Letter V

Mason Bates’ “The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs,” introduced at the Santa Fe Opera, has won a Grammy Award as Best Opera Recording. The opera by the Richmond-bred composer, the most popular contemporary opera with audiences in Santa Fe’s history, was recorded during its summer 2017 run and released last year on the Pentatone label.

D.J. Sparr, the Maryland-born composer-guitarist who was composer-in-residence with the Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra from 2009 to 2011, is one of the artists featured on a Naxos disc, conducted by JoAnn Falletta, music director of the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, of works by Kenneth Fuchs that won a Grammy for Best Classical Compendium.

This year’s Grammy Awards for classical performances:

* Best Orchestral Performance: Shostakovich: symphonies Nos. 4 and 11 (“The Year 1905”), Boston Symphony Orchestra, Andris Nelsons conducting (Deutsche Grammophon). (The set also won in the Best Engineered Album, Classical category.)

* Best Opera Performance: Mason Bates: “The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs” – Santa Fe Opera, Michael Christie conducting (Pentatone).

* Best Choral Performance: Lansing McLoskey: “Zealot Canticles” – The Crossing, Donald McNally directing (Innova).

* Best Chamber/Small Ensemble Performance: Laurie Anderson: “Landfall” – Laurie Anderson, vocals; Kronos Quartet (Nonesuch).

* Best Classical Instrumental Solo & Best Contemporary Classical Competition: Aaron Jay Kernis: Violin Concerto – James Ehnes, violin; Seattle Symphony, Ludovic Morlot conducting (Onyx).

* Best Classical Solo Vocal Album: “Songs of Orpheus: Monteverdi, Caccini, D’India & Landi” – Karim Sulayman, tenor; Apollo’s Fire, Jeannette Sorrell conducting (Avie).

* Best Classical Compendium: Kenneth Fuchs: Piano Concerto (“Spiritualist”), “Poems of Life,” Electric Guitar Concerto (“Glacier”), “Rush” – Jeffrey Biegel, piano; Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen, countertenor; Tim Hugh, cello; Timothy McAllister, alto saxophone; D.J. Sparr, electric guitar; Christine Pendrill, English horn; London Symphony Orchestra, JoAnn Falletta conducting (Naxos).

George Manahan conducting
with Daisuke Yamamoto, violin
Feb. 9, Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center

Early in his career, New York musicians nicknamed conductor George Manahan “Mr. Rhythm” for his ability to beat markedly different time signatures with each arm – a very useful skill in certain classic repertory, such as Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring,” as well as a lot of contemporary and avant-garde music, a specialty of Manahan’s then and since.

In his return to conduct the Richmond Symphony, which he led as music director from 1987 to 1999, Manahan did not have to negotiate too many cross-rhythmic extremities; but his keen rhythmic sense proved quite handy in music ranging from the syncopated rondo of Antonin Dvořák’s Violin Concerto in A minor to the fight scenes in Aaron Copland’s “Billy the Kid” Suite and Leonard Bernstein’s “On the Waterfront” Symphonic Suite.

Just as helpful was Manahan’s gift for balancing solo voices and instrumental choirs in complex orchestrations – no doubt honed in his other conducting specialty, opera. The Copland and Bernstein scores are peppered with such balancing acts among strings, winds, brass and percussion.

Another of this program’s selections, Aaron Jay Kernis’ “Musica Celestis” – originally the slow movement of his String Quartet No. 1, heard here in his subsequent string orchestration – poses a different challenge in balancing fine threads and subtle colors of string tone.

To the surprise of no one who remembers his Richmond years, Manahan met most of those challenges with a seeming minimum of fuss, and his mastery spilled over to the musicians under his direction. Some of the most fervent applause at the end of the concert came from within the orchestra.

He deserved an ovation even before the concert began, for a singularly lucid and engaging pre-concert lecture and demonstration of the music to come. Back in the day, Manahan was celebrated for his deceptively easygoing explications, flipping through the conductor’s score as he spun piano reductions out of full orchestrations. He proved even better at this than I remember him being; I doubt that anyone since Bernstein could match him.

This Masterworks series program, devised last year for a guest-conducting date by Ankush Kumar Bahl, who withdrew when he was named one of the six finalists to become the symphony’s next music director, might have been crafted to play to Manahan’s strengths: All American scores except for the Dvořák (one of this conductor’s favorite concertos), and two of them written for dramatic scenarios.

The conductor and orchestra played up the atmospherics and drama of “Billy the Kid” and “On the Waterfront,” which, as Manahan noted in his pre-concert talk, share compositional traits that Bernstein’s music for Elia Kazan’s 1954 film absorbed from Copland’s 1938 ballet score. Their similarities in harmonic and rhythmic language came through in these performances, as did their differences in scenic settings (the Western prairie and New York waterfront) and contrasting applications of tone color (more pastels from Copland, more primary colors from Bernstein).

Daisuke Yamamoto, the symphony’s concertmaster, sounded rather belabored in the big opening movement of the Dvořák, whose violin solo awkwardly see-saws between the declarative and the lyrical, but hit his stride in the folkish melody of the concerto’s adagio and the cheerful Slavic dance of the finale. Manahan and the orchestra gave him warm, robust support throughout the concerto.

Warmth of a similar temperature was not as welcome in Kernis’ “Musica Celestis.” String tone was borderline lush in music that wants rarified impressionism. The celestial sounded earthbound.

The program repeats at 3 p.m. Feb. 10 at the Carpenter Theatre of Dominion Energy Center, Sixth and Grace streets. Tickets: $10-$82. Details: (800) 514-3849 (ETIX);
http://www.richmondsymphony.com

The Richmond Symphony, auditioning six music-director finalists during the 2019-20 season, will launch the season on Sept. 21 and 22 with the most stellar of its conducting alumni, Marin Alsop.

Alsop, who was associate conductor of the Richmond Symphony in the late 1980s, today is one of the world’s most prominent female conductors. She serves as music director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and Brazil’s São Paulo Symphony Orchestra, and has guest-conducted many of the world’s leading orchestras.

The symphony’s coming season also will feature the orchestra, joined by the Sphinx Virtuosi chamber orchestra, participating in the 2020 Menuhin Competition for young violinists. Finalists and winners of the competition will perform, with guest conductor Andrew Litton, in the symphony’s final Masterworks programs on May 23 and 24.

Other public concerts in the Menuhin Competition, which will run from May 14 to 24, will be announced later.

The six music director finalists – Roderick Cox, Paolo Bortolameolli, Ankush Kumar Bahl, Laura Jackson, Valentina Peleggi and Farkhad Khudyev – will each lead a program in the Masterworks series and conduct another program in the Metro Collection, Symphony Pops or LolliPops series, along with other interactions with the symphony’s constituents and the public.

For information on the candidates’ backgrounds, visit https://letterv.blog/2018/09/25/symphony-names-six-music-director-finalists/

Guest soloists in the symphony’s 2019-20 classical season include Anthony McGill, principal clarinetist of the New York Philharmonic, playing Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto; the Korean violinist Inmo Yang, winner of the 2015 Premio Paganini Competition, playing Paganini’s Violin Concerto No. 1; the Georgian pianist Miriam Batsashvili, winner of the 2014 Franz Liszt Competition and a 2017-18 BBC New Generation Artist, playing the Piano Concerto in A minor that the teen-aged Clara Wieck wrote before she married Robert Schumann; cellist Julian Schwarz, who teaches at Shenandoah Conservatory of Shenandoah University in Winchester while pursuing an international performing career, playing Tchaikovsky’s “Rococo Variations;” and the Colombian Eduardo Rojas, one of the leading pianists in Latin America, playing Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1; and soprano Brandie Sutton, a rising operatic star, singing Samuel Barber’s “Knoxville, Summer of 1915” and an aria from Gustave Charpentier’s “Louise.”

Symphony principals performing as soloists, all in Metro Collection and Rush Hour concerts, include concertmaster Daisuke Yamamoto and principal violist Molly Sharp in Mozart’s Sinfonia concertante in E flat major, principal cellist Neal Cary in Schumann’s Cello Concerto, principal clarinetist David Lemelin in Copland’s Clarinet Concerto, and principal flutist Mary Boodell and principal harpist Lynette Wardle in Toru Takemitsu’s “Toward the Sea II.”

Major repertory to be performed includes two works by Rachmaninoff, the Symphonic Dances and “The Bells,” his rarely performed vocal-orchestral setting of the poem by Edgar Allan Poe, the latter featuring the Richmond Symphony Chorus; Mahler’s First, Bruckner’s Seventh and Brahms’ Fourth symphonies; Stravinsky’s “Firebird” Suite; Bartók’s “Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta;” Respighi’s “The Pines of Rome;” Tchaikovsky’s “Francesca da Rimini;” Janáček’s “Taras Bulba;” and, in Metro Collection and Rush Hour concerts, Beethoven’s Second and Mozart’s 39th symphonies, Dvořák’s Serenade in D minor for wind ensemble, and Ravel’s “Ma mère l’Oye” (“Mother Goose”) Suite.

The Richmond Symphony Pops series will feature “The Music of Elton John,” featuring singer Michael Cavanaugh; the pop-revival group Jeans ’n Classics in “The Apollo Hall of Fame,” a revue of vintage rhythm and blues; “Journey into the Cosmos,” a sampler of music inspired by outer space; and the annual “Let It Snow!” Holiday pops program with the Symphony Chorus.

For ticket orders and other information on the Richmond Symphony’s 2019-20 season, call the orchestra’s patron services desk at (804) 788-1212 or visit http://www.richmondsymphony.com/ticketing/seasonsubscriptions/

Programs, artists, venues and ticket prices for the symphony’s coming season:

MASTERWORKS
Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center
8-concert subscription: $187-$567
5-concert subscription: $118-$366
single tickets: $10-$100 (Sept. 21-22, May 23-24), $10-$82 (other concerts)

Sept. 21 (8 p.m.)
Sept. 22 (3 p.m.)
Marin Alsop conducting
Alexander von Zemlinsky: Psalm 23, Op. 14
Richmond Symphony Chorus
Paganini: Violin Concerto No. 1 in D major
Inmo Yang, violin
Brahms: “Variations on a Theme by Haydn”
Stravinsky: “The Firebird” Suite

Oct. 26 (8 p.m.)
Roderick Cox conducting
Tchaikovsky: “The Tempest” Fantasy-Overture
Charpentier: “Louise” – “Depuis le jour” (“Since the Day”)
Barber: “Knoxville, Summer of 1915”
Brandie Sutton, soprano
Rachmaninoff: Symphonic Dances

Nov. 16 (8 p.m.)
Nov. 17 (3 p.m.)
Paolo Bortolameolli conducting
Bartók: “Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta”
Liszt: Piano Concerto No. 1 in E flat major
Eduardo Rojas, piano
Brahms: Symphony No. 4 in E minor

Jan. 11 (8 p.m.)
Ankush Kumar Bahl conducting
John Adams: “The Chairman Dances”
Mozart: Clarinet Concerto in A major, K. 622
Anthony McGill, clarinet
Bruckner: Symphony No. 7 in E major

Feb. 1 (8 p.m.)
Laura Jackson conducting
Michael Gandolfi: “The Garden of Cosmic Speculation” (selections)
Tchaikovsky: “Variations on a Rococo Theme”
Julian Schwarz, cello
Mahler: Symphony No. 1 in D major

March 7 (8 p.m.)
March 8 (3 p.m.)
Valentina Peleggi conducting
Rossini: “La gazza ladra” (“The Thieving Magpie”) Overture
Respighi: “The Pines of Rome”
Joan Tower: “Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman” No. 2
Clara Wieck Schumann: Piano Concerto in A minor
Miriam Batsashvili, piano
Tchaikovsky: “Francesca da Rimini”

April 18 (8 p.m.)
April 19 (3 p.m.)
Farkhad Khudyev conducting
Rachmaninoff: “The Bells”
soloists TBA
Richmond Symphony Chorus
Grieg: “Lyric Suite”
Janáček: “Taras Bulba”

May 23 (7:30 p.m.)
Andrew Litton conducting
Menuhin Competition senior finalists
repertory TBA

May 24 (5 p.m.)
Andrew Litton conducting
Michael Abels: “Delights and Dances”
Sphinx Virtuosi
Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto in D major – I. Allegro moderato
other repertory TBA
Menuhin Competition junior and senior winners
Falla: “The Three-Cornered Hat” Suite No. 2

* * *

METRO COLLECTION
3 p.m., Blackwell Auditorium, Randolph-Macon College, Ashland
subscription: $70
single tickets: $22

Oct. 20
Roderick Cox conducting
Dvořák: Serenade in D minor for winds
Copland: Clarinet Concerto
David Lemelin, clarinet
Mozart: Symphony No. 39 in E flat major, K. 543

Nov. 10
Paolo Bortolameolli conducting
Mozart: “Idomeneo” Overture
Elgar: Serenade in E minor for strings
Schumann: Cello Concerto in A minor
Neal Cary, cello
Beethoven: Symphony No. 2 in D major

Feb. 9
Laura Jackson conducting
Gabriela Lena Frank: “Concertina Cusqueño”
Mozart: Sinfonia concertante in E flat major, K. 364
Daisuke Yamamoto, violin
Molly Sharp, viola
Britten: “Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge”
Bartók: “Romanian Folk Dances”

April 26
Farkhad Khudyev conducting
Debussy-Büsser: “Petite Suite”
Toru Takemitsu: “Toward the Sea II”
Mary Boodell, flute
Lynette Wardle, harp
Prokofiev: “”Summer Day: Children’s Suite for Small Orchestra”
Ravel: “Ma mère l’Oye” (“Mother Goose”) Suite

* * *

SYMPHONY POPS
Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center
subscription: $92-$270
single tickets: $10-$82

Oct. 5 (8 p.m.)
Chia-Hsuan Lin conducting
Michael Cavanaugh, guest star
“The Music of Elton John”

Dec. 7 (8 p.m.)
Dec. 8 (3 p.m.)
conductor TBA
Richmond Symphony Chorus
“Let It Snow!” holiday pops concerts

Jan. 18 (8 p.m.)
Ankush Kumar Bahl conducting
“Journey into the Cosmos”

Feb. 29 (8 p.m.)
Chia-Hsuan Lin conducting
Jeans ’n Classics, guest stars
“The Apollo Hall of Fame”

* * *

LOLLIPOPS
11 a.m., Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center
subscription: $45 (adult), $34 (child)
single tickets: $20 (adult), $10 (child)

Nov. 2
Chia-Hsuan Lin conducting
“Wild Wild West”

Nov. 30
Chia-Hsuan Lin conducting
“The Snowman,” film with orchestral accompaniment

Jan. 25
Chia-Hsuan Lin conducting
“It’s a Symphony Sing-along!”

March 14
Valentina Peleggi conducting
School of the Richmond Ballet
Copland: “Appalachian Spring”

* * *

RUSH HOUR
6:30 p.m., Hardywood Park Craft Brewery
subscription: $60
single tickets: $20

conductors TBA
Oct. 17
Nov. 7
Feb. 6
April 23

* * *

SPECIAL CONCERT
7:30 p.m., Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center
single tickets: $20-$60

Dec. 6 (7:30 p.m.)
conductor TBA
Handel: “Messiah”
soloists TBA
Richmond Symphony Chorus

Feb. 7, Camp Concert Hall, Modlin Arts Center, University of Richmond

In one of the most eagerly anticipated evenings on this season’s schedule of classical concerts in Richmond, Daniil Trifonov, the 27-year-old Russian piano virtuoso, delivered scorching, dynamic and at times haunting performances of works by Beethoven, Schumann and Prokofiev.

Trifonov’s technical facility and temperament have sparked comparisons with legendary keyboard figures of past generations, and after hearing his work in this concert it’s hard to gainsay the gusher of superlatives that preceded his appearance here. He showed, however, that some musical seasoning will be needed before he achieves full command of repertory that requires depth and interpretive discretion to balance (or outweigh) speed, brilliance and high-romantic expressiveness.

What he plays superbly and what he could play more convincingly was starkly evident in his performances of Beethoven’s “Hunt” Sonata in E flat major, Op. 31, No. 3, and Prokofiev’s Sonata No. 8.

Trifonov pounced on the many accents of the Beethoven, at times threatening to turn its big opening movement into a succession of exclamatory outbursts, and played its scherzo and presto finale at breathless paces. At more relaxed tempos, and in a reading of Beethoven’s “Andante favori” in F major, WoO 57, that preceded the sonata, he engaged in some remarkably subtle phrasing – dynamics within dynamics – enhancing the music’s lyricism and giving it an almost impressionistic quality.

This episodic, not to say schizophrenic, treatment of Beethoven contrasted sharply with a masterfully conceived, compellingly narrative reading of the Prokofiev, the last of the composer’s three “wartime” sonatas (No. 8 dates from 1944), which rank at or near the pinnacle of 20th-century solo-piano music.

Trifonov realized the richly atmospheric, yet sonically austere, character of the first movement of the Prokofiev, and made convincing emotional counterpoint of its turbulent passages. His treatments of the sonata’s waltz-like central movement and epic finale – alternate takes on the danse macabre – finely balanced pointed rhythm and lyrical flow.

Between the two sonatas, Trifonov summoned his seemingly inexhaustible store of virtuosity for Schumann’s “Bunte Blätter” (“Motley Leaves”), Op. 99, an infrequently performed sampler of short pieces that the composer had written over several decades, and the “Presto passionato,” the original finale of his Sonata in G minor, Op. 22 (discarded on the advice of the composer’s wife, Clara).

The pianist’s high-romantic chops, demonstrated in his recordings of Chopin, Liszt and Rachmaninoff, were on vivid display in the Schumann pieces. Really good performances of this composer’s solo-piano music should sound almost like improvisations, inspirations of the moment. Trifonov played with that kind of spontaneity and impetuosity.

Rewarded by a near-capacity crowd with a roaring ovation after the Prokofiev, Trifonov played a piano arrangement of Rachmaninoff’s Vocalise, Op. 34, No. 14, as an encore.

* * *

UPDATE: Trifonov’s performance of the same program, minus the Schumann “Presto passionato” and with encores by Prokofiev and Chopin, on Feb. 9 at New York’s Carnegie Hall, can be seen and heard here (registration required):

http://www.medici.tv/en/concerts/daniil-trifonov-plays-beethoven-schumann-and-prokofiev/

noon-3 p.m. EST
1600-1900 UTC/GMT
WDCE, University of Richmond
90.1 FM
http://wdce.net

Richard Strauss: “Don Juan”
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra/Manfred Honeck
(Reference Recordings)

Mendelssohn: Cello Sonata No. 2 in D major, Op. 58
David Finckel, cello
Wu Han, piano
(ArtistLed)

Past Masters:
Ravel: Introduction and Allegro
Edward Druzinsky, harp
Donald Peck, flute
Clark Brody, clarinet
Chicago Symphony Orchestra/Jean Martinon
(RCA Red Seal)
(recorded 1968)

Brahms: Horn Trio in E flat major, Op. 40
Vladimira Klánska, horn
Jiří Horník, violin
Ivan Klánsky, piano
(Praga Digitals)

Barber: Symphony No. 1
Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra/Leonard Slatkin
(RCA Red Seal)

Stravinsky: “Symphonies of Wind Instruments”
Berlin Philharmonic/Pierre Boulez
(Deutsche Grammophon)

William Grant Still: “Danzas de Panama”
Berlin Symphony Orchestra/Isaiah Jackson
(Koch International Classics)

Rachmaninoff: Symphonic Dances
Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra/Mariss Jansons
(BR Klassik)

Saint-Saëns: “Samson et Delila” – Bacchanale
Utah Symphony/Thierry Fischer
(Hyperion)

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

In and around Richmond: Performers from Virginia Commonwealth University’s music and theatre departments collaborate in “Something Wonderful: a Rodgers & Hammerstein Concert,” a sampler of songs from the Broadway masters’ most popular musicals, Feb. 2 and 3 at VCU’s Singleton Arts Center. (A Feb. 1 performance is sold out.) . . . The acrobatic ballet ensemble Cirque de la Symphonie joins the Richmond Symphony Pops, with guest conductor Benjamin Rous, Feb. 2 at the Carpenter Theatre of Dominion Energy Center. . . . The stellar Russian pianist Daniil Trifonov plays Beethoven, Schumann and Prokofiev, Feb. 7 at the University of Richmond’s Modlin Arts Center. (The concert is sold out.) . . . George Manahan, former music director of the Richmond Symphony, returns to lead the orchestra, with concertmaster Daisuke Yamamoto as violin soloist, in a program of Dvořák, Copland, Bernstein and Aaron Jay Kernis, Feb. 9 and 10 at the Carpenter Theatre. . . . Steven Smith conducts the Richmond Symphony and Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra in a free “Side by Side” program, featuring cellist Abigail Leidy, winner of the RSYO Concerto Competition, Feb. 10 at the Carpenter Theatre. . . . The Richmond Piano Trio – pianist Joanne Kong, violinist Daisuke Yamamoto and cellist Neal Cary – plays works by Beethoven, Schubert and Rachmaninoff in a free concert on Feb. 11 at UR’s Modlin Center. . . . Steven Smith and the Richmond Symphony play contemporary works by Reena Esmail and Shirish Korde, along with Beethoven’s “Pastoral” Symphony (No. 6 in F major) in “South Asian Connections,” part of University of Richmond’s Tucker-Boatwright Festival, Feb. 22 at UR’s Modlin Center, and selections from that program, plus Mozart’s “Don Giovanni” Overture, in a Rush Hour casual concert on Feb. 21 at Hardywood Park Craft Brewery, a special concert on Feb. 23 at Brandermill Church in Midlothian, and a Metro Collection concert on Feb. 24 at Randolph-Macon College in Ashland. . . . Capitol Opera Richmond presents a “jewel-box” condensation of Puccini’s “La Bohème,” Feb. 22-24 at the Robins Family Forum of the Virginia Museum of History and Culture. . . . Virginia Opera stages Donizetti’s “The Elixir of Love,” Feb. 22 and 24 at the Carpenter Theatre (following performances on Feb. 8, 10 and 12 at Norfolk’s Harrison Opera House and Feb. 16 and 17 at the Center for the Arts at George Mason University in Fairfax). . . . Third Coast Percussion performs in the next program of VCU’s Rennolds Chamber Concerts, Feb. 23 at the Singleton Center. . . . The Atlantic Chamber Ensemble plays rarely heard works by Erwin Schulhoff, Olli Mustonen and Arnold Bax, Feb. 26 at Randolph-Macon College’s St. Anne’s Building (the old St. Anne’s Catholic Church) in Ashland. . . . The Shanghai Quartet, cellist David Finckel and pianist Wu Han play Schubert and Dvořák, Feb. 27 at UR’s Modlin Center.

Noteworthy elsewhere: Pianist Daniil Trifonov (heading toward a Feb. 7 solo recital at the University of Richmond) plays Beethoven’s “Emperor” Concerto (No. 5 in E flat major) with Gianandrea Noseda and the National Symphony Orchestra, on a program also featuring Shostakovich’s Sixth Symphony, Feb. 1 and 2 at Washington’s Kennedy Center. . . . The Juilliard String Quartet plays Haydn, Beethoven and Bartók, Feb. 6 at the Kennedy Center. . . . Pianist Leon Fleisher, joined by pianist Jonathan Biss, the Dover Quartet and other guest artists, marks his 90th birthday year in a program of Bach, Mozart and more, Feb. 9 at the Kennedy Center. . . . Daniel Harding conducts the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam in Richard Strauss’ “Ein Heldenleben” (which the composer dedicated to the orchestra and its longtime maestro, Willem Mengelberg), along with Beethoven’s “Emperor” Concerto, featuring pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Feb. 13 at the Kennedy Center. . . . Virginia Opera’s Adam Turner conducts the Virginia Symphony Orchestra with a cast of singers in a Valentine’s Day program of romantic opera arias and orchestral works, Feb. 14 at Norfolk’s Harrison Opera House. . . . The celebrated French violinist Renaud Capuçon, joined by pianist Guillaume Bellom, plays sonatas of Debussy, Ravel and Franck, Feb. 19 at Coolidge Auditorium of the Library of Congress in DC. . . . John Mauceri leads the Czech National Symphony Orchestra, with mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard, in a Leonard Bernstein centenary program, Feb. 22 at Virginia Tech’s Moss Arts Center in Blacksburg, Feb. 23 at George Mason University’s Center for the Arts in Fairfax. . . . Soprano Renée Fleming sings works of Brahms, Puccini, Villa-Lobos, Sondheim, Kevin Puts and others in a Virginia Arts Festival-sponsored recital, Feb. 23 at Sandler Arts Center in Virginia Beach. . . . The National Philharmonic, Piotr Gajewski conducting, with cellist Zuill Bailey and violist Roberto Díaz, perform in “The Debut,” a re-creation of the 1943 New York Philharmonic program that introduced Leonard Bernstein to a nationwide radio audience, Feb. 23 at Strathmore in the Maryland suburbs of DC. . . . Violinist Gil Shaham plays Mozart’s “Turkish” Concerto (No. 5 in A major) with Lionel Bringuier and the National Symphony, sharing a program with works of Stravinsky and Roussel, Feb. 28 and March 1 and 2 at the Kennedy Center.

Feb. 1 (8 p.m.)
Regent University Theater, 1000 Regent University Drive, Virginia Beach
Feb. 2 (8 p.m.)
Crosswalk Church, 7575 Richmond Road, Williamsburg
Virginia Symphony Orchestra
Gonzalo Farias conducting
Beethoven: “Leonore” Overture No. 3
Wolf-Ferrari: Concertino for English horn
George Corbett, English horn
Copland: “Quiet City”
David Vonderheide, trumpet
Beethoven: Symphony No. 8 in F major
$25-$65
(757) 892-6366
http://virginiasymphony.org

Feb. 1 (8 p.m.)
Feb. 2 (8 p.m.)
Kennedy Center Concert Hall, Washington
National Symphony Orchestra
Gianandrea Noseda conducting
Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 5 in E flat major (“Emperor”)
Daniil Trifonov, piano
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 6 in B minor
$15-$89
(800) 444-1324
http://www.kennedy-center.org

Feb. 2 (2 p.m.)
Gellman Room, Richmond Public Library, First and Franklin streets, Richmond
Richmond Music Teachers Association performers TBA
program TBA
free
(804) 646-7223
http://rvalibrary.libcal.com

Feb. 2 (7:30 p.m.)
Feb. 3 (2 p.m.)
Vlahcevic Concert Hall, Singleton Arts Center, Virginia Commonwealth University, Park Avenue at Harrison Street, Richmond
VCU Music Department performers TBA
VCU Theatre Department performers TBA
“Something Wonderful: a Rodgers & Hammerstein Concert”
songs TBA from ”The Sound of Music,” “South Pacific,” “The King and I,” “Carousel,” “The Flower Drum Song,” “State Fair,” “Oklahoma!”
(804) 828-1169
http://arts.vcu.edu/music/events

Feb. 2 (8 p.m.)
Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center, Sixth and Grace streets, Richmond
Richmond Symphony Pops
Benjamin Rous conducting
Cirque de la Symphonie, guest stars
$28-$82
(800) 514-3849 (ETIX)
http://www.richmondsymphony.com

Feb. 2 (8 p.m.)
Center for the Arts, George Mason University, Fairfax
Fairfax Symphony
Christopher Zimmerman conducting
Mendelssohn: “Hebrides” Overture
Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto in E minor
Chee Yun, violin
Schumann: Symphony No. 2 in C major
$30-$65
(888) 945-2468 (Tickets.com)
http://cfa.gmu.edu

Feb. 2 (8 p.m.)
Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda, MD
Brian Ganz, piano
Magdalena Wór, mezzo-soprano
“Chopin: Recollections of Home”
Chopin: instrumental and vocal works TBA
$34-$88
(301) 581-5100
http://www.strathmore.org

Feb. 3 (3 p.m.)
Camp Concert Hall, Modlin Arts Center, University of Richmond
Richard Becker, piano
works TBA by Mozart, Chopin, Schumann
free
(804) 289-8980
http://modlin.richmond.edu

Feb. 3 (2 p.m.)
Terrace Therater, Kennedy Center, Washington
Kennedy Center Chamber Players
Hindemith: Viola Sonata, Op. 11, No. 4
Respighi: Violin Sonata in B minor
Lutosławski: “Bucolics” for viola and cello
Schubert: String Trio in B flat major, D. 471
$36
(800) 444-1324
http://www.kennedy-center.org

Feb. 6 (7:30 p.m.)
Terrace Theater, Kennedy Center, Washington
Fortas Chamber Music Concerts:
Juilliard String Quartet
Haydn: Quartet in F major, Op. 77, No. 2
Bartók: Quartet No. 3
Beethoven: Quartet in E minor, Op. 59, No. 2 (“Razumovsky”)
$45
(800) 444-1324
http://www.kennedy-center.org

Feb. 7 (7:30 p.m.)
Camp Concert Hall, Modlin Arts Center, University of Richmond
Daniil Trifonov, piano
Beethoven: “Andante favori”
Beethoven: Sonata in E flat major, Op. 31, No. 3 (“Hunt”)
Schumann: “Bunte Blätter” (selections)
Schumann: “Presto passionato,” Op. 22
Prokofiev: Sonata No. 8
Free master class with UR students, 6 p.m. Feb. 6, Camp Concert Hall
SOLD OUT
(804) 289-8980
http://modlin.richmond.edu

Feb. 7 (7:30 p.m.)
Ferguson Arts Center, Christopher Newport University, Newport News
Shanghai Opera Symphony Orchestra
Zhang Guoyong conducting
Rossini: “The Barber of Seville” Overture
Chen Gang: “Butterfly Lovers” Concerto
Chen Yangyuetong, violin
Berlioz: “Symphonie fantastique”
$32-$57
(757) 594-8752
http://fergusoncenter.org/performances

Feb. 7 (7 p.m.)
Feb. 9 (8 p.m.)
Kennedy Center Concert Hall, Washington
National Symphony Orchestra
Gianandrea Noseda conducting
Brahms: “Tragic” Overture
Schumann: Piano Concerto in A minor
Nicholas Angelich, piano
Liszt: “A Faust Symphony”
$15-$89
(800) 444-1324
http://www.kennedy-center.org

Feb. 7 (7:30 p.m.)
Terrace Theater, Kennedy Center, Washington
Young Concert Artists:
Omer Quartet
Haydn: Quartet in E flat major, Op. 20, No. 1
Debussy: Quartet in G minor
Chris Rogerson: Quartet No. 1
Beethoven: “Grosse fuge,” Op. 133
$20-$45
(800) 444-1324
http://www.kennedy-center.org

Feb. 8 (8 p.m.)
Feb. 10 (2:30 p.m.)
Feb. 12 (7:30 p.m.)
Harrison Opera House, 160 E. Virginia Beach Boulevard, Norfolk
Virginia Opera
Adam Turner conducting
Donizetti: “The Elixir of Love”
Cecilia Violetta López (Adina)
Carlos Enrique Santelli (Nemorino)
Corey Crider (Belcore)
Matthew Burns (Dulcamara)
April Martin (Giannetta)
Kyle Lang, stage director
in Italian, English captions
$18.18-$100
(757) 623-1223
http://vaopera.org

Feb. 9 (8 p.m.)
Feb. 10 (3 p.m.)
Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center, Sixth and Grace streets, Richmond
Richmond Symphony
George Manahan conducting
Aaron Jay Kernis: “Musica Celestis”
Dvořák: Violin Concerto in A minor
Daisuke Yamamoto, violin
Copland: “Billy the Kid” Suite
Bernstein: “On the Waterfront” Symphonic Suite
$10-$82
(800) 514-3849 (ETIX)
http://www.richmondsymphony.com

Feb. 9 (7:30 p.m.)
Sandler Arts Center, 201 S. Market St., Virginia Beach
Virginia Symphony Pops
Gonzalo Farias conducting
“Hogwarts Hullabaloo: the Magical Music of Harry Potter”
$25-$75
(757) 892-6366
http://virginiasymphony.org

Feb. 9 (7:30 p.m.)
Feb. 10 (3 p.m.)
Shaftman Performance Hall, Jefferson Center, 541 Luck Ave. SW, Roanoke
Roanoke Symphony Orchestra
David Stewart Wiley conducting
Mozart: Symphony No. 1 in E flat major, K. 16
George Walker: “Lyric for Strings”
Vaughan Williams: “Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis”
Mozart: Sinfonia concertante in E flat major, K. 364
Akimi Takayama, violin
Rebecca Young, viola
$34-$58
(540) 343-9127
http://rso.com

Feb. 9 (7:30 p.m.)
Terrace Theater, Kennedy Center, Washington
Leon Fleisher, piano
Jonathan Biss, piano
Dover Quartet
guest artists TBA
J.S. Bach-Petri: “Sheep May Safely Graze,” BWV 208
Beethoven: Sonata in E major, Op. 109
Leon Kirchner: “L.H., for Leon Fleisher” for piano left-hand
J.S. Bach-Brahms: Partita No. 2 in D minor, BWV 1004 – Chaconne for piano left-hand
Kirchner: “Interlude II”
Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 12 in A major, K. 414 (chamber arr.)
$65
(202) 785-9727 (Washington Performing Arts)
http://www.washingtonperformingarts.org

Feb. 9 (8 p.m.)
Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda, MD
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Markus Stenz conducting
Chabrier: “España”
Khachaturian: Violin Concerto in D minor
Paul Huang, violin
Mozart: Symphony No. 40 in G minor, K. 550
Beethoven: “Leonore” Overture No. 3
$35-$90
(877) 276-1444 (Baltimore Symphony box office)
http://www.strathmore.org

Feb. 10 (2 p.m.)
Vlahcevic Concert Hall, Singleton Arts Center, Virginia Commonwealth University, Park Avenue at Harrison Street, Richmond
Krystal Grant, piano & composer
Grant: works TBA
free
(804) 828-1169
http://arts.vcu.edu/music/events

Feb. 10 (7:30 p.m.)
Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center, Sixth and Grace streets, Richmond
Richmond Symphony
Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra
Steven Smith conducting
“Side by Side”
Beethoven: “Egmont” Overture
Schumann: Cello Concerto in A minor – I: Nicht zu schnell
Abigail Leidy, cello
Suppé: “Poet and Peasant” Overture
Stravinsky: “The Firebird” Suite
free
(804) 788-1212
http://www.richmondsymphony.com

Feb. 10 (7:30 p.m.)
Hofheimer Loft, 2818 W. Broad St., Richmond
Classical Revolution RVA
“Classical Incarnations at the Hof”
program TBA
donation requested
(804) 342-0012
http://www.classicalrevolutionrva.com/events

Feb. 11 (7:30 p.m.)
Camp Concert Hall, Modlin Arts Center, University of Richmond
Richmond Piano Trio
Beethoven: Piano Trio in C minor, Op. 1, No. 3
Rachmaninoff: “Trio élégiaque” in G minor
Schubert: Piano Trio in B flat major, D. 898
free
(804) 289-8980
http://modlin.richmond.edu

Feb. 13 (8 p.m.)
Kennedy Center Concert Hall, Washington
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Amsterdam
Daniel Harding conducting
Guillaume Conesson: “Eiréné: Poème Nocturne pour Orchestre”
Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 5 in E flat major (“Emperor”)
Pierre-Laurent Aimard, piano
Richard Strauss: “Ein Heldenleben”
$55-$150
(202) 785-9727 (Washington Performing Arts)
http://www.washingtonperformingarts.org

Feb. 14 (7 p.m.)
Harrison Opera House, 160 E. Virginia Beach Boulevard, Norfolk
Virginia Symphony Orchestra
Adam Turner conducting
singers TBA
Glinka: “Ruslan and Ludmilla” Overture
Puccini: “Gianni Schicchi” – “O mio babbino caro”
Puccini: “La Bohème” – “O soave fanciulla”
Donizetti: “The Elixir of Love” – “Una furtiva lagrima”
Wagner: “Tristan und Isolde” – “Liebestod”
Gounod: “Roméo et Juliette” – “Nuit d’hymenee”
Tchaikovsky: “Romeo and Juliet” Fantasy-Overture
Bizet: “The Pearl Fischers” – “Au fond du temple saint”
Saint-Saëns: “Samson et Delila” – Bacchanale
Johann Strauss II: “Die Fledermaus” – “Brüderlein”
Mendelssohn: “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” incidental music – wedding march
$25-$75
(757) 892-6366
http://virginiasymphony.org

Feb. 14 (7 p.m.)
Feb. 16 (8 p.m.)
Kennedy Center Concert Hall, Washington
National Symphony Orchestra
Gianandrea Noseda conducting
Wagner: “Tristan und Isolde” – Prelude and “Liebestod”
Tchaikovsky: “Francesca da Rimini”
Berlioz: “Roméo et Juliette” Suite
$15-$89
(800) 444-1324
http://www.kennedy-center.org

Feb. 15 (7:30 p.m.)
Moss Arts Center, Virginia Tech, 190 Alumni Mall, Blacksburg
Berlin Philharmonic Wind Quintet
Anton Reicha: Wind Quintet in E flat major, Op. 88, No. 2
Hindemith: “Kleine Kammermusik,” Op. 24, No. 2
Henri Tomasi: “Five Sacred and Profane Dances”
Paul Taffanel: Wind Quintet in G minor
$25-$55
(540) 231-5300
http://artscenter.vt.edu

Feb. 15 (9 p.m.)
Kennedy Center Concert Hall, Washington
National Symphony Orchestra
Gianandrea Noseda conducting
Ben Folds, guest star
“NSO DECLASSIFIED: a Valentine’s Concert”
Wagner: “Tristan und Isolde” – Prelude and “Liebestod”
Berlioz: “Roméo et Juliette” – “Scène d’amour”
Puccini: “La Bohème” – Act 1 arias and duet
Folds: songs TBA
Marlen Nahhas, soprano
Joshua Blue, tenor
$25-$39
(800) 444-1324
http://www.kennedy-center.org

Feb. 16 (8 p.m.)
Old Cabell Hall, University of Virginia, Charlottesville
Feb. 17 (3:30 p.m.)
Monticello High School, 1400 Independence Way, Charlottesville
Charlottesville Symphony
Benjamin Rous conducting
Ravel: “Pavane pour une infante defunte”
Ravel: Piano Concerto in G major
Andrew Le, piano
Kodály: “Variations on a Hungarian Folksong” (“The Peacock”)
$10-$45
(434) 924-3376
http://music.virginia.edu/events

Feb. 16 (8 p.m.)
Feb. 17 (2 p.m.)
Center for the Arts, George Mason University, Fairfax
Virginia Opera
Adam Turner conducting
Donizetti: “The Elixir of Love”
Cecilia Violetta López (Adina)
Carlos Enrique Santelli (Nemorino)
Corey Crider (Belcore)
Matthew Burns (Dulcamara)
April Martin (Giannetta)
Kyle Lang, stage director
in Italian, English captions
$54-$110
(888) 945-2468 (Tickets.com)
http://vaopera.org

Feb. 16 (8 p.m.)
Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda, MD
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Mario Venzago conducting
Berlioz: “Le corsaire” Overture
Berlioz: “Roman Carnival” Overture
Liszt: Piano Concerto No. 1 in E flat major
Conrad Tao, piano
Ravel: “Rapsodie espagnole”
Ravel: “Bolero”
$35-$90
(877) 276-1444 (Baltimore Symphony box office)
http://www.strathmore.org

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

Feb. 19 (8 p.m.)
Coolidge Auditorium, Library of Congress, East Capitol Street at First Street NE, Washington
Renaud Capuçon, violin
Guillaume Bellom, piano
Debussy: Violin Sonata
Ravel: Violin Sonata No. 2
Franck: Violin Sonata in A major
free; tickets required via http://www.eventbrite.com
(202) 707-5502
http://www.loc.gov/concerts

Feb. 21 (6:30 p.m.)
Hardywood Park Craft Brewery, Overbrook Road at Ownby Lane, Richmond
Richmond Symphony Rush Hour
Steven Smith conducting
Reena Esmail: “Avartan”
Mozart: “Don Giovanni” Overture
Beethoven: Symphony No. 6 in F major (“Pastoral”)
$20 (seating limited)
(800) 514-3849 (ETIX)
http://www.richmondsymphony.com

Feb. 21 (7 p.m.)
Sandler Arts Center, 201 S. Market St., Virginia
Virginia Symphony Orchestra
Gonzalo Farias conducting
Old Dominion University Symphony Orchestra
Paul Kim conducting
“ODU-VSO Side by Side”
Beethoven: “Leonore” Overture No. 3
Liszt: “Les Préludes”
Saint-Saëns: Symphony No. 3 in C minor (“Organ”)
James Kosnik, organ
$10-$25
(757) 892-6366
http://virginiasymphony.org

Feb. 21 (7 p.m.)
Feb. 22 (8 p.m.)
Feb. 23 (2 p.m.)
Kennedy Center Concert Hall, Washington
National Symphony Orchestra Pops
conductor TBA
“Star Wars: the Force Awakens,” film with orchestral accompaniment
$34-$149
(800) 444-1324
http://www.kennedy-center.org

Feb. 22 (7 p.m.)
Feb. 23 (7 p.m.)
Feb. 24 (4 p.m.)
Robins Family Forum, Virginia Museum of History and Culture, North Boulevard at Kensington Avenue, Richmond
Capitol Opera Richmond
Puccini: “La Bohème” (condensed version)
cast TBA
$25-$100
(804) 840-7878
http://www.capitoloperarichmond.com

Feb. 22 (7 p.m.)
St. James’s Episcopal Church, 1205 W. Franklin St., Richmond
Damin Spritzer, organ
works TBA by J.S. Bach, Tournemire, Rowley, Wilan, Howells, Becker
free
(804) 355-1779
http://doers.org

Feb. 22 (7:30 p.m.)
Camp Concert Hall, Modlin Arts Center, University of Richmond
Tucker-Boatwright Festival:
Richmond Symphony
Steven Smith conducting
“South Asian Connections”
Reena Esmail: “Avartan”
Shirish Korde: “Lalit”
Beethoven: Symphony No. 6 in F major (“Pastoral”)
$36
(804) 289-8980
http://modlin.richmond.edu

Feb. 22 (8 p.m.)
Feb. 24 (2:30 p.m.)
Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center, Sixth and Grace streets, Richmond
Virginia Opera
Adam Turner conducting
Donizetti: “The Elixir of Love”
Cecilia Violetta López (Adina)
Carlos Enrique Santelli (Nemorino)
Corey Crider (Belcore)
Matthew Burns (Dulcamara)
April Martin (Giannetta)
Kyle Lang, stage director
in Italian, English captions
$16.53-$110
(866) 673-7282
http://vaopera.org

Feb. 22 (7:30 p.m.)
Moss Arts Center, Virginia Tech, 190 Alumni Mall, Blacksburg
Czech National Symphony Orchestra
John Mauceri conducting
Isabel Leonard, mezzo-soprano
“100 Years of Leonard Bernstein”
selections from “West Side Story,” “Candide,” “A Quiet Place,” “MASS,” other works
$40-$75
(540) 231-5300
http://artscenter.vt.edu

Feb. 22 (8:15 p.m.)
Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda, MD
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Nicholas Hersh conducting & speaking
Narek Hakhnazaryan, cello
“BSO Off the Cuff: Elgar’s Cello Concerto”
$35-$90
(877) 276-1444 (Baltimore Symphony box office)
http://www.strathmore.org

Feb. 23 (2 p.m.)
Brandermill Church, 4500 Millridge Parkway, Midlothian
Richmond Symphony
Steven Smith conducting
Reena Esmail: “Avartan”
Mozart: “Don Giovanni” Overture
Beethoven: Symphony No. 6 in F major (“Pastoral”)
$20
(800) 514-3849 (ETIX)
http://www.richmondsymphony.com

Feb. 23 (8 p.m.)
Vlahcevic Concert Hall, Singleton Arts Center, Virginia Commonwealth University, Park Avenue at Harrison Street, Richmond
Rennolds Chamber Concerts:
Third Coast Percussion
program TBA
$35
(804) 828-1169
http://arts.vcu.edu/music/events

Feb. 23 (7:30 p.m.)
Camp Concert Hall, Modlin Arts Center, University of Richmond
Neumann Lecture on Music:
Guthrie Ramsey, speaker
“Hide/Melt/Ghost: Writing the Early History of African-American Music”
free
(804) 289-8980
http://modlin.richmond.edu

Feb. 23 (8 p.m.)
Sandler Arts Center, 201 S. Market St., Virginia Beach
Virginia Arts Festival:
Renée Fleming, soprano
pianist TBA
Brahms: “Vergebliches Standchen,” Op. 84, No. 4
Brahms: “Die Mainacht,” Op. 43, No. 2
Brahms: “Da unten im Tale,” WoO 33, No. 6
Brahms: “Meine Liebe ist grün,” Op. 63, No. 5
Brahms: “Wiegenlied,” Op. 49, No. 4
Kevin Puts: “Letters from Georgia” – Introduction and “Taos,” “Canyon”
Villa-Lobos: “Bachianas Brasileiras” No. 5 – Aria (cantelina)
Flotow: “Martha” – “ ’Tis the Last Rose of Summer”
Harry Warren & Mack Gordon: ”The Shape of Water” – “You’ll Never Know”
Licinio Refice: “Ombra di Nube”
Leoncavallo: “La Boheme/Mimì Pinson” – “Musette svaria sulla bocca viva”  
Puccini: “Turandot” – “Signore, Ascolta”  
Francesco Paolo Tosti: “La Serenata”
Meredith Wilson: “The Music Man” – “Till There Was You”
Maury Yeston: “Nine” – “Unusual Way”
John Kander & Fred Ebb: “The Visit” – “Love and Love Alone”/“Winter”
Stephen Sondheim: “A Little Night Music” – “Glamorous Life”
$63.75-$125
(757) 282-2822
http://www.vafest.org

Feb. 23 (8 p.m.)
Center for the Arts, George Mason University, Fairfax
Czech National Symphony Orchestra
John Mauceri conducting
Isabel Leonard, mezzo-soprano
“100 Years of Leonard Bernstein”
selections from “West Side Story,” “Candide,” “A Quiet Place,” “MASS,” other works
$36-$60
(888) 945-2468 (Tickets.com)
http://cfa.gmu.edu

Feb. 23 (8 p.m.)
Sixth & I Historic Synagogue, 600 I St. NW, Washington
Lara Downes, piano
Rhiannon Giddens, vocalist
“Holes in the Sky,” works TBA by Florence Price, Margaret Bonds, Nina Simone, Joni Mitchell, Meredith Monk, others
$35
(202) 785-9727 (Washington Performing Arts)
http://www.washingtonperformingarts.org

Feb. 23 (8 p.m.)
Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda, MD
National Philharmonic
Piotr Gajewski conducting
“The Debut,” re-creation of New York Philharmonic program conducted by Leonard Bernstein on Nov. 14, 1943
Schumann: “Manfred” Overture
Miklós Rósza: Theme, Variations and Finale, Op. 13
Richard Strauss: “Don Quixote”
Zuill Bailey, cello
Roberto Díaz, viola
Wagner: “Die Meistersinger” Prelude
$32-$84
(301) 581-5100
http://www.strathmore.org

Feb. 24 (3 p.m.)
Blackwell Auditorium, Randolph-Macon College, 205 Henry St., Ashland
Richmond Symphony
Steven Smith conducting
Reena Esmail: “Avartan”
Mozart: “Don Giovanni” Overture
Beethoven: Symphony No. 6 in F major (“Pastoral”)
$22
(800) 514-3849 (ETIX)
http://www.richmondsymphony.com

Feb. 24 (3:30 p.m.)
Old Cabell Hall, University of Virginia, Charlottesville
UVa Chamber Music Series:
Albemarle Ensemble
Robert Muczynski: “Movements for Wind Quintet,” Op. 16
Kenji Bunch: “Changes of Phase”
Barber: “Summer Music,” Op. 31
$15
(434) 924-3376
http://music.virginia.edu/events

Feb. 24 (7 p.m.)
Center for the Arts, George Mason University, Fairfax
Jeffrey Siegel, piano & speaking
“Keyboard Conversations: Exotic Music of the Night”
Saint-Saëns: “Danse macabre”
Debussy: “Evening in Grenade”
Chopin: nocturne TBA
other works TBA
$26-$44
(888) 945-2468 (Tickets.com)
http://cfa.gmu.edu

Feb. 24 (3 p.m.)
Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda, MD
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Nicholas Hersh conducting
Debussy: “Images” – “Rondes de printemps”
Elgar: Cello Concerto in E minor
Narek Hakhnazaryan, cello
Prokofiev: Symphony No. 6 in E flat minor
$35-$90
(877) 276-1444 (Baltimore Symphony box office)
http://www.strathmore.org

Feb. 26 (noon)
Black Music Center Recital Hall, Virginia Commonwealth University, Grove Avenue at Harrison Street, Richmond
Tiffany Valvo, clarinet
Daniel Stipe, piano
program TBA
free
(804) 828-1169
http://arts.vcu.edu/music/events

Feb. 26 (7 p.m.)
St. Anne’s building, Randolph-Macon College, England and Henry streets, Ashland
Atlantic Chamber Ensemble
Erwin Schulhoff: Concertino for flute, viola and double-bass
Olli Mustonen: Quartetto for oboe, violin, viola and piano
Arnold Bax: Piano Quintet
donation requested
(804) 752-7200
http://www.acensemble.org

Feb. 27 (7 p.m.)
Vlahcevic Concert Hall, Singleton Arts Center, Virginia Commonwealth University, Park Avenue at Harrison Street, Richmond
VCU Symphonic Wind Ensemble
Terry Austin directing
program TBA
$10
(804) 828-1169
http://arts.vcu.edu/music/events

Feb. 28 (7:30 p.m.)
Camp Concert Hall, Modlin Arts Center, University of Richmond
Shanghai Quartet
David Finckel, cello
Wu Han, piano
Schubert: String Quintet in C major, D. 956
Dvořák: Piano Quintet in A major, Op. 81
$36
(804) 289-8980
http://modlin.richmond.edu

Feb. 28 (7 p.m.)
March 1 (11:30 a.m.)
March 2 (8 p.m.)
Kennedy Center Concert Hall, Washington
National Symphony Orchestra
Lionel Bringuier conducting
Roussel: “The Spider’s Feast” symphonic fragments
Mozart: Violin Concerto No. 5 in A major, K. 219
Gil Shaham, violin
Stravinsky: “Petrushka”
$15-$89
(800) 444-1324
http://www.kennedy-center.org

Feb. 28 (8 p.m.)
Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda, MD
Baltimore Symphony SuperPops
Jack Everly conducting
Christina Bianco, guest star
“Woman of a Thousand Voices”
$35-$90
(877) 276-1444 (Baltimore Symphony box office)
http://www.strathmore.org

noon-3 p.m. EST
1600-1900 UTC/GMT
WDCE, University of Richmond
90.1 FM
http://wdce.net

Chopin: Polonaise-Fantaisie in A flat major, Op. 61
Stephen Hough, piano
(Hyperion)

Louise Farrenc: Piano Quintet in A minor, Op. 30
The Schubert Ensemble
(ASV)

Debussy: “Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun”
Les Siècles/François-Xavier Roth
(Harmonia Mundi)

J.S. Bach: “Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue,” BWV 903
Ivan Moravec, piano
(Supraphon)

Past Masters:
Shostakovich: Cello Concerto No. 1 in E flat major
Mstislav Rostropovich, cello
Philadelphia Orchestra/Eugene Ormandy
(Sony Classical)
(recorded 1959)

Michael Torke: “Ash”
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra/David Zinman
(Argo)

Beethoven: Sonata in C major, Op. 53 (“Waldstein”)
Ronald Brautigam, fortepiano
(BIS)

Schubert: Symphony No. 2 in B flat major
Anima Eterna Brugge/Jos van Immerseel
(Zig Zag Territories)

Steven Smith conducting
Jan. 27, Blackwell Auditorium, Randolph-Macon College, Ashland

Debussy to the rescue.

The Richmond Symphony’s latest Metro Collection program concluded with “La boîte à joujoux” (“The Toybox”), a ballet score composed in 1913 by Claude Debussy, orchestrated by André Caplet in 1919, a year after the composer’s death. Full of Debussy’s trademark harmonic and expressive traits, the piece is unusual for this composer in its light-hearted whimsy.

That quality came through consistently in the performance by the symphony, led by Steven Smith. Pianist Russell Wilson and several wind players, notably Shawn Welk in an extended English horn solo, paced a stylish and subtly colorful reading of the score, bring to life a scenario of a three-way romantic entanglement among figures from the commedia dell’arte tradition.

The Debussy salvaged a program otherwise plagued by qualitative woes.

The opener, the Overture in C major by Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel (Felix Mendelssohn’s sister), was a forgettable exercise in early romantic orchestration and musical structure, blandly rendered by the orchestra.

Mozart’s Symphony No. 25 in G minor, K. 183, the composer’s most substantial venture into the Sturm und Drang (storm and stress) genre of 18th-century composition, received a choppily metrical reading, with rather slow tempos (especially in the finale), blunt accenting and minimal dynamism. Oboe solos by Mark Debski served to underscore the expressive quality otherwise lacking in this performance.

The Randolph-Macon concert, a condensed version of the “South Asian Connections” program staged on Jan. 23 in the University of Richmond’s Tucker-Boatwright Festival, featured “Open My Door” (2015) by Dewa Alit, an Indonesian composer who leads a Balinese gamelan, a traditional ensemble of resonant percussion instruments, and also works in jazz and Western classical forms.

This piece seeks to translate the form and sonorities of the gamelan to Western instruments – a string quintet, piano, woodwinds and brass – in a style also drawing upon the jazz/blues shuffle. An interesting concept, to be sure, but one that sounds to be a very gradual, almost glacial, evolution from stray tonal fragments into a coherent composition.

Smith and the symphony ensemble ably negotiated Alit’s complex rhythmic constructs of sound and silence and intricate interplay of instrumental voices. Pianist Wilson reliably provided the rhythmic and tonal connective tissue that, to Western ears, gave “Open My Door” some sense of continuity.

Michel Legrand, the pianist and prolific French film composer, has died at 86.

Best-known for composing more than 200 film scores – among them, “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg,” “The Summer of ’42,” “Yentl” and “The Thomas Crown Affair” – Legrand also was a piano prodigy who went on to perform as a sideman and orchestrator for jazz artists such as Miles Davis and John Coltrane and for the cabaret singers Edith Piaf, Yves Montand and Maurice Chevalier.

An obituary by Tim Greiving for The Washington Post:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/michel-legrand-oscar-winning-composer-of-windmills-of-your-mind-dies-at-86/2019/01/26/14182e42-216b-11e9-9145-3f74070bbdb9_story.html

The University of Richmond’s Modlin Arts Center is offering furloughed federal employees free tickets to 12 winter and spring attractions.

Federal workers presenting official identification may obtain two adult and two child tickets without charge for these events: Mark Morris Dance Group, Jan. 25-26; “Sounds of China,” Feb. 1; pianist Daniil Trifonov, Feb. 7; the Bolshoi Ballet broadcast of “La Sylphide,” Feb. 10; the NT Live broadcast of “I’m Not Running,” Feb. 14; the Richmond Symphony in “South Asian Connections,” Feb. 22; Mayumana’s “Currents,” March 6; Banda Magda, March 8; the Bolshoi Ballet broadcast of “The Sleeping Beauty,” March 10; TheatreWorks USA in “The Magic School Bus: Lost in the Solar System,” March 10; The Pigeoning, March 20; and the Batsheva Dance Company’s “Venezuela,” March 23.

All will be presented at the Modlin Center on UR’s West End campus except Mayumanna and the Batsheva Dance Company, which are performing at the Carpenter Theatre of Dominion Energy Center downtown.

For more information on obtaining tickets, call the Modlin Center box office at (804) 289-8980 or visit http://modlin.richmond.edu/free-federal-employee-tickets.html