Letter V

Classical performances in and around Richmond, with selected events elsewhere in Virginia and the Washington area. Program information, provided by presenters, is updated as details become available. Adult ticket prices are listed; senior, student/youth, military, group and other discounts may be offered. Prices do not include service fees.

Aug. 1 (7 p.m.)
Garth Newel Music Center, 403 Garth Newel Lane, Hot Springs
Garth Newel Emerging Artists
Mendelssohn: Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor, Op. 49
Jessie Montgomery: “Voodoo Dolls”
Hugo Wolf: “Italian Serenade”
Beethoven: Quartet in E flat major, Op. 74 (“Harp”)
free
(540) 839-5018
http://garthnewel.org

Aug. 1 (8 p.m.)
Filene Center, Wolf Trap, 1551 Trap Road, Vienna
National Symphony Orchestra
Emil de Cou conducting
Sutton Foster & Kelli O’Hara, guest stars
$39-$100
(703) 255-1900
http://wolftrap.org

Aug. 2 (5 p.m.)
Garth Newel Music Center, 403 Garth Newel Lane, Hot Springs
Garth Newel Piano Quartet
Pēteris Vasks: Piano Quartet
Brahms: Piano Quartet No. 3 in C minor, Op. 60
$30 (concert): $115 (concert & dinner)
(540) 839-5018
http://garthnewel.org

Aug. 2 (8 p.m.)
Filene Center, Wolf Trap, 1551 Trap Road, Vienna
National Symphony Orchestra
Emil de Cou conducting
“Back to the Future,” film with live orchestral accompaniment
$51-$95
(703) 255-1900
http://wolftrap.org

Aug. 3 (3 p.m.)
Garth Newel Music Center, 403 Garth Newel Lane, Hot Springs
Garth Newel Emerging Artists
Brahms: Piano Trio in B major, Op. 8
Schubert: Quartet in A minor, D. 804 (“Rosamunde”)
Prokofiev: Quartet No. 2 in F major, Op. 92
$30 (concert); $66 (concert & picnic)
(540) 839-5018
http://garthnewel.org

Aug. 6 (7 p.m.)
Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church, 1627 Monument Ave., Richmond
August Musicales:
Chenault Duo, organ
trad.: “Shenandoah”
patriotic songs TBA
hymn tunes TBA
free; donation requested
(804) 359-2463
http://grace-covenant.org

Aug. 8 (7:30 p.m.)
Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda, MD
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Nicolas Ellis conducting
Mozart: “Eine kleine Nachtmusik,” K. 525
Mozart: Violin Concerto No. 3 in G major, K. 216
Geneva Lewis, violin
Mozart: Symphony No. 38 in D major, K. 504 (“Prague”)
$48-$107
(877) 276-1444
http://strathmore.org

Aug. 12 (7:30 p.m.)
Paramount Theater, 215 E. Main St., Charlottesville
The Charlottesville Band
director TBA
Rebecca Ewing, Jessica Wiseman & Doug Schneider, vocalists
David McCormick, violin
“Summer at the Paramount”
program TBA
free
(434) 979-1333
http://theparamount.net

Aug. 13 (7 p.m.)
Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church, 1627 Monument Ave., Richmond
August Musicales:
Margaret Taylor Woods & Sarah Walston, sopranos
Charles Staples, piano
program TBA
free; donation requested
(804) 359-2463
http://grace-covenant.org

Aug. 14 – POSTPONED, RESCHEDULED TO SEPT. 18
Neptune’s Park, 3001 Atlantic Ave., Norfolk
Virginia Symphony Orchestra
Helen Martell conducting
Hunter Enoch, baritone & narrator
“Sounds of the Americas”
John Stafford Smith: “The Star-Spangled Banner”
John Williams: “Liberty Fanfare”
Stephen Foster: “Beautiful Dreamer”
Aaron Copland: “Old American Songs” –“I Bought Me a Cat”
Howard Shore: “Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring”
Zequinha De Abreu: “Tico Tico”
Antonio Carlos Jobim: “The Girl from Ipanema”
Michael Giacchino: “Coco” (selections)
Duke Ellington/Custer: “Duke Ellington! A Medley for Orchestra”
James Hosay: “To Heal a Nation”
Williams: “Midway March”
James Hosay: “Patriotic Sing-Along”
free
(757) 892-6366
http://virginiasymphony.org

Aug. 15 (7:30 p.m.)
Trinity Episcopal Church, 214 W. Beverley St., Staunton
Staunton Music Festival:
Festival Orchestra & Chorus
Carsten Schmidt conducting
Handel: “Messiah”
soloists TBA
Timothy Nelson, stage director
$22-$38
(540) 800-6012
http://stauntonmusicfestival.org

Aug. 15 (10 p.m.)
Silver Line Theatre, 211 N. Lewis St., Staunton
Staunton Music Festival:
artists TBA
“Nightcap I: Life is a Cabaret”
$25
(540) 800-6012
http://stauntonmusicfestival.org

Aug. 15 (8 p.m.)
Filene Center, Wolf Trap, 1551 Trap Road, Vienna
Wolf Trap Opera
José Luis Gómez conducting
Bizet: “Carmen”
Elissa Pfaender (Carmen)
Daniel O’Hearn (Don José)
Amanda Batista (Micaëla)
Laureano Quant (Escamillo)
Erin Wagner (Mercédès)
Moralès: Søren Pedersen (Moralès)
Sam Dhobhany (Zuniga)
Midori Marsh (Frasquita)
Charles H. Eaton (Dancaïre)
Travon D. Walker (Remendado)
John de los Santos, stage director
in French, English captions
$39-$107
(703) 255-1900
http://wolftrap.org

Aug. 16 (noon)
Trinity Episcopal Church, 214 W. Beverley St., Staunton
Staunton Music Festival:
artists TBA
“Heaven & Earth”
Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major
other works TBA
free; donation requested
(540) 800-6012
http://stauntonmusicfestival.org

Aug. 16 (3 p.m.)
Blackfriars Playhouse, 10 S. Market St., Staunton
Staunton Music Festival:
artists TBA
“Midday Baroque Escape”
works TBA by J.S. Bach, Vivaldi, Antonio Caldara
$25
(540) 800-6012
http://stauntonmusicfestival.org

Aug. 16 (7:30 p.m.)
Trinity Episcopal Church, 214 W. Beverley St., Staunton
Staunton Music Festival:
artists TBA
“I Could Have Danced All Night”
Johann Strauss II: “Vienna Blood” (Zachary Wadsworth arrangement)
Eric Guinivan: “Ritual Dances” for percussion
Chopin: “Polonaise Fantasie,” Op. 61
Jacob van Eyck: “Prins Robert masco” for recorder
Schoenberg: Suite, Op. 29 – “Tanzschritte”
Frederick Loewe: “I Could Have Danced All Night”
Milhaud: “Scaramouche” for 2 pianos
Wadsworth: “Walzer einer neuen Liebe”
Dvořák: Symphony No. 8 in G major – III: Allegretto grazioso
Brahms: “Hungarian Dance” No. 5
$22-$38
(540) 800-6012
http://stauntonmusicfestival.org

Aug. 16 (5 p.m.)
Garth Newel Music Center, 403 Garth Newel Lane, Hot Springs
Jeannette Fang, Brian Hsu, Genevieve Fei-Wen Lee & Jeremy Thompson, pianos
Milhaud: “Scaramouche” for 2 pianos
William Bolcom: “Garden of Eden: Four Rags for Two Pianos”
Gabriella Smith: “Máncora to Huaraz”
Mendelssohn: “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” Overture for 2 pianos 8-hands
$36 (concert), $121 (concert & dinner)
(540) 839-5018
http://garthnewel.org

Aug. 17 (3 p.m.)
St. Luke Lutheran Church, 7757 Chippenham Parkway, Richmond
Richmond Chamber Players:
Daisuke Yamamoto & Susy Yim, violins
Stephen Schmidt, viola
Neal Cary & Peter Greydanus, cellos
Eddie Sundra, clarinet
Lisa Niemeier & John Walter, pianos
Lisa Ruth Niemeier: “Breaking the Walls” for cello & piano (US premiere)
Adolphus Hailstork: “the Blue Rag” for clarinet & piano
Wynton Marsalis: String Quartet No. 1 (“At the Octoroon Balls”) (excerpts)
Beethoven: Clarinet Trio in B flat major, Op. 11
$28.52 via http://eventbrite.com
(804) 272-0486
http://richmondchamberplayers.org

Aug. 17 (10:30 a.m.)
Blackfriars Playhouse, 10 S. Market St., Staunton
Staunton Music Festival:
artists TBA
“Summer Sounds”
Monteverdi: madrigals, Book IV (selections)
Stefan Heucke: Quintet for harp, flute & string trio (premiere)
John Dowland: Pavane for solo lute
Beethoven: Wind Octet in E flat major, Op. 103
$16-$22
(540) 800-6012
http://stauntonmusicfestival.org

Aug. 17 (4 p.m.)
Trinity Episcopal Church, 214 W. Beverley St., Staunton
Staunton Music Festival:
artists TBA
“Esprit de France”
Offenbach: “Orpheus in the Underworld” – Can-can
Gérard Grisey: “Stèle” for 2 bass drums
Guillaume DuFay: Motet, “Ave maris stella”
Vincent D’Indy: Suite, Op. 91, for flute, harp & strings
Pierre Boulez: “Improvisation sur Mallarmé” No. 1 for voice, percussion & harp
Poulenc: Concerto for 2 pianos and orchestra
$22-$38
(540) 800-6012
http://stauntonmusicfestival.org

Aug. 17 (3 p.m.)
Garth Newel Music Center, 403 Garth Newel Lane, Hot Springs
Jeannette Fang, Brian Hsu, Genevieve Fei-Wen Lee & Jeremy Thompson, pianos
Ravel: “Rapsodie espagnole” for 2 pianos
Liszt: “Rhapsodie espagnole” (Feruccio Busoni arrangement)
Florent Schmitt: “Trois Rapsodies,” Op. 53 – Polonaise, Viennoise
Liszt: “Hungarian Rhapsody” No. 2 for 2 pianos 8-hands (Richard Kleinmichel arrangement)
$36 (concert), $72 (concert & picnic)
(540) 839-5018
http://garthnewel.org

Aug. 18 (noon)
First Presbyterian Church, 100 E. Frederick St., Staunton
Staunton Music Festival:
artists TBA
“Great Britten”
Britten: “Three Metamorphoses after Ovid” for solo oboe
Britten: “Four Folksongs” (voice & guitar arrangement)
Britten: Quartet No. 3 in G major
free; donation requested
(540) 800-6012
http://stauntonmusicfestival.org

Aug. 18 (3 p.m.)
Central United Methodist Church, 14 N. Lewis St., Staunton
Staunton Music Festival:
artists TBA
“Virginia Soundscapes 1”
works TBA & discussion by Eric Guinivan, Jason Haney, Leah Reid, Judith Shatin
free; donation requested
(540) 800-6012
http://stauntonmusicfestival.org

Aug. 18 (7 p.m.)
Silver Line Theatre, 211 N. Lewis St., Staunton
Staunton Music Festival:
artists TBA
“A Night at the Movies”
films with live accompaniment:
Buster Keaton’s “Sherlock Jr.”
Joris Ivens’ “14 Ways to Describe Rain”
$22-$30
(540) 800-6012
http://stauntonmusicfestival.org

Aug. 19 (noon)
First Presbyterian Church, 100 E. Frederick St., Staunton
Staunton Music Festival:
artists TBA
“Schola Cantorum”
Thomas Tallis: Motet, “O sacrum convivum”
Judith Shatin: “Kassia” for clarinet, harp & string quintet
Mozart: “Ave verum corpus,” K. 618
Adolphus Hailstork: “The Lamb”
Allan Blank: “I am Rose”
J.S. Bach: Cantata, “Lobe den Herrn,” BWV 143
free; donation requested
(540) 800-6012
http://stauntonmusicfestival.org

Aug. 19 (7:30 p.m.)
Trinity Episcopal Church, 214 W. Beverley St., Staunton
Staunton Music Festival:
Festival Orchestra
Carsten Schmidt conducting & fortepiano
other artists TBA
“Early Keyboard Extravaganza”
Handel: Organ Concerto in G minor, Op. 3, No. 4
Mozart: Piano Quartet in E flat major, K. 493
Jason Haney: “Mareas” for cello & harpsichord
Schumann: 3 Lieder, Op. 107
Schumann: “Introduction and Allegro appassionato” for fortepiano & orchestra
other works TBA
$22-$38
(540) 800-6012
http://stauntonmusicfestival.org

Aug. 19 (10 p.m.)
Silver Line Theatre, 211 N. Lewis St., Staunton
Staunton Music Festival:
artists TBA
“Nightcap 2: Improv Night”
Zachary Wadsworth: “The Doctor”
other works & improvisations TBA
$25
(540) 800-6012
http://stauntonmusicfestival.org

Aug. 20 (7 p.m.)
Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church, 1627 Monument Ave., Richmond
August Musicales:
Three Notch’d Road: the Charlottesville Baroque Ensemble:
Fiona Hughes, violin & soprano
David Pelino, tenor
Billy Sims, lute
Todd Fickley, organ
program TBA
free; donation requested
(804) 359-2463
http://grace-covenant.org

Aug. 20 (noon)
First Presbyterian Church, 100 E. Frederick St., Staunton
Staunton Music Festival:
artists TBA
“Bohemian Rhapsody”
Jan Dismas Zelenka: Concerto in G major for 2 oboes, bassoon, strings & continuo
Erwin Schulhoff: Concertino for flute, viola & double-bass
Dvořák: “Zigeunerlieder”
free; donation requested
(540) 800-6012
http://stauntonmusicfestival.org

Aug. 20 (3 p.m.)
Central United Methodist Church, 14 N. Lewis St., Staunton
Staunton Music Festival:
artists TBA
“Virginia Soundscapes 2”
works TBA & discussion by Matthew Burtner, Casey Cangelosi, Nicole Mitchell
free; donation requested
(540) 800-6012
http://stauntonmusicfestival.org

Aug. 20 (7:30 p.m.)
Trinity Episcopal Church, 214 W. Beverley St., Staunton
Staunton Music Festival:
Festival Orchestra
Carsten Schmidt conducting
other artists TBA
“All Creatures Great & Small”
Gershwin: preludes for piano
György Kurtág: “Four Kafka Fragments” for voice & violin
Debussy: 2 préludes (solo harp arrangement)
Heinrich Biber: Sonata for 2 trumpets
Rameau: “l’entrefriens des muses” for harpsichord
Schubert: Symphony No. 9 in C major (“Great”)
$22-$38
(540) 800-6012
http://stauntonmusicfestival.org

Aug. 21 (noon)
First Presbyterian Church, 100 E. Frederick St., Staunton
Staunton Music Festival:
artists TBA
“Musica Notturna”
Heinrich Biber: Serenade for strings (“Nightwatchman”)
Sebastian Currier: “Dusk and Starlight” for violin & harp
John Wilbye: “Draw on, Sweet Night” for voices
Schoenberg: “Verklärte Nacht” (“Transfigured Night”) for string sextet
free; donation requested
(540) 800-6012
http://stauntonmusicfestival.org

Aug. 21 (3 p.m.)
The American Hotel, 125 S. Augusta St., Staunton
Staunton Music Festival:
artists TBA
“Musica Intima”
works by Haydn, others
$22
(540) 800-6012
http://stauntonmusicfestival.org

Aug. 21 (7:30 p.m.)
Trinity Episcopal Church, 214 W. Beverley St., Staunton
Staunton Music Festival:
Festival Orchestra & Chorus
Carsten Schmidt conducting
other artists TBA
“Who’s Afraid of New Music?”
St. Kassia: Hymn, “Isaiah, the Prophet”
Scriabin: Piano Sonata No. 7 (“White Mass”)
Giulio Caccini: “Queste lagrim’amare”
Leah Reid: “Apple” for 4 sopranos
Giovanni Gabrieli: “Symphoniae sacrae,” Book 2 – “Hodie completi sunt”
Stefan Heucke: “The Glory of Life” (premiere)
Vivaldi: Flute Concerto in G minor, Op. 10, No. 2
Matthew Burtner: “Auroras” for orchestra & electronics
Beethoven: “Egmont” Overture
$22-$38
(540) 800-6012
http://stauntonmusicfestival.org

Aug. 22 (5 p.m.)
River Road Church, Baptist, River & Ridge roads, Richmond
Choirs of Boys and Girls of Washington National Cathedral
Julie DeBoer directing
program TBA
free; tickets required via http://eventbrite.com
(804) 288-1131
http://rrcb.org/e-carl-freeman-concert-series/

Aug. 22 (noon)
First Presbyterian Church, 100 E. Frederick St., Staunton
Staunton Music Festival:
artists TBA
“Autumn Leaves”
Brahms: 2 songs for voice, viola & piano
Elgar: Piano Quintet in A minor, Op. 84
free; donation requested
(540) 800-6012
http://stauntonmusicfestival.org

Aug. 22 (7:30 p.m.)
Trinity Episcopal Church, 214 W. Beverley St., Staunton
Staunton Music Festival:
Festival Orchestra & Chorus
Carsten Schmidt conducting
other artists TBA
Vivaldi: Gloria
Handel: “Semele” – arias TBA
works TBA by Heinrich Biber, Lorenzo di Medici, Luzzasco Luzzaschi, Giaches DeWert
$22-$38
(540) 800-6012
http://stauntonmusicfestival.org

Aug. 22 (10 p.m.)
Music Room @BluPoint, 123 W. Beverley St., Staunton
Staunton Music Festival:
artists TBA
“Nightcap 3: Baroque Jam”
Heinrich Biber: Passacaglia for flute (Nina Stern arrangement)
other works TBA
$22-$30
(540) 800-6012
http://stauntonmusicfestival.org

Aug. 22 (6 p.m.)
Garth Newel Music Center, 403 Garth Newel Lane, Hot Springs
Daniel Hope, violin
Garth Newel Piano Quartet
Mahler: Piano Quartet in A minor
Robert Sansuini: Piano Quartet
Erwin Schulhoff: Duo for violin & cello
Franck: Piano Quintet in A major
$36 (concert), $121 (concert & dinner)
(540) 839-5018
http://garthnewel.org

Aug. 23 (noon)
First Presbyterian Church, 100 E. Frederick St., Staunton
Staunton Music Festival:
artists TBA
“Serenades at Noon”
Eugène Ysaÿe: Sonata No. 3 in D minor (“Ballade”) for solo violin
Astór Piazzolla: ”Histoires du Tango” – “Café 1930” for flute & guitar
Stefan Heucke: Sextet for winds & piano (premiere)
free; donation requested
(540) 800-6012
http://stauntonmusicfestival.org

Aug. 23 (3 p.m.)
Central United Methodist Church, 14 N. Lewis St., Staunton
Staunton Music Festival:
artists TBA
“Baroque Lovers’ Afternoon”
Telemann: Concerto in A minor for recorder, viola, strings & continuo
Michel Lambert: “Four Airs” for voice & continuo
Telemann: Overture-Suite in D major for trumpet, violin, strings & continuo
free; donation requested
(540) 800-6012
http://stauntonmusicfestival.org

Aug. 23 (7:30 p.m.)
Trinity Episcopal Church, 214 W. Beverley St., Staunton
Staunton Music Festival:
Festival Orchestra & Chorus
Carsten Schmidt conducting
other artists TBA
“Rule, Britannia!”
Vaughan Williams: “Fantasia on ‘Greensleeves’ ” for flute, harp & strings
Gilbert & Sullivan: “The Mikado” – “Three Little Maids”
Beethoven: “Variations on ‘Rule, Britannia!” for piano
John Dunstable: “O quam pulchra est”
The Beatles: Suite for voice & chamber ensemble (Luciano Berio arrangement)
Handel: “Coronation Anthems” – I: “Zadok the Priest”
Peter Maxwell Davies: “Eight Songs for a Mad King”
$22-$38
(540) 800-6012
http://stauntonmusicfestival.org

Aug. 23 (5 p.m.)
Garth Newel Music Center, 403 Garth Newel Lane, Hot Springs
Daniel Hope, violin
Garth Newel Piano Quartet
Dvořák: Sonatina in G major, Op. 100, for violin & piano
Dvořák: Piano Quintet in A major, Op. 81
$36 (concert), $121 (concert & dinner)
(540) 839-5018
http://garthnewel.org

Aug. 24 (10:30 a.m.)
Blackfriars Playhouse, 10 S. Market St., Staunton
Staunton Music Festival:
artists TBA
“Let the Sun Be Our Guide”
Haydn: Quartet in B flat major, Op. 76, No. 4 (“Sunrise”)
Nicole Mitchell: “Decolonizing Beauty” (excerpts) for flute & percussion
free; donation requested
(540) 800-6012
http://stauntonmusicfestival.org

Aug. 24 (1 p.m.)
BluPoint Seafood, 123 W. Beverley St., Staunton
Staunton Music Festival:
Moses Memorial Lunch & Lecture:
Tom Carter, lecture on Mozart’s “Die Zauberflöte” (“The Magic Flute”)
$45
(540) 800-6012
http://stauntonmusicfestival.org

Aug. 24 (4 p.m.)
Trinity Episcopal Church, 214 W. Beverley St., Staunton
Staunton Music Festival:
Festival Orchestra & Chorus
Carsten Schmidt conducting
Mozart: “Die Zauberflöte” (“The Magic Flute”), concert presentation
cast TBA
in German, English captions
$22-$38
(540) 800-6012
http://stauntonmusicfestival.org

Aug. 28 (7:30 p.m.)
Neptune’s Park, 3001 Atlantic Ave., Virginia Beach
Aug. 29 (7:30 p.m.)
Portsmouth City Park, 7 Cpl. J.M. Williams Ave.
Aug. 30 (7:30 p.m.)
Riverwalk Landing, 331 Water St., Yorktown
Aug. 31 (7:30 p.m.)
Chesapeake City Park, 900 City Park Drive
Sept. 5 (7:30 p.m.)
Lake Matoaca Amphitheater, 121 Ukrop Way, Williamsburg
Virginia Symphony Orchestra
Cho-Liang Lin conducting
“Stars & Stripes & Symphonies”
John Stafford Smith: “The Star-Spangled Banner”
Bernstein: “Candide” Overture
Sibelius: “Finlandia”
Beethoven: Symphony No. 5 in C minor – I: Allegro con brio
Leroy Anderson: “Irish Suite” – “The Last Rose of Summer”
Dvořák: Symphony No. 9 in E minor (“From the New World”) – IV: Finale: Allegro con fuoco
William Grant Still: “Fanfare for the 99th Fighter Squadron”
Joe Garland: “In The Mood”
Richard Rodgers: “Victory at Sea”
John Williams: “Saving Private Ryan” – “Hymn to the Fallen”
Bob Lowden: “Armed Forces Salute”
Samuel Ward: “America the Beautiful”
free
(757) 892-6366
http://virginiasymphony.org

Aug. 29 (7 p.m.)
St. Benedict Catholic Church, 300 N. Sheppard St., Richmond
Richmond Chamber Players:
Emily Monroe, Adrian Pintea & Audrey Pride, violins
Hyo Joo Uh, viola
Ryan Lannan, cello
Kara Poling, oboe
Karlee Lanum, harp
Ernest Moeran: “Fantasy Quartet” for oboe & strings
Saint-Saëns: Fantaisie for violin & harp
Wynton Marsalis: String Quartet No. 1 (“At the Octoroon Balls”)
$28.52, via http://eventbrite.com
(804) 254-8810
http://richmondchamberplayers.org

Aug. 30 (5 p.m.)
Garth Newel Music Center, 403 Garth Newel Lane, Hot Springs
Jasper Quartet
Joel Fuller, piano
Shostakovich: Piano Quintet in G minor, Op. 57
Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate: “Pisachi (Reveal)”
$36 (concert), $121 (concert & dinner)
(540) 839-5018
http://garthnewel.org

Aug. 31 (3 p.m.)
Garth Newel Music Center, 403 Garth Newel Lane, Hot Springs
Jasper Quartet
Joel Fuller, piano
Garth Newel Piano Quartet
Grażyna Bacewicz: Piano Quintet No. 1
Mendelssohn: Octet in E flat major, Op. 30
$36 (concert), $72 (concert & picnic)
(540) 839-5018
http://garthnewel.org

Sept. 5 (8 p.m.)
Filene Center, Wolf Trap, 1551 Trap Road, Vienna
National Symphony Orchestra
Steven Reineke conducting
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2,” film with live orchestral accompaniment
$49-$89
(703) 255-1900
http://wolftrap.org

Tom Lehrer, the Ivy League mathematician whose acerbic satirical songs delighted fans and outraged civic and religious establishments, has died at 97.

Lehrer was a math prodigy who enrolled at Harvard University at 15, subsequently taught there and at Wellesley College, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of California at Santa Cruz, and worked for the Atomic Energy Commission and National Security Agency in the early 1950s.

A pianist since his childhood in New York, Lehrer doted on Broadway show tunes, Gilbert & Sullivan operettas and Tin Pan Alley-vintage songs. They were echoed in the peppy and faux-sentimental tunes to which he set his pointed lyrics.

In his student years, he began writing comic songs – “Fight Fiercely, Harvard” was a campus favorite – and recorded them to make side money. Subsequent stints in the US Army and nuclear and security agencies inspired darker takes on Cold War themes, such as “So Long Mom (a Song for World War III),” “We Will All Go Together When We Go” and “Wernher von Braun,” a takedown of the Nazi rocket scientist who became a leading figure in the US aerospace program.

Lehrer also cast a jaundiced eye on society at large, targeting mainstays of mid-century, middle-class America, including the Boy Scouts (in “Be Prepared”) and, most notoriously, the Catholic Church (in “The Vatican Rag”). A more whimsical side came through in such numbers as a patter song running through the periodic table of chemical elements (set to the tune of “I am a modern major general” from “The Pirates of Penzance”) and “Silent E” (“Who can turn a cub into a cube?”), written for the children’s television show “The Electric Company.”

Outfitted professorially, with thick-framed glasses, suit and tie, singing like an old-school vaudevillian while cheerfully tickling the ivories, Lehrer performed intermittently in concert and nightclub dates in the ’50s and ’60s, leaving the stage for good after a 1967 Scandinavian tour.

His output was not large – “37 songs in 20 years,” by his count, recorded on three studio albums with some reprised on a live recording; but their appeal was lasting. His albums sold hundreds of thousands of copies in the US, Britain and elsewhere, largely without radio airplay because of their provocative lyrics.

“Lacking exposure in the media, my songs spread slowly,” Lehrer remarked. “Like herpes, rather than ebola.”

That spread continued long after his retirement from performing and recording, thanks to the Dr. Demento radio show, Cameron Mackintosh’s British stage revue “Tomfoolery,” and a nerdy-young-professional grapevine that had fueled his popularity from the start.

In 2020, he put his lyrics and original tunes into the public domain.

Lehrer continued his teaching career, dividing his time between Massachusetts and California, adding sessions on musical theater to his math classes at Santa Cruz.

An obituary by Richard Severo and Peter Keepnews for The New York Times:

One of Lehrer’s last shows, a televised concert from 1967:

POSTSCRIPT: Lehrer was among the last masters of the American comic popular song, a genre that really needs to be revived, not necessarily for satire. Funny tunes have gotten people through wars, depressions and other turmoil for generations. Our time sure could use that kind of comic relief.

In current popular music, wittiness pops through in comic rap (very niche), from some country singers (notably, Brad Paisley) and some musicals (think “Hamilton” and “The Book of Mormon”), and most prominently in drag cabaret (mostly reviving vintage songs). But when was the last time a comic or novelty tune made the top 40?

You’d think that today’s pop stars, with their gym-toned abs and glutes, A-list mingling and mating prospects and no-expenses-spared lifestyles, could turn off their usual modes of expression (ticked-off, ironic, distantly lovelorn) and give us the occasional laugh.

Does AI have a sense of humor?

Celebrating the centenary of electrical recording – in which microphones amplify sound, producing a more realistic representation of music – we go back-to-shellac: Memorable recordings from the golden age of the 78-rpm record. At this speed, many of the legendary figures of 20th-century classical music documented their artistry and set standards of performance that today’s musicians strive to meet.

Note: Reissues of 78-era recordings come and go. Some discs played on this program are out of print, but the performances still circulate in physical and digital incarnations, whose sound quality ranges from judiciously enhanced to faithfully dim and scratchy. The discs I’ve chosen minimize noise and distortion. Dates of performances are listed.

7-10 p.m. EDT
2300-0200 UTC
WDCE, University of Richmond
90.1 FM
http://wdce.net

Richard Strauss: “Don Juan”
Concertgebouw Orchestra/Willem Mengelberg
(1938)
(Dutton Laboratories)

Rachmaninoff: “Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini”
Sergei Rachmaninoff, piano
Philadelphia Orchestra/Leopold Stokowski
(1934)
(RCA)

Gershwin: “An American in Paris”
George Gershwin, celesta
Victor Symphony Orchestra/Nathaniel Shilkret
(1929)
(RCA)

Sibelius: Violin Concerto in D minor
Jascha Heifetz, violin
London Philharmonic/Thomas Beecham
(1935)
(Warner Classics)

Ernest Bloch: “Schelomo: Rhapsodie Hébraïque”
Emanuel Feuermann, cello
Philadelphia Orchestra/Leopold Stokowski
(1940)
(Biddulph)

Liszt: “Harmonies poétiques et religieuses” – “Funérailles”
Vladimir Horowitz, piano
(1932)
(Warner Classics)

Wagner: “Tristan und Isolde” – Prelude & “Liebestod”
Berlin Philharmonic/Wilhelm Furtwängler
(1938)
(Biddulph)

Beethoven: Symphony No. 7 in A major
New York Philharmonic/Arturo Toscanini
(1936)
(Pristine Audio)

Chopin: Nocturne in D flat major, Op. 27, No. 2
Dinu Lipatti, piano
(1947)
(Warner Classics)

Cleo Laine, the British jazz vocalist also famed for performances in music theater and modern classical repertory, has died at 97.

Laine launched her career singing with a group led by clarinetist and saxophonist John Dankworth, whom she married in 1958. The couple continued performing together until shortly before Dankworth’s death in 2010.

Known for her four-octave vocal range, Laine sang jazz, cabaret and popular standards, as well as Dankworth’s settings of texts by William Shakespeare and other British literary figures, and 20th-century classics such as Arnold Schoenberg’s “Pierrot Lunaire,” William Walton’s “Façade,” Kurt Weill’s “The Seven Deadly Sins” and Leonard Bernstein’s “On the Town.” She performed in stage productions ranging from Franz Léhar’s “The Merry Widow” to Stephen Sondheim’s “A Little Night Music.”

In 1976, she made a celebrated recording of songs from The Gershwins’ “Porgy and Bess” with Ray Charles. She also recorded with Mel Tormé, Dudley Moore, James Galway and John Williams.

She was the only female artist to be nominated for jazz, pop and classical Grammy Awards, winning a Grammy for jazz vocal performance in 1986.

Laine was tapped as an Officer of the British Empire (OBE) in 1979 and Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1997.

She continued to perform into her late 80s. Her son, Alec, is a jazz bassist, and her daughter, Jacqui, is a jazz vocalist.

An obituary by Ben Beaumont-Thomas for The Guardian:

http://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/jul/25/cleo-laine-britain-jazz-singer-john-dankworth-dies

Pernambuco, the Brazilian wood used for bows of stringed instruments, has been classed since 2007 as endangered by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Trade in in the wood is permitted but tightly regulated.

Now CITES is considering upgrading protection of Pernambuco to its highest level, which would prohibit trade except under even stricter terms.

This would make it nearly impossible to make new bows from the wood, and existing bows “unsellable and untradeable,” says Eva-Maria Tomasi, a violinist in the Berlin Philharmonic and member if its orchestra board.

“Pernambuco had precisely the properties needed for an ideal bow – density, robustness, resilience and, simultaneously, elasticity and flexibility. Only this wood offers that unique combination,” Tomasi explains in an interview posted on the orchestra’s website. “Almost all high-quality bows have been crafted from Pernambuco for the past 250 years. Although carbon bows are being developed today, they aren’t comparable in quality.”

The violinist fears that “musicians who already own bows would be severely affected – particularly when traveling. Each musician would require their own CITES document for their bow, presented and stamped at each border crossing.”

The International Pernambuco Conservation Initiative, founded in 1999, has supported reforestation, crackdowns on illegal trade, and “continued use of existing bows and the crafting of new bows from sustainably-grown Pernambuco,” Tomasi says. “Whether this will remain possible is currently under discussion – clearly an enormously important question for musicians and orchestras.”

The full interview:

http://www.berliner-philharmoniker.de/en/stories/interview-about-pernambuco-with-eva-maria-tomasi/

(via http://slippedisc.com)

The Tabernacle Choir of Salt Lake City, perhaps the largest and certainly the best-known American choir, is celebrating the 5,000th broadcast of its radio program “Music and the Spoken Word.”

Ruth Graham, writing for The New York Times, notes that the 30-minute show’s format “not only has endured since 1929, but almost as remarkably, has barely changed. There’s the announcer’s gentle welcome, a three-minute inspirational message and a handful of hymns performed by the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square, formerly and still better known as the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.”

No Richmond station currently broadcasts the program, which is aired on Sundays at 11:30 a.m. Eastern time. It can be accessed at http://www.thetabernaclechoir.org/music-and-the-spoken-word-weekly-broadcast and via various music-streaming services. The choir’s website also archives past episodes.

In an article for The Guardian, Nicholas McCarthy, a pianist who was born without a right hand, explores music for piano left-hand, “often seen as a mysterious niche” of the classical repertory.

Some of the best-known works in this genre were written for the Viennese pianist Paul Wittgenstein, brother of the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein. After losing his right arm in World War I, the pianist commissioned some of the leading composers of his time to write concertos and other works for the left hand, most famously Maurice Ravel, but also Sergei Prokofiev, Richard Strauss, Paul Hindemith, Benjamin Britten, Erich Wolfgang Korngold and Bohuslav Martinů.

Left-hand piano music, however, has a longer history, McCarthy notes. Franz Liszt and other virtuosos of the 19th century offered “dazzling feats of pyrotechnics using only their left hand. Using the so-called ‘weaker’ hand to deliver a bravura display was irresistible to concertgoers, and the spectacle would leave them in awe.”

More seriously, Johannes Brahms produced a piano left-hand arrangement of the Chaconne that concludes Johann Sebastian Bach’s Partita No. 2 in D minor, BWV 1016, for solo violin. Brahms’ arrangement predates Feruccio Busoni’s better-known two-hand transcription by two decades.

“Though the left hand tends to be weaker, its physiology gives it an advantage,” writes McCarthy, who played the Ravel concerto in a BBC Proms concert on July 20. “In standard two-handed piano repertoire the melody line is mostly projected in the right hand by the little finger, the weakest of the fingers. But in left-hand repertoire the melody line is projected by the thumb, the strongest digit, giving it greater clarity.”

http://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/jul/16/left-turns-how-a-terrible-war-injury-led-to-the-birth-of-one-handed-piano-music

“Ten percent: That’s how much more money people spend at restaurants when classical music is being played in the background.” – Ed Elson, on the Prof G podcast, July 15

Classing up the proceedings with music has a long history. For centuries, aristocrats and rich people have employed musicians to serenade them at dinners and social occasions. The most epic example of dining accompaniment is Georg Philipp Telemann’s “Tafelmusik” (“Music for the Table”) of 1733, three sets of orchestral and chamber pieces, collectively clocking in at 4 hours or so.

In the 19th century, spas and grand hotels employed classical musicians to give their spaces finishing touches of class. Upscale restaurants and department stores soon followed – over time, though, they traded in Chopin for show tunes and nostalgic “our songs.”

More recently, specialty and luxury retailers pipe in classical music as a status signal, conditioning patrons to pay high prices. A harpist or string quartet playing in the corner at a wedding reception exudes classiness.

Meanwhile, some businesses and public spaces play classical music to drive away the rowdy and unwashed – weaponizing classiness.

My most frequent exposure to classics in the background is at urgent-care clinics, where the music presumably is played to calm patients in the treatment area. For me, it’s a diverting game of name-that-composer. My batting average is pretty good – post-baroque, anyway.

In the waiting room, we get home-renovation TV. Watching people tear down walls is therapeutic? Who knew?

7-10 p.m. EDT
2300-0200 UTC
WDCE, University of Richmond
90.1 FM
http://wdce.org

Schubert: Quartettsatz in C minor, D. 703
Artemis Quartett
(Erato)

Jan Václav Voříšek: Sonata in B flat minor, Op. 20
Nikolai Demidenko, piano
(AGPL)

Brahms: Horn Trio in E flat major, Op. 40
William Purvis, horn
Daniel Phillips, violin
Richard Goode, piano
(Bridge)

Mozart: Serenade in D major, K. 239 (“Serenata notturna”)
English Chamber Orchestra/Benjamin Britten
(Decca)

Ravel: Piano Concerto in G major
Martha Argerich, piano
Berlin Philharmonic/Claudio Abbado
(Deutsche Grammophon)

Kodály: “Summer Evening”
Orpheus Chamber Orchestra
(Deutsche Grammophon)

Barber: “Knoxville, Summer of 1915”
Dawn Upshaw, soprano
Orchestra of St. Luke’s/David Zinman
(Nonesuch)

Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 5 in D major
London Symphony Orchestra/André Previn
(RCA)

For the Fourth of July weekend, musical Americana – which, being American, goes off in all directions.

7-10 p.m. EDT
2300-0200 UTC
WDCE, University of Richmond
90.1 FM
http://wdce.org

Alexander Reinagle: “Occasional Overture” in D major
(Bertil Van Boer reconstruction)
Sinfonia Finlandia Jyväskylä/Patrick Gallois
(Naxos)

Amy Beach: Symphony in E minor (“Gaelic”)
Detroit Symphony Orchestra/Neeme Järvi
(Chandos)

Ives: “New England Holidays Symphony” – III: “The Fourth of July”
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra/David Zinman
(Decca)

Bernstein: “Symphonic Dances from ‘West Side Story’ ”
New York Philharmonic/Leonard Bernstein
(Sony Classical)

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

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

Michael Torke: Violin Concerto (“Sky”)
Tessa Lark, violin
Albany Symphony/David Alan Miller
(Albany)

Copland: “Appalachian Spring”
(original version for 13 instruments)
Harmonie Ensemble/Steven Richman
(Bridge)

Jessie Montgomery: “Banner”
Catalyst Quartet
chamber orchestra/Julian Wachner
(Azica)