Author: letterv13

The New York Times’ Javier C. Hernández surveys the sparsity of female conductors among the major US orchestras, a situation that has persisted for decades after the emergence of Marin Alsop, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s music director from 2007 until earlier this year, and JoAnn Falletta, who leads the Buffalo Philharmonic and spent nearly 30 years at the helm of the Virginia Symphony Orchestra.

“Across 174 American ensembles of all sizes,” Hernández reports, “about 9 percent of music directors were women in 2016, the last year for which data [are] available, according to the League of American Orchestras.”

“[P]rogress has been painfully slow,” said Mark Volpe, former president and chief executive of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Volpe and other orchestra leaders expect that to change, perhaps rapidly. Hernández notes that “roughly a third of the music directors at the top 25 largest orchestras in the United States are planning to step down over the next several years,” and that administrators and conductor search committee members at several majors are determined to include women in their recruitment of new artistic leaders:

Virginians may read the Times article as time-capsule news: In addition to Falletta at the Norfolk-based Virginia Symphony, the orchestras of Roanoke, Charlottesville and Williamsburg have employed female music directors. Alsop, who was the Richmond Symphony’s associate conductor more than 30 years ago, was the first in an ongoing succession of women serving as associate or assistant conductors at Virginia orchestras. The Richmond Symphony’s current artistic and administrative leaders – Music Director Valentina Peleggi, Associate Conductor Chia-Hsuan Lin, Choral Director Erin Freeman and Executive Director Lacey Huszcza – are all women.

(Updated Dec. 9)

Our annual overview of classical events in the Richmond area comes with what by now is an all-too-familiar qualifier: Scheduled events are subject to change depending on public-health circumstances.

One of the area’s major presenters, the University of Richmond’s Modlin Arts Center, waited until December to announce a spring series. Virginia Commonwealth University has scheduled four concerts for its 2021-22 Rennolds Chamber Concerts series, but the VCU Music Department has not yet announced events by its faculty and student ensembles in the spring semester.

Two 50th anniversaries, of the Richmond Symphony Chorus (a year late due to the pandemic) and the Richmond Philharmonic, are being marked this season. If you can’t get enough of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, May 2022 will be a moveable feast: Both ensembles are performing the Ninth within a week of each other. The Symphony Chorus’ anniversary celebration also features Haydn’s oratorio “The Creation” in April. And, to complete a spring trifecta of choral masterworks, the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart’s Schola Cantorum with Three Notch’d Road: the Virginia Baroque Ensemble will perform J.S. Bach’s Mass in B minor in May.

Other highlights of the season include a recital by the Virginia-born baritone Will Liverman, fresh off his starring role in Terence Blanchard’s “Fire Shut Up in My Bones,” the first work by an African-American composer to be staged by New York’s Metropolitan Opera; a Chamber Music Society of Central Virginia season framed by major works of Schubert, the String Quintet in C major in September and the Octet in F major in May; and the Richmond Symphony playing Klaus Simon’s rarely heard chamber-orchestra arrangement of Mahler’s Fourth Symphony in March.

Conflicting performances on the same dates – chronic in weekend-centric concert schedules – crop up here and there, but not as frequently or unavoidably (thanks to multiple dates of some ensembles’ programs) as we’ve experienced in past seasons.

Here’s what has been scheduled to date. Once other performances are announced, I’ll add to these listings. Links to ensembles’ and presenters’ websites follow the month-by-month lineup.

SEPTEMBER
12 – Richmond Symphony with Daisuke Yamamoto, violin (“Violins of Hope”) (Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center)
18 – Chamber Music Society of Central Virginia (Gellman Room, Richmond Public Library)
19 – Virginia Opera (Wagner’s “Das Rheingold”) (TopGolf Richmond)
19 – Chamber Music Society of Central Virginia (Seventh Street Christian Church)
25-26 – Richmond Symphony with Louis Schwizgebel, piano (Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center)
26 – Christopher Martin, organ (River Road Church, Baptist)

OCTOBER
3 – Harlem Quartet (Grace Street Theater, Virginia Commonwealth University)
6 – VCU Symphonic Wind Ensemble (Singleton Arts Center, Virginia Commonwealth University)
9 – Andrew Stevenson, classical guitar (Singleton Arts Center, Virginia Commonwealth University)
10 – Sonia Vlahcevic, piano (Singleton Arts Center, Virginia Commonwealth University)
11 – VCU Symphony Orchestra (Singleton Arts Center, Virginia Commonwealth University)
14 – Richmond Symphony (Hardywood Park Craft Brewery)
16 – Jon Nakamatsu, piano (Singleton Arts Center, Virginia Commonwealth University)
17 – Chamber Music Society of Central Virginia (Trinity Lutheran Church)
18 – Chamber Music Society of Central Virginia: Johnny Gandelsman, violin (Historic Mankin Mansion)
22 – Vox Humana chorus with Robert Gallagher, organ & piano (River Road Church, Baptist)
23-24 – Richmond Symphony with Sterling Elliott, cello (Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center)
28 – Will Liverman, baritone; pianist TBA (Modlin Arts Center, University of Richmond)
30 – Richmond Symphony LolliPops (Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center)

NOVEMBER
13-14 – Richmond Symphony (Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center)
18 – Richmond Symphony (Hardywood Park Craft Brewery)
19 – Clara Gerdes, organ (River Road Church, Baptist)
19/21 – Virginia Opera (Puccini’s “La Bohème”) (Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center)
27 – Richmond Symphony Pops (“Let It Snow!”) (Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center)
29 – Commonwealth Catholic Charities Christmas Concert with Richmond Symphony & others TBA (Cathedral of the Sacred Heart)

DECEMBER
1 – University of Richmond Symphony Orchestra with Matthew Robinson, violin, & Rilyn McKallip, flute (UR Modlin Arts Center)
4 – Richmond Symphony & Symphony Chorus (“A Baroque Holiday”) (Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center)
5 – Chenault Organ Duo & River Road Chancel Choir (River Road Church, Baptist)
6 – Forgotten Clefs: Renaissance Wind Ensemble (Cathedral of the Sacred Heart)
10 – Central Virginia Masterworks Chorale & ensemble (Grace Baptist Church)
10 – Cathedral Schola Cantorum (Advent Lessons and Carols) (Cathedral of the Sacred Heart)
12 – River Road Chancel Choir with orchestra (Handel’s “Messiah,” Advent portion & “Hallelujah” Chorus) (River Road Church, Baptist)
12 – Central Virginia Masterworks Chorale & ensemble (Duncan Memorial United Methodist Church, Ashland)

JANUARY
10 – Orpheus Chamber Orchestra with Branford Marsalis, saxophone (Modlin Arts Center, University of Richmond)
15 – Richmond Symphony with Amaryn Olmeda, violin (“Dreams of Freedom”) (Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center)
21 – Richmond Symphony with Mary Boodell, flute (Perkinson Arts Center, Chester)
21 – Dexter Kennedy, organ (St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church)
23 – Richmond Symphony with Mary Boodell, flute (Blackwell Auditorium, Randolph-Macon College, Ashland)
29-30 – Richmond Symphony with Stefan Jackiw, violin (Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center)

FEBRUARY
2 – Richard Becker, piano & poetry (Modlin Arts Center, University of Richmond)
5 – Richmond Symphony Pops with Tony DeSare & Capathia Jenkins, vocalists (Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center)
6 – St. Olaf Choir (River Road Church, Baptist)
9 – Lisa Terry, viola da gamba & Joanne Kong, harpsichord (Modlin Arts Center, University of Richmond)
10 – Richmond Symphony (Hardywood Park Craft Brewery)
11/13 – Virginia Opera (Jake Heggie’s “Three Decembers”) (Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center)
13 – Richmond Symphony (“Bugs Bunny at the Symphony!”) (Altria Theater)
13 – Imani Winds (Singleton Arts Center, Virginia Commonwealth University)
18 – Wu Han, piano; Philip Seltzer, violin & David Finckel, cello (Modlin Arts Center, University of Richmond)
26-27 – Richmond Symphony with George Li, piano (Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center)

MARCH
2 – Garrick Ohlsson & Kirill Gerstein, piano duo (Modlin Arts Center, University of Richmond)
6 – Chamber Music Society of Central Virginia (Seventh Street Christian Church)
10 – Richmond Symphony (Hardywood Park Craft Brewery)
13 – Richmond Philharmonic (St. Christopher’s School)
19-20 – Richmond Symphony with Daisuke Yamamoto, violin (Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center)
20 – Jory Vinikour, harpsichord (River Road Church, Baptist)
20 – Doris Wylee-Becker, piano (Modlin Arts Center, University of Richmond)
27 – Richmond Symphony (Blackwell Auditorium, Randolph-Macon College, Ashland)
28 – Bruce Stevens, organ (Cannon Memorial Chapel, University of Richmond)

APRIL
1/3 – Virginia Opera (Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro”) (Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center)
2 – Viano Quartet (Singleton Arts Center, Virginia Commonwealth University)
4 – Robynn Stilwell, speaker (“Storyteller of the Shadowland: Marginalized Identity at the Roots of ‘Americana’ ”) (Ukrop Auditorium, Robins School of Business, University of Richmond)
6 – UR Symphony Orchestra (Modlin Arts Center, University of Richmond)
7 – Edgar Meyer, double-bass, with The Scottish Ensemble (Modlin Arts Center, University of Richmond)
9-10 – Richmond Symphony with Richmond Symphony Chorus & soloists (Haydn’s “The Creation”) (Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center)
10 – UR Schola Cantorum & Women’s Chorale (Modlin Arts Center, University of Richmond)
11 – Chamber Music Society of Central Virginia (Church of the Holy Comforter, Episcopal)
11 – UR Wind Ensemble (Modlin Arts Center, University of Richmond)
18 – UR Chamber Ensembles (Modlin Arts Center, University of Richmond)
23 – Richmond Symphony Pops with Rex Richardson, trumpet (Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center)
29 – Richmond Symphony with Thomas Schneider, bassoon (Perkinson Arts Center, Chester)
29 – Amanda Mole, organ (Ginter Park Presbyterian Church)

MAY
1 – Richmond Symphony with Thomas Schneider, bassoon (Blackwell Auditorium, Randolph-Macon College, Ashland)
1 – John Tibbetts, baritone, with Raymond Chenault, piano (River Road Church, Baptist)
6 – Cathedral Schola Cantorum with Three Notch’d Road: the Virginia Baroque Ensemble (J.S. Bach’s Mass in B minor) (Cathedral of the Sacred Heart)
7 – Richmond Symphony LolliPops with Really Inventive Stuff’s Michael Boudewyns (Prokofiev’s “Peter and the Wolf”) (Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center)
14 – Chamber Music Society of Central Virginia (Gellman Room, Richmond Public Library)
15 – Richmond Symphony (“Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back”) (Altria Theater)
15 – Chamber Music Society of Central Virginia (First Unitarian Universalist Church)
15 – Richmond Philharmonic with Central Virginia Masterworks Chorale, Richmond Concert Chorale & soloists (Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony) (St. Christopher’s School)
21-22 – Richmond Symphony with Richmond Symphony Chorus & soloists (Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony) (Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center)

JUNE
5 – River Road Chancel Choir with David Briggs, organ (River Road Church, Baptist)
24 – Virginia Commonwealth University Health Orchestra (Cathedral of the Sacred Heart)

Richmond Symphony: http://www.richmondsymphony.com
Virginia Opera: http://vaopera.org
Modlin Arts Center, University of Richmond: http://modlin.richmond.edu
Virginia Commonwealth University Music Department: http://arts.vcu.edu/academics/departments/music/concerts-and-events/
Chamber Music Society of Central Virginia: http://cmscva.org
Richmond Philharmonic: http://richmondphilharmonic.org
Richmond chapter, American Guild of Organists’ Repertoire Recital Series: http://richmondago.org/organ-repertoire-recital-series
Cathedral of the Sacred Heart concert series: http://richmondcathedral.org/concerts/
River Road Church, Baptist, concert series: http://rrcb.org/concertseries
Central Virginia Masterworks Chorale: http://cvamc.org

Mikis Theodorakis, the Greek composer best-known for his scores for the films “Zorba the Greek,” “Serpico” and “Z,” has died at 96.

In Greece, Theodorakis may have been as well-known for his political activism as for his music. An officer in partisan forces during the Nazi occupation in World War II, he was imprisoned by the British for activities in the leftist underground during the postwar Greek Civil War, and was jailed and then exiled by the military junta that ruled the country from 1967 to 1974. The regime also banned his music.

A onetime student of Olivier Messiaen, Theodorakis in the 1960s began to turn away from prevailing styles of modernist composition to incorporate traditional songs, dances and instruments, notably the bouzouki, into his works. In addition to his film scores, he was known for his songs and operas, a number of them set to classical Greek texts.

An obituary by Gail Holst-Warhaft for The Guardian:

http://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/sep/02/mikis-theodorakis-obituary

Optimistically returning to our pre-pandemic calendar format, with the proviso that the course of Covid-19 infections may require postponements, cancellations and other changes. Most indoor venues have instituted seating limitations, mask-wearing requirements and other safety measures. Check with presenters and/or venues for details.

Sept. 2 (7:30 p.m.)
Lake Matoaka Amphitheater, 121 Ukrop Way, Williamsburg
Sept. 5 (7 p.m.)
Chesapeake City Park, 900 City Park Drive
Sept. 9 (7:30 p.m.)
31st Street Park, 31st Street at oceanfront, Virginia Beach
Virginia Symphony Orchestra
conductor TBA
students of Governor’s School for the Arts
“Symphony under the Stars”
Copland: “Rodeo” – “Hoe Down”
Richard Rodgers (arr. Bennett): “The King and I” (excerpts)
Brahms: “Hungarian Dance” No. 5 in G minor
Antonio Carlos Jobim: “The Girl from Ipanema”
Florence Price: Symphony No. 1 in E minor – “Juba Dance”
Johann Strauss II: “Thunder and Lightning Polka”
Rouse: “Orange Blossom Special”
John Kander: “Chicago” medley
Garland: “In the Mood”
Gamble TSOP: “The Sound of Philadelphia”
Saint-Saëns: “Samson et Dalila” – Bacchanale
Pharrell Williams: “Happy”
free
(757) 892-6366
http://virginiasymphony.org

Sept. 4 (3 p.m.)
Sept. 5 (3 p.m.)
Herter Hall, Garth Newel Music Center, off Route 220 between Warm Springs & Hot Springs, Bath County
Garth Newel Piano Quartet
Wanchi, violin
Dvořák: “Cypresses”
Dvořák: Piano Quintet in A major, Op. 81
$25 (concert); $50 (concert with picnic); $55 (concert with wine); $80 (concert with picnic & wine)
(540) 839-5018
http://garthnewel.org

Sept. 5 (8 p.m.)
West Lawn of US Capitol, Washington
National Symphony Orchestra
Larry Loh conducting
Ben Folds, vocalist
Charlie Young, saxophone
Labor Day Concert
works TBA by Duke Ellington, Carlos Simon, Jessie Montgomery, Michael Abels
free
(800) 444-1324
http://kennedy-center.org

Sept. 8 (7:30 p.m.)
The Barns at Wolf Trap, 1635 Trap Road, Vienna
Opera Lafayette
Ryan Brown directing
François-André Danican Philidor: “Le maréchal ferrant” (“The Blacksmith”)
Pascale Beaudin & Emilie Faiella, sopranos
Arnold Livingston Geis & Frank Kelley, tenors
Dominque Côté, baritone
Joshua Conyers, bass-baritone
Ryan Brown, violin
Dom Flemons & Dylan Kober, guitars
Doug Balliett, bass
Nick Olcott, stage direction
sung in English
$38
(703) 255-1868
http://wolftrap.org

Sept. 9 (7:30 p.m.)
Paramount Theater, 215 E. Main St., Charlottesville
Charlottesville Chamber Music Festival:
Amy Schwartz Moretti & Timothy Summers, violins
Nicholas Cords, viola
Edward Arron, cello
Raphael Bell, cello
Andrew Armstrong & Lukáš Vondráček, piano
Jessie Montgomery: Rhapsody No. 1 for solo violin
Beethoven: Piano Trio in D major, Op. 70, No. 1 (“Ghost”)
Dvořák: Piano Quartet in E flat major, Op. 87
$6-$25
(434) 979-1922
http://theparamount.net

Sept. 10 (12:30 p.m.)
Paramount Theater, 215 E. Main St., Charlottesville
Charlottesville Chamber Music Festival:
Tessa Lark, Amy Schwartz Moretti & Timothy Summers, violins
Nicholas Cords, viola
Edward Arron & Raphael Bell, cellos
Andrew Armstrong & Lukáš Vondráček, piano
Community Concert
Offenbach: Duo for two cellos
Martinů: “Three Madrigals” for violin and viola
William Grant Still: “Mother and Child”
Dvořák-Kreisler: “Songs My Mother Taught Me”
free
(434) 979-1922
http://theparamount.net

Sept. 10 (7:30 p.m.)
Kennedy Center, Washington
National Symphony Orchestra
Gianandrea Noseda conducting
Isabel Leonard, mezzo-soprano
US Marine Band (“The President’s Own”)
speakers TBA
“Concert of Remembrance” for victims of the pandemic
program TBA
free (first-come, first-served)
(800) 444-1324
http://kennedy-center.org

Sept. 12 (3 p.m.)
Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center, Sixth and Grace streets, Richmond
Richmond Symphony
Valentina Peleggi conducting
“Violins of Hope”
Schubert: Quartet in D minor, D. 810 (“Death and the Maiden”) (Mahler orchestration)
Pavel Haas: “Study for Strings”
Grażyna Bacewicz: Concerto for string orchestra
Ilse Weber: “Wiegala” (Fernando Arroyo orchestration)
John Williams: Theme from “Schindler’s List” (Robert Longfield orchestration)
Daisuke Yamamoto, violin
Mahler: Symphony No. 5 in C sharp minor – Adagietto
$10-$35
(800) 514-3849 (ETIX)
http://www.richmondsymphony.com

Sept. 14 (7:30 p.m.)
Paramount Theater, 215 E. Main St., Charlottesville
Charlottesville Chamber Music Festival:
James Ehnes, Tessa Lark & Timothy Summers, violins
Nicholas Cords, viola
Edward Arron & Raphael Bell, cellos
Andrew Armstrong, piano
Janáček: Quartet No. 1 (“Kreutzer Sonata”)
Reena Esmail: “Zeher” (“Poison”)
Josef Suk: “Meditation on the Old Czech Chorale” (“St. Wenceslas”)
Tchaikovsky: Piano Trio in A minor, Op. 50
$6-$25
(434) 979-1922
http://theparamount.net

Sept. 14 (8 p.m.)
Kennedy Center, Washington
National Symphony Orchestra
JoAnn Falletta, Steven Reineke & Thomas Wilkins conducting
Joshua Bergasse, director-choreographer
Renée Fleming, soprano
Ben Folds, vocalist
Punch Brothers
Keb Mo’
Christian McBride, bass
other artists TBA
Kennedy Center 50th Anniversary Celebration Concert
program TBA
$59-$119
(800) 444-1324
http://kennedy-center.org

Sept. 16 (7:30 p.m.)
31st Street Park, 31st Street at the oceanfront, Virginia Beach
Virginia Symphony Orchestra
conductor TBA
“Symphony by the Sea”
John Stafford Smith: “The Star-Spangled Banner”
Glinka: “Russlan and Ludmilla” Overture
Adolphus Hailstork: “Celebration”
John Williams: “Wide Receiver”
Elgar: “Pomp and Circumstance” March No. 4
Meredith Willson: “The Music Man: Symphonic Impressions”
Verdi: “Aïda” – “Triumphal March”
Kool and the Gang: “Celebration”
Jimmy Lopez: “Fiesta: Four Pop Dances for Orchestra”
Tchaikovsky: “1812 Overture”
Sousa: “The Stars and Stripes Forever”
free
(757) 892-6366
http://virginiasymphony.org

Sept. 17 (7:30 p.m.)
Williamsburg Symphony Orchestra
Andres Lopera conducting
Johann Strauss II: “Die Fledermaus” Overture
Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor
Eun Joo Chung, piano
Brahms: Symphony No. 1 in C minor
Brahms: “Hungarian Dance” No. 5 in G minor
$10-$25 (access to online video-audio stream)
(757) 229-9857
http://williamsburgsymphony.org

Sept. 18 (3 p.m.)
Gellman Room, Richmond Public Library, First and Franklin streets
Chamber Music Society of Central Virginia:
Thalea String Quartet
Angela Lehman, narrator
“Our Places”
program TBA
free
(804) 304-6312
http://cmscva.org

Sept. 18 (8 p.m.)
Kennedy Center, Washington
National Symphony Orchestra
Thomas Wilkins conducting
Peter Boyer: “Balance of Power” (premiere)
Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor
Lang Lang, piano
Howard Hanson: Symphony No. 2 (“Romantic”)
$39-$139
(800) 444-1324
http://kennedy-center.org

Sept. 19 (4 p.m.)
Seventh Street Christian Church, Grove and Malvern avenues, Richmond
Chamber Music Society of Central Virginia:
Thalea String Quartet
James Wilson, cello
Daniel Bernard Roumain: Quartet No. 5 (“Parks”)
Schubert: String Quintet in C major, D. 956
$5-$30
(804) 304-6312
http://cmscva.org

Sept. 20 (7:30 p.m.)
Kaufman Theater, Chrysler Museum of Art, 1 Memorial Place, Norfolk
Feldman Chamber Music Society:
Boston Trio
Haydn: Piano Trio in C major, Hob. XV:21
Fauré: Piano Trio in D minor, Op. 120
Brahms: Piano Trio in B major, Op. 8
$15-$25
(757) 552-1630
http://feldmanchambermusic.org

Sept. 21 (8 p.m.)
Williamsburg Library Theatre, 515 Scotland St.
Chamber Music Society of Williamsburg:
Adaskin String Trio
Sally Pinkas, piano
program TBA
$25
http://chambermusicwilliamsburg.org

Sept. 24 (7:30 p.m.)
Ferguson Arts Center, Christopher Newport University, Newport News
Sept. 25 (7:30 p.m.)
Chrysler Hall, 215 St. Paul’s Boulevard, Norfolk
Sept. 26 (2:30 p.m.)
Sandler Arts Center, 201 S. Market St. Virginia Beach
Virginia Symphony Orchestra
Akiko Fujimoto conducting
Hindemith: “Ragtime”
Duke Ellington: “Harlem”
Ravel: Piano Concerto in G major
Gershwin: “Rhapsody in Blue”
Natasha Paremski, piano
$25-$81
(757) 892-6366
http://virginiasymphony.org

Sept. 25 (8 p.m.)
Sept. 26 (3 p.m.)
Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center, Sixth and Grace streets, Richmond
Richmond Symphony
Valentina Peleggi conducting
Adolphus Hailstork: “Fanfare on ‘Amazing Grace’ ”
Florence Price: Piano Concerto in one movement
Louis Schwizgebel, piano
Dvořák: Symphony No. 9 in E minor (“From the New World”)
$10-$82 (live attendance); $30 (online video-audio stream, accessible from Sept. 29)
(800) 514-3849 (ETIX)
http://www.richmondsymphony.com

Sept. 25 (7 p.m.)
Kennedy Center, Washington
National Symphony Orchestra
Gianandrea Noseda conducting
Carlos Simon: “The Block”
Ginastera: “Estancia – Four Dances”
Rimsky-Korsakov: “Scheherazade”
$65-$99
(800) 444-1324
http://kennedy-center.org

Sept. 26 (3 p.m.)
River Road Church, Baptist, River and Ridge roads, Richmond
Christopher Martin, organ
works TBA by J.S. Bach, George Baker, Christian Friedrich Ruppe, Naji Hakim, Firmin Swinnen, John Knowles Paine
donation requested
(804) 288-1131
http://rrcb.org/concertseries

Sept. 30 (7 p.m.)
Oct. 1 (11:30 a.m.)
Oct. 2 (8 p.m.)
Kennedy Center Concert Hall, Washington
National Symphony Orchestra
Gianandrea Noseda conducting
Brahms: Violin Concerto in D major
Hilary Hahn, violin
Florence Price: Symphony No. 3 in C minor
$15-$89
(800) 444-1324
http://kennedy-center.org

The Alexander Paley Music Festival, which the Russian-born pianist and friends have staged in September in Richmond for more than 20 years, has been canceled for the second year.

A notice posted on the festival’s website states that “the surge in Covid transmission threatens performer and audience wellness.”

The Emerson String Quartet has announced its retirement, giving its last performances in summer 2023.

The ensemble, long rated one of the leading US quartets, was formed in 1976 at the Juilliard School in New York, and has gone through several personnel changes over the years. Originally composed of violinists Eugene Drucker and Philip Setzer, violist Guillermo Figueroa Jr. and cellist Eric Wilson, the group’s current members are Drucker, Setzer, violist Lawrence Dutton and cellist Paul Watkins.

That foursome, along with cellist David Finckel, who played in the group from 1979 to 2013, plan to continue coaching young musicians through the Emerson String Quartet Institute at New York’s Stony Brook University.

“Each city on our itineraries” – Richmond has been a regular stop – “has had its own unique associations for us, giving atmosphere, texture and the all-important personal dimension to our recollections of the passing seasons,” Drucker said in a statement accompanying the retirement announcement.

The Emerson is the second major string quartet to call it quits in recent months. Germany’s Artemis Quartet lost several members and indefinitely suspended performing in May.

(Correction: Philip Setzer’s name was misspelled in the initial post.)

Michael Morgan, longtime conductor of the Oakland Symphony and other ensembles in California, has died at 63.

Morgan, who in 1998 was a candidate to succeed George Manahan as music director of the Richmond Symphony (the post ultimately went to Mark Russell Smith), was born in Washington but spent most of his career conducting and teaching in the San Francisco Bay area.

He had led the Oakland Symphony for nearly 30 years, turning the ensemble into one “that is being run from the education department outward,” he said. “We are developing the orchestra as an educational resource that gives concerts.”

An obituary by Tim Page for The Washington Post:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/michael-morgan-dead/2021/08/20/90c95d94-0101-11ec-ba7e-2cf966e88e93_story.html

Washington’s Kennedy Center has joined most of the DC area’s other venues in requiring vaccinations and masks for patrons.

Effective Sept. 1, “[p]roof of full vaccination against COVID-19 is required to attend all indoor performances and events,” the center announced on its website, http://kennedy-center.org

Vaccination exemptions apply to children younger than 12, who are not yet eligible for the shot, and those with medical conditions or “a closely held religious belief.”

“Masks are required at all times for all patrons and visitors regardless of vaccination status in all indoor spaces,” the center announced.

Philip Kennicott, a onetime music critic who’s now The Washington Post’s art and architecture critic, loves playing J.S. Bach’s “Goldberg Variations” on his piano. He also loves his dog, a border collie-Newfoundland mixed breed named Nathan; but Nathan howls pitiably and flees the room whenever he hears the “Goldbergs.” Kennicott consults the experts, and has to settle for speculative answers:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2021/08/11/animal-cognition-dog-bach-music/

Among the generations of cats who’ve allowed me to share their homes, only one responded in any way to music: He was attracted to the buzzy noises of certain instruments – harpsichords, bassoons, bagpipes. Whenever he heard them, he would jump up on a loudspeaker to savor the vibrations and get a virtual tummy rub.

David Stewart Wiley celebrates his 25th anniversary with the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra in the orchestra’s coming season of 14 classical and pops programs. The Roanoke Times’ Mike Allen reports on Wiley’s ambition to “reconnect” the RSO and its audience:

http://roanoke.com/entertainment/music/arts-extras-roanoke-symphony-orchestra-conductor-david-stewart-wiley-celebrates-25th-season/article_5b944304-f496-11eb-a603-db8b0fe57204.html