Author: letterv13

Laura Jackson conducting
with Julian Schwarz, cello
Feb. 1, Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center

Laura Jackson, music director of the Reno (NV) Philharmonic, third of five music-director candidates to audition with the Richmond Symphony this season, opened her bid with splashes of bright color in a novel contemporary work and a blockbuster late-romantic symphony.

She began her Masterworks series program conducting four excerpts from “The Garden of Cosmic Speculation,” Michael Gandolfi’s evocation of a scientifically themed Scottish garden.

The four pieces, musically representing long, unbroken waves, two of the human senses and galaxies swirling into a black hole, ride insistent, increasingly complex rhythmic patterns with complex interplay of instrumental voices, atmospheric effects that combine the spacy with the earthy and echoes from the musical past – a baroque-inflected gigue and a chiming reconception of a chorale by Johann Sebastian Bach.

Jackson, who learned Gandolfi’s work while serving as assistant conductor of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, which introduced it in 2007, guided the Richmond musicians through animated, sure-footed performances of the four excerpts, quite likely leaving many listeners primed to hear the rest of the more than hour-long composition.

The conductor made a compelling sonic impression, but a less persuasive musical one, in Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 in D major. Jackson obtained vividly sonorous playing from the orchestra’s wind and brass choirs and percussionists, drawing out rarely heard details of Mahler’s woodwind scoring, and vigorous contributions from the symphony’s strings – although at times not vigorous enough to match brass amplitude – in a reading that emphasized the work’s most dramatic sections.

Her interpretation fell short, though, in sustaining continuity. In Mahler’s more pastoral and lyrical passages, Jackson slowed tempos and blurred focus, only to speed up and sharpen when volume increased or climaxes approached. This accentuated the episodic qualities of the first and third movements of the symphony, as well as sapping tension from the quiet before the thunder-burst of the finale.

After some flabby attacks early in the performance, the orchestra followed Jackson’s lead alertly and with all the extroversion listeners could have desired in the music’s brassy and percussive passages.

Cellist Julian Schwarz, son of the noted conductor Gerard Schwarz and a faculty member at the conservatory of Shenandoah University in Winchester, was the featured soloist in Tchaikovsky’s “Variations on a Rococo Theme.” This was his 40th concert performance of the work, Schwarz said in a pre-concert talk with Jackson, and his long familiarity with the score was evident throughout the performance.

The cellist nicely contrasted virtuosic fiddling with abundant lyricism, and intimacy of expression with robust tonal projection in a piece that exuberantly elaborates upon but never overplays its gently decorous theme.

In an encore, Schwarz played the allemande from Bach’s Suite No. 6 in D major, BWV 1012, for solo cello, played as a tribute to his onetime teacher, Neal Cary, the symphony’s principal cellist.

Laura Jackson conducts the Richmond Symphony, with its concertmaster, Daisuke Yamamoto, and principal violist, Molly Sharp, as featured duo in a program of Mozart, Britten, Bartók and Gabriela Lena Frank, excerpted in a Rush Hour casual concert at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 6 at Hardywood Park Craft Brewery, Overbrook Road at Ownby Lane in Richmond, performed in full at 3 p.m. Feb. 9 at Blackwell Auditorium of Randolph-Macon College, 205 Henry St. in Ashland. Tickets: $20 (Hardywood), $22 (Randolph-Macon). Details: (804) 788-1212; http://www.richmondsymphony.com

Pianist Peter Serkin, scion of one of classical music’s most distinguished families of performers and a leading advocate of living composers, has died at 72.

The son of pianist Rudolf Serkin and grandson of violinist and string-quartet leader Adolf Busch, Peter Serkin grew up near Marlboro College in Vermont, home of the summer musicians’ camp and festival that his father and grandfather had founded in 1950.

The younger Serkin, who enrolled at Philadelphia’s Curtis Institute of Music at the age of 11 and made his debut a year later, proved to be a reluctant heir to the Old World classical tradition, leaving the stage to immerse himself in the 1960s counterculture, then upon returning to concert performances making a regular practice of juxtaposing standard repertory with contemporary compositions.

He was a founder of Tashi, one of the most musically adventurous chamber ensembles of the 1970s. The group’s 1975 recording of Olivier Messiaen’s “Quartet for the End of Time” helped usher the piece into the standard chamber repertory. Serkin subsequently became a regular collaborator with a number of ensembles. He was last heard locally performing Brahms’ Piano Quintet in F minor, Op. 34, with the Dover Quartet in October 2018 at the University of Richmond.

An obituary by The New York Times’ Anthony Tommasini:

Early in this year’s celebration of the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth, musicologist Theodore Albrecht of Kent State University drops a bombshell: Beethoven wasn’t entirely deaf.

Examining “conversation books,” in which visitors wrote comments and questions to which Beethoven would respond verbally, Albrecht finds that, until shortly before his death in 1827, the composer’s hearing was severely impaired but he could still hear in his left ear.

“Not only was Beethoven not completely deaf at the premiere of his Ninth Symphony in May 1824, he could hear, although increasingly faintly, for at least two years afterwards, probably through the last premiere that he would supervise, his String Quartet in B-flat, Op. 130, in March 1826,” Albrecht tells The Guardian’s Dalya Alberge:

http://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/feb/01/beethoven-not-completely-deaf-says-musicologist

Albrecht, who is editing the conversation books and translating them to English for the first time, says the contents will be “a game-changer” in assessments of Beethoven’s life and work.

Classical performances in and around Richmond, with selected events elsewhere in Virginia and the Washington area. Program information, provided by presenters, is updated as details become available. Adult single-ticket prices are listed; senior, student/youth, military, group and other discounts may be offered.

In and around Richmond: Laura Jackson, the third music-director candidate to audition with the Richmond Symphony this season, conducts a program of Mahler, Tchaikovsky and Michael Gandalfi, with guest cellist Julian Schwarz, Feb. 1 at the Carpenter Theatre of Dominion Energy Center; and music of Mozart, Britten, Bartók and Gabriela Lena Frank, with violinist Daisuke Yamamoto and violist Molly Sharp, excerpted in a Rush Hour casual concert on Feb. 6 at Hardywood Park Craft Brewery in Richmond and played in full in a Metro Collection concert on Feb. 9 at Randolph-Macon College in Ashland. . . . The University of Richmond’s Modlin Arts Center presents the National Orchestra of Ukraine, Volodymyr Sirenko conducting, with pianist Volodymyr Vynnytsky, in music of Tchaikovsky, Dvořák and the Ukrainian composer Mykola Vitaliyovych Lysenko, Feb. 7 at the Carpenter Theatre. (The orchestra’s US tour also includes stops on Feb. 21 at Virginia Tech’s Moss Arts Center in Blacksburg and Feb. 22 at George Mason University’s Center for the Arts in Fairfax.) . . . The Richmond Symphony and Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra, Daniel Myssyk conducting, present their annual, free “Side by Side” concert, performing Berlioz’s “Symphonie fantastique,” Feb. 9 at the Carpenter Theatre. . . . Pianist Dmitri Shteinberg, formerly on the Virginia Commonwealth University music faculty, now at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, returns for recitals on Feb. 15 at Chester Presbyterian Church and Feb. 16 at River Road Church, Baptist. . . . Adam Turner leads a Virginia Opera cast in the final performances of the company’s production of Rossini’s “La Cenerentola” (“Cinderella”), Feb. 21 and 23 at the Carpenter Theatre, following stagings on Feb. 2 and 4 at Harrison Opera House in Norfolk and Feb. 15 and 16 at GMU’s Center for the Arts in Fairfax. . . . A Chamber Music Society of Central Virginia string ensemble plays contemporary American works in a free program on Feb. 22 in the Gellman Room of the Richmond Public Library’s downtown main branch, and plays works by Beethoven, Mendelssohn and Trevor Weston in a ticketed program on Feb. 23 at Perkinson Recital Hall in UR’s North Court. . . . Cellist Paul Watkins and pianist Alessio Bax play Beethoven, Bach, Rachmaninoff and more in the next program of the Rennolds Chamber Concerts series, Feb. 23 at VCU’s Singleton Arts Center. . . . The Takács Quartet returns for a program of Beethoven and Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel, Feb. 28 at UR’s Modlin Arts Center. . . . Capitol Opera Richmond presents an abridged, English-language version of Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro,” Feb. 28 and 29 and March 1 at Westminster Presbyterian Church, following a performance on Feb. 16 at Good Luck Cellars in Kilmarnock.

Noteworthy elsewhere: Among this month’s highlights in the year-long celebration of the 250th anniversary year of Beethoven’s birth: Violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter and pianist Lambert Orkis play Beethoven sonatas, Feb. 1 at the Kennedy Center in Washington. . . . The trio of violinist Isabelle Faust, cellist Jean-Guihen Queyras and pianist Alexander Melnikov play piano trios by Beethoven, Feb. 4 at the University of Virginia’s Old Cabell Hall in Charlottesville. . . . Trio con Brio Copenhagen plays Beethoven piano trios alongside music of Mendelssohn, Tchaikovsky and/or Shostakovich on Feb. 19 at the Kennedy Center, Feb. 24 at the Chrysler Museum in Norfolk and Feb. 25 at Williamsburg Library Theatre. . . . The Kennedy Center Chamber Players present Beethoven’s early String Quintet in C major alongside a string-quintet arrangement of the “Kreutzer” Violin Sonata, Feb. 23 at the Kennedy Center. . . . Opera Lafayette stages “Leonore,” the early version of Beethoven’s sole opera, “Fidelio,” Feb. 26 at the Kennedy Center. . . . The eminent Finnish conductor Osmo Vänskä leads the Curtis Symphony Orchestra from Philadelphia’s Curtis Institute of Music, joined by pianist Jonathan Biss, in works by Beethoven, Sibelius and Gabriella Smith, Feb. 5 at Virginia Tech’s Moss Arts Center in Blacksburg. . . . Edward Gardner conducts the National Symphony Orchestra, joined by cellist Nicolas Altstaedt, in a program of Dvořák, Nielsen and Grieg, Feb. 6 and 9 at the Kennedy Center. . . . The Academy of St. Martin in the Fields and its music director, violinist Joshua Bell, play Paganini, Brahms and more, Feb. 20 at the Music Center at Strathmore in the Maryland suburbs of DC. . . . The National Symphony Orchestra and its music director, Gianandrea Noseda, pair Mahler’s Fifth Symphony with Schubert’s “Unfinished” Symphony (No. 8), Feb. 20-22 at the Kennedy Center. . . . The Budapest Festival Orchestra, conducted by Iván Fischer and joined by contralto Gerhild Romberger, perform works by Dvořák and Mahler, Feb. 21 at Strathmore. . . . The Venice Baroque Orchestra, joined by mezzo-soprano Ann Hallenberg, perform works by Vivaldi, Handel and others in “The Swedish Nightingale,” a tribute to the 19th-century diva Jenny Lind, Feb. 25 at UVa’s Old Cabell Hall in Charlottesville. . . . Stellar soprano Renée Fleming sings on Feb. 29 at Virginia Tech’s Moss Arts Center in Blacksburg and March 3 at Charlottesville’s Paramount Theater.

Feb. 1 (8 p.m.)
Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center, Sixth and Grace streets, Richmond
Richmond Symphony
Laura Jackson conducting
Michael Gandolfi: “The Garden of Cosmic Speculation” (excerpts)
Tchaikovsky: “Variations on a Rococo Theme”
Julian Schwarz, cello
Mahler: Symphony No. 1 in D major
$10-$82
(800) 514-3849 (ETIX)
richmondsymphony.com

Feb. 1 (3 p.m.)
Kennedy Center Concert Hall, Washington
Washington Performing Arts:
Anne-Sophie Mutter, violin
Lambert Orkis, piano
Beethoven: Violin Sonata in A minor, Op. 23
Beethoven: Violin Sonata in F major, Op. 24 (“Spring”)
Beethoven: Violin Sonata in A major, Op. 47 (“Kreutzer”)
$35-$110
(202) 785-9727 (Washington Performing Arts)
washingtonperformingarts.org

Feb. 1 (8 p.m.)
Kennedy Center Concert Hall, Washington
National Symphony Orchestra
Manfred Honeck conducting
Mason Bates: “Resurrexit”
Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 24 in C minor, K. 491
Nikolai Lugansky, piano
Dvořák: Symphony No. 8 in G major
$15-$99
(800) 444-1324
kennedy-center.org

Feb. 1 (8 p.m.)
Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda, MD
Brian Ganz, piano
Chopin: Polonaise-Fantaisie in A flat major, Op. 61
Chopin: Sonata No. 2 in B flat minor, Op. 35 – III. “Marche funèbre”
Chopin: waltzes, Op. 34
Chopin: nocturnes, Op. 27
other Chopin works TBA
$39-$79
(301) 581-5100
strathmore.org

Feb. 2 (7:30 p.m.)
Hofheimer Loft, 2818 W. Broad St., Richmond
Classical Revolution RVA:
artists TBA
“Classical Incarnations at the Hof”
program TBA
donation requested
(804) 342-0012
classicalrevolutionrva.com

Feb. 2 (2:30 p.m.)
Feb. 4 (7:30 p.m.)
Harrison Opera House, 160 E. Virginia Beach Boulevard, Norfolk
Virginia Opera
Adam Turner conducting
Rossini: “La Cenerentola” (“Cinderella”)
Alyssa Martin (Angelina [Cinderella])
David Walton (Don Ramiro)
Joseph Lattanzi (Dandini)
Dale Travis (Don Magnifico)
Kyle Lang, stage director
in Italian, English captions
$25-$130
(866) 673-7282
vaopera.org

Feb. 4 (7:30 p.m.)
Old Cabell Hall, University of Virginia, Charlottesville
Tuesday Evening Concerts:
Faust-Queyras-Melnikov Trio
Beethoven: Piano Trio in E flat major, WoO 38
Beethoven: Piano Trio in E flat major, Op. 70, No. 2
Beethoven: “Fourteen Variations on an Original Theme,” Op. 44
Beethoven: Piano Trio in D major, Op. 70, No. 1 (“Ghost”)
$12-$39
(434) 924-3376
tecs.org

Feb. 5 (7:30 p.m.)
Moss Arts Center, Virginia Tech, 190 Alumni Mall, Blacksburg
Curtis Symphony Orchestra
Osmo Vänskä conducting
Gabriella Smith: “f(x) = sin²x–1/x”
Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 5 in E flat major (“Emperor”)
Jonathan Biss, piano
Sibelius: Symphony No. 2 in D major
$25-$55
(540) 231-5300
artscenter.vt.edu

Feb. 5 (8 p.m.)
Coolidge Auditorium, Library of Congress, East Capitol Street at First Street NE, Washington
Skride Piano Quartet
Schubert: “Adagio and Rondo concertante” in F major, D. 487
Mendelssohn: Piano Quartet No. 3 in B minor, Op. 3
Enescu: Piano Quartet No. 1 in D major, Op. 16
free; tickets required (via eventbrite.com)
(202) 707-5502
loc.gov/concerts

Feb. 6 (6:30 p.m.)
Hardywood Park Craft Brewery, Overbrook Road at Ownby Lane, Richmond
Richmond Symphony Rush Hour
Laura Jackson conducting
Gabriela Lena Frank: “Concertino Cusqueño”
Mozart: Sinfonia concertante in E flat major, K. 364 (excerpt)
Daisuke Yamamoto, violin
Molly Sharp, viola
Britten: “Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge”
Bartók: “Romanian Folk Dances”
$20
(804) 788-1212
richmondsymphony.com

Feb. 6 (7:30 p.m.)
Regent University Theater, Virginia Beach
Feb. 8 (7:30 p.m.)
Crosswalk Church, 7575 Richmond Road, Williamsburg
Virginia Symphony Orchestra
Nicholas Hersh conducting
Mozart: “La Clemenza di Tito” Overture
Mozart: Violin Concerto No. 4 in D major, K. 218
Randall Goosby, violin
Mozart: Symphony No. 41 in C major, K. 551 (“Jupiter”)
$25-$65
(757) 892-6366
virginiasymphony.org

Feb. 6 (7 p.m.)
Feb. 9 (3 p.m.)
Kennedy Center Concert Hall, Washington
National Symphony Orchestra
Edward Gardner conducting
Grieg: “Lyric Suite”
Dvořák: Cello Concerto in B minor
Nicolas Altstaedt, cello
Nielsen: Symphony No. 4 (“Inextinguishable”)
$15-$99
(800) 444-1324
kennedy-center.org

Feb. 7 (7:30 p.m.)
Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center, Sixth and Grace streets, Richmond
National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine
Volodymyr Sirenko conducting
Mykola Vitaliyovych Lysenko: “Taras Bulba” Overture
Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1 in B flat minor
Volodymyr Vynnytsky, piano
Dvořák: Symphony No. 7 in D minor
$44-$52
(804) 289-8980 (University of Richmond Modlin Arts Center box office)
modlin.richmond.edu

Feb. 6 (8 p.m.)
Coolidge Auditorium, Library of Congress, East Capitol Street at First Street NE, Washington
Phaeton Trio
Beethoven-Kissine: Piano Trio fragment
Beethoven: Piano Trio in D major, Op. 70, No. 1
Mendelssohn: Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor, Op. 49
free; tickets required (via eventbrite.com)
(202) 707-5502
loc.gov/concerts

Feb. 8 (8 p.m.)
Center for the Arts, George Mason Unversity, Fairfax
Fairfax Symphony Orchestra
Christopher Zimmerman conducting
Vivaldi: “The Four Seasons”
Astor Piazzolla: “The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires”
Simone Porter, violin
$30-$70
(888) 945-2468 (Tickets.com)
cfa.gmu.edu

Feb. 9 (3 p.m.)
Blackwell Auditorium, Randolph-Macon College, 205 Henry St., Ashland
Richmond Symphony
Laura Jackson conducting
Gabriela Lena Frank: “Concertino Cusqueño”
Mozart: Sinfonia concertante in E flat major, K. 364
Daisuke Yamamoto, violin
Molly Sharp, viola
Britten: “Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge”
Bartók: “Romanian Folk Dances”
$22
(804) 788-1212
richmondsymphony.com

Feb. 9 (4 p.m.)
Vlahcevic Concert Hall, Singleton Arts Center, Virginia Commonwealth University, Park Avenue at Harrison Street, Richmond
Magdalena Adamek & Michelle Huang, pianos
works TBA by Dvořák, Szymanowski, Chopin, Ravel, Richard Rodney Bennett
free
(804) 828-1169
arts.vcu.edu/music/events

Feb. 9 (4 p.m.)
Bon Air Presbyterian Church, 9201 W. Huguenot Road, Richmond
Second Sunday South of the James:
Ayush Pal, piano
program TBA
donation requested
(80$) 272-7514
bonairpc.org

Feb. 9 (7:30 p.m.)
Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center, Sixth and Grace streets, Richmond
Richmond Symphony
Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra
Daniel Myssyk conducting
“Side by Side”
Berlioz: “Symphonie fantastique”
free
(804) 788-1212
richmondsymphony.com

Feb. 9 (3:30 p.m.)
Old Cabell Hall, University of Virginia, Charlottesville
UVa Chamber Music Series:
Katy Ambrose, French horn
Jiyeon Choi, clarinet
Shelby Sender, piano
Nicholas von Krufft: Horn Sonata in E major
Markus Fjellstrom: “Deanimator” for horn and electronics
Jane Vignery: Horn Sonata, Op. 7
Clara Wieck Schumann-Ambrose: “Ich stand in Dunkeln Träumen”
Clara Wieck Schumann-Ambrose:: “Liebst du um Schöenheit”
Clara Wieck Schumann-Ambrose: “Lorelei”
Charles Koechlin: “Les Confessions d’un Joueur de Clarinette”
$15
(434) 924-3376
music.virginia.edu/events

Feb. 10 (7:30 p.m.)
Vlahcevic Concert Hall, Singleton Arts Center, Virginia Commonwealth University, Park Avenue at Harrison Street, Richmond
Fletcher Mitchel, euphonium
Daniel Stipe, piano
program TBA
free
(804) 828-1169
arts.vcu.edu/music/events

Feb. 13 (7 p.m.)
Feb. 14 (8 p.m.)
Feb. 15 (8 p.m.)
Kennedy Center Concert Hall, Washington
National Symphony Orchestra Pops
Damon Gupton conducting
Megan Hilty & Cheyenne Jackson, guest stars
“Broadway and Beyond”
$29-$89
(800) 444-1324
kennedy-center.org

Feb. 14 (7:30 p.m.)
The Barns at Wolf Trap, 1635 Trap Road, Vienna
Paul Huang & Danbi Um, violins
Orion Weiss, piano
Louis Spohr: Duo concertante, Op. 67, No. 2
Moritz Moszkowski: Suite in G minor, Op. 71
Chris Rogerson: “Afterword” (premiere)
Wieniawski: Études-Caprice, Op. 18, Nos. 2 & 4
Amy Barlowe: “Hebraique Elegie”
Sarasate: “Navarra,” Op. 33
$42
(877) 965-3872 (Tickets.com)
wolftrap.org

Feb. 14 (8:15 p.m.)
Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda, MD
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Marin Alsop conducting & speaking
“Off the Cuff: Prokofiev’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’ ”
$35-$90
(877) 276-1444 (Baltimore Symphony box office)
strathmore.org

Feb. 15 (2 p.m.)
Chester Presbyterian Church, 3424 W. Hundred Road
Dmitri Shteinberg, piano
works TBA by Mozart, Brahms, Chopin, Schumann
donation requested
(804) 748-4636
chesterpres.org

Feb. 15 (2 p.m.)
Altria Theater, Main and Laurel streets, Richmond
Richmond Symphony
conductor TBA
“Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban,” film with live orchestral accompaniment
$52.50-$82.50
(804) 592-3368
altriatheater.com

Feb. 15 (8 p.m.)
Old Cabell Hall, University of Virginia, Charlottesville
Feb. 16 (3:30 p.m.)
Martin Luther King Jr. Performing Arts Center, Charlottesville High School, 1400 Melbourne Road
Charlottesville Symphony
Benjamin Rous conducting
George Butterworth: “A Shropshire Lad”
Britten: Nocturne
Vaughan Williams: “On Wenlock Edge”
Zachary Wilder, tenor
Malcolm Arnold: “Tam O’Shanter” Overture
Grace Williams: Elegy for strings
$10-$45
(434) 924-3376
music.virginia.edu/events

Feb. 15 (7:30 p.m.)
Feb. 16 (3 p.m.)
Shaftman Performance Hall, Jefferson Center, 541 Luck Ave. SW, Roanoke
Roanoke Symphony Orchestra
David Stewart Wiley conducting
Beethoven: “Fidelio” Overture
Lalo: Cello Concerto in D minor
Kelley Mikkelsen, cello
Beethoven: Symphony No. 5 in C minor
$34-$56
(540) 343-9127
rso.com

Feb. 15 (8 p.m.)
Feb. 16 (2 p.m.)
Center for the Arts, George Mason University, Fairfax
Virginia Opera
Adam Turner conducting
Rossini: “La Cenerentola” (“Cinderella”)
Alyssa Martin (Angelina [Cinderella])
David Walton (Don Ramiro)
Joseph Lattanzi (Dandini)
Dale Travis (Don Magnifico)
Kyle Lang, stage director
in Italian, English captions
$40-$100
(703) 993-2787 (Tickets.com)
vaopera.org

Feb. 16 (2 p.m.)
River Road Church, Baptist, River and Ridge roads
Dmitri Shteinberg, piano
program TBA
free
(804) 288-1131
rrcb.org

Feb. 16 (4 p.m.)
Good Luck Cellars, 1025 Goodluck Road, Kilmarnock
Capitol Opera Richmond
Hope Armstrong Erb, piano
Mozart: “The Marriage of Figaro” (abridged)
Alan Chavez (Figaro)
Kristin Barney (Susanna)
Hannah Magnelli (Cherubino)
Karine Marshall (Countess Almaviva)
James Taylor (Count Almaviva)
James Lynn (Bartolo)
Kara Harman (Marcellina)
Evan Heier (Basilio/Don Curzio)
James Taylor, stage director
in English, with spoken dialogue
$25
(804) 435-1416 (Good Luck Cellars)
northerneckorchestra.org

Feb. 16 (3 p.m.)
Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda, MD
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Marin Alsop conducting
Mozart: “The Marriage of Figaro” Overture
Chopin: Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor
Yulianna Avdeeva, piano
Prokofiev: “Romeo and Juliet” Suite
$35-$90
(877) 276-1444 (Baltimore Symphony box office)
strathmore.org

Feb. 17 (7:30 p.m.)
Terrace Theater, Kennedy Center, Washington
Sasha Cooke, mezzo-soprano
Julius Drake, piano
Beethoven: “An die ferne Geliebte”
Schumann: “Frauenlieben und -leben”
$55
(800) 444-1324
kennedy-center.org

Feb. 18 (7:30 p.m.)
Terrace Theater, Kennedy Center, Washington
Paul Lewis & Steven Osborne, pianos & piano four-hands
Fauré: “Dolly Suite,” Op. 56
Poulenc: Sonata for piano four-hands
Debussy: “Six epigraphes antiques”
Debussy: “Petite Suite” for piano four-hands
Stravinsky: “Trois pièces faciles”
Ravel: “Ma Mère l’Oye” (“Mother Goose Suite”)
$50
(800) 444-1324
kennedy-center.org

Feb. 19 (7 p.m.)
Vlahcevic Concert Hall, Singleton Arts Center, Virginia Commonwealth University, Park Avenue at Harrison Street, Richmond
Cor Moto Horn Duo
program TBA
free
(804) 828-1169
arts.vcu.edu/music/events

Feb. 19 (7:30 p.m.)
Terrace Theater, Kennedy Center, Washington
Trio con Brio Copenhagen
Bent Sørensen: “Phantasmagora”
Beethoven: Piano Trio in D major, Op. 70, No. 1 (“Ghost”)
Shostakovich: Piano Trio No. 2 in E minor
$45
(800) 444-1324
kennedy-center.org

Feb. 20 (7 p.m.)
Feb. 21 (8 p.m.)
Feb. 22 (8 p.m.)
Kennedy Center Concert Hall, Washington
National Symphony Orchestra
Gianandrea Noseda conducting
Schubert: Symphony No. 8 in B minor (“Unfinished”)
Mahler: Symphony No. 5 in C sharp minor
$15-$99
(800) 444-1324
kennedy-center.org

Feb. 20 (8 p.m.)
Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda, MD
Academy of St. Martin in the Fields
Joshua Bell, violin & direction
Paganini: Violin Concerto No. 1 in D major
Brahms: Symphony No. 4 in E minor
other works TBA
$55-$175
(301) 581-5100
strathmore.org

Feb. 21 (7:30 p.m.)
Altria Theater, Main and Laurel streets, Richmond
Yamato, the Drummers of Japan
“Jhonetsu, Passion”
$35-$43
(804) 289-8980 (University of Richmond Modlin Arts Center box office)
modlin.richmond.edu

Feb. 21 (8 p.m.)
Feb. 23 (2:30 p.m.)
Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center, Sixth and Grace streets, Richmond
Virginia Opera
Adam Turner conducting
Rossini: “La Cenerentola” (“Cinderella”)
Alyssa Martin (Angelina [Cinderella])
David Walton (Don Ramiro)
Joseph Lattanzi (Dandini)
Dale Travis (Don Magnifico)
Kyle Lang, stage director
in Italian, English captions
$25-$130
(866) 673-7282
vaopera.org

Feb. 21 (8 p.m.)
Ferguson Arts Center, Christopher Newport University, Newport News
Feb. 22 (8 p.m.)
Chrysler Hall, 215 St. Paul’s Boulevard, Norfolk
Feb. 23 (2:30 p.m.)
Sandler Arts Center, 201 S. Market St., Virginia Beach
Virginia Symphony Orchestra
David Danzmayr conducting
Mozart: Divertimento in D major, K. 136
Mozart: concert aria, “Voi avete un cor Fedele”
Mahler: Symphony No. 4 in G major
Clara Rottsolk, soprano
$25-$110
(757) 892-6366
virginiasymphony.org

Feb. 21 (8 p.m.)
Old Cabell Hall, University of Virginia, Charlottesville
REBEL Baroque Ensemble
program TBA
$10
(434) 924-3376
music.virginia.edu/events

Feb. 21 (7:30 p.m.)
Moss Arts Center, Virginia Tech, 190 Alumni Mall, Blacksburg
National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine
Volodymyr Sirenko conducting
Dmytro Bortnyansky: “Concert Symphony” in B major
Saint-Saëns: Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor
Volodymyr Vynnytsky, piano
Brahms: Symphony No. 3 in F major
$40-$75
(540) 231-5300
artscenter.vt.edu

Feb. 21 (8 p.m.)
Coolidge Auditorium, Library of Congress, East Capitol Street at First Street NE, Washington
Miranda Cuckson, violin
Daniel Panner, viola
Sophie Shao, cello
Stephen Gosling, piano
Beethoven: String Trio in E flat major, Op. 3 – VI. Finale: Allegro
Kodály: Intermezzo for string trio
Iannis Xenakis: “Dhipli zyia”
Harold Meltzer: “Kreisleriana”
Schumann: Piano Quartet in E flat major, Op. 47
new work TBA
free; tickets required (via eventbrite.com)
(202) 707-5502
loc.gov/concerts

Feb. 21 (8 p.m.)
Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda, MD
Washington Performing Arts:
Budapest Festival Orchestra
Iván Fischer conducting
Mahler: “Blumine”
Dvořák: “Four Choruses,” Op. 29 – I. “Misto klekání” (“Evening Blessing”)
Mahler: “Kindertotenlieder”
Gerhild Romberger, contralto
Dvořák: Symphony No. 8 in G major
$35-$105
(202) 785-9727 (Washington Performing Arts)
washingtonperformingarts.org

Feb. 22 (2 p.m.)
Gellman Room, Richmond Public Library, First and Franklin streets
Chamber Music Society of Central Virginia:
Nurit Pacht & Suliman Takelli, violins
Drew Forde & Dana Kelley, violas
James Wilson, cello
“America Now”
Evan Premo: Quartet No. 1 (“Deeply Known”) – “This Little Light,” Dance
Kareem Roustom: “Al-Fajr Al-Saadeq”
Raven Chacon: “Quiver” for solo cello
Jessie Montgomery: “Strum” for string quartet
free
(804) 646-7223
cmscva.org

Feb. 22 (8 p.m.)
Center for the Arts, George Mason University, Fairfax
National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine
Volodymyr Sirenko conducting
Schubert: Symphony No. 8 in B minor (“Unfinished”)
Tchaikovsky: “Variations on a Rococo Theme”
Yevhen Stankovych, cello
Brahms: Symphony No. 3 in F major
$36-$60
(888) 945-2468 (Tickets.com)
cfa.gmu.edu

Feb. 22 (8 p.m.)
Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda, MD
National Philharmonic
Piotr Gajewski conducting
Wynton Marsalis: “All Rise” – “Wild Strumming of Fiddle”
Florence Beatrice Price: Violin Concerto No. 1 in D major
Melissa White, violin
George Walker: “Lyric for Strings”
William Grant Still: Symphony No. 1 (“Afro-American”)
$39-$89
(301) 581-5100
strathmore.org

Feb. 23 (3 p.m.)
Vlahcevic Concert Hall, Singleton Arts Center, Virginia Commonwealth University, Park Avenue at Harrison Street, Richmond
Rennolds Chamber Concerts:
Paul Watkins, cello
Alessio Bax, piano
Beethoven: “Twelve Variations on ‘Ein Mädchen oder Weibchen’ from Mozart’s “The Magic Flute,’ ” Op. 66
J.S. Bach: Suite No. 2 in D minor, BWV 1008 for solo cello
Beethoven: Cello Sonata in C major, Op. 102, No. 1
Huw Watkins: Prelude for solo cello
Rachmaninoff: Cello Sonata in G minor, Op. 19
$35
(804) 828-1169
arts.vcu.edu/music/events

Feb. 23 (2 p.m.)
Terrace Theater, Kennedy Center, Washington
Kennedy Center Chamber Players
Beethoven: String Quintet in C major, Op. 29
Beethoven: Violin Sonata in A major, Op. 47 (“Kreutzer”) (string-quintet arrangement)
$36
(800) 444-1324
kennedy-center.org

Feb. 23 (4 p.m.)
Perkinson Recital Hall, North Court, University of Richmond
Chamber Music Society of Central Virginia:
Nurit Pacht & Suliman Takelli, violins
Drew Alexander Forde & Dana Kelley, violas
James Wilson, cello
“Legacies”
Beethoven: String Quintet in C major, Op. 29
Trevor Weston: “Legacy Works” for quartet and recorded sound
Mendelssohn: String Quintet in B flat major, Op. 87
pre-concert talk by Wilson at 3:30 p.m.
$30
(804) 304-6312
cmscva.org

Feb. 24 (7:30 p.m.)
Kaufman Theater, Chrysler Museum of Art, 1 Memorial Place, Norfolk
Feldman Chamber Music Society:
Trio con Brio Copenhagen
Beethoven: “Kakadu Variations,” Op. 121a
Mendelssohn: Piano Trio in C minor, Op. 66
Tchaikovsky: Piano Trio in A minor, Op. 50
$30
(757) 552-1630
feldmanchambermusic.org

Feb. 25 (8 p.m.)
Williamsburg Library Theatre, 515 Scotland St.
Chamber Music Society of Williamsburg:
Trio con Brio Copenhagen
Beethoven: “Kakadu Variations,” Op. 121a
Mendelssohn: Piano Trio in C minor, Op. 66
Tchaikovsky: Piano Trio in A minor, Op. 50
$20 (waiting list)
(757) 258-8555
chambermusicwilliamsburg.org

Feb. 25 (7:30 p.m.)
Old Cabell Hall, University of Virginia, Charlottesville
Tuesday Evening Concerts:
Venice Baroque Orchestra
Giampiero Zanooco directing
Ann Hallenberg, mezzo-soprano
“The Swedish Nightingale”
Vivaldi: Sinfonia in B minor, RV 168
Handel: “Ottone” – “Dopo l’orrore”
Pietro Torri: “L’Ippolito” – “Quando il flebile usignolo”
Vivaldi: Concerto in B flat major, RV 167
Vivaldi: “Il Farnace” – “Gelido in ogni vena”
Vivaldi: “Juditha Triumphans” – “Armatae face et anguibus”
Vivaldi: Concerto in D major, RV 121
Handel: “Serse” – “Crude Furie”
Handel: “Ottone” – “Vieni, o figlio”
Vivaldi: Concerto in C major, RV 119
Handel: “Ariodante” – “Scherza infida”
Riccardo Broschi: “Artaserse” – “Son qual nave”
$12-$39
(434) 924-3376
tecs.org

Feb. 25 (7:30 p.m.)
Terrace Theater, Kennedy Center, Washington
Young Concert Artists:
Jonathan Swensen, cello
Noreen Cassidy-Polera, piano
Beethoven: “Seven Variations on ‘Bei Männern, welche Liebe fühlen’ from Mozart’s ‘The Magic Flute,’ ” WoO46
Kodály: Cello Sonata, Op. 8
Franck: Violin Sonata in A major (cello arrangement)
$20-$45
(800) 444-1324
kennedy-center.org

Feb. 26 (7 p.m.)
Vlahcevic Concert Hall, Singleton Arts Center, Virginia Commonwealth University, Park Avenue at Harrison Street, Richmond
VCU Symphonic Wind Ensemble
Terry Austin directing
program TBA
$10
(804) 828-1169
arts.vcu.edu/music/events

Feb. 26 (7 p.m.)
Eisenhower Theater, Kennedy Center, Washington
Opera Lafayette
Ryan Brown conducting
Beethoven: “Leonore”
Nathalie Paulin (Leonore)
Jean-Michel Richer (Florestan)
Pascale Beaudin (Marcelline)
Keven Gaddes (Jaquino)
Alexandre Sylvestre (Don Fernando)
Norman Patzke (Don Pizzaro)
Stephen Hegedus (Rocco)
Oriol Tomas, stage director
in German, English captions
$25-$135
(800) 444-1324
kennedy-center.org

Feb. 27 (7 p.m.)
Feb. 28 (11:30 a.m.)
Feb. 29 (8 p.m.)
Kennedy Center Concert Hall, Washington
National Symphony Orchestra
Gianandrea Noseda conducting
Barber: “First Essay” (Thursday & Saturday)
Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto in D major
Akiko Suwanai, violin
Tchaikovsky-Stravinsky: “The Sleeping Beauty” – “Bluebird” Pas de deux & “Variation d’Aurore” (Thursday & Saturday)
Stravinsky: “Symphony in Three Movements” (Thursday & Saturday)
Dvořák: Symphony No. 9 in E minor (“From the New World”) (Friday)
$15-$99
(800) 444-1324
kennedy-center.org

Feb. 27 (7:30 p.m.)
Terrace Theater, Kennedy Center, Washington
West-Eastern Divan Ensemble
Michael Barenboim directing
Brahms: String Sextet No. 1 in B flat major, Op. 18
Benjamin Attahir: “Jawb” for string octet
Mendelssohn: Octet in E flat major, Op. 20
$45
(800) 444-1324
kennedy-center.org

Feb. 28 (7:30 p.m.)
Camp Concert Hall, Modlin Arts Center, University of Richmond
Takács Quartet
Beethoven: Quartet in B flat major, Op. 18, No. 6
Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel: Quartet in E flat major
Beethoven: Quartet in C sharp minor, Op. 131
$38
(804) 289-8980
modlin.richmond.edu

Feb. 28 (8 p.m.)
Feb. 29 (8 p.m.)
March 1 (2 p.m.)
Westminster Presbyterian Church, 4103 Monument Ave., Richmond
Capitol Opera Richmond
Hope Armstrong Erb, piano
Mozart: “The Marriage of Figaro” (abridged)
Alan Chavez (Figaro)
Kristin Barney (Susanna)
Hannah Magnelli (Cherubino)
Karine Marshall (Countess Almaviva)
James Taylor (Count Almaviva)
James Lynn (Bartolo)
Kara Harman (Marcellina)
Evan Heier (Basilio/Don Curzio)
James Taylor, stage director
in English, with spoken dialogue
$25
(804) 840-7878
capitoloperarichmond.com

Feb. 28 (7:30 p.m.)
The Barns at Wolf Trap, 1635 Trap Road, Vienna
Brentano String Quartet
“Songs of Thanksgiving”
Palestrina: “Gloria Patri”
Beethoven: Quartet in A minor, Op. 132
Mario Davidovsky: Quartet No. 5 (“Dank an Op. 132”)
Mendelssohn: Quartet in A minor, Op. 13
$42
(877) 965-3872 (Tickets.com)
wolftrap.org

Feb. 28 (8 p.m.)
Coolidge Auditorium, Library of Congress, East Capitol Street at First Street NE, Washington
Sphinx Virtuosi
Aldemaro Romero: “Fuga con Pajarillo”
Bartók: Divertimento
Michael Abels: “Global Warming”
Irving Fine: “Serious Song: a Lament for String Orchestra”
Xavier Foley: “For Justice and Peace”
Jessie Montgomery: “Source Code”
Schubert: Quartet in D minor, D. 810 (“Death and the Maiden”) – IV. Presto (string orchestra arrangement)
free; tickets required (via eventbrite.com)
(202) 707-5502
loc.gov/concerts

Feb. 29 (8 p.m.)
Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center, Sixth and Grace streets, Richmond
Richmond Symphony Pops
Chia-Hsuan Lin conducting
Jeans ’n Classics, guest stars
“The Apollo Hall of Fame”
$10-$82
(804) 788-1212
richmondsymphony.com

Feb. 29 (7:30 p.m.)
Moss Arts Center, Virginia Tech, 190 Alumni Mall, Blacksburg
Renée Fleming, soprano
Gerald Martin Moore, piano
program TBA
$50-$125
(540) 231-5300
artscenter.vt.edu

Feb. 29 (7 p.m.)
March 2 (7 p.m.)
Kennedy Center Opera House, Washington
Washington National Opera
Evan Rogister conducting
Mozart: “Don Giovanni”
Ryan McKinny (Don Giovanni)
Kyle Ketelsen (Leporello)
Vanessa Vasquez (Donna Anna)
Kery Alkema (Donna Elvira)
Alek Shrader (Don Ottavio)
Peter Volpe (Commendatore)
E. Loren Meeker, stage director
in Italian, English captions
$45-$299
(800) 444-1324
kennedy-center.org

Feb. 29 (8 p.m.)
Coolidge Auditorium, Library of Congress, East Capitol Street at First Street NE, Washington
Concerto Köln
Mayumi Hirasaki, Marcus Hoffman, Shunske Sato & Evgeny Sviridov, violins
Handel: Concerto grosso in F major, Op. 6, No. 2
J.S. Bach: Concerto in D minor, BWV 1043, for two violins
Vivaldi: Concerto in A major, RV 158
Locatelli: Concerto in F major, Op. 4, No. 12, for four solo violins
Handel: Harpsichord Concerto in F major, Op. 4, No. 4
Geminiani: Concerto grosso No. 12 in D minor (“La Folia”)
Vivaldi: Concerto in B minor, RV 580, for four violins, strings and continuo
free; tickets required (via eventbrite.com)
(202) 707-5502
loc.gov/concerts

March 1 (2 p.m.)
March 4 (7:30 p.m.)
Kennedy Center Opera House, Washington
Washington National Opera
John Fiore conducting
Saint-Saëns: “Samson et Delila”
Roberto Aronica (Samson)
J’Nai Bridges (Delila)
Noel Bouley (High Priest)
Peter Volpe (Old Hebrew)
Tómas Tómasson (Abimelech)
Peter Kazaras, stage director
in French, English captions
$45-$299
(800) 444-1324
kennedy-center.org

March 2 (7:30 p.m.)
Ukrop Auditorium, Robins School of Business, University of Richmond
Neumann Lecture on Music:
Tammy L. Kernodle, speaker
“Cry No More: Black Music and Mythology of Post-Racial America”
free
(804) 289-8980
modlin.richmond.edu

March 3 (7 p.m.)
St. James’s Episcopal Church, 1205 W. Franklin St., Richmond
Martin Schmeding, organ
Vierne: “Pieces de fantaisie,” Op. 53 – “Hymn au Soleil,” “Feux Follets”
Sigfrid Karg Elert: “Voices of the Night,” Op. 142, No. 1
Dvořák-Szathmáry: Symphony No. 9 in E minor (“From the New World”) – IV. Allegro con fuoco
Calvin Hampton: “Five Dances” – “The Primitives,” “At the Ballet”
Saint-Saëns-Lemare: “Danse macabre”
Rachmaninoff-Federlein: Prelude in G minor, Op. 23, No. 5
Dezső Antalffy-Zsiross: “Sportive Fauns (after Böcklin)”
Dupré: “Symphonie-Passion,” Op. 23 – I. “Le Monde dans L‘attente du Sauveur”
Leo Sowerby: “Pageant”
donation requested
(804) 355-1779
doers.org

March 3 (8 p.m.)
Paramount Theater, 215 E. Main St., Charlottesville
Renée Fleming, soprano
Gerald Martin Moore, piano
program TBA
$49.75-$250
(434) 979-1333
theparamount.net

March 4 (8 p.m.)
Vlahcevic Concert Hall, Singleton Arts Center, Virginia Commonwealth University, Park Avenue at Harrison Street, Richmond
VCU Symphony
Daniel Myssyk conducting
Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 3 in C major
Sonia Rubinsky, piano
Elgar: “Variations on an Original Theme” (“Enigma”)
$10
(804) 828-1169
arts.vcu.edu/music/events

March 4 (8 p.m.)
Kennedy Center Concert Hall, Washington
Washington Performing Arts:
Daniil Trifonov, piano
J.S. Bach-Brahms: Partita No. 2 in D minor, BWV 1004 – Ciaccona for piano left-hand
J.S. Bach-Rachmaninoff: Violin Partita No. 3 in E major, BWV 1006 – Prelude, Gavotte and Gigue
J.S. Bach-Liszt: Fantasia and Fugue in G minor, BWV 542
J.S. Bach: “The Art of Fugue,” BWV 1080
$35-$110
(202) 785-9727 (Washington Performing Arts)
washingtonperformingarts.org

During his years in the US in the 1890s, Antonin Dvořák said the route to a truly American strain of art-music was to tap the roots of the country’s indigenous songs and dances. In this program, we’ll hear two of Dvořák’s American-accented chamber works alongside music by composers who took his advice.

7-9 p.m. EST
0000-0200 UTC/GMT
WDCE, University of Richmond
90.1 FM
http://wdce.net

Dvořák: String Quintet in E flat major, Op. 97
Pavel Haas Quartet
Pavel Nikl, viola
(Supraphon)

Arthur Farwell:
“Impressions of the Wa-Wan Ceremony of the Omahas,” Op. 21
Lisa Cheryl Thomas, piano
(Toccata Classics)

Libby Larsen: “Sorrow Song and Jubilee”
Apollo Chamber Players
(Navona)

Dvořák: Sonatina in G major, Op. 100
Gil Shaham, violin
Orli Shaham, piano
(Deutsche Grammophon)

Henry Thacker Burleigh: “Plantation Melodies, Old and New”
Apollo Chamber Players
(Navona)

William Grant Still: Symphony No. 2 (“Song of a New Race”)
Detroit Symphony Orchestra/Neeme Järvi
(Chandos)

A Scandinavian sampler . . .

7-9 p.m. EST
0000-0200 UTC/GMT
WDCE, University of Richmond
90.1 FM
http://wdce.net

Sibelius: “Finlandia”
YL Male Voice Choir
Minnesota Orchestra/Osmo Vänskä
(BIS)

Grieg: Quartet in G minor, Op. 27
Emerson String Quartet
(Deutsche Grammophon)

Wilhelm Stenhammar: “Exclesior!”
Royal Scottish National Orchestra/Petter Sundkvist
(Naxos)

Franz Berwald: “Elfenspiel” (“Play of the Elves”)
Danish National Radio Symphony Orchestra/Thomas Dausgaard
(Chandos)

Nielsen: Violin Concerto
Vilde Frang, violin
Danish National Symphony Orchestra/Eivind Gullberg Jensen
(Warner Classics)

Lars-Erik Larsson: “En vintersaga” (“A Winter’s Tale”)
Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra/Andrew Manze
(cpo)

The Menuhin Competition Trust and Richmond Symphony have named 44 entrants – 22 age 15 or under, 22 ages 16-21 – in the 2020 Yehudi Menuhin International Competition, to be staged from May 14 to 24 at various venues in the Richmond area.

The competitors come from Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Poland, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and the US. A Virginia contestant, Kayleigh Kim, recent winner of the Richmond Symphony League’s Student Concerto Competition, is one of the American entrants.

TwoSet Violin, the duo of Australian violinists Brett Yang and Eddy Chen, known for their witty videos on classical music and performing life, have been added to the schedule of Menuhin Competition events. They will cover the competition on social media and participate in a May 23 event at Virginia Commonwealth University featuring motion-capture technology, in which human movement is captured digitally. Details will be announced later.

Folk fiddler, violinist and teacher Mark O’Connor, already scheduled for a concert with his wife, Maggie O’Connor, on May 20 at the Byrd Theatre, also will participate in Violin Day, a May 2 event for elementary and secondary students at Virginia Commonwealth University.

New works by O’Connor and the Richmond-bred composer Mason Bates have been commissioned for performances by Menuhin contestants.

“Portrait of the City,” a daylong exhibition of art works by Richmond area students with music by the Sphinx Virtuosi chamber orchestra, will be presented on May 23 at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Arthur Ashe Boulevard at Grove Avenue.

The competition’s local host consortium includes the City of Richmond, the Richmond Symphony, the University of Richmond, VCU and VPM (Virginia Public Media).

The symphony is offering a Menuhin Experience Package of tickets for two or more selected concerts at a 10 percent discount through April 1. For details, call the symphony patron-services office at (804) 788-1212.

For single tickets, visit http://2020.menuhincompetition.org/program-tickets or call (800) 514-3849 (ETIX).

The final events schedule with adult ticket prices (discounted tickets are offered for children, college students and military):

May 14 (7:30 p.m.)
Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center, Sixth and Grace streets
Opening Gala Concert
Richmond Symphony
Jahja Ling conducting
Shostakovich: “Festive Overture”
Saint-Saëns: “Introduction and Rondo capriccioso”
Christian Li, violin
Sarasate: “Carmen Fantasy”
Chloe Chua, violin
Prokofiev: Violin Concerto No. 1 in D major
Soyoung Yoon, violin
Rimsky-Korsakov: “Capriccio Espagnol”
$10-$100

May 15 (10 a.m. & 2:15 p.m.)
Camp Concert Hall, Modlin Arts Center, University of Richmond
Junior 1st rounds, day 1
with Magdalena Adamek, Nicola Eimer, Joanne Kong & Daniel Stipe, piano
free

May 15 (7:30 p.m.)
Thomas Dale High School, 3626 W. Hundred Road, Chester
Geneva 2018 competition junior prizewinners concert:
Chloe Chua, Hina Khuong-Huu & Christian Li, violin
Gordon Back, piano
Thomas Dale Chamber Orchestra
Christopher Johnson conducting
program TBA
$10

May 16 (10 a.m. & 2:15 p.m.)
Camp Concert Hall, Modlin Arts Center, University of Richmond
Junior 1st rounds, day 2
with Magdalena Adamek, Nicola Eimer, Joanne Kong & Daniel Stipe, piano
free

May 16 (7:30 p.m.)
Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center, Sixth and Grace streets
Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra
Daniel Myssyk conducting
Rimsky-Korsakov: “Russian Easter Overture”
Sibelius: Violin Concerto in D minor
Ning Feng, violin
Bizet: “L’Arlesienne” Suite No. 1
$5

May 17 (10 a.m. & 1:50 p.m.)
Camp Concert Hall, Modlin Arts Center, University of Richmond
Senior 1st rounds, day 1
with Magdalena Adamek, Nicola Eimer, Joanne Kong & Daniel Stipe, piano
free

May 17 (7:30 p.m.)
Vlahcevic Concert Hall, Singleton Arts Center, Virginia Commonwealth University, Park Avenue at Harrison Street
Rennolds Chamber Concerts:
Menuhin Competition Jurors Showcase:
Beethoven: Cello Sonata in A major, Op. 69
Ralph Kirshbaum, cello
Anton Nel, piano
Bloch: “Baal Shem: Three Pictures of Hassidic Life”
Noah Bendix-Balgley, violin
Gordon Back, piano
Schumann: Piano Quintet in E flat major, Op. 44
Pamela Frank & Noah Bendix-Balgley, violins
Joji Hattori, viola
Ralph Kirshbaum, cello
Anton Nel, piano
$35

May 18 (10 a.m. & 1:50 p.m.)
Camp Concert Hall, Modlin Arts Center, University of Richmond
Senior 1st rounds, day 2
with Magdalena Adamek, Nicola Eimer, Joanne Kong & Daniel Stipe, piano
free

May 18 (7:30 p.m.)
Virginia Rep’s November Theatre, 114 W. Broad St.
Regina Carter Quartet:
Regina Carter, violin
Xavier Davis, piano
Chris Lightcap, bass
Alvester Garnett, drums
jazz program TBA
$20-$40

May 19 (10 a.m. & 2:20 p.m.)
Vlahcevic Concert Hall, Singleton Arts Center, Virginia Commonwealth University, Park Avenue at Harrison Street
Junior semi-finals
with Magdalena Adamek, Nicola Eimer, Joanne Kong & Daniel Stipe, piano
$10

May 19 (7:30 p.m.)
Perkinson Recital Hall, North Court, University of Richmond
Ning Feng, violin
Anton Nel, piano
Sheila Johnson, speaker
Beethoven: Violin Sonata in A major, Op. 47 (“Kreutzer”)
Rita Dove: “Sonata Mulattica: a Life in Five Movements and a Short Play” (excerpts)
ticket prices & availability TBA

May 20 (10 a.m. & 2:20 p.m.)
Vlahcevic Concert Hall, Singleton Arts Center, Virginia Commonwealth University, Park Avenue at Harrison Street
Senior semi-finals
Mozart: concerto movements TBA
with Magdalena Adamek, Nicola Eimer, Joanne Kong & Daniel Stipe, piano
Astor Piazzolla: “Histoire du Tango”
Mark O’Connor: commissioned work (premiere)
with Chaconne Klaverenga, guitar
$10

May 20 (7:30 p.m.)
Byrd Theatre, 2908 W. Cary St.
Mark O’Connor, fiddle & guitar
Maggie O’Connor, fiddle
folk & acoustic program TBA
$20

May 21 (10 a.m., 12:30 & 3 p.m.)
Academic Learning Commons, Virginia Commonwealth University, 1000 Floyd Ave.
Menuhin Competition jurors masterclasses:
10 a.m. session: Pamela Frank & Ning Feng, violins; Anton Nel, piano
12:30 p.m. session: Ray Chen & Soyoung Yoon, violins; Ralph Kirshbaum, cello
3 p.m. session: Pamela Frank & Noah Bendix-Balgley, violins; Joji Hattori, viola; Howard Nelson, physical therapist
$10 per session

May 21 (7:30 p.m.)
Camp Concert Hall, Modlin Arts Center, University of Richmond
Sphinx Virtuosi
Bartók: Divertimento – III. Allegro assai
Xavier Foley: “For Justice and Peace”
Ruben Rengel, violin
Astor Piazzolla: “Cuatro Estaciones Porteñas” (“The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires”)
Elena Urioste, violin
Johan Svendsen: Romance, Op. 26
Joji Hattori, violin
Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson: “Generations: Sinfonietta No. 2” – III. Alla burletta
Michael Abels: “Delights and Dances”
$36

May 22 (3:30 p.m.)
Institute for Contemporary Art, Virginia Commonwealth University, Broad and Belvedere streets
Aaron Dworkin, Ronald Crutcher, other panelists TBA
“The Danger of a Single Story: the Importance of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Arts and Their Role in Society”
admission arrangements TBA

May 22 (7:30 p.m.)
Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center, Sixth and Grace streets
Junior Finals:
5 violinists TBA
Sphinx Virtuosi
Vivaldi: “The Four Seasons” (each finalist playing one concerto)
Mason Bates: commissioned work (premiere) (played by all finalists)
$10-$50

May 23 (7:30 p.m.)
Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center, Sixth and Grace streets
Senior Finals:
4 violinists TBA
Richmond Symphony
Andrew Litton conducting
Lalo: “Symphonie espagnole” (without 3rd movement)
Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto in E minor
Saint-Saëns: Violin Concerto No. 3 in B minor
Wieniawski: Violin Concerto No. 2 in D minor
$10-$100

May 24 (7:30 p.m.)
Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center, Sixth and Grace streets
Closing Gala Concert:
Richmond Symphony
Sphinx Virtuosi
Andrew Litton conducting
Michael Abels: “Delights and Dances”
Vivaldi: “The Four Seasons” – concerto TBA
junior competition winner
concerto movement TBA
senior competition winner
Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto in D major – I. Allegro moderato
Ray Chen, violin
Falla: “The Three-Cornered Hat” Suite No. 2
$10-$100

On December 22, 1808 at Vienna’s Theater an der Wien, Ludwig van Beethoven staged a four-hour concert that included the premieres of his symphonies No. 5 in C minor and No. 6 in F major (“Pastoral”), Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, “Choral Fantasy,” Fantasy in G major, Op. 77, for solo piano and sections from his Mass in C major, as well as a reprise of his 1796 concert aria “Ah! perfido.”

A re-creation of that epic event was staged last weekend at St. David’s Hall in Cardiff by the Welsh National Opera Orchestra, Carlo Rizzi conducting; the BBC National Orchestra and Chorus of Wales, Jaime Martín conducting; pianists Steven Osborne (in the concerto) and Llŷr Williams (in the fantasies); and soprano Alwyn Mellor (in the aria).

The concert, recorded by the BBC, streams until Feb. 18 at this address:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000djfc

Vladimir Ashkenazy has abruptly left the stage. A statement from his talent agency offered no details about his decision, stating only that the 82-year-old pianist and conductor has decided that “the time has come for him to retire from public performances and to do so with immediate effect.”

Ashkenazy, born in the Russian city of Gorky and educated at the Moscow Conservatory, vaulted into the top tier of pianists after winning second prize in the 1955 Chopin Competition in Warsaw, first prize in Belgium’s Queen Elisabeth Competition in 1956, and sharing first prize with John Ogdon in the 1962 Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow.

Increasingly at odds with Soviet authorities, Ashkenazy left for the West in 1963, settling initially in London, then moving in 1968 to Iceland, homeland of his wife, Dódý. He subsequently became an Icelandic citizen. The family has lived in Switzerland since 1978.

Ashkenazy’s conducting career, which began in earnest in the 1980s, has included posts with the Royal Philharmonic and Philharmonia Orchestra in London, the Iceland Symphony Orchestra, the NHK Symphony Orchestra in Japan, the Czech Philharmonic and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra in Australia, and guest-conducting appearances with many other leading orchestras.

His extensive discography, mostly on Decca label, includes piano, chamber and orchestral music ranging from Bach, Mozart, Beethoven and Chopin to Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, Stravinsky and Shostakovich.

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Nico Muhly: “Slow (In Nomine in Five Parts)”
Fretwork
(Signum Classics)

Elgar: Cello Concerto in E minor
Sheku Kanneh-Mason, cello
London Symphony Orchestra/Simon Rattle
(Decca)

Ryan Cockerham: “Before, It Was Golden”
Er-Gene Kahng, violin
Janáček Philharmonic/Ryan Cockerham
(Albany)

Past Masters:
Ravel: “Daphnis et Chloé”
Chorus of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
London Symphony Orchestra/Pierre Monteux
(Decca)
(recorded 1959)

Satie: “Gnossienne” No. 1
Sarah Rothenberg, piano
(ECM)