absorbed local/regional ones is less likely to make big donations to arts organizations or to buy naming rights for venues outside its headquarters city. Even there, putting its name and logo on an arena is a more visible and popular sign of community investment than doing so on a performing-arts center. Elsewhere, the best that most arts groups might anticipate is support from branch-office executives.

Given all that, a lot of classical-music institutions, big and small, are facing serious downsizing, changes in programming, and, for more than a few, bankruptcy.

And more classical musicians will be on their own, liberated creatively but seeing their vocation turn into an avocation.

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Mozart: Symphony No. 23 in D major, K. 181
Orchestre de Chambre de Genève/David Greilsammer
(Sony Classical)

Tchaikovsky: “Variations on a Rococo Theme”
Pieter Wispelwey, cello
Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen/Daniel Sepec
(Channel Classics)

Haydn: Symphony No. 101 in D major (“The Clock”)
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra/Colin Davis
(Eloquence)

Chausson: Concert in D major, Op. 21
Rachel Barton Pine, violin
Orion Weiss, piano
Pacifica Quartet
(Çedille)

Mel Bonis: “Femmes de légende” (“Legendary Women”)
Orchestre National de Metz/David Reiland
(La Dolce Volta)

Two chaconnes for organ, found in 1992 in the Royal Library of Belgium, have been identified as early works by Johann Sebastian Bach.

Authentication of the pieces took more than 30 years because the scores were not in Bach’s hand and the copyist, Salomon Günther John, an organist who claimed to be a pupil of Bach’s, was not identified until researchers found similar handwriting in documents that John is known to have written.

The chaconnes in G minor and D minor, assigned the numbers 1178 and 1179 in the Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis (BWV) catalogue, were re-introduced by organist Ton Koopman at the Thomaskirche (St. Thomas Church) in Leipzig, where Bach served as cantor in maturity and is buried.

The scores, dating from 1705, “are quite identifiable with Bach’s early style, in which the contrapuntal writing is not yet what it would become, but the imagination, grandeur, and sheer joy in playing are all there in abundance,” the Canadian pianist Angela Hewitt, a Bach specialist, told The Guardian’s Philip Oltermann:

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/nov/17/lost-js-bach-organ-compositions-performed-for-first-time-in-300-years

The Chamber Music Society of Central Virginia’s program of cellist James Wilson and fortepianist Carsten Schmidt playing Beethoven sonatas, scheduled for Nov. 16, has been canceled. Ticket refunds will be offered.

For more information, call (804) 304-6312.

The Kennedy Center’s performance schedule will go largely dark from Nov. 24 to Dec. 12 to accommodate the 2026 World Cup draw, The Washington Post reports, with FIFA (the Fédération Internationale de Football Association) paying no rental fees for the Dec. 5 draw and surrounding events.

World Cup matches will be held in 16 cities in the US, Canada and Mexico from June 11 to July 19.

The Kennedy Center booking for FIFA will require postponement or relocation of concerts by the National Symphony Orchestra and other tenants of the center. The annual Kennedy Center Honors will be staged as scheduled on Dec. 7 in the Opera House.

Meanwhile, Francesca Zambello, Washington National Opera’s artistic director, suggested in a Nov. 8 interview with The Guardian that the company may leave the Kennedy Center. Her comments were quickly rebutted by the center, which issued a statement by Andy Pharoah, the opera company’s board of trustees, that “[t]he WNO has no plans to move out of the Kennedy Center and we are proud to be part of America’s cultural center.”

Washington National Opera and the National Symphony Orchestra are affiliated administratively with the center. Their events and other attractions have seen a marked decline in ticket sales and season subscriptions since the takeover of the center by President Trump and his allies earlier this year.

(via https://slippedisc.com)

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Debussy: Danse (“Tarantelle styrienne”)
(Maurice Ravel orchestration)
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra/Riccardo Chailly
(Decca)

Haydn: Symphony No. 104 in D major (“London”)
Collegium Musicum 90/Richard Hickox
(Chandos)

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor: “Symphonic Variations on an African Air,” Op. 63
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic/Grant Llewellyn
(Argo)

Brahms: Piano Quintet in F minor, Op. 34
Stefan Vladar, piano
Artis Quartett
(Sony Classical)

Vaughan Williams: “Phantasy” Quintet
Maggini Quartet
Garfield Jackson, viola
(Naxos)

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Germaine Tailleferre: Concertino for harp & orchestra
Marie-Pierre Langlamet, harp
Berlin Philharmonic/Juan José Mena
(Berliner Philharmoniker)

Bernstein: Serenade “after Plato’s Symposium”
Anne Akiko Meyers, violin
London Symphony Orchestra/Keith Lockhart
(eOne)

Ferruccio Busoni: Sonatina No. 6
(“Chamber Fantasy on Themes from Bizet’s ‘Carmen’ ”)
Stephen Hough, piano
(Hyperion)

Beethoven: Quartet in E minor, Op. 59, No. 2 (“Razumovsky”)
Juilliard String Quartet
(Sony Classical)

Nielsen: Quartet No. 4 in F major, Op. 44
Danish String Quartet
(Dacapo)