Letter V

The Chamber Music Society of Central Virginia has announced its 2018-19 season, with seven ticketed and three free concerts. The society’s artistic director, cellist James Wilson, has assembled the season’s programs on the theme of “War and Peace.”

Among the works to be performed are the Third and Eighth string quartets and Piano Trio in E minor of Dmitri Shostakovich, Olivier Messiaen’s “Quartet for the End of Time,” Osvaldo Golijov’s “Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind,” Heinrich Biber’s “Mysteries of the Rosary,” Johann Sebastian Bach’s sonatas for violin and harpsichord, and six works by Johannes Brahms: the Clarinet Quintet, piano quartets Nos. 1 and 3 and the three sonatas for violin and piano.

Featured artists include Johnny Gandelsman, a noted solo violinist and member of The Knights chamber orchestra; Aisslin Nosky, concertmaster of the Handel and Haydn Society of Boston; Brendon Elliott, the Virginia-born violinist who recently earned his master’s degree from the Juilliard School; clarinetist and composer Bryan Crumpler; and the internationally lauded pianist Roman Rabinovich.

Season tickets are $198, $180 for seniors. Single-ticket prices are listed below. Service fees apply on all ticket purchases.

For more information, call the Chamber Music Society at (804) 304-6312 or visit its website, http://cmscva.org

Dates, locations, artists and programs for the coming season:

Sept. 29 (2 p.m., Gellman Room, Richmond Public Library, First and Franklin streets) – Bryan Crumpler, clarinet & composer; Brendon Elliott & Nurit Pacht, violins; Max Mandel, viola; James Wilson, cello. “Shostakovich and War 1,” discussion and performance of Shostakovich’s Quartet No. 3 and work TBA by Crumpler. (free)

Sept. 30 (4 p.m., Perkinson Recital Hall, University of Richmond) – Bryan Crumpler, clarinet; Brendon Elliott & Nurit Pacht, violins; Max Mandel, viola; James Wilson, cello. Brahms: Clarinet Quintet in B minor, Op. 115; Osvaldo Golijov: “Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind.” (Pre-concert talk by Wilson at 3:30 p.m.) ($28; $24 for seniors)

Nov. 12 (7:30 p.m., Branch Museum of Architecture and Design, Monument and Allen avenues) – Asslin Nosky, violin; Carsten Schmidt, harpsichord. J.S. Bach: sonatas TBA. ($40)

Dec. 15 (2 p.m., Gellman Room, Richmond Public Library, First and Franklin streets) – Johnny Gandelsman & Christina Day Martinson, violins; James Wilson, cello; Adam Cockerham, lute; Angela Lehman, reader. Biber: “Mysteries of the Rosary.” (free)

Dec. 16 (4 and 7:30 p.m., Wilton House Museum, 215 S. Wilton Road) – Mary Boodell, flute; Johnny Gandelsman & Christina Day Martinson, violins; James Wilson, cello; Adam Cockerham, lute; Carsten Schmidt, harpsichord. Works TBA by J.S. Bach, Darius Castello, others. ($40)

Dec. 18 (7:30 p.m., Holy Comforter Episciopal Church, Monument Avenue at Staples Mill Road) – Johnny Gandelsman & Christina Day Martinson, violins; Celia Hutton, viola; James Wilson, cello; Jessica Powell Eig, double-bass; Mary Boodell & Brandon Patrick George, traverse flutes; Adam Cockerham, lute; Carsten Schmidt, harpsichord. Corelli: Concerto grosso in G minor, Op. 6, No. 8 (“Christmas Concerto”); Telemann: “Tafelmusik” (selections). ($28; $24 for seniors)

Jan. 20 (4 p.m., First Unitarian Universalist Church, 1000 Blanton Ave. at the Carillon) – Bryan Crumpler, clarinet; Grace Park, violin; James Wilson, cello; Terrence Wilson, piano. Shostakovich: Piano Trio in E minor; Messiaen: “Quartet for the End of Time.” ($28; $24 for seniors)

March 2 (2 p.m. Gellman Room, Richmond Public Library, First and Franklin streets) – Diana Cohen & Meredith Riley, violins; Michael Casimir, viola; James Wilson, cello; Angela Lehman, reader. “Shostakovich and War 2,” with performance of Shostakovich’s Quartet No. 8 and meditations on war and peace. (free)

March 3 (4 p.m., Perkinson Recital Hall, University of Richmond) – Diana Cohen, violin; Michael Casimir, viola; James Wilson, cello; Roman Rabinovich, piano. Brahms: Piano Quartet No. 1 in G minor, Op. 25; Brahms: Piano Quartet No. 3 in C minor, Op. 60. ($28; $24 for seniors)

April 28 (4 p.m., Perkinson Recital Hall, University of Richmond) – Diane Pascal, violin; Carsten Schmidt, piano. Brahms: Violin Sonata No. 1 in G major, Op. 78; Brahms: Violin Sonata No. 2 in A major, Op. 100; Brahms: Violin Sonata No. 3 in D minor, Op. 108. ($28; $24 for seniors)

Oliver Knussen, composer, conductor and mentor to a generation of younger British composers, has died at 66.

Best-known for “Where the Wild Things Are” and “Higglety Piggelty Pop!” operas based on Maurice Sendak’s children’s stories, Knussen also produced a limited but potent range of concert works and was a mainstay of contemporary music ensembles in Britain and elsewhere.

Born in Glasgow, son of Stuart Knussen, the principal double-bassist and onetime chairman of the London Symphony Orchestra, Oliver Knussen began composing as a young child. He conducted the LSO in his First Symphony in 1968, when he was 16. (He subsequently withdrew the work.)

In maturity, Knussen was co-artistic director at Aldeburgh, the music festival founded by Benjamin Britten, from 1983 to 1998, and led the contemporary music program at Tanglewood from 1986 to 1993.

On July 6, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Royal Academy of Music in London.

An obituary by Imogen Tilden for The Guardian:

http://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/jul/09/oliver-knussen-dies-aged-66-composer-conductor

“Everyone needs Lang Lang to come back and do what he does in such a unique fashion,” Mark Volpe, managing director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, tells The New York Times’ Michael Cooper. “I don’t just mean playing the piano; I mean the bigger picture. There are other great pianists, but he has a personality, he’s got a presence.”

So everyone – or, at least, everyone vested in selling concert tickets and preserving star power in classical music – has been waiting anxiously for the 36-year-old Chinese pianist’s return to the stage after more than a year’s absence because of an inflammation of his left arm.

Among the anxious parties, the Richmond Symphony, which has engaged him for its 2018-19 opening-night gala on Sept. 21. (A second booking after he was forced to cancel the orchestra’s opening concert this past season.)

This weekend Lang Lang made his post-recovery return with the Boston Symphony at Tanglewood, the summer music festival in the Berkshires of Massachusetts. He played Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 24 in C minor, K. 491, the same work he is scheduled to play in Richmond this fall.

The first reviews of the July 6 Tanglewood concert are in, and it appears that the pianist’s trademark visual flamboyance hasn’t diminished, but doesn’t drive the most profound of Mozart’s concertos off course.

David Noel Edwards reviews the concert for The Berkshire Edge:

http://theberkshireedge.com/music-review-lang-lang-opens-tanglewood-season-with-passionate-performance-of-mozart-piano-concerto-a-la-leonard-bernstein/

Priscilla McLean’s review for the Albany Times-Union:

http://www.timesunion.com/7day-arts/article/Review-BSO-opens-Tanglewood-season-with-a-stunner-13056616.php

UPDATE (July 9): More reviews have come in.

Jeremy Eichler’s review for The Boston Globe (scroll down for coverage of the July 6 program):

http://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/music/2018/07/08/tanglewood-opens-with-bernstein-exuberance-lang-lang-return/O2KHpSiplk8y2bsGG9QzCK/story.html

And Joshua Barone, writing for The New York Times:

In addition to the Tanglewood and Richmond performances, Lang Lang is scheduled to play the Mozart concerto on Aug. 17 and 19 at the Lucerne Festival in Switzerland, on Sept. 13 with the Vienna Philharmonic at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, on Sept. 26 with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, on Sept. 29 with the Cleveland Orchestra, and on Oct. 4 with the San Diego Symphony.

Kate Lindsey, the Richmond-born mezzo-soprano who has become a star of opera and art-song, and first local performances by pianist Daniil Trifonov and the Danish String Quartet highlight the 2018-19 classical season of the University of Richmond’s Modlin Arts Center.

The university’s Tucker-Boatwright Festival, this year focusing on Asian music and its resonations in the West, will feature the Richmond Symphony in three on-campus concerts.

The Shanghai Quartet with cellist David Finckel and pianist Wu Han, the Dover Quartet with pianist Peter Serkin, the Takács Quartet and the Colour of Music Festival Chamber Orchestra also will perform in the center’s classical series.

UR’s resident new-music sextet eighth blackbird will present “Stay on It” by the pioneering African-American composer Julius Eastman in a spring program, and will perform in the university’s Third Practice Electroacoustic Music Festival in the fall.

Music department faculty artists and student ensembles, including pianists Richard Becker and Paul Hanson, the Richmond Piano Trio, organist Bruce Stevens and the UR Symphony Orchestra, Wind Ensemble and Schola Cantorum & Women’s Chorale, will perform in free concerts throughout the school year.

The Modlin Arts season also will present leading folk, jazz, world-music, dance and theater troupes. Among them are Celtic fiddler Eileen Ivers; comedian Paula Poundstone; saxophonists Branford Marsalis and Maceo Parker; the Mark Morris Dance Group & Music Ensemble; the Second City comedy troupe; singers René Marie, Alicia Olatuja and Theo Bleckmann in “Songs of Freedom;” banjoist Béla Fleck, tabla player Zakir Hussain and double-bassist Edgar Meyer; the vocal trio Red Molly; the Sounds of China ensemble; Urban Bush Women; and a group led by jazz guitarist John Scofield.

For a complete schedule of Modlin Arts 2018-19 offerings, visit the website http://modlin.richmond.edu

To obtain a season brochure and more information on ticket subscriptions, call the center’s box office at (804) 289-8980.

The Modlin Center’s 2018-19 classical artists and programs, all concerts at 7:30 p.m. in Camp Concert Hall:

Sept. 26 – Colour of Music Festival Chamber Orchestra, with vocal soloists TBA. “A Tribute to Leontyne Price.” ($34)

Oct. 19 – Dover Quartet, with pianist Peter Serkin. Schubert: Quartet in G major, D. 887; Brahms: Piano Quintet in F minor, Op. 34. ($36)

Oct. 26 – Mezzo-soprano Kate Lindsey and pianist Baptiste Trotignon. “Thousands of Miles.” Songs TBA by Kurt Weill, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Alma Mahler and Alexander von Zemlinsky. ($36).

Nov. 8 – Danish String Quartet. Haydn: Quartet in C major, Op. 30, No. 2; Hans Abrahamsen: Quartet No. 1 (“Ten Preludes for String Quartet”); Beethoven: Quartet in F major, Op. 59, No. 1 (“Razumovsky”). ($36)

Feb. 7 – Pianist Daniil Trifonov. Beethoven: “Andante favori;” Beethoven: Sonata in E flat major, Op. 31, No. 3 (“Hunt”); Schumann: “Bunte Blätter,” Op. 99 (excerpts); Schumann: Presto passionato, Op. 22; Prokofiev: Sonata No. 8. ($40)

Feb. 28 – Shanghai Quartet, with cellist David Finckel and pianist Wu Han. Schubert: String Quintet in C major, D. 956; Dvořák: Piano Quintet in A major, Op. 81. ($36)

April 12 – Takács Quartet. Haydn: Quartet in G major, Op. 76, No. 1; Beethoven: Quartet in F major, Op. 135; Grieg: Quartet in G Minor. ($38)

* * *

Richmond Symphony Tucker-Boatwright Festival programs, all at 7:30 p.m. in Camp Concert Hall:

Oct. 3 – “Middle Eastern Connections.” Mozart: “The Abduction from the Seraglio” Overture; Beethoven: “The Ruins of Athens” incidental music – Turkish March; Kareem Roustom: “Dabke;” Fazil Say: Symphonic Dances; Ives: “Country Band March;” Haydn: Symphony No. 88 in G major. ($36)

Jan. 23 – “Southeast Asian Connections.” Debussy: “Pagodes,” “La boite a joujoux” (with Balinese shadow play); Evan Ziporyn: “Ngabon” for gamelan and orchestra; Dewa Ketut Alit: “Open My Door;” Mozart: Symphony No. 25 in G minor, K. 183; reconstruction of gamelan music by Sumarsam, as heard by Debussy at 1889 Paris Exposition. ($36)

Feb. 22 – “South Asian Connections.” Reena Esmail: “Avartan;” Esmail: new work for Indian singer and orchestra (singer TBA); Shirish Korde: “Lalit” for cello, tabla and chamber orchestra (cellist & tabla player TBA); Beethoven: Symphony No. 6 in F major (“Pastoral”). ($36)

* * *

UR Music Department classical artists and programs, all free admission, all at 7:30 p.m. in Camp Concert Hall unless listed otherwise:

Aug. 29 – Music Faculty Showcase. Artists and program TBA.

Sept. 14 – Family Weekend Concert. Artists and program TBA.

Oct. 1 (7:30 p.m., Perkinson Recital Hall, North Court) – “Call to Prayer: Creative Liturgy in Transcontinental Islamic Practice.” Muezzin Yunus Khaerisman, vocalist Jessika Kenney, Prof. Anne Rasmussen.

Oct. 10 (7:30 p.m., Perkinson Recital Hall, North Court) – Tucker-Boatwright Festival: “Mohican Songs of the Spirit.” Vocalist Bill Miller.

Oct. 28 – UR Schola Cantorum & Women’s Chorale, Jeffrey Riehl & David Pedersen directing. Contemporary works TBA.

Nov. 2-3 – Third Practice Electroacoustic Music Festival, Benjamin Broening directing. eighth blackbird, other artists TBA. Programs TBA.

Nov. 18 – UR Wind Ensemble, David Niethamer directing. Holst: Suite No. 1 in E flat major for military band; Ives: “Country Band March;” Bernstein: works TBA.

Nov. 28 – UR Symphony Orchestra, Alexander Kordzaia conducting. Richard Strauss: Violin Concerto in D major – I: Allegro (Micah Huntor-Chang, violin); Rossini: “La gazza ladra” (“The Thieving Magpie”) Overture; Sibelius: Symphony No. 2 in D major – IV: Finale.

Dec. 3 – UR Chamber Ensembles, Joanne Kong directing. Program TBA.

Dec. 9 (5 and 8 p.m., Cannon Memorial Chapel) – UR Schola Cantorum & Women’s Chorale, Jeffrey Riehl & David Pedersen directing. 45th annual Festival of Lessons and Carols.

Feb. 3 (3 p.m.) – Pianist Richard Becker. Works TBA by Mozart, Chopin, Schumann.

Feb. 11 – Richmond Piano Trio (violinist Daisuke Yamamoto, cellist Neal Cary, pianist Joanne Kong). Beethoven: Piano Trio in C Minor, Op. 1, No. 3; Rachmaninoff: “Trio elegaique” in G minor; Schubert: Piano Trio No. 1 in B flat major, D. 898.

Feb. 22-24 (times TBA, Perkinson Recital Hall, North Court) – Tucker-Boatwright Festival: “Sonic Representation in the Digital Age.” Artists and programs TBA.

Feb. 23 – Neumann Lecture on Music: Guthrie Ramsey. “Hide/Melt/Ghost: Writing the Early History of African-American Music.”

March 3 – UR Schola Cantorum & Women’s Chorale, Jeffrey Riehl & David Pedersen directing. Program TBA.

March 6 – Pianist Paul Hanson. Works TBA by Schubert, Brahms, Scriabin.

March 7 – eighth blackbird. Julius Eastman: “Stay on It;” works TBA by Angélica Negrón, Viet Cuong, others.

March 24 (3 p.m.) – Duo-pianists Richard Becker & Doris Wylee-Becker. Program TBA.

April 1 (7:30 p.m., River Road Church, Baptist) – Organist Bruce Stevens. Works TBA by Franck, Widor, Percy Whitlock, others.

April 10 – UR Symphony Orchestra, Alexander Kordzaia conducting, with harpist Claire Jones, percussionist-composer Chris Marshall, GreenSpring International American Youth Harp Ensemble. Marshall: new work TBA; Stravinsky: “The Firebird” Suite (excerpts).

April 15 – UR Wind Ensemble, David Niethamer directing. Program TBA.

April 22 – UR Chamber Ensembles, Joane Kong directing. Program TBA.

Celebrating the birthday of the United States – a nation of immigrants and refugees – with three centuries of music made in America by immigrants and refugees.

1-5 p.m. EDT
1700-2100 UTC/GMT
WDCE, University of Richmond
90.1 FM
http://wdce.net

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

Johann Friedrich Peter: String Quintet No. 1 in D major
American Moravian Chamber Ensemble
(New World)

Past Masters:
Anthony Philip Heinrich: Grand Symphony in D major
(“The Ornithological Combat of Kings”)
Syracuse Symphony Orchestra/Christopher Keene
(New World)
(recorded 1977)

Past Masters:
Korngold: Violin Concerto in D major
Jascha Heifetz, violin
Los Angeles Philharmonic/Alfred Wallenstein
(RCA Red Seal)
(recorded 1953)

Past Masters:
Stravinsky: “Scherzo à la russe”
Columbia Symphony Orchestra/Igor Stravinsky
(Sony Classical)
(recorded 1963)

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

Hindemith: “Symphonic Metamorphosis on a Theme of Carl Maria von Weber”
Philadelphia Orchestra/Wolfgang Sawallisch
(EMI Classics)

Past Masters:
Bartók: Concerto for Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Orchestra/Fritz Reiner
(RCA Red Seal)
(recorded 1955)

Ernst Krenek: Trio, Op. 108
Péter Somogyi, violin
Csaba Klenyán, clarinet
Ildikó Nagy, piano
(Hungaroton)

Past Masters:
Schoenberg: Theme and Variations, Op. 43b
Philadelphia Orchestra/Eugene Ormandy
(Sony Classical)
(recorded 1963)

Martinů: Symphony No. 1
BBC Symphony Orchestra/Jiří Bĕlohlávek
(Onyx)

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: The area’s major Fourth of July concerts, both with fireworks and/or laser lights: The Richmond Concert Band’s traditional program at Dogwood Dell in Byrd Park, and the Richmond Symphony’s “Red, White and Lights” at Dorey Park in Varina. . . . The Richmond Symphony Summer Series, “The World of Robert Schumann,” features performers from the symphony, the University of Richmond and Virginia Commonwealth University in music of Schumann, his wife, Clara, and contemporaries such as Brahms and Bruch, in hour-long chamber concerts on July 12, 19 and 26 (with more in August) in Dominion Energy Center’s Gottwald Playhouse.

Noteworthy elsewhere: The National Symphony Orchestra’s July 4 “Capitol Fourth” concert on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol features violinist Joshua Bell, soprano Renée Fleming, Jimmy Buffett, the Beach Boys and others. . . . Charlottesville Opera stages Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro” on July 8,12 and 14, and Stephen Sondheim’s “Into the Woods” on July 27 and 29 (and Aug. 2, 4 and 5), all at the Paramount Theater. . . . Gonzalo Farias conducts the Virginia Symphony Orchestra in pops and light-classical programs in “Symphony by the Sea” concerts on July 12 and 26 at Neptune’s Park in Virginia Beach. . . . The Garth Newel Piano Quintet, with the Ensō String Quartet and other guest artists, perform in chamber concerts on Saturday nights and Sunday afternoons, beginning July 14-15 and running through August, at Garth Newel Music Center in Hot Springs. . . . Bramwell Tovey conducts the National Symphony, The Washington Chorus and soloists in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, and pianist Inon Barnatan in Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1, July 14 at Wolf Trap’s Filene Center. . . . Wolf Trap Opera stages Gounod’s “Romeo et Juliette,” July 15, 17, 19 and 21 at The Barns at Wolf Trap. . . . Michael Barrett conducts the National Symphony, joined by the Manhattan Transfer, Take 6 and clarinetist Paquito D’Rivera, in “Bernstein at 100,” a sampler of symphonic and theater works by Leonard Bernstein, July 27 at Wolf Trap. . . . The Shenandoah Valley Music Festival presents the Piedmont Symphony Orchestra, Glenn Quader conducting, playing masterworks by Dvořák, Copland and Vaughan Williams, July 28 at the Orkney Springs Hotel Pavilion in Shenandoah County. . . . Patrick Summers conducts the National Symphony, with soprano Christine Goerke, tenor Simon O’Neill and bass-baritones Alan Held and Eric Owens, in selections from Wagner’s “Ring” cycle, July 28 at Wolf Trap.

July 4 (5 p.m.)
Dorey Park, 2999 Darbytown Road, Varina
Richmond Symphony
conductor TBA
“Red White and Lights,” patriotic pops concert with fireworks and laser-light show
free
(804) 652-1440
http://www.richmondsymphony.com

July 4 (7:30 p.m.)
Dogwood Dell, Byrd Park, Richmond
Richmond Concert Band
Mark W. Poland directing
Fourth of July program TBA, with fireworks
free
(800) 646-3355
http://www.richmondgov.com/parks/programmingDogwoodDell.aspx

July 4 (8 p.m.)
West Lawn, U.S. Capitol, Washington
National Symphony Orchestra
Jack Everly conducting
Jimmy Buffett, the Beach Boys, the Temptations, violinist Joshua Bell, soprano Renée Fleming, Choral Arts Society of Washington, U.S. Army Ceremonial Band, other guest stars
“A Capitol Fourth”
program TBA
free
(800) 444-1324
http://www.kennedy-center.org

July 8 (8 p.m.)
The Hof Garden, 2818 W. Broad St., Richmond
Classical Revolution RVA:
artists TBA
program TBA
free
(804) 342-0012
http://www.classicalrevolutionrva.com/events

July 8 (2 p.m.)
July 12 (7:30 p.m.)
July 14 (7:30 p.m.)
Paramount Theater, 215 E. Main St., Charlottesville
Charlottesville Opera
Steven Jarvi conducting
Mozart: “The Marriage of Figaro”
Tyler Simpson (Figaro)
Karin Mushegain (Susanna)
Trevor Scheunemann (Count Almaviva)
Katherine Whyte (Countess Almaviva)
Brian Kontes (Dr. Bartolo)
Claudia Chapa (Marcellina)
Katherine Henly (Barbarina)
David Paul, stage director
in Italian, English captions
$25-$70
(434) 293-4500
http://www.charlottesvilleopera.org

July 12 (6:30 p.m.)
Gottwald Playhouse, Dominion Energy Center, Sixth and Grace streets, Richmond
Richmond Symphony Summer Series:
Jason McComb, cello
Joanne Kong, piano
Schumann: “Fünf Stücke im Volkston,” Op. 102 (excerpts)
Bloch: “From Jewish Life” – Prayer
Ernst Bacon: “A Life”
Schumann: Fantasie in C major, Op. 17 (excerpt)
$18
(804) 788-1212
http://www.richmondsymphony.com

July 12 (7:30 p.m.)
Neptune’s Park, 31st Street at Atlantic Avenue, Virginia Beach
Virginia Symphony Orchestra
Gonzalo Farias conducting
“Symphony by the Sea”
works TBA by Elgar, Tchaikovsky, John Williams, Hans Zimmer, others
free
(757) 892-6366
http://virginiasymphony.org

July 14 (5 p.m.)
Herter Hall, Garth Newel Music Center, 403 Garth Newel Lane, Hot Springs
Garth Newel Piano Quartet
Thiago Ancelmo de Souza, clarinet
Joel Fuller, violin
Brahms: Clarinet Sonata in F minor, Op. 120, No. 1
Beethoven: Quartet in F major, Op. 59, No. 1 (“Razumovsky”)
$25 (concert), $84 (concert with dinner)
(877) 558-1689
http://www.garthnewel.org

July 14 (8:15 p.m.)
Filene Center, Wolf Trap, Trap Road, Fairfax County
National Symphony Orchestra
Bramwell Tovey conducting
Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1 in B flat minor
Inon Barnatan, piano
Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 in D minor (“Choral”)
Yelena Dyachek, soprano
Zoie Reams, mezzo-soprano
Richard Trey Smagur, tenor
Thomas Glass, baritone
The Washington Chorus
$25-$60
(877) 965-3872 (Tickets.com)
http://www.wolftrap.org

July 15 (3 p.m.)
Herter Hall, Garth Newel Music Center, 403 Garth Newel Lane, Hot Springs
Garth Newel Piano Quartet
Thiago Ancelmo de Souza, clarinet
Joel Fuller, violin
Mozart: Quartet in A major, K. 464
Rebecca Clarke: Prelude, Allegro and Pastorale for viola and clarinet
Paul Moravec: “Tempest Fantasy” for clarinet, violin, cello and piano
$25 (concert), $43 (concert with picnic)
(877) 558-1689
http://www.garthnewel.org

July 15 (3 p.m.)
July 17 (7:30 p.m.)
July 19 (7:30 p.m.)
July 21 (7:30 p.m.)
The Barns at Wolf Trap, Trap Road, Fairfax County
Wolf Trap Opera
Eric Melear conducting
Gounod: “Romeo et Juliette”
Alexander McKissick (Romeo)
Madison Leonard (Juliette)
Richard Trey Smagur (Tybalt)
Thomas Glass (Mercutio)
Taylor Raven (Gertrude)
Anthony Reed (Frère Laurent)
Patrick Guetti (Count Pâris)
Joshua Conyers (Lord Capulet)
Andrew Gilstrap (Gregorio)
Annie Rosen (Stéphano)
Kevin Bryant (Benvolio)
Louisa Miller, stage director
in French, English captions
$36-$92
(877) 965-3872 (Tickets.com)
http://www.wolftrap.org

July 15 (6 p.m.)
Kennedy Center Concert Hall, Washington
National Symphony Orchestra Summer Music Institute Orchestra
Abel Pereira conducting
Bernstein: “Candide” Overture
Dvořák: Symphony No. 9 in E minor (“From the New World”)
free
(800) 444-1324
http://www.kennedy-center.org

July 19 (6:30 p.m.)
Gottwald Playhouse, Dominion Energy Center, Sixth and Grace streets, Richmond
Richmond Symphony Summer Series:
HyoJoo Uh, viola
Magdalena Adamek, piano
Schumann: “Märchenbilder,” Op. 113
Bruch: Romance in F major, Op. 85
Clara Wieck Schumann: “Soirées musicales,” Op. 6 – Notturno
Brahms: Sonata in E flat major, Op. 120, No. 2
$18
(804) 788-1212
http://www.richmondsymphony.com

July 19 (6:30 p.m.)
Phillips Collection, 1600 21st St. NW, Washington
Wolf Trap Opera:
Madison Leonard, soprano
Megan Mikailovna Samarin, mezzo-soprano
Ian Koziara, tenor
Joseph Li, piano
program TBA
$20
(877) 965-3872 (Tickets.com)
http://www.wolftrap.org

July 21 (8 p.m.)
Orkney Springs Hotel Pavilion, Route 263, Shenandoah County
Piedmont Symphony Orchestra
Glenn Quader conducting & guitar
“The Music of Pink Floyd”
$36-$55
(540) 459-3396
http://musicfest.org

July 21 (5 p.m.)
Herter Hall, Garth Newel Music Center, 403 Garth Newel Lane, Hot Springs
Garth Newel Piano Quartet
Aaron Berofsky, violin
Emerging Artists Fellows
Franck: Piano Quintet in F minor
Mendelssohn: Octet in E flat major, Op. 20
$25 (concert), $84 (concert with dinner)
(877) 558-1689
http://www.garthnewel.org

July 21 (8:30 p.m.)
Filene Center, Wolf Trap, Trap Road, Fairfax County
National Symphony Orchestra
Emil de Cou conducting
accompanying the film “Jaws”
$40-$65
(877) 965-3872 (Tickets.com)
http://www.wolftrap.org

July 22 (3 p.m.)
Herter Hall, Garth Newel Music Center, 403 Garth Newel Lane, Hot Springs
Garth Newel Piano Quartet
Aaron Berofsky, violin
Emerging Artists Fellows
Beethoven: Violin Sonata in A major, Op. 47 (“Kreutzer”)
Brahms: Piano Quintet in F minor, Op. 34
$25 (concert), $43 (concert with picnic)
(877) 558-1689
http://www.garthnewel.org

July 22 (8:30 p.m.)
Filene Center, Wolf Trap, Trap Road, Fairfax County
National Symphony Orchestra
Emil de Cou conducting
accompanying the film “Casino Royale”
$40-$65
(877) 965-3872 (Tickets.com)
http://www.wolftrap.org

July 26 (6:30 p.m.)
Gottwald Playhouse, Dominion Energy Center, Sixth and Grace streets, Richmond
Richmond Symphony Summer Series:
Ellen Cockerham Riccio, violin
David Fisk, piano
Brahms: Sonata movement in C minor, Op. posth.
Clara Schumann: Three romances, Op. 22
Schumann: “Fantasiestücke,” Op. 12 (excerpts)
Schumann: Sonata in D minor, Op. 121, No. 2
$18
(804) 788-1212
http://www.richmondsymphony.com

July 26 (7:30 p.m.)
Neptune’s Park, 31st Street at Atlantic Avenue, Virginia Beach
Virginia Symphony Orchestra
Gonzalo Farias conducting
“Symphony by the Sea”
works TBA by Copland, Joplin, Grofé, others
free
(757) 892-6366
http://virginiasymphony.org

July 27 (7:30 p.m.)
July 29 (2 p.m.)
Paramount Theater, 215 E. Main St., Charlottesville
Charlottesville Opera
Andy Anderson conducting
Sondheim: “Into the Woods”
Rena Strober (The Witch)
Leah Edwards (Cinderella)
Adam Alexander (The Baker)
Sharin Apostolou (The Baker’s Wife)
Christopher Job (Cinderella’s Prince/The Wolf)
Brian Giebler (Jack)
Patrick Jacobs (narrator)
Deborah Grausman (Little Red Riding Hood)
Raymond Zilberberg, stage director
in English
$25-$70
(434) 293-4500
http://www.charlottesvilleopera.org

July 27 (8:15 p.m.)
Filene Center, Wolf Trap, Trap Road, Fairfax County
National Symphony Orchestra
Michael Barrett conducting
Bernstein: “Candide” Overture
Bernstein: “Chichester Psalms”
Choral Arts Society of Washington
Bernstein: “Prelude, Fugue and Riffs”
Paquito D’Rivera, clarinet
Bernstein: “On the Town” – “The Dream Ballet,” “Some Other Time”
Bernstein: “Songfest” – “I, Too, Sing America,” “Okay, ‘Negroes,’ ” “A Julia de Burgos”
Bernstein: “West Side Story” – “Cool,” “Maria”
Bernstein: “Candide” – “Auto-da-fè,” “Glitter and Be Gay,” “Make Our Garden Grow”
Misty Copland, Erin Morley & Tony Yazbeck, vocalists
Manhattan Transfer
Take 6
George Takei, narrator
$25-$60
(877) 965-3872 (Tickets.com)
http://www.wolftrap.org

July 28 (8 p.m.)
Orkney Springs Hotel Pavilion, Route 263, Shenandoah County
Shenandoah Valley Music Festival:
Piedmont Symphony Orchestra
Glenn Quader conducting
Copland: “Rodeo” – Hoedown
Vaughan Williams: “The Lark Ascending”
violinist TBA
Copland: “Appalachian Spring” Suite
Dvořák: Symphony No. 9 in E minor (“From the New World”)
trad.: “Shenandoah”
$36-$41
(540) 459-3396
http://musicfest.org

July 28 (5 p.m.)
Herter Hall, Garth Newel Music Center, 403 Garth Newel Lane, Hot Springs
Ensō String Quartet
Benjamin Mitchell, clarinet
Evelyn Grau, viola
Isaac Melamed, cello
Alyssa Weinberg: “Still Life” for clarinet and string quartet
Beethoven: Quartet in G major, Op. 18, No. 3
Brahms: Sextet in B flat major, Op. 18
$25 (concert), $84 (concert with dinner)
(877) 558-1689
http://www.garthnewel.org

July 28 (8:15 p.m.)
Filene Center, Wolf Trap, Trap Road, Fairfax County
National Symphony Orchestra
Patrick Summers conducting
Wagner: “Der Ring des Niebelungen” (excerpts)
Christine Goerke, soprano
Simon O’Neill, tenor
Alan Held & Eric Owens, bass-baritones
$25-$60
(877) 965-3872 (Tickets.com)
http://www.wolftrap.org

July 29 (6 p.m.)
Town Point Park, 113 Waterside Drive, Norfolk
Virginia Symphony Orchestra
Jeff Phelps conducting
Jeans ’n Classics, guest stars
“The Music of Elton John”
free
(757) 892-6366
http://virginiasymphony.org

July 29 (3 p.m.)
Herter Hall, Garth Newel Music Center, 403 Garth Newel Lane, Hot Springs
Ensō String Quartet
Jeannette Fang, piano
Dohnányi: Piano Quintet in C Minor, Op. 1
Beethoven: Quartet in A minor, Op. 132
$25 (concert), $43 (concert with picnic)
(877) 558-1689
http://www.garthnewel.org

July 29 (6 p.m.)
Kennedy Center Concert Hall, Washington
National Symphony Orchestra Summer Music Institute Orchestra
Abel Pereira conducting
Verdi: “La forza del destino” Overture
Brahms: Symphony No. 4 in E minor
concerto TBA
soloist TBA
free
(800) 444-1324
http://www.kennedy-center.org

with Classical Revolution RVA Chamber Orchestra
Erin Freeman conducting
June 28, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

The Piedmont Singers of Central Virginia, an ensemble of eight voices based in Farmville and Hampden-Sydney, brought together two semingly disparate composers – Felix Mendelssohn and Arvo Pärt – in a program of sacred works presented to a capacity crowd in the Marble Hall of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.

Mendelssohn’s cantata “Christe, du Lamm Gottes” (“Christ, You Lamb of God”), framed by Pärt’s “Da pacem Domine” and “Berlin” Mass, turned out to have more in common than might have been expected.

All three works are contemplative in tone, and fittingly on the quiet side. And they are deeply informed both by religious belief and sturdy compositional precedents, in Mendelssohn’s case by the forms and techniques of Johann Sebastian Bach, and in Pärt’s case by his “Tintinnabuli” (bell-like) compositional style, melding ancient and medieval liturgical chant with modern, at times quasi-serial practices.

The “Berlin” Mass, written in 1990 for the Katholikentag (Catholics Day) festival at Berlin’s St. Hedwig Cathedral, adds to the standard Mass setting two alleluias and a “Veni sancte spiritus” section appropriate for Pentecost performances, and two more alleluias for Christmas performance. All were sung in this concert.

The vocal octet blended and balanced its voices well through most of the program, although soprano voices occasionally stood out more than optimally. The male soloists shone in their introductions of Pärt’s alleluias.

Sufficient projection was a challenge in the large, crowded space in which they performed, especially when competing with stray noises from the audience, the bar and surrounding galleries.

A small string ensemble, led by Erin Freeman, acompanied the Mendelssohn cantata and the Pärt Mass with warmth and suitable reticence.

1-5 p.m. EDT
1700-2100 UTC/GMT
WDCE, University of Richmond
90.1 FM
http://wdce.net

Wagner: “The Flying Dutchman” Overture
Les Musiciens du Louvre, Grenoble/Marc Minkowski
(Naïve)

Bruch: “Scottish Fantasy”
Joshua Bell, violin & director
Academy of St. Martin in the Fields
(Sony Classical)

Nielsen: “Helios” Overture
Danish National Symphony Orchestra/Thomas Dausgaard
(Dacapo)

Sibelius: “Pohjola’s Daughter”
Lahti Symphony Orchestra/Osmo Vänskä
(BIS)

Past Masters:
Elgar: Cello Concerto in E minor
Jacqueline du Pré, cello
London Symphony Orchestra/John Barbirolli
(EMI Classics)
(recorded 1965)

Hubert Parry: Symphonic Variations
Royal Scottish National Orchestra/Andrew Penney
(Naxos)

Beethoven: Quartet in C minor, Op. 18, No. 4
Hagen Quartet
(Deutsche Grammophon)

Brahms: Symphony No. 4 in E minor
Orchestre des Champs-Élysées/Philippe Herreweghe
(PHI)

J.S. Bach: Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor, BWV 582
(orchestration by Ottorino Respighi)
Seattle Symphony/Gerard Schwarz
(Naxos)

Villa-Lobos: “Bachianas Brasileiras” No. 2
Orquestra Sinfônica Municipal de São Paulo/Rodrigo de Carvalho
(Lua Classical)

J.S. Bach: Orchestral Suite No. 2 in B minor, BWV 1067
Juliette Hurel, flute
Les Surprises
(Alpha)

The Richmond Chamber Players’ 2018 Interlude series of four Sunday afternoon concerts in August will be staged at River Road Church, Baptist, in western Henrico County, while the series’ usual venue, the sanctuary of Bon Air Presbyterian Church, is closed for renovation.

This summer’s series will mark the centenary of Claude Debussy’s death with his Piano Trio and the 100th aniversaries of two works, Germaine Tailleferre’s String Quartet and Igor Stravinsky’s “L’histoire du soldat” (“The Soldier’s Tale”), the latter in a performance of the concert suite for clarinet, violin and piano that Stravinsky arranged from the original theater piece.

Other repertory ranges from solo string works by Johann Sebastian Bach and George Crumb to the Piano Trio by the early 20th century British composer Ethel Smyth, a woodwind trio by the late Richmond composer Allan Blank and string quartets by Shostakovich and the Mexican composer Javier Álvarez.

Performers include violinists Susy Yim and Catherine Cary, violist Stephen Schmidt, cellists Neal Cary and Ryan Lannan, clarinetists Jared Davis and David Niethamer, flutist Mary Boodell, bassoonist Thomas Schneider, harpist Lynette Wardle and pianist John Walter.

Tickets, $25 per concert, will be sold at the door and may be ordered in advance by mail: Richmond Chamber Players, P.O. Box 14654, Richmond, VA 23221. For details, visit http://www.richmondchamberplayers.org

Interlude 2018 programs, all at 3 p.m. at River Road Church, Baptist, River and Ridge roads:

Aug. 5
Stravinsky” L’histoire du soldat” (“The Soldier’s Tale”) Suite for clarinet, violin and piano; Allan Blank: “Introduction and Three Episodes” for flute, clarinet and bassoon; Mozart: Flute Quartet in D major, K. 285.

Aug. 12
J.S. Bach: Sonata No. 1 in G minor, BWV 1001, for solo violin; Henry Cowell: “Seven Paragraphs” for string trio; Kodály: Intermezzo for string trio; Germaine Tailleferre: String Quartet.

Aug. 19
Ethel Smyth: Piano Trio; Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 5

Aug. 26
Debussy: Piano Trio; George Crumb: Sonata for solo cello; Javier Álvarez: “Metro Chabacano” for string quartet; Dvořák: String Quartet in F major, Op. 96 (“American”) – IV: Finale.

 

The Richmond Symphony has extended the contract of Chia-Hsuan Lin, its associate conductor, for two more years, and has appointed Daniel Myssyk to the new position of assistant conductor.

Lin’s contract extension, running through the 2019-20 season, coincides with the period during which the orchestra will be searching for a new music director to replace Steven Smith, who is leaving at the end of the 2018-19 season.

Lin, who joined the symphony in 2015, has been the principal conductor of Symphony Pops, LolliPops and Discovery concerts, and also has led classical subscription, community and tour programs.

Myssyk, who serves as director of orchestral studies at Virginia Commonwealth University and was artistic director of the Appassionata Chamber Orchestra in Montreal from 2000 to 2016, will become conductor of the Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra and will assume a leadership role in the orchestra’s Young Performers Program, as well as taking conducting dates with the symphony.

Lin’s extension and Myssyk’s appointment were announced at the end-of-season symphony board meeting. Also announced were the appointments of two new board members: Joshua Bennett, vice president of technical services at Dominion Energy, and Samuel Koo, a former assistant secretary general of the United Nations, president of World Embrace and executive director of the Great Mountains Music Festival in his native South Korea.