Letter V

I’ve come down with something, maybe Covid-19 . . . no, it seems not . . . how about a different test? . . . So, just as Letter V Classical Radio was restarting, it will have to go on hiatus – for only a week, I hope. The program announced for Jan. 16 will be aired at a later date.

Some surprises and unexpected high-flyers turn up in the latest yearly rankings by the British classical website Bachtrack of most-played works and top musicians, based on the programs of some 23,000 concert and opera performances listed on the site in 2022.

While the year saw more variety and novelty in recordings, and considerably more programming of works by female, Black, Latino and Asian composers, standard repertory (i.e., by dead male Europeans from the classical and romantic eras) still ruled onstage:

– Mozart was the composer most often played in concerts, although none of his concertos made top-10 lists. Richard Strauss was a leading choice; but, curiously, there were fewer performances of his orchestral works than of suite(s) from his opera “Der Rosenkavalier.” Other top composers were Beethoven, J.S. Bach, Brahms, Schubert, Schumann, Tchaikovsky, Chopin and Ravel (whose “La valse,” interestingly, was played more often than “Boléro”).

– Ravel topped the piano-concerto chart with his G major (the two-handed one). Rachmaninoff’s Second was in second place and his Third and “Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini” also made the top 10. Concertos by Beethoven (Nos. 3, 4, 5), Brahms (No. 1), Schumann and Tchaikovsky rounded out the list.

– Among top-10 violin concertos, four may be surprises: Prokofiev’s First, Shostakovich’s First and those by Stravinsky and Erich Wolfgang Korngold. Otherwise, old favorites held sway, with Mendelssohn leading the pack, followed by Beethoven, Sibelius, Tchaikovsky, Bruch and Brahms.

– Among cello concertos, Elgar’s beat Dvořák’s, with Shostakovich’s First in third place. (There were no Nos. 4 to 10; once past the two by Haydn, Saint-Saëns’ First and the Schumann, the repertory crosses into sonus incognita.)

– Orchestral rankings were dominated by US ensembles (Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Los Angeles), along with the Berlin Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic, London Symphony Orchestra, and two seeming dark horses from Austria: the Vienna Symphony Orchestra and Tonkünstler Orchestra, which divides its time between Vienna and St. Pölten. Two usually rated among the world’s best, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra of Munich, did not make this top 10.

– The conductors’ list was topped by Andris Nelsons, maestro of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Gewandhaus Orchestra of Leipzig, followed by Yannick Nézet-Séguin, music director of the Philadelphia Orchestra and Metropolitan Opera. Veterans (Paavo Järvi, Simon Rattle, Manfred Honeck, Iván Fischer, Daniel Harding, Gustavo Dudamel) shared the top 10 with Klaus Mäkelä, the soon-to-be 27-year-old chief conductor of the Oslo Philharmonic and Orchestre de Paris and chief-designate of the Royal Concertgebouw, and Andrés Orozco-Estrada, 45, formerly music director in Houston and Frankfurt, now leading the Tonkünstler Orchestra. (The maestro and the band both scored – party time in St. Pölten?)

– Generational change among leading performers was most pronounced in soloists’ rankings. Among 30 names in three top tens, only nine were widely prominent a decade ago. Pianist Yuja Wang, violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja and cellist Gautier Capuçon took top spots in their instrumental categories.

– The most frequently staged opera composer was Mozart, with “The Marriage of Figaro,” “The Magic Flute,” “Don Giovanni” and (surprisingly?) “Così fan tutte” in the top 10, along with three Puccinis (“La Bohème,” “Tosca,” “Madame Butterfly”), two Verdis (“La Traviata,” “Rigoletto”) and a Bizet (“Carmen”).

– Arvo Pärt was the most frequently programmed contemporary composer, followed, in order, by John Williams, John Adams, Thomas Adès, Philip Glass, Jörg Widmann, Sofia Gubaidulina, Anna Clyne, Wolfgang Rihm and James MacMillan. Performances of contemporary works rose most over the past three years in the US, Austria, the Netherlands, Spain, Hungary and Switzerland.

– Bach was the only top-10 composer active before the classical period. The lists include only two soloists (violinist Isabelle Faust and cellist Jean-Guihen Queyras), no period-instrument orchestras and no conductors more than peripherally associated with historical performance practice. (Many “modern” conductors and soloists, however, employ some historical techniques.)

In sum: Orchestras and opera companies still concentrate on composers whose busts you can set atop your piano. . . . Young and young-ish artists’ dominance in the soloists’ rankings explains the frequent programming of Rachmaninoff’s piano concertos (hot young virtuoso makes dazzling first impression), as well as the high rankings of less familiar violin and cello concertos (smart move: Save Beethoven, Brahms and Dvořák until you’re more seasoned). . . . For long-dead Europeans, you can’t beat opera: The most recently composed work in the top 10 was “Madame Butterfly,” which dates from 1904. . . . Older composers and works with lengthy performance histories are favored even in newer music – only two contemporary composers younger than 50 (Clyne, 42, and Widmann, 49) made the top 10. . . . It’s striking, probably revealing, to see the absence of some of the most accomplished and high-profile musicians – Riccardo Muti, Herbert Blomstedt, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Yo-Yo Ma, Joshua Bell, Marc-André Hamelin, among many others.

To access Bachtrack’s top tens and other rankings, start here:

http://bachtrack.com/classical-music-statistics-2022

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

Dingwall Fleary Jr., longtime conductor of orchestras in Northern Virginia, died on New Year’s Eve at 82.

A native of St. Louis, Fleary was appointed in 1972 as the first conductor of the McLean Chamber Orchestra, now the McLean Symphony, and since 1996 had led the Reston Community Orchestra. A pianist, harpsichordist and organist, he was music director of Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Bethesda, MD.

A graduate of the University of Kansas and Northwestern University who also studied at L’Accademia Musicale di Chigiana in Siena, Italy, Fleary taught at Bennett and Vassar colleges in New York in the 1960s.

He was the playwright and star of “The Measure of a Man: the Life of Paul Robeson,” which was premiered in 1987 and subsequently staged on a US tour.

Fleary had served as music director and coordinator of the International Children’s Festival at Wolf Trap and as a four-term board member of the Virginia Commission for the Arts.

An obituary in the Tysons Reporter:

McLean Symphony founder and longtime conductor Dingwall Fleary dies

The Richmond Symphony’s concertmaster, Daisuke Yamamoto, will be playing a classic Italian violin in future concerts, thanks to a permanent loan from an unnamed investor, supporting what the orchestra describes as “Music Director Valentina Peleggi’s vision to develop the sound” of the ensemble.

The violin, labeled as having been made in 1705 by Giovanni Battista Rogeri, was selected by Yamamoto, Peleggi and Ellen Cockerham Riccio, the orchestra’s principal second violinist, from a group of instruments offered by international dealers and brought to Richmond for tryouts.

The Rogeri was selected for its “playability, depth, sound quality and resonance,” according to a news release from the symphony.

Rogeri (c. 1642-c. 1710) learned his craft from Nicolò Amati, one of the most influential luthiers in the violin-making center of Cremona, Italy. (Andrea Guarneri was among other apprentices of Amati’s; reputedly, he also taught Antonio Stradivari.) After his apprenticeship, Rogeri set up a workshop in Brescia, another northern Italian town famed for its stringed-instrument craftsmen. Rogeri’s finest instruments, like those of Guarneri and Stradivari, were based on “Amati style” design, construction and finish.

Richard Bratby, writing for The Spectator, mulls over the issue of bad behavior by prominent classical musicians. While there are plenty of horror stories about operatic divas and stellar instrumentalists, conductors have been exemplars, for intemperance (Arturo Toscanini), cruelty (Fritz Reiner) and sexual predation (James Levine).

Bratby writes that “the podium tyrant walks again in the person of Lydia Tár – the fictional conductor played by Cate Blanchett in Todd Field’s movie ‘Tár.’ ” (An updated tyrant, he notes, in that the character is an American woman.)

He traces the tradition of conductor as tyrant and orchestra musicians as lowly underlings to their respective status in the royal and aristocratic court orchestras and opera houses of pre-modern central Europe. For their conductors, “autocracy had been part of the job description,” Bratby writes:

http://www.spectator.co.uk/article/do-conductors-have-to-be-cruel-to-be-good/

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

I haven’t seen “Tár.” Even though it’s a film about classical music, and not many of those get made, fictional tyranny doesn’t seem enticing when there’s so much of the real thing around.

Sampling music by five composers whose birth anniversaries are being celebrated this year: the 100th of György Ligeti and Ned Rorem, 150th of Sergei Rachmaninoff and Joseph Jongen, the 200th of Édouard Lalo.

1-3 p.m. EST
1800-2000 UTC/GMT
WDCE, University of Richmond
90.1 FM
http://wdce.org

Ligeti: “Romanian Concerto”
Berlin Philharmonic/Jonathan Nott
(Warner Classics)

Rachmaninoff: Symphonic Dances, Op. 45
Martha Argerich & Nicolas Economou, pianos
(Deutsche Grammophon)

Rorem: “Eagles”
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra/Louis Lane
(New World Records)

Lalo: Cello Concerto in D minor
Janos Starker, cello
London Symphony Orchestra/Stanisław Skrowaczewski
(Mercury)

Jongen: Sinfonia concertante, Op. 81
Jean Guillou, organ
Dallas Symphony Orchestra/Eduardo Mata
(Dorian)

After nearly three years off the air, Letter V Classical Radio is returning to WDCE at the University of Richmond. The show will run from 1 to 3 p.m. EST (1800-2000 UTC/GMT) on Mondays, beginning Jan. 9.

WDCE broadcasts at 90.1 FM and streams via its website, http://wdce.org, and various radio-streaming services.

Along with music, the show will feature highlights of the week ahead from Letter V’s calendar of classical events. Also, listen for interviews with artists performing in the Richmond area.

Each week’s program will be posted here on Saturday mornings, two days in advance of the show.

Reviving Letter V Classical Radio is not just a return to life as I knew it pre-pandemic, but also a homecoming. My media career began in 1967 at WDCE’s predecessor, WCRC, and many of my closest and longest-lasting friendships were forged at the station. All too many of those old friends have died in recent years, so there’s a bittersweet quality in returning to the air we shared.

Life goes on, though, and sharing favorite pieces and performances, as well as musical discoveries, will be sweet without the bitter. I hope you can join me.

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. Service fees may be added.

Contact presenters or venues for health-safety protocols.

Jan. 5 (8 p.m.)
Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda, MD
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Mario Venzago conducting
Rossini: “William Tell” Overture
Chopin: Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor
Louis Lortie, piano
Schumann: Symphony No. 3 in E flat major (“Rhenish”)
$35-$90
(877) 276-1444
http://strathmore.org

Jan. 7 (2 p.m.)
Gellman Room, Richmond Public Library, First and Franklin streets
Richmond Music Teachers Association members
works TBA by Scriabin, J.S. Bach, Federico Ruiz, others
free
(804) 646-7223
http://rvalibrary.org/events/gellman-concerts/

Jan. 11 (7:30 p.m.)
Terrace Theater, Kennedy Center, Washington
Postclassical Ensemble chorale & orchestra
“Amazing Grace”
spirituals; works TBA by J.S. Bach, William Grant Still, Samuel Barber, Adolphus Hailstork
$45
(800) 444-1324
http://kennedy-center.org

Jan. 12 (7 p.m.)
Jan. 13 (8 p.m.)
Jan. 14 (8 p.m.)
Kennedy Center Concert Hall, Washington
National Symphony Orchestra
Gianandrea Noseda conducting
Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor
Seong-Jin Cho, piano
Schumann: Symphony No. 3 in E flat major (“Rhenish”)
$25-$124
(800) 444-1324
http://kennedy-center.org

Jan. 12 (8 p.m.)
Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda, MD
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Pops
Jack Everly conducting
“Revolution: The Music of The Beatles, a Symphonic Experience”
$35-$90
(877) 276-1444
http://strathmore.org

Jan. 14 (8 p.m.)
Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center, Sixth and Grace streets, Richmond
Richmond Symphony Pops
Chia-Hsuan Lin conducting
Butcher Brown, guest stars
$15-$85
(800) 514-3849 (ETIX)
http://richmondsymphony.com

Jan. 15 (3 p.m.)
Perkinson Arts Center, 11810 Centre St., Chester
Richmond Symphony
Daniel Myssyk conducting
Isaac Wilson, violin
Brown Ballerinas for Change
“Celebrate MLK”
Adolphus Hailstork: “Fanfare on ‘Amazing Grace’ ”
Florence Beatrice Price: “Dances in the Canebrakes”
Jessie Montgomery: “Starburst”
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor: Ballade for orchestra
Vivaldi: Violin Concerto in G minor, RV 317
Damien Geter: “I Said What I Said”
George Walker: “Lyric For Strings”
Hailstork: “Three Spirituals”
Hailstork: “Epitaph for a Man Who Dreamed (In Memoriam: Martin Luther King, Jr. 1929-1968)”
James Weldon Johnson & J. Rosamund Johnson: “Lift Every Voice And Sing”
$25
(800) 514-3849 (ETIX)
http://richmondsymphony.com

Jan. 15 (7 p.m.)
Calvary Revival Church, 5833 Poplar Hall Drive, Norfolk
Virginia Symphony Orchestra
Thomas Wilkins conducting
Noah Crumbley, cello
Victor Wooten, electric bass
Stephanie Sanders, saxophone
Amandla Quartet
Earl Bynum & Mount Unity Choir
“A Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.”
Thomas A. Dorsey: “Precious Lord, Take My Hand”
Margaret Bonds: “Montgomery Variations” (excerpts)
other works TBA
free
(757) 892-6366
http://virginiasymphony.org

Jan. 19 (7 p.m.)
Jan. 20 (8 p.m.)
Jan. 21 (8 p.m.)
Kennedy Center Concert Hall, Washington
National Symphony Orchestra
Gianandrea Noseda conducting
Shostakovich: Violin Concerto No. 1 in A minor
Leonidas Kavakos, violin
Bruckner: Symphony No. 6 in A major
$15-$109
(800) 444-1324
http://kennedy-center.org

Jan. 20 (7:30 p.m.)
Perkinson Arts Center, 11810 Centre St., Chester
Jan. 21 (7:30 p.m.)
Ryan Recital Hall, St. Christopher’s School, 711 St. Christopher Road, Richmond
Jan. 22 (3 p.m.)
Blackwell Auditorium, Randolph-Macon College, 205 Henry St., Ashland
Richmond Symphony
Valentina Peleggi conducting
Christopher Theofanidis: “Visions and Miracles”
Marian Bauer: Symphonic Suite for strings
Steven Snowden: “This Mortal Frame”
Schuyler Slack, cello
Bartók: Divertimento for strings
$25
(800) 514-3849 (ETIX)
http://richmondsymphony.com

Jan. 20 (7:30 p.m.)
Ferguson Arts Center, Christopher Newport University, Newport News
Jan. 21 (7:30 p.m.)
Chrysler Hall, 215 St. Paul’s Boulevard, Norfolk
Jan. 22 (2:30 p.m.)
Sandler Arts Center, 201 S. Market St., Virginia Beach
Virginia Symphony Orchestra
Thomas Wilkins conducting
Peter Boyer: “Silver Fanfare”
William Dawson: “Negro Folk Symphony”
Victor Wooten: “La Lección Tres”
Victor Wooten, electric bass
$25-$114
(757) 892-6366
http://virginiasymphony.org

Jan. 21 (4 p.m.)
All Saints Episcopal Church, 8787 River Road, Richmond
Daniel Stipe, piano
program TBA
free
(804) 288-7811
http://allsaintsrichmond.org

Jan. 21 (7:30 p.m.)
Camp Concert Hall, Modlin Arts Center, University of Richmond
Kronos Quartet
Nikky Finney, narrator
Valérie Sainte-Agathe conducting
Michael Abels & Nikky Finney: “At War with Ourselves”
$35
(804) 289-8980
http://modlin.richmond.edu

Jan. 21 (7 & 9 p.m.)
Terrace Theater, Kennedy Center, Washington
Washington National Opera American Opera Initiative
Evan Rogister conducting
B.E. Boykin & Jarrod Lee: “Oshun” (premiere)
Jens Ibsen & Cecelia Raker: “Bobbie and the Demon” (premiere)
Silen Wellington & Walken Schweigert: “What the Spirits Show” (premiere)
casts TBA
in English
$19-$45
(800) 444-1324
http://kennedy-center.org

Jan. 21 (8 p.m.)
Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda, MD
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
James Conlon conducting
Verdi: Requiem
Michelle Bradley, soprano
Yuliana Matochkina, mezzo-soprano
Russell Thomas, tenor
Morris Robinson, bass
The Washington Chorus
$35-$90
(877) 276-1444
http://strathmore.org

Jan. 24 (7:30 p.m.)
Terrace Theater, Kennedy Center, Washington
Leif Ove Andsnes, piano
Janáček: Sonata (“1.X.1905”)
Alexander Vustin: “Lamento”
Beethoven: Sonata in A flat major, Op. 110
Dvořák: “Poetic Tone Pictures,” Op. 85
$60-$90
(202) 785-9727 (Washington Performing Arts)
http://washingtonperformingarts.org

Jan. 24 (8 p.m.)
Jan. 25 (8 p.m.)
Kennedy Center Concert Hall, Washington
National Symphony Orchestra Pops
conductor TBA
Ben Rector & Cody Fry, guest stars
$29-$139
(800) 444-1324
http://kennedy-center.org

Jan. 25 (7:30 p.m.)
Terrace Theater, Kennedy Center, Washington
Fortas Chamber Music Concerts:
Jaime Laredo & Bella Hristova, violins
Nokuthula Ngwenyama & Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt, violas
Keith Robinson & Sharon Laredo Robinson, cellos
Nokuthula Ngwenyama: “Sexagesimal Celebration”
Brahms: String Sextet in B flat major, Op. 18
Brahms: String Sextet in G major, Op. 36
$45
(800) 444-1324
http://kennedy-center.org

Jan. 26 (7:30 p.m.)
Camp Concert Hall, Modlin Arts Center, University of Richmond
Matt Worth, baritone
Alex Katsman, piano
Schubert: “Winterreise”
free
(804) 289-8980
http://modlin.richmond.edu

Jan. 26 (8 p.m.)
Eisenhower Theater, Kennedy Center, Washington
Renée Fleming VOICES:
Juan Diego Flórez, tenor
Vincenzo Scalera, pianist
program TBA
$69-$149
(800) 444-1324
http://kennedy-center.org

Jan. 27 (8 p.m.)
Jan. 28 (7:30 p.m.)
Jan. 29 (2:30 p.m.)
Harrison Opera House, 160 E. Virginia Beach Boulevard, Norfolk
Virginia Opera
Adam Turner conducting
Gregory Spears & Greg Pierce: “Fellow Travelers”
Joseph Lattanzi (Hawkins Fuller)
Andres Acosta (Timothy Laughlin)
Katherine Pracht (Mary Johnson)
Katrina Thurman (Miss Lightfoot)
Joshua Jeremiah (Sen. Joseph McCarthy/Estonian Frank/Interrogator)
John Fulton (Sen. Charles Potter/General Arlie/Bartender)
Kaileigh Riess (Lucy)
Kyle White (Tommy McIntyre)
Jeremy Harr (Sen. Potter’s Assistant/Bookseller/Technician/French Priest/Party Guest)
Kevin Newbury, stage director
in English, English captions
$20-$110
(866) 673-7282
http://vaopera.org

Jan. 27 (8 p.m.)
Jan. 28 (8 p.m.)
Kennedy Center Concert Hall, Washington
National Symphony Orchestra Pops
Steven Reineke conducting
Ne-Yo, guest star
$34-$114
(800) 444-1324
http://kennedy-center.org

Jan. 27 (8 p.m.)
Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda, MD
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Eva Ollikainen conducting
“Off the Cuff”
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5 in D minor
$35-$90
(877) 276-1444
http://strathmore.org

Jan. 28 (2 p.m.)
Gellman Room, Richmond Public Library, First and Franklin streets
The TAM Trio:
Sharon Miller, piano
Christine Anderson, violin
Kate Tibbetts, cello
works TBA by Mozart, Mendelssohn, others
free
(804) 646-7223
http://rvalibrary.org/events/gellman-concerts/

Jan. 28 (8 p.m.)
Jan. 29 (3 p.m.)
Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center, Sixth and Grace streets, Richmond
Richmond Symphony
Valentina Peleggi conducting
Vaughan Williams: “Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis”
Anna Clyne: “DANCE”
Inbal Segev, cello
Rimsky-Korsakov: “Scheherazade”
$15-$85
(800) 514-3849 (ETIX)
http://richmondsymphony.com

Jan. 28 (2 p.m.)
Terrace Theater, Kennedy Center, Washington
Charles Richard-Hamelin, piano
Chopin: 2 nocturnes, Op. 27
Chopin: Sonata No. 2 in B flat minor, Op. 35
Franck: Prélude, Aria et Final, Op. 23
Ravel: “Le tombeau de Couperin”
$60-$90
(202) 785-9727 (Washington Performing Arts)
http://washingtonperformingarts.org

Jan. 29 (3:30 p.m.)
Old Cabell Hall, University of Virginia, Charlottesville
UVa Chamber Music Series:
Jiyeon Choi, clarinet
program TBA
$15
(434) 924-3376
http://music.virginia.edu/events

Jan. 29 (4 p.m.)
Center for the Arts, George Mason University, Fairfax
Silk Road Ensemble:
Pura Fé, lap-steel slide guitar & vocals
Haruka Fujii, percussion
Maeve Gilchrist, Celtic harp & vocals
Wu Man, pipa
Karen Ouzounian, cello
Mazz Swift, violin & vocals
“Uplifted Voices”
program TBA
$33-$55
(703) 993-2787
http://cfa.gmu.edu

Jan. 29 (2 p.m.)
Terrace Theater, Kennedy Center, Washington
Kennedy Center Chamber Players:
Heather LeDoux Green, violin
Daniel Foster, viola
David Hardy, cello
Lin Ma, clarinet
Lambert Orkis, piano
Bruch: “8 Pieces,” Op. 83, for clarinet, viola & piano (excerpts)
Sebastian Currier: “Ghost Trio” for violin, cello, and piano
Beethoven: Piano Trio in D major, Op. 70, No. 1 (“Ghost”)
$49
(800) 444-1324
http://kennedy-center.org

Jan. 29 (3 p.m.)
Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda, MD
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Eva Ollikainen conducting
Britten: “Four Sea Interludes from ‘Peter Grimes’ ”
Florence Beatrice Price: Piano Concerto in one movement
Michelle Cann, piano
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5 in D minor
$35-$90
(877) 276-1444
http://strathmore.org

Jan. 30 (7:30 p.m.)
Terrace Theater, Kennedy Center, Washington
Sō Percussion
Caroline Shaw, composer & vocalist
Angélica Negrón: “gone”
Negrón: “go back”
Julia Wolfe: “Forbidden Love”
Shaw: “Let the Soil Play Its Simple Part”
$50
(800) 444-1324
http://kennedy-center.org

Jan. 31 (8 p.m.)
Kennedy Center Concert Hall, Washington
Fortas Chamber Music Concerts:
Sphinx Symphony Orchestra
Tito Muñoz & Eugene Rogers conducting
EXIGENCE Vocal Ensemble
Aundi Marie Moore, soprano
members of The Washington Chorus
Carlos Simon: “Motherboxx Connection”
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor: Ballade for orchestra
Valerie Coleman: “Seven O’Clock Shout”
Michael Abels: “Delights and Dances”
Carolos Cordero & Julie Flanders: “Holding Our Breath”
trad.: “Fix Me, Jesus” (Augustus Hill arrangement)
Joel Thompson: “Seven Last Words of the Unarmed”
John Legend: “Selma” – “Glory” (Eugene Rogers arrangement)
$20-$50
(800) 444-1324
http://kennedy-center.org

Feb. 1 (7:30 p.m.)
Camp Concert Hall, Modlin Arts Center, University of Richmond
Richard Becker, piano
Becker: “Nine Inventions for the Muses”
works TBA by Ravel, Albéniz, Chopin
poetry readings from Becker’s “Fates,” “On Sunday Afternoons,” “Scylla”
free
(804) 289-8980
http://modlin.richmond.edu

Feb. 2 (7:30 p.m.)
First Baptist Church, Monument Avenue at Arthur Ashe Boulevard, Richmond
Richmond Symphony Chorus
Valentina Peleggi directing
Dan Forrest: “Good Night, Dear Heart: Requiem for the Living”
other works TBA
$25
(800) 514-3849 (ETIX)
http://richmondsymphony.com

Feb. 2 (7:30 p.m.)
Williamsburg Community Chapel, 3899 John Tyler Highway
Williamsburg Symphony Orchestra
Michael Butterman conducting
Michael Abels: “Global Warming”
Xavier Foley: “For Justice and Peace”
Giovanni Bottesini: “Gran Duo concertante”
Xavier Foley, double-bass
Eunice Kim, violin
Beethoven: Symphony No. 5 in C minor
$60
(757) 229-9857
http://williamsburgsymphony.org

Feb. 2 (7 p.m.)
Feb. 4 (8 p.m.)
Kennedy Center Concert Hall, Washington
National Symphony Orchestra
James Gaffigan conducting
Mozart: “Idomeneo” – ballet music
Robert Schumann: Piano Concerto in A minor
Beatrice Rana, piano
Dvořák: Symphony No. 7 in D minor
$15-$109
(800) 444-1324
http://kennedy-center.org

Feb. 2 (7:30 p.m.)
Terrace Theater, Kennedy Center, Washington
Opera Lafayette
Patrick Dupré-Quigley conducting
Gwendoline Blondeel & Hannah De Priest, sopranos
Sarah Mesko, mezzo-soprano
Patrick Kilbride, tenor
Jonathan Woody, bass-baritone
Pergolesi: “La Servante Maîtresse”
Nick Olcott, stage direction
Pergolesi: “Stabat Mater”
$90-$135
(800) 444-1324
http://kennedy-center.org

Feb. 2 (8 p.m.)
Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda, MD
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Kwamé Ryan conducting
John Luther Adams: “Become Ocean”
Dvořák: Cello Concerto in B minor
Pablo Ferrández, cello
$35-$90
(877) 276-1444
http://strathmore.org

Feb. 3 (7 p.m.)
Holy Comforter Episcopal Church, Monument Avenue at Staples Mill Road, Richmond
Chamber Music Society of Central Virginia:
Cramer String Quartet
James Wilson, cello
“La Vida Notturna”
Boccherini: Guitar Quintet in G major (“Fandango”)
Brian Nabors: “Soul Bop”
Juan Crisóstomo Arriaga: Quartet No. 3 in E flat major
Boccherini: String Quintet in C major (“La musica notturno della strade di Madrid”)
Boccherini: String Quintet in E major – Minuetto
$30
(804) 304-6312
http://cmscva.org

Feb. 3 (8 p.m.)
The Anthem, 901 Wharf St. SW, Washington
National Symphony Orchestra
James Gaffigan conducting
Mozart: “Idomeneo” – ballet music
Dvořák: Symphony No. 7 in D minor
$25-$40
(202) 888-0020
http://theanthemdc.com

Feb. 3 (7:30 p.m.)
Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda, MD
National Philharmonic
Piotr Gajewski conducting
Rachmaninoff: “Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini”
Claire Huangci, piano
Rachmaninoff: Symphony No. 2 in E minor
$19-$99
(877) 276-1444
http://strathmore.org

Feb. 4 (2 p.m.)
Gellman Room, Richmond Public Library, First and Franklin streets
Chamber Music Society of Central Virginia:
Cramer Quartet
works TBA by Haydn, contemporary composers
free
(804) 646-7223
http://rvalibrary.org/events/gellman-concerts/

Feb. 4 (8 p.m.)
Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center, Sixth and Grace streets, Richmond
Richmond Symphony Pops
Chia-Hsuan Lin conducting
“Classic Hollywood Love Songs”
songs TBA from “West Side Story,” “Ben Hur,” “Dr. Zhivago,” “Titantic,” other films
$15-$85
(800) 514-3849 (ETIX)
http://richmondsymphony.com

Feb. 4 (8 p.m.)
Feb. 5 (2 p.m.)
Center for the Arts, George Mason University, Fairfax
Virginia Opera
Adam Turner conducting
Gregory Spears & Greg Pierce: “Fellow Travelers”
Joseph Lattanzi (Hawkins Fuller)
Andres Acosta (Timothy Laughlin)
Katherine Pracht (Mary Johnson)
Katrina Thurman (Miss Lightfoot)
Joshua Jeremiah (Sen. Joseph McCarthy/Estonian Frank/Interrogator)
John Fulton (Sen. Charles Potter/General Arlie/Bartender)
Kaileigh Riess (Lucy)
Kyle White (Tommy McIntyre)
Jeremy Harr (Sen. Potter’s Assistant/Bookseller/Technician/French Priest/Party Guest)
Kevin Newbury, stage director
in English, English captions
$45-$115
(866) 673-7282
http://vaopera.org

Feb. 5 (5 p.m.)
Virginia Museum of History and Culture, Arthur Ashe Boulevard at Kensington Avenue, Richmond
Richmond Symphony String Ensemble
“History Notes: an Intimate Evening of History & Music”
program TBA
$48
(800) 514-3849 (ETIX)
http://richmondsymphony.com

Feb. 5 (3 p.m.)
Camp Concert Hall, Modlin Arts Center, University of Richmond
Anthony McGill, clarinet
Gloria Chien, piano
Telemann: Fantasias for solo clarinet
Jessie Montgomery: “Peace”
Brahms: Clarinet Sonata in F minor, Op. 120, No. 1
Deng Yu-Hsien: “Pining for the Spring Breeze” (Stephen Hough arrangement)
James Lee III: “Ad Anah?”
Weber: “Grand Duo Concertant”
$35
(804) 289-8980
http://modlin.richmond.edu

Feb. 5 (7 p.m.)
Kennedy Center Concert Hall, Washington
Washington Performing Arts Gospel Choirs
Michele Fowlin & Theodore Thorpe III directing
Choral Arts Society of Washington
Jace Kaholokula Saplan directing
“Living the Dream . . . Singing the Dream”
program TBA, in tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
$25-$75
(202) 785-9727 (Washington Performing Arts)
http://washingtonperformingarts.org

The San Francisco Chronicle’s Joshua Kosman addresses a question that’s coming up more frequently in classical music today: Are exceptionally gifted young musicians being put under too bright a spotlight too soon?

The currently most prominent face of this phenomenon is Klaus Mäkelä, the Finnish conductor who leads the Oslo Philharmonic and Orchestre de Paris, and this year was tapped to become chief conductor of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam. He will turn 27 next month.

Mäkelä’s steep and speedy ascent is not unique. He’s not even the youngest Finnish conductor making waves: The 22-year-old Tarmo Peltokoski, currently music director of the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra and principal guest conductor of the Rotterdam Philharmonic, is due to take charge of France’s Orchestre national du Capitole de Toulouse in 2024.

In addition to Mäkelä, Kosman cites the examples of María Dueñas, a Spanish violinist who made her debut with the San Francisco Symphony three years ago when she was 16 (Dueñas performs with the Richmond Symphony in February), and Alma Deutscher, a 17-year-old British composer and conductor who recently led an Opera San José production of “Cinderella,” a revision of a work that she composed at the age of 10.

An “almost lurid fascination” with very young performers “can prompt us to mistake facility for profundity or technique for insight,” Kosman writes. “[E]veryone involved – the artists and their audiences alike – is better served by patience and commitment. Let young musicians develop and thrive at their own pace and through their own process.”

Young musicians keep showing up on concert stages. It’s not clear they’re ready

Alex Ross, The New Yorker’s music critic, weighed in on Mäkelä after the conductor’s debut with the New York Philharmonic earlier this month, and the release of a cycle of Sibelius symphonies that he recorded in Oslo.

“Mäkelä looks the part of the dashing European maestro, particularly if you are seeking a Generation Z reboot of Herbert von Karajan,” Ross writes; but his philharmonic performance was uneven, and the Sibelius discs betray “his immaturity on nearly every page. . . . I suspect that in later years Mäkelä will be embarrassed by this premature debut.”

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/12/26/looking-past-the-celebrity-conductor

Reporting on and reviewing classical artists in a mid-sized US city, I’ve had plenty of exposure to prodigy soloists, newly minted chamber ensembles and conductors at the beginning of their careers. A lot them showed great promise; some made good on it. Decades later, I’m sure, many of them would wince at rehearing some of their performances in Richmond.

The smarter, or more wisely advised, knew better than to take on music whose interpretive and technical challenges they wouldn’t be equipped to meet without years of seasoning in rehearsals and performances.

Even young musicians with more advanced technique and deeper musicality than would be expected at their age haven’t had time to realize which composers or musical styles they’re best attuned to.

Young artists, Kosman observes, “have countless skills and strengths that oldsters often lack – energy, ambition, the knack for learning new things.

“But acquiring knowledge, let alone wisdom, is a process that requires logging a certain number of trips around the sun. And having that knowledge or wisdom is an essential part of being an artist.”

As regular readers will have noticed, Letter V frequently links to music on YouTube. I’ve been remiss in not singling it out for praise sooner. Now I can make up for that omission and pass along some news at the same time.

First, the news: The web service Epidemic Sound reports on its survey finding that YouTube users made some 200 million selections of classical music this year, a 90 percent year-over-year increase, “making it the fastest-growing genre.” Growth was seen not just in the classical heartlands of Europe, the Americas and East Asia, but also in Africa and the Middle East:

http://www.epidemicsound.com/blog/sound-of-the-internet-2022/

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

If I’m reading Epidemic Sounds’ post correctly, this is a survey of producers, not consumers – i.e., measuring not what people watch and hear on YouTube but the kinds of music that people who make content for it chose from the firm’s archive. Lots of videos have classical soundtracks; but would you consider hyperactive pets cavorting to “Flight of the Bumblebee” a video about classical music?

So let’s call this survey good news with an asterisk.

Now, the praise: I’m a hardcore YouTube user. I spend far more time watching it than I do television, far more time listening to it than I do radio or my stereo system. When I wind up in the old folks’ home, a laptop, good headphones and YouTube will satisfy my electronic requirements for music. (Assuming some cranky gazillionaire hasn’t bought it and ruined it.)

If you enjoy classical music, or want to get to know it, YouTube is the motherlode.

Its classical content, uploaded by record companies, performers, presenters and civilian music-lovers, covers the whole soundscape, from ancient to avant-garde, from every culture with an art-music canon, and from all eras of recorded sound, wax-cylinder to digital.

Orchestras, opera and ballet companies, chamber groups, music festivals, conservatories and other venues upload full-length performances, most of them at least television-grade, some in high-definition video and audio. You can find numerous documentaries on and interviews of composers and artists.

The main hurdle you’ll face is the way the digital realm organizes music. All pieces, from Gregorian chant to hip-hop, are called tracks or songs. A four-movement symphony or string quartet is not one selection but four, often identified as “songs” titled “allegro con brio,” “larghetto,” etc., with no composer’s name or the work’s actual title listed.

Highbrows trying to negotiate music-streaming services are all too familiar with this, and it’s an issue on YouTube as well.

Record companies’ uploads on the platform, like the downloads they sell, are divided into movements of symphonies, concertos and chamber works, and recitatives, arias and choruses in opera and oratorio. Scrolling at length to find the scherzo or the big aria is a common hassle. Bits of “Goldberg Variations” are scattered like confetti.

Mercifully, you can find works in albums – full recordings with their tracks in correct order – or on uploads of complete performances, quite a few of which are out-of-print or hard-to-find recordings and concert broadcasts, a nice bonus for collectors.

Algorithms, the computer codes that gauge interests and anticipate preferences, have proved to be troublesome, not to say toxic, in much of online and social media. I’ve suffered no toxic shocks with classical music on YouTube. Its algorithms usually are accurate in reading my intentions, and pretty good at “if you like X, try Y” curiosity-piquing.

Access to all this is free, but I recommend that serious listeners and those who use YouTube for other long-form content – films, television shows, audiobooks – pay for the premium service to avoid commercial interruptions.