Letter V

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

Schubert: “Fierrabras” Overture
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra/Edward Gardner
(Chandos)

Tchaikovsky: “Romeo and Juliet” Fantasy-Overture
Royal Philharmonic/Yuri Temirkanov
(RCA)

Anton Arensky: Chamber Symphony in A minor, Op. 35
(“In memory of P.I. Tchaikovsky”)
Amsterdam Sinfonietta/Candida Thompson
(Channel Classics)

Beethoven: Quartet in F minor, Op. 95 (“Serioso”)
(Gustav Mahler orchestration)
Vienna Philharmonic/Christoph von Dohnányi
(Decca)

Brahms: String Sextet in G major, Op. 111
(Kurt Atterberg orchestration)
NorrlandsOperan Symphony Orchestra/Kristjan Järvi
(BIS)

Valentina Peleggi conducting
with James Ehnes, violin
Nov. 2, Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center

The Canadian violinist James Ehnes is fast becoming one of the leading interpreters of an unusually wide range of classical repertory – you name it, he probably plays it, on violin or viola, masterfully.

In the latest program in the Richmond Symphony’s mainstage Symphony Series, Ehnes demonstrated his mastery of two romantic standards, Johannes Brahms’ Violin Concerto in D major and Eugène Ysaÿe’s Sonata No. 3 in D minor (“Ballade”).

The Brahms concerto, written for (and with significant input from) the Hungarian virtuoso Joseph Joachim, is a tricky balancing act, in which brilliant tone and high-flying technique – all but obligatory in late-19th century violin showpieces – garnish music rooted in soulful lyricism and expressed with classical poise.

Ehnes coaxed from his 1720 Stradivari consistently silvery, singing tone and phrasing of gratifying nuance in the first two movements of the concerto, organically blending his tone with that of the strings in the opening allegro, nicely balancing the fiddle’s voice with that of woodwinds in the central adagio. He made an intense, borderline-gritty dance of the finale.

He raised the tonal-intensity level several notches in an encore of the Ysaÿe, the best-known of the Belgian virtuoso’s six sonatas for solo violin. The challenge here is making real music while displaying dazzling technique, and Ehnes more than met that challenge.

Valentina Peleggi, the orchestra’s music director, led attentive accompaniment in the Brahms, audibly aiming to match Ehnes’ in lyricism and expressive scope. Her efforts, however, were undermined by a brass choir, looming over the rest of the orchestra on high risers, chronically overbalancing strings and sounding more glaring than brilliant – at least from the perspective of a balcony seat. The same imbalance could be heard in Antonín Dvořák’s Symphony No. 8 in G major, which concluded the program.

The Dvořák Eighth, one of the most tuneful and perhaps the most bucolic of the Czech composer’s nine symphonies, is well-upholstered in warmly lyrical string tone, and Peleggi’s concentration on the cellos’ and double-basses’ bass lines underlined that warmth. The winds’ evocations of bird calls and other echoes from nature were both atmospheric and suitably wistful.

The program opened with “Fate Now Conquers,” the contemporary American composer Carlos Simon’s propulsive mashup of snippets borrowed from Beethoven. Fateful is not the first descriptor I would choose for this brief piece. Energized with flashes of tonal brilliance is more like it, at least as Peleggi and Co. rendered it.

The program repeats at 3 p.m. Nov. 3 at the Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center, Sixth & Grace streets. Tickets: $15-$86. Details: (800) 514-3849 (ETIX); http://richmondsymphony.com

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. Ticket prices do not include service fees.

Nov. 1 (7:30 p.m.)
River Road Church, Baptist, River & Ridge roads, Richmond
E. Carl Freeman Concert Series:
Daniel Adam Maltz, fortepiano
works TBA by Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven
free; tickets required via https://www.eventbrite.com
(804) 288-1131
http://rrcb.org/e-carl-freeman-concert-series/

Nov. 1 (7:30 p.m.)
Vlahcevic Concert Hall, Singleton Arts Center, Virginia Commonwealth University, Park Avenue at Harrison Street, Richmond
Virginia Luque, guitar
classical, flamenco works TBA
free
(804) 828-1166
http://arts.vcu.edu/events

Nov. 1 (7:30 p.m.)
Chrysler Hall, 215 St. Paul’s Boulevard, Norfolk
Nov. 2 (7:30 p.m.)
Ferguson Arts Center, Christopher Newport University, Newport News
Nov. 3 (2:30 p.m.)
Sandler Arts Center, 201 S. Market St., Virginia Beach
Virginia Symphony Orchestra
Thomas Wilkins conducting
Ravel: “Le Tombeau de Couperin”
Liszt: Piano Concerto No. 1 in E flat major
Michelle Cann, piano
Rachmaninoff: Symphony No. 2 in E minor
$15-$119
(757) 892-6366
http://virginiasymphony.org

Nov. 1 (11:30 a.m.)
Nov. 2 (8 p.m.)
Kennedy Center Concert Hall, Washington
National Symphony Orchestra
Gianandrea Noseda conducting
Prokofiev: “Summer Night” (“Betrothal in a Monastery” Suite)
Alexander Raskatov: Oboe Concerto (“Time’s River”)
Alexei Ogrintchouk, oboe
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 in B minor (“Pathétique”)
$17-$133
(800) 444-1324
http://kennedy-center.org

Nov. 2 (8 p.m.)
Nov. 3 (3 p.m.)
Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center, Sixth & Grace streets, Richmond
Richmond Symphony
Valentina Peleggi conducting
Carlos Simon: “Fate Now Conquers”
Brahms: Violin Concerto in D major
James Ehnes, violin
Dvořák: Symphony No. 8 in G major
$15-$86
(800) 514-3849 (ETIX)
http://richmondsymphony.com

Nov. 2 (2 p.m.)
Terrace Theater, Kennedy Center, Washington
Dominic Doutney, piano
Rachmaninoff: preludes, Op. 32
works TBA by Brahms, Liszt
free; ticket reservation required
(800) 444-1324
http://kennedy-center.org

Nov. 3 (3 p.m.)
Vlahcevic Concert Hall, Singleton Arts Center, Virginia Commonwealth University, Park Avenue at Harrison Street, Richmond
Rennolds Chamber Concerts:
Alexander Malofeev, piano
works TBA by Schubert, Chopin, Scriabin, Rachmaninoff
$35
(804) 828-1166
http://arts.vcu.edu/events

Nov. 3 (3:30 p.m.)
Old Cabell Hall, University of Virginia, Charlottesville
Baroque and Beyond
Stephanie Vial directing
“Italian à la mode”
works TBA by Vivaldi, Albinoni, Muffat, Camilla di Rossi, Maria Margherita Grimani, J.C.F. Bach, others
free
(434) 924-3376
http://music.virginia.edu/events

Nov. 3 (3 p.m.)
Shaftman Performance Hall, Jefferson Center, 541 Luck Ave., Roanoke
Roanoke Symphony Orchestra
David Stewart Wiley conducting
Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor
Terrence Wilson, piano
Bartók: Concerto for Orchestra
$34-$59
(540) 343-9127
http://rso.com

Nov. 3 (2 p.m.)
Terrace Theater, Kennedy Center, Washington
Kennedy Center Chamber Players:
Nurit Bar-Josef & Marissa Regni, violins
Daniel Foster, viola
David Hardy, cello
Leah Arsenault Barrick, flute
Lambert Orkis, piano
Mozart: Flute Quartet in D major, K. 285
Barber: “Dover Beach”
Justin Burgess, baritone
Brahms: Piano Quintet in F minor, Op. 34
$45
(800) 444-1324
http://kennedy-center.org

Nov. 3 (3 p.m.)
Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda, MD
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Karen Kamensek conducting
Mary Lou Williams: “Zodiac Suite”
Mikaela Bennett, soprano
Aaron Diehl Trio
Respighi: “The Fountains of Rome”
Debussy: “La mer”
$38-$99
(877) 276-1444
http://strathmore.org

Nov. 7 (7:30 p.m.)
Moss Arts Center, Virginia Tech, 190 Alumni Mall, Blacksburg
U.S. Air Force Heritage Brass
program TBA
free; reservation required
(540) 231-5300
http://artscenter.vt.edu

Nov. 8 (7:30 p.m.)
Camp Concert Hall, Modlin Arts Center, University of Richmond
Tessa Lark, violin
Joshua Roman, cello
Edgar Meyer, double-bass
Meyer: string trios TBA
J.S. Bach: trio sonata TBA
$20-$60
(804) 289-8980
http://modlin.richmond.edu

Nov. 8 (8 p.m.)
Vlahcevic Concert Hall, Singleton Arts Center, Virginia Commonwealth University, Park Avenue at Harrison Street, Richmond
VCU Symphony
Daniel Myssyk conducting
Magdalena Adamek, piano
winners of Virginia Music Teachers Association Concerto Competition
program TBA
free
(804) 828-1166
http://arts.vcu.edu/events

Nov. 8 (7:30 p.m.)
Nov. 10 (2:30 p.m.)
Harrison Opera House, 160 E. Virginia Beach Boulevard, Norfolk
Virginia Opera
Adam Turner conducting
Bizet: “Carmen”
Lisa Marie Rogali (Carmen)
Zach Borichevsky (Don José)
Rolfe Dauz (Escamillo)
Sarah Tucker (Micaëla)
Chase Sanders (Frasquita)
Aria Minasian (Mercédès)
Daniel Lugo (Remendado)
Patrick Wilhelm (Dancairo)
Jeremy Harr (Zuniga)
Brandon Bell (Moralès)
Kyle Lang, stage director
in French, English captions
$21.25-$175
(866) 673-7282
http://vaopera.org

Nov. 8 (8 p.m.)
Old Cabell Hall, University of Virginia, Charlottesville
University Singers
Michael Slon & Miles Jackson directing
Deke Polifka, piano
works TBA by Ēriks Ešenvalds, René Clausen, Jaakko Mäntyjärvi, Jake Runestad, Eric Whitacre, others
$15
(434) 924-3052
http://music.virginia.edu/events

Nov. 8 (7:30 p.m.)
Trinity Episcopal Church, 214 W. Beverly St., Staunton
Nov. 9 (4 p.m.)
Emmanuel Episcopal Church, 7599 Rockfish Gap, Greenwood
Nov. 10 (4 p.m.)
Grace Episcopal Church, 5607 Gordonsville Road, Keswick
Three Notch’d Road:
Sheila Dietrich, soprano
Daniel Moody, countertenor
Ben Geier, tenor
Joel VanderZee, baritone
Jared Swope, bass
Fiona Hughes, violin
René Schiffer, cello & viola da gamba
Jane Leggiero, gamba
Anne Timberlake, recorders
Joel VanderZee, organ
“Requiem aeternam”
works TBA by J.S. Bach, Purcell, Thomas Campion, William Walker, David Hughes
$30
(434) 409-3424
http://tnrbaroque.org

Nov. 8 (8 p.m.)
Kennedy Center Concert Hall, Washington
National Symphony Pops
Steven Reineke conducting
“The Voice of Whitney: a Symphonic Celebration”
Whitney Houston songs TBA
sold out; waiting list
(800) 444-1324
http://kennedy-center.org

Nov. 9 (2 p.m.)
Gellman Room, Richmond Public Library, First & Franklin streets
Chamber Music Society of Central Virginia:
Claire Bourg, violin
Suliman Tekalli, violin
Rachel Yonan, viola
James Wilson, cello
Haydn: Quartet in F minor, Op. 20, No. 5 – I: Allegro moderato
Kyle Vaolorose: “What Icarus Learned” (premiere)
Haydn: Quartet in D major, Op. 20, No. 4
free; seating limited
(804) 304-6312
http://cmscva.org

Nov. 9 (8 p.m.)
Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center, Sixth & Grace streets, Richmond
Richmond Symphony
Valentina Peleggi conducting
Bernstein: “Candide” Overture
Barber: Symphony No. 1
Bernstein: “Symphonic Dances from ‘West Side Story’ ”
Bernstein: “3 Dance Episodes from ‘On the Town’ ”
$15-$86
(800) 514-3849 (ETIX)
http://richmondsymphony.com

Nov. 9 (8 p.m.)
Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda, MD
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Jonathon Heyward conducting
Nielsen: “Helios” Overture
Wynton Marsalis: Tuba Concerto
Aubrey Foard, tuba
Sibelius: Symphony No. 5 in E flat major
$38-$99
(877) 276-1444
http://strathmore.org

Nov. 10 (3 p.m.)
Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center, Sixth & Grace streets, Richmond
Richmond Symphony
Chia-Hsuan Lin conducting
U.S. Naval Academy Glee Club
program TBA
$15-$86
(800) 514-3849 (ETIX)
http://richmondsymphony.com

Nov. 10 (3:30 p.m.)
Bon Air Presbyterian Church, 9201 W. Huguenot Road, Richmond
Second Sunday South of the James:
Ayush Pal, piano
Pal, Hayley Dunn, Annie Yuan & Adam Aquilo, string quartet
program TBA
free; donation requested
(804) 272-7514
http://bonairpc.org/concert-series

Nov. 10 (7:30 p.m.)
Terrace Theater, Kennedy Center, Washington
Renée Fleming Voices:
Nadine Sierra, soprano
Bryan Wagorn, piano
program TBA
$59-$99
(800) 444-1324
http://kennedy-center.org

Nov. 12 (7 p.m.)
Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center, Sixth & Grace streets, Richmond
Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra & Percussion Ensemble
conductor TBA
program TBA
free
(804) 788-1212
http://richmondsymphony.com

Nov. 12 (7:30 p.m.)
Old Cabell Hall, University of Virginia, Charlottesville
Tuesday Evening Concerts:
Danish String Quartet
Haydn: Quartet in G minor, Op. 20, No. 3
Stravinsky: “3 Pieces for String Quartet”
Turlough O’Carolan: “Mabel Kelly”
O’Carolan: “Planxty Kelly”
O’Carolan: “Carolan’s Quarrel with the Landlady”
Mozart: Divertimento in F major, K. 138
Schubert: Quartet in G major, D. 887
$12-$45
(434) 924-3376
http://tecs.org

Nov. 13 (7:30 p.m.)
Black Music Center, Virginia Commonwealth University, Grove Avenue at Harrison Street, Richmond
VCU Chamber Brass Ensemble
program TBA
free
(804) 828-1166
http://arts.vcu.edu/events

Nov. 13 (7:30 p.m.)
Nov. 15 (7:30 p.m.)
Nov. 17 (2 p.m.)
Nov. 19 (7:30 p.m.)
Nov. 21 (7:30 p.m.)
Nov. 23 (7 p.m.)
Kennedy Center Opera House, Washington
Washington National Opera
Evan Rogister conducting
Verdi: “Macbeth”
Étienne Dupuis (Macbeth)
Ewa Płonka (Lady Macbeth)
Kang Wang (MacDuff)
Soloman Howard (Banquo)
Brenna Corner, stage director
in Italian, English captions
$45-$269
(800) 444-1324
http://kennedy-center.org

Nov. 14 (7 p.m.)
Black Music Center, Virginia Commonwealth University, Grove Avenue at Harrison Street, Richmond
VCU Flute Ensemble & Chamber Music
program TBA
free
(804) 828-1166
http://arts.vcu.edu/events

Nov. 14 (7 p.m.)
Nov. 16 (8 p.m.)
Nov. 17 (3 p.m.)
Kennedy Center Concert Hall, Washington
National Symphony Orchestra
Leonard Slatkin conducting
Cindy McTee: “Double Play”
Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K. 466
Emanuel Ax, piano
Walton: Symphony No. 1
$17-$133
(800) 444-1324
http://kennedy-center.org

Nov. 14 (7:30 p.m.)
Terrace Theater, Kennedy Center, Washington
Young Concert Artists:
Michael Yueng, percussion
Chee Yun, violin
Iannis Xenakis: “Rebonds B”
Debussy: “Rêverie”
Philippe Hurel: “Loops II”
J.S. Bach: Lute Suite in E minor, BWV 996
Alistair Coleman: new work TBA
Messiaen: “O sacrum convivium”
Georges Aperghis: “Le corps à corps”
Astor Piazzolla: “Histoire du tango”
Ravel: Sonatine – II: Mouvement de menuet
$20-$45
(800) 444-1324
http://kennedy-center.org

Nov. 15 (7 p.m.)
River Road Church, Baptist, River & Ridge roads, Richmond
E. Carl Freeman Concert Series:
Vox Humana
William Bradley Roberts directing
program TBA
free; tickets required via https://www.eventbrite.com
(804) 288-1131
http://rrcb.org/e-carl-freeman-concert-series/

Nov. 15 (7:30 p.m.)
Vlahcevic Concert Hall, Singleton Arts Center, Virginia Commonwealth University, Park Avenue at Harrison Street, Richmond
VCU Opera
VCU Symphony
Daniel Myssyk conducting
Michael Ching: “Speed Dating Tonight!”
cast TBA
$12
(804) 828-1166
http://arts.vcu.edu/events

Nov. 15 (7:30 p.m.)
Nov. 16 (2 & 7:30 p.m.)
Camp Concert Hall, Modlin Arts Center, University of Richmond
Third Practice Electroacoustic Music Festival:
Nicholas Photinos, cello
Ning Yu, piano
Pamela Z: “Raise”
Yu & Heather Stebbins: “All Things That Disappear”
Michael Biels: “Key Jack”
free; reservation required
(804) 289-8980
http://modlin.richmond.edu

Nov. 15 (7:30 p.m.)
Perkinson Arts Center, 11810 Centre St., Chester
Nov. 16 (7:30 p.m.)
Ryan Recital Hall, St. Christopher’s School, 6010 Fergusson Road, Richmond
Nov. 17 (3 p.m.)
Blackwell Auditorium, Randolph-Macon College, 205 Henry St., Ashland
Richmond Symphony
Hae Lee conducting
Mozart: “The Marriage of Figaro” Overture
H.K. Gruber: “3 MOB Pieces” for trumpet & small orchestra
Sam Huss, trumpet
Schubert: Symphony No. 5 in B flat major
$30 (Chester, Ashland); $50 (Richmond)
(800) 514-3849 (ETIX)
http://richmondsymphony.com

Nov. 15 (11 a.m.)
Ferguson Arts Center, Christopher Newport University, Newport News
Virginia Symphony Orchestra
Eric Jacobsen conducting
Copland: “Fanfare for the Common Man”
Copland: “Appalachian Spring”
$15-$119
(757) 892-6366
http://virginiasymphony.org

Nov. 15 (7 p.m.)
Kennedy Center Concert Hall, Washington
Berlin Philharmonic
Kirill Petrenko conducting
Rachmaninoff: “The Isle of the Dead”
Erich Wolfgang Korngold: Violin Concerto in D major
Benjamin Beilman, violin
Dvořák: Symphony No. 7 in D minor
$60-$300
(202) 785-9727 (Washington Performing Arts)
http://washingtonperformingarts.org

Nov. 15 (7:30 p.m.)
Terrace Theater, Kennedy Center, Washington
New Orchestra of Washington
Alejandro Hernandez-Valdez conducting
Camille Pépin: “The Sound of Trees”
Valeriya Sholokhova, cello
Jo-Ann Sternberg, clarinet
Joan Tower: “Made in America”
Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 in E flat major (“Eroica”)
$34-$69
(800) 444-1324
http://kennedy-center.org

Nov. 15 (8 p.m.)
Coolidge Auditorium, Library of Congress, 10 First St. SE, Washington
amarcord vocal ensemble
Giovanni Gabrieli: “Il terzo libro de madrigali a cinque voci” – “Vagh’ amorosi”
Luca Marenzio: “Il nono libro de madrigali” – “Amor, I’ho molti”
Josquin des Prez: “Faulte d’argent”
Heinrich Schütz: “Il Primo Libro de Madrigali” – “Così morir debb’io”
Orlandus Lassus: “Libro de villanelle, moresche, et altre canzoni” – “Lucia, celu”
Joanne Metcalf: “Immortall Beautie”
Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel: “Abendlich schon rauscht der Wald”
Ethel Smyth: “Fête Galante” – “Soul’s Joy, Now I Am Gone”
Vanessa Lann: “We May”
Sidney Marquez Boquiren: “I Too was Loved by Daphne”
Schubert: “Gesang der Geister über den Wassern,” D. 538
Felix Mendelssohn: “Liebe und Wein”
Carl Steinacker: “An den Mond”
Schumann: “Rastlose Liebe”
Wagner: “An Webers Grabe”
Jean Cras: “Dans la montagne” – “Soir,” “Nuit”
Steven Sametz: “Seascapes”
free; tickets required via http://host.nxt.blackbaud.com/
(202) 707-5507
http://www.loc.gov/events/concerts-from-the-library-of-congress/concerts/upcoming-concerts/

Nov. 16 (7 p.m.)
Nov. 17 (3:30 p.m.)
Marburg House, 3102 Bute Lane, Richmond
Belvedere Series:
Domenic Salerni, violin
Danielle Wiebe Burke, viola
Andres Sanchez, cello
Sam Suggs, double-bass
Ingrid Keller, piano
Sibelius: “Laetare anima mea”
Grieg: Violin Sonata No. 1 in F major
Polina Nazaykinskaya: “Ephemera” for piano quartet
Pēteris Vasks: “Bass Trip”
Shostakovich: Piano Trio No. 2 in E minor, Op. 67
sold out; waiting list
(804) 833-1481
http://belvedereseries.org

Nov. 16 (3:30 p.m.)
Old Cabell Hall, University of Virginia, Charlottesville
string and piano music chamber recital
student artists TBA
works TBA by Haydn, Brahms, Smetana, others
free
(434) 924-3376
http://music.virginia.edu/events

Nov. 16 (7:30 p.m.)
Old Cabell Hall, University of Virginia, Charlottesville
Nov. 17 (3:30 p.m.)
Martin Luther King Jr. Arts Center, Charlottesville High School, 1400 Melbourne Road
Charlottesville Symphony at the University of Virginia
Kate Tamarkin conducting
De Falla: “The Three-Cornered Hat” Suite
Ravel: “Ma mère l’Oye” (“Mother Goose”) Suite
Dvořák: Symphony No. 8 in G major
Dvořák: Slavonic Dance in C major, Op. 46, No. 7
$10-$53
(434) 924-3376
http://music.virginia.edu/events

Nov. 16 (7:30 p.m.)
Nov. 17 (2 p.m.)
Center for the Arts, George Mason University, Fairfax
Virginia Opera
Adam Turner conducting
Bizet: “Carmen”
Lisa Marie Rogali (Carmen)
Zach Borichevsky (Don José)
Rolfe Dauz (Escamillo)
Sarah Tucker (Micaëla)
Chase Sanders (Frasquita)
Aria Minasian (Mercédès)
Daniel Lugo (Remendado)
Patrick Wilhelm (Dancairo)
Jeremy Harr (Zuniga)
Brandon Bell (Moralès)
Kyle Lang, stage director
in French, English captions
$40-$110
(866) 673-7282
http://vaopera.org

Nov. 16 (2 p.m.)
Studio K, Kennedy Center, Washington
National Symphony Orchestra members
“Sounds of US: To Begin”
works TBA by Nick Bentz, Anthony Cheung, Adeliia Faizullina, Linda May Han Oh, Hilary Purrington (premieres)
$20
(800) 444-1324
http://kennedy-center.org

Nov. 16 (4 p.m.)
Studio K, Kennedy Center, Washington
National Symphony Orchestra members
“Sounds of US: To Believe”
works TBA by Alyssa Weinberg, Trevor Weston, Sophia Dou, Lucas Hayes, Max Kim, Asha Melvani, Alex Robertson, Aadit Shrivastava, Luke Soneral, Isaac Thomas, Charles Wang, Philina Zhang (premieres)
$45
(800) 444-1324
http://kennedy-center.org

Nov. 16 (6 p.m.)
Studio K, Kennedy Center, Washington
National Symphony Orchestra members
Jennifer Koh, violin
“Sounds of US: To Become”
works TBA by David Ludwig, Nina C. Young, Kimani Bridges, Jonah Cohen, Liam Cummins, Kian Ravaei, Emre Sener, Danae Venson, Yiqi Xue, Justinas Zlabys (premieres)
$45
(800) 444-1324
http://kennedy-center.org

Nov. 16 (8 p.m.)
Studio K, Kennedy Center, Washington
National Symphony Orchestra members
Jennifer Koh, violin
“Sounds of US: To Be”
works TBA by Vijay Iyer, Jeff Scott, Carlos Simon
$45
(800) 444-1324
http://kennedy-center.org

Nov. 16 (8 p.m.)
Coolidge Auditorium, Library of Congress, 10 First St. SE, Washington
Belcea Quartet & Quatuor Ébène
Mendelssohn: Octet in E flat major, Op. 20
Enescu: Octet in C major, Op. 7
free; tickets required via http://host.nxt.blackbaud.com/
(202) 707-5507
http://www.loc.gov/events/concerts-from-the-library-of-congress/concerts/upcoming-concerts/

Nov. 17 (3 p.m.)
Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda, MD
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Jonathon Heyward conducting
Stravinsky: “Renard”
Ravel: Piano Concerto in G major
Alice Sara Ott, piano
Bartók: Concerto for Orchestra
$38-$99
(877) 276-1444
http://strathmore.org

Nov. 18 (7:30 p.m.)
Kaufman Theater, Chrysler Museum of Art, 1 Memorial Place, Norfolk
Feldman Chamber Music Society:
Tempesta di Mare
Vivaldi: Concerto in G minor, RV 105, for recorder, oboe, violin & bassoon
Telemann: Quartet in G major, TWV43:G2, for flute, oboe & violin
Jan Dismas Zelenka: Sonata No. 6 in B flat major, Z 181, for oboe, violin & bassoon
Johann Gottlieb Janitsch: Quartet in G major for flute, oboe & violin
Johann Friedrich Fasch: Sonata in D major for flute, bassoon & violin
Joseph Bodin de Boismortier: Concerto in E minor for recorder, oboe, violin & bassoon
$40
(757) 552-1630
http://feldmanchambermusic.org

Nov. 18 (7:30 p.m.)
Terrace Theater, Kennedy Center, Washington
Vocal Arts DC:
Lunga Eric Hallam, tenor
Craig Terry, piano
songs & arias TBA by Donizetti, Rossini, Bellini, Paolo Tosti
$50
(800) 444-1324
http://kennedy-center.org

Nov. 19 (7:30 p.m.)
Williamsburg Library Theatre, 515 Scotland St.
Chamber Music Society of Williamsburg:
Tempesta di Mare
Vivaldi: Concerto in G minor, RV 105, for recorder, oboe, violin & bassoon
Telemann: Quartet in G major, TWV43:G2, for flute, oboe & violin
Jan Dismas Zelenka: Sonata No. 6 in B flat major, Z 181, for oboe, violin & bassoon
Johann Gottlieb Janitsch: Quartet in G major for flute, oboe & violin
Johann Friedrich Fasch: Sonata in D major for flute, bassoon & violin
Joseph Bodin de Boismortier: Concerto in E minor for recorder, oboe, violin & bassoon
$30 (seating limited)
(757) 741-3300 (Williamsburg Regional Library)
http://chambermusicwilliamsburg.org

Nov. 19 (8 p.m.)
Old Cabell Hall, University of Virginia, Charlottesville
Aeolus Quartet
Jessie Montgomery: “Strum”
Paul Wiancko: “LIFT”
Mendelssohn: Quartet in F minor, Op. 80
free
(434) 924-3376
http://music.virginia.edu/events

Nov. 19 (7:30 p.m.)
Nov. 20 (7:30 p.m.)
Terrace Theater, Kennedy Center, Washington
PostClassical Ensemble
Angel Gil-Ordóñez conducting
“Legends of Brazil”
Zequinha de Abreu: “Tico-Tico no Fubá” (Jamberê Cerqueira arrangement)
Padre José Maurício Nunes Garcia: “Zemira”
André Mehmari: Sonata for viola
Tatjana Mead Chamis, viola
Francisco Mignone: “Tres Valsas Brasileiras” (excerpt)
Francisco Mignone: “Quadros Amazônicos” – “Saci, “Caapora”
Villa-Lobos: “Bachiana Brasileiras” No. 4
André Mehmari: new work TBA for piano & orchestra
André Mehmari, piano
Brazilian popular songs TBA
Elin Melgarejo, vocals
$45-$69
(800) 444-1324
http://kennedy-center.org

Nov. 20 (7 p.m.)
Vlahcevic Concert Hall, Singleton Arts Center, Virginia Commonwealth University, Park Avenue at Harrison Street, Richmond
VCU Symphonic Wind Ensemble
VCU University Band
Terry Austin directing
“Rule Britannia: Music of British composers”
program TBA
$12
(804) 828-1166
http://arts.vcu.edu/events

Nov. 20 (8 p.m.)
Coolidge Auditorium, Library of Congress, 10 First St. SE, Washington
Danish String Quartet
Haydn: Quartet in G minor, Op. 20, No. 3
Stravinsky: “3 Pieces for String Quartet”
Turlough O’Carolan: “Mabel Kelly”
O’Carolan: “Planxty Kelly”
O’Carolan: “Carolan’s Quarrel with the Landlady”
Mozart: Divertimento in F major, K. 138
Schubert: Quartet in G major, D. 887
free; tickets required via http://host.nxt.blackbaud.com/
(202) 707-5507
http://www.loc.gov/events/concerts-from-the-library-of-congress/concerts/upcoming-concerts/

Nov. 21 (7 p.m.)
Nov. 22 (11:30 a.m.)
Nov. 23 (8 p.m.)
Kennedy Center Concert Hall, Washington
National Symphony Orchestra
Marek Janowski conducting
Schumann: Piano Concerto in A minor
Alexandra Dovgan, piano
Bruckner: Symphony No. 4 in E flat major (“Romantic”)
$17-$133
(800) 444-1324
http://kennedy-center.org

Nov. 21 (7:30 p.m.)
Terrace Theater, Kennedy Center, Washington
Fortas Chamber Music Concerts:
Imani Winds
Harlem Quartet
A.B. Spellman, orator
Jeff Scott: “Passion for Bach and Coltrane”
$57-$58
(800) 444-1324
http://kennedy-center.org

Nov. 22 (7:30 p.m.)
Nov. 24 (2:30 p.m.)
Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center, Sixth & Grace streets, Richmond
Virginia Opera
Adam Turner conducting
Bizet: “Carmen”
Lisa Marie Rogali (Carmen)
Zach Borichevsky (Don José)
Rolfe Dauz (Escamillo)
Sarah Tucker (Micaëla)
Chase Sanders (Frasquita)
Aria Minasian (Mercédès)
Daniel Lugo (Remendado)
Patrick Wilhelm (Dancairo)
Jeremy Harr (Zuniga)
Brandon Bell (Moralès)
Kyle Lang, stage director
in French, English captions
$22.91-$150
(866) 673-7282
http://vaopera.org

Nov. 22 (7 p.m.)
Williamsburg Community Chapel, 3899 John Tyler Highway
Williamsburg Symphony Orchestra
Benjamin Rous conducting
“The Magic of John Williams”
selections from “Star Wars,” “Harry Potter,” other films
$75
(757) 229-9857
http://williamsburgsymphony.org

Nov. 22 (8 p.m.)
Old Cabell Hall, University of Virginia, Charlottesville
UVa Baroque Orchestra
David Sariti, violin & direction
program TBA
$10
(434) 924-3376
http://music.virginia.edu/events

Nov. 22 (8 p.m.)
Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda, MD
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Damon Gupton conducting
“Lush Life: Ellington & Strayhorn”
works TBA by Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn
$38-$99
(877) 276-1444
http://strathmore.org

Nov. 23 (8 p.m.)
Center for the Arts, George Mason University, Fairfax
Fairfax Symphony Orchestra
Christopher Zimmerman conducting
Quinn Mason: “She Dreams of Flying”
Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major
Jeremy Denk, piano
Rachmaninoff: Symphonic Dances
$40-$65
Jeremy Denk master class, 2 p.m. Nov. 21 (free; registration required)
(703) 993-2787
http://cfa.calendar.gmu.edu

Nov. 24 (3:30 p.m.)
Old Cabell Hall, University of Virginia, Charlottesville
UVa Chamber Singers
Michael Slon directing
program TBA
$15
(434) 924-3376
http://music.virginia.edu/events

Nov. 24 (7:30 p.m.)
Kennedy Center Concert Hall, Washington
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
Klaus Mäkelä conducting
Ellen Reid: “Body Cosmic”
Prokofiev: Violin Concerto No. 2 in G minor
Lisa Batiashvili, violin
Rachmaninoff: Symphony No. 2 in E minor
$65-$150
(202) 785-9727 (Washington Performing Arts)
http://washingtonperformingarts.org

Nov. 25 (7:30 p.m.)
Camp Concert Hall, Modlin Arts Center, University of Richmond
UR Wind Ensemble
Brianna Gatch directing
program TBA
free; reservation required
(804) 289-8980
http://modlin.richmond.edu

Nov. 29 (7 p.m.)
Nov. 30 (2 & 7 p.m.)
Dec. 1 (3 p.m.)
Kennedy Center Concert Hall, Washington
National Symphony Orchestra
Steven Reineke conducting
“Elf in Concert,” film with live orchestral accompaniment
$34-$94
(800) 444-1324
http://kennedy-center.org

Nov. 30 (3 & 8 p.m.)
Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center, Sixth & Grace streets, Richmond
Richmond Symphony Pops
Hae Lee conducting
Carrie Brockwell, guest star
“Let It Snow!”
holiday program TBA
$10-$86
(800) 514-3849 (ETIX)
http://richmondsymphony.com

Nov. 30 (7:30 p.m.)
Chrysler Hall, 215 St. Paul’s Boulevard, Norfolk
Virginia Symphony Orchestra
Henry Panion III conducting
gospel choir
Earl Bynum directing
“A Gospel Christmas featuring a Tribute to Richard Smallwood”
$15-$119
(757) 892-6366
http://virginiasymphony.org

Nov. 30 (8 p.m.)
Center for the Arts, George Mason University, Fairfax
Canadian Brass
“Making Spirits Bright”
holiday program TBA
$36-$60
(703) 993-2787
http://cfa.calendar.gmu.edu

Dec. 1 (3 p.m.)
Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center, Sixth & Grace streets, Richmond
Richmond Symphony
Richard W. Robbins conducting
Handel: “Messiah”
Chelsea Guo, soprano
Leah Hunter, alto
Daniel McGrew, tenor
Joseph Parrish, bass-baritone
Richmond Symphony Chorus
$15-$86
(800) 514-3849 (ETIX)
http://richmondsymphony.com

Dec. 1 (2 p.m.)
Center for the Arts, George Mason University, Fairfax
Take 6
holiday program TBA
$33-$55
(703) 993-2787
http://cfa.calendar.gmu.edu

Dec. 2 (7 p.m.)
Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, Laurel Street at Floyd Avenue, Richmond
Richmond Symphony
conductor TBA
other artists TBA
“33rd Annual Holiday Festival of Music”
program TBA
$55-$70; proceeds benefit Commonwealth Catholic Charities
(804) 359-5651
http://cccofva.org/tickets

Dec. 2 (7 p.m.)
Virginia Museum of History & Culture, Arthur Ashe Boulevard at Kensington Avenue, Richmond
Dec. 9 (7 p.m.)
Huguenot Road Baptist Church, 10525 W. Huguenot Road, Richmond
Richmond Philharmonic
Peter Wilson conducting
“Holiday Pops”
free
(804) 556-1039
http://richmondphilharmonic.org

Dec. 2 (7:30 p.m.)
Camp Concert Hall, Modlin Arts Center, University of Richmond
UR Chamber Ensembles
Joanne Kong directing
program TBA
free; reservation required
(804) 289-8980
http://modlin.richmond.edu

Dec. 4 (7 p.m.)
Vlahcevic Concert Hall, Singleton Arts Center, Virginia Commonwealth University, Park Avenue at Harrison Street, Richmond
VCU Symphony & chorus
Daniel Myssyk conducting
Mozart: Requiem in D minor, K. 626
soloists TBA
$12
(804) 828-1166
http://arts.vcu.edu/events

Dec. 4 (7:30 p.m.)
Camp Concert Hall, Modlin Arts Center, University of Richmond
UR Symphony Orchestra
Naima Burrs conducting
J.S. Bach: Concerto in D minor, BWV 1043, for 2 violins
Esther Kim & Joyce Kim, violins
other works TBA
free; reservation required
(804) 289-8980
http://modlin.richmond.edu

Dec. 5 (7:30 p.m.)
Vlahcevic Concert Hall, Singleton Arts Center, Virginia Commonwealth University, Park Avenue at Harrison Street, Richmond
VCU Percussion Ensemble
program TBA
free
(804) 828-1166
http://arts.vcu.edu/events

Dec. 5 (7:30 p.m.)
Terrace Theater, Kennedy Center, Washington
Fortas Chamber Music Concerts:
Jasper Quartet
William Grant Still: “Lyric String Quartette”
Vivian Fung: Quartet No. 2
Beethoven: Quartet in B flat major, Op. 130
$57-$58
(800) 444-1324
http://kennedy-center.org

Dec. 6 (7 p.m.)
Vlahcevic Concert Hall, Singleton Arts Center, Virginia Commonwealth University, Park Avenue at Harrison Street, Richmond
VCU Symphonic Wind Ensemble
VCU Jazz Orchestra I
VCU Guitar Ensemble
Commonwealth Singers
other faculty & student musicians TBA
“37th Annual Holiday Gala”
program TBA
$12; proceeds benefit The Doorways
(804) 828-1166
http://arts.vcu.edu/events

Dec. 6 (7:30 p.m.)
Salem Civic Center, 1001 Roanoke Boulevard
Dec. 7 (4 p.m.)
Moss Arts Center, Virginia Tech, 190 Alumni Mall, Blascksburg
Roanoke Symphony Pops
David Stewart Wiley conducting
Michael Lynche, vocalist
RSO Chorus & guest choruses
Roanoke Valley Children’s Choir
“Holiday Pops Spectacular”
$32-$69 (Roanoke)
sold out; waiting list (Blacksburg)
(540) 343-9127
http://rso.com

Dec. 6 (8 p.m.)
Dec. 7 (2 & 8 p.m.)
Kennedy Center Concert Hall, Washington
National Symphony Orchestra Pops
Steven Reineke conducting
Jessica Vosk, vocalist
Heritage Signature Chorale
“A Holiday Pops”
$33-$114
(800) 444-1324
http://kennedy-center.org

Dec. 6 (8 p.m.)
Coolidge Auditorium, Library of Congress, 10 First St. SE, Washington
Experiential Orchestra
James Blachly conducting
Ling Ling Huang, speaker
“Schoenberg at 150”
Julia Perry: Prelude
Alan Hovhaness: “In Memory of an Artist,” Op. 163
Irving Fine: “Serious Song: a Lament for String Orchestra”
Perry: Violin Concerto
Curtis Stewart, violin
Schoenberg: “Verklärte Nacht” (“Transfigured Night”)
free; tickets required via http://host.nxt.blackbaud.com/
(202) 707-5507
http://www.loc.gov/events/concerts-from-the-library-of-congress/concerts/upcoming-concerts/

Dec. 7 (7:30 p.m.)
Johnson Theater, 1585 Wesleyan Drive, Norfolk
Dec. 8 (3 & 7 p.m.)
Music Building Concert Hall, College of William & Mary, Williamsburg
Virginia Symphony Orchestra
conductor TBA
“Classical Christmas”
Tchaikovsky: “The Nutcracker” (selections)
works TBA by J.S. Bach, Vivaldi
$25 (Norfolk), $39 (Williamsburg)
(757) 892-6366
http://virginiasymphony.org

Dec. 7 (7:30 p.m.)
Dec. 8 (3:30 p.m.)
Old Cabell Hall, University of Virginia, Charlottesville
Charlottesville Symphony at the University of Virginia
UVa University Singers
Michael Slon conducting
“Family Holiday Concerts”
program TBA
$11-$59
(434) 924-3376
http://music.virginia.edu/events

Dec. 7 (7:30 p.m.)
Academy Center of the Arts Historic Theater, 600 Main St., Lynchburg
Lynchburg Symphony Orchestra
David Glover conducting
“Happy Holidays with the LSO”
program TBA
$35-$100
(434) 845-6604
http://lynchburgsymphony.org

Dec. 7 (8 p.m.)
Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda, MD
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Nicholas McGegan conducting
J.S. Bach: “Christmas Oratorio” – Cantata I
Vivaldi: Gloria
Sherezade Panthaki, soprano
Diana Moore, mezzo-soprano
Thomas Cooley, tenor
Enrico Lagasca, bass
Handel Choir of Baltimore
J.S. Bach: “Brandenburg” Concerto No. 3 in G major, BWV 1048
Corelli: Concerto grosso in G minor, Op. 6, No. 8 (“Christmas Concerto”)
$38-$99
(877) 276-1444
http://strathmore.org

New York’s Morgan Library & Museum announces that it has discovered a previously unknown waltz by the young Frédéric Chopin, found among an assortment of memorabilia in its collection.

The piece, lasting about a minute and a quarter, was written on paper and with ink that matches those in use around 1830, when the waltz is believed to have been composed. Chopin’s name is written at the top of the score, but not in Chopin’s handwriting. Otherwise, “[t]he penmanship matches the composer’s . . . down to the unusual rendering of the bass clef symbols,” Javier C. Hernández reports in The New York Times.

“We have total confidence in our conclusion,” said Morgan curator Robinson McClellan. “Now it’s time to put it out there for the world to take a look and form its own opinions.”

Pianist Lang Lang, who finds that the little waltz is in “one of the most authentic Chopin styles that you can imagine,” plays the piece in a video attached to The Times article:

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

Stravinsky: “The Firebird” Suite
New York Philharmonic/Lorin Maazel
(Deutsche Grammophon)

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

Debussy: “Jeux – Poème dansé”
Cleveland Orchestra/Pierre Boulez
(Deutsche Grammophon)

Pēteris Vasks: Cello Concerto No. 2 (“Presence”)
Sol Gabetta, cello
Amsterdam Sinfonietta/Candida Thompson
(Sony Classical)

Arvo Pärt: “Tabula rasa”
Gil Shaham & Adele Anthony, violins
Erik Risberg, prepared piano
Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra/Neeme Järvi
(Deutsche Grammophon)

(I was unable to attend these concerts; the review is via the video stream posted Oct. 25.)

Valentina Peleggi conducting
with Clayton Stephenson, piano
Oct. 19-20, Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center

It’s pretty rare for Igor Stravinsky’s “Le sacre du printemps” (“The Rite of Spring”) to be upstaged in a concert program. Pianist Clayton Stephenson, conductor Valentina Peleggi and the Richmond Symphony pulled off that feat in the season-opener of the orchestra’s mainstage Symphony Series.

Stephenson, the soloist in Maurice Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G major, balanced Jazz Age style and swagger with Chopinesque tonal sensibility, and showed an awareness that this work, especially in its central adagio, is as much a concerto for orchestra as for piano. He was as sensitive an accompanist to orchestral soloists as he was a virtuoso in the fast lanes of the outer movements.

The young, Brooklyn-born, Juilliard-schooled pianist made the concerto’s eventful first movement into a brother-from-a-different-mother of George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue.” (Gershwin, in turn, made his Piano Concerto into a not-too-distant cousin of the Ravel.) Stephenson also caught and conveyed Ravel’s nods to other composers, from Chopin to Saint-Saëns to Stravinsky.

His pacing and voicing were arresting in the lengthy opening piano solo of the adagio, a lullaby in slow-waltz time, and his subsequent accompaniments to a succession of solo winds often sounded magical – never more so than in his exchanges with the harp. His emphatic, high-powered handling of the finale would normally cap a memorable music-making appearance. But wait, there was more.

Stephenson kicked up the energy level even higher in the first of two encores, “The Tom and Jerry Show,” a hyper-rag by the Japanese jazz pianist-composer Hiromi Uehara, then mellowed out nicely in Uehara’s “Green Tea Farm,” which filters a tune that vaguely recalls Stephen Foster through a Chopin-to-Debussy tonal prism.

Altogether, Stephenson’s performance was one that should put a return visit high on the symphony’s wish list.

Stravinsky’s “Rite” may have been upstaged, but it nevertheless packed both the punch and the exoticism that this music demands. Peleggi chose a moderate, dancers’ pace, which served to clarify the score’s intricate cross-rhythms and sectional exchanges and to give time and space for its colorful and characterful wind, brass and percussion writing to bloom.

The orchestra, although heavily augmented in its wind sections, less so in its strings, sounded sufficiently balanced except in the most brassy and percussive outbursts.

Was it the most thrilling “Rite” I’ve ever heard? No, but it was played attentively, color-sensitively and without significant mishaps. Not so long ago, such a performance would be a coup for a regional orchestra peppered with substitutes and extras, and quite likely a mind-blower for its audience. That this was neither testifies to the excellence of orchestral musicians in the US today, and to how this once-revolutionary music has become familiar after resonating for more than a century through film and television music, modern jazz and other genres.

The program opened with another feast of tone color, Claude Debussy’s “La mer.” This three-part symphonic evocation of the sea’s winds and waves is the epitome of musical impression (a label Debussy despised), a succession of now-dazzling, now-hazy tone colors in constant motion, riding swells of dynamism.

All those qualities were clearly audible, if rather hard-edged, in this performance. Woodwinds and brass were unusually prominent and the strings often sounded wiry – at least in the audio of the video stream.

The wind players were as color-sensitive in the Debussy as they would be in the Ravel and Stravinsky to follow. It was a big night for blowing through tubes. Highest honors go to bassoonist Thomas Schneider, opening the “Rite” with both warmth and spookiness, and to trumpeter Sam Huss, thriving in the spotlight, under the gun and delivering the goods, seemingly every 30 seconds throughout the concert.

The video stream of this program remains accessible through May 31, 2025. Access: $30. Details: (800) 514-3849 (ETIX); http://richmondsymphony.com

Christoph Wagner, cello
Joanne Kong, piano
Oct. 25, Modlin Arts Center, University of Richmond

The performing partnership of Christoph Wagner, a German cellist now teaching at the University of New Mexico, and Joanne Kong, the University of Richmond-based pianist and harpsichordist, has been ongoing for several years. The duo’s latest performance, before a well-filled Camp Concert Hall in UR’s Modlin Arts Center, showed both their crafting of complementary voices and their exploration of interesting byways in the cello-and-piano repertory.

The only repertory standard they played, Brahms’ Cello Sonata in F major, Op. 99, capped a program otherwise devoted to lesser-known works by Frédéric Chopin, Bohuslav Martinů and Giovanni Sollima, at least one of which, Martinů’s “Variations on a Slovak Theme,” rates as a miniature masterpiece.

The Martinů variations, completed shortly before the composer’s death in 1959, both recall his musical roots in Czechoslovakia and touch on the stylistic trends he absorbed in mid-20th century Paris, New York and elsewhere in a peripatetic life and career. The piece has been described as a summation of his musical odyssey, although it touches only lightly on the percolating, harmonically hazy qualities heard in his orchestral scores.

The Martinů shared the first half of the duo’s program with Chopin’s “Introduction and Polonaise brillante,” Op. 3, the work of a 20-year-old that echoes the florid showpieces of musicians such as violinist Niccolò Paganini and pianist Ignaz Moscheles, and one of the themes from Sollima’s score for the film “Il bell’ Antonio.”

Wagner and Kong gave a nervy account of the Chopin, emphasizing the piece’s brillante qualities if at times smearing its more note-heavy figurations. Their treatment of the Martinů focused more on its soulful melody, which comes from the same musical gene pool that produced Dvořák’s Slavonic dances and Brahms’ Hungarian dances, than on the composer’s more urbane modernist-neoclassical idiom. The duo’s interpretation of the Sollima centered on its darkish tonal palette, circular, torque-like energy and contrast of minimalist and romantic styles.

The Brahms sonata, composed around the same as his Fourth Symphony and Double Concerto for violin and cello (the cellist Robert Hausmann played in the premieres of both the sonata and the concerto) and reflecting the lean, classically rooted romanticism of Brahms’ late works, received a straightforward reading from the duo, notable for Kong’s reining in of the piano part to achieve sonic parity with the cello and for Wagner’s robust voicing and especially resonant pizzicatos.

Marie Goodman Hunter, a longtime fixture in the productions of Richmond’s theater troupes, a singer and actor in many events celebrating the city’s Black community, has died at 95.

Hunter, a mezzo-soprano, was a Virginia State University graduate who also studied at Columbia University. She taught music, speech and drama at John Marshall High School for 30 years and was music minister at Garland Avenue Baptist Church.

She played a variety of singing and speaking characters with many of Richmond’s theater companies over nearly 50 years. She was closely associated with Theatre Virginia, performing in its productions more than two dozen times, culminating in its farewell show in 2002.

Roy Proctor, theater critic for the Richmond News Leader and Richmond Times-Dispatch, dubbed Hunter “the first lady of the Richmond stage.” In Richmond and elsewhere, she was cast in plays and musicals as diverse as “Tartuffe,” “Having our Say,” “A Christmas Carol,” “The Threepenny Opera” and “South Pacific.”

Praising Hunter’s “most outstanding performance” in a 1985 production of Lorraine Hansbury’s “A Raisin in the Sun,” in which she played Mama Younger, The New York Times theater critic Alvin Klein wrote, “The actress is not physically imposing, but her underplaying underscores the quiet affirmation in Miss Hansberry’s writing.”

Singing in recitals and performing at local civic events, Hunter was especially well-known for re-creating speeches of Maggie L. Walker, the pioneering Richmond businesswoman who founded the St. Luke Penny Bank, one of the first Black-owned financial institutions in the US, and for appearing in events commemorating Martin Luther King Jr. and recalling the Black community’s role in Richmond’s history.

Hunter’s daughter, Kelley Hunter, incapsulates her mother’s legacy as one of “love and peace and happiness” in an interview aired on WTVR:

http://www.wtvr.com/news/local-news/marie-goodman-hunter-oct-22-2024

On the 150th birthday of Charles Ives, we’ll contrast his vision of American music’s future and the future anticipated by Antonín Dvořák, and works by two living American composers, Jessie Montgomery and Carlos Simon, who sound to have taken both elders’ advice.

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

Ives: “Variations on ‘America’ ”
Gerard Brooks, organ
(Priory)

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

Jessie Montgomery: “Banner”
Catalyst Quartet
(Azica)

Ives: “The Unanswered Question”
Orpheus Chamber Orchestra
(Deutsche Grammophon)

Carlos Simon: “Wake Up! (Concerto for Orchestra)”
National Symphony Orchestra/Gianandrea Noseda
(National Symphony Orchestra)

Ives: Symphony No. 2
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra/Michael Tilson Thomas
(Sony Classical)

Pianist Jeremy Denk, writing in The New York Times, marks the 150th birthday of Charles Ives, the American maverick composer who (in)famously told musicians and their audiences to “stand up and take your dissonance like a man.”

“He dreamed that music would evolve into ‘a language, so transcendent, that its heights and depths will be common to all mankind.’ (This didn’t pan out, unless you count Taylor Swift.) And, in the first two decades of the 20th century, he dreamed up a radically original American musical voice – an enviable triumph that came bundled with failure,” Denk writes. “It was a voice many people didn’t want to hear, and still don’t.”

In the wild ride of an Ives composition, with its recollections of old tunes in olden times colliding with futuristic harmonies and raucous humor, Denk hears “a restless search to find more in America than we thought, or even hoped, to find.”

We’ll mark the Ives’ sesquicentennial on Oct. 20 with three of his most iconic works on this week’s Letter V Classical Radio, 7-9 p.m. EDT/2300-0100 UTC/GMT on WDCE, broadcasting at 90.1 FM, streaming at http://wdce.org