News
Entertainment
Science & Technology
Life
Culture & Art
Hobbies
News
Entertainment
Science & Technology
Culture & Art
Hobbies
Backlash at the box office? – Letter V
Following the takeover of Washington’s Kennedy Center by President Trump and his allies, subscription ticket sales for next season’s offerings at the center have dropped significantly, The Washington Post’s Travis M. Andrews and The New York Times’ Javier C. Hernández report, with an especially steep decrease in sales for theater productions. Hernández reports that subscriptions,…
June calendar – 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. Ticket prices do not include service fees. June 1 (7 p.m.)River Road Church,…
Letter V Classical Radio June 1 – Letter V
An all-French program, with a historic centerpiece: Maurice Ravel’s “Daphnis et Chloé,” conducted by Pierre Monteux, who led the ballet’s premiere in 1912 and in 1959 made the still-definitive recording of the work with the London Symphony Orchestra and Royal Opera Chorus. 7-10 p.m. EDT2300-0200 UTCWDCE, University of Richmond90.1 FMhttp://wdce.org Berlioz: “Le Corsaire” OvertureBaltimore Symphony…
Charles Wadsworth (1929-2025) – Letter V
Charles Wadsworth, the founding director of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, has died at 96. Wadsworth also was the founding director of chamber music at Gian Carlo Menotti’s Spoleto Festival in Italy, and subsequently in the festival’s US incarnation in Charleston, South Carolina. He oversaw the Charleston programs from their inception in 1977…
Major DC presenter exits Kennedy Center – Letter V
Following the takeover of the Kennedy Center by President Trump and his allies, Washington Performing Arts, the city’s principal independent presenter of touring classical artists, has announced that it will not stage events at the center next season. In a statement accompanying announcement of Washington Performing Arts’ 2025-26 season, Jenny Bilfield, the organization’s president and…
Letter V Classical Radio May 18 – Letter V
7-10 p.m. EDT2300-0200 UTCWDCE, University of Richmond90.1 FMhttp://wdce.org J.C. Bach: Symphony in D major, Op. 18, No. 4Academy of Ancient Music/Simon Standage(Chandos) Rameau: “Les Boréades” SuiteLe Concert des Nations/Jordi Savall(AliaVox) Boccherini: Cello Concerto No. 6 in D major, G. 479Edgar Moreau, celloIl Pomo d’Oro/Riccardo Minasi(Erato) Richard Strauss: “Der Bürger als Edelmann” (“Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme”) SuiteStaatskapelle…
Letter V Classical Radio May 11 – Letter V
7-10 p.m. EDT2300-0200 UTCWDCE, University of Richmond90.1 FMhttp://wdce.org Darius Milhaud: “Suite provençale”Orchestre National de Lille/Jean-Claude Casadesus(Naxos) Mozart: Violin Concerto No. 3 in G major, K. 216Pamela Frank, violinTonhalle-Orchester Zürich/David Zinman(Arte Nova) Debussy: “Printemps”Cleveland Orchestra/Pierre Boulez(Deutsche Grammophon) Schubert: Sonata in A major, D. 959Krystian Zimerman, piano(Deutsche Grammophon) Borodin: Piano Quintet in C minorAlexander Mogilevsky, pianoAndrey Baranov…
When acronyms collide – Letter V
“Spyware-maker NSO ordered to pay $167 million for hacking WhatsApp,” reads a headline in this morning’s Washington Post. This is awkward for The Post and other media in this region. NSO is not just the short form of NSO Group, an Israeli tech firm, but also the acronym for Washington’s National Symphony Orchestra. For the…
Radio show moves to new time & duration – Letter V
I’ll be taking a week off as Letter V Classical Radio moves to a new time and a three-hour format for the summer. Beginning May 11, the show will air on Sundays 7 to 10 p.m. EDT (2300-0200 UTC) on the University of Richmond’s WDCE, 90.1 FM, streaming via http://wdce.net The show’s programs will be…
May calendar – 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. Ticket prices do not include service fees. May 1 (7 p.m.)May 2 (11:30…
Radio show moving, expanding – Letter V
Beginning on May 4, Letter V Classical Radio moves to Sundays and expands to three hours (for the summer, at least): 7-10 p.m. EDT (2300-0200 UTC) on the University of Richmond’s WDCE, 90.1 FM, streaming via http://wdce.net The show’s programs will be posted here on Saturdays.
Letter V Classical Radio April 29 – Letter V
10 a.m.-noon EDT1400-1600 UTC/GMTWDCE, University of Richmond90.1 FMhttp://wdce.org Jan Dismas Zelenka: Sinfonia à 8 concertanti in A minor, ZWV 189Freiburg Baroque Orchestra/Gottfried von der Goltz(Deutsche Harmonia Mundi) Paul Dukas: “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice”Yuja Wang, piano(Deutsche Grammophon) Kurt Weill: “Kleine Dreigoschenmusik” (“Little Threepenny Music”)London Symphony Orchestra/Michael Tilson Thomas(Sony Classical) Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major,…
The Kennedy Center diverges – Letter V
Michael Andor Brodeur, The Washington Post’s music critic, weighs in on the takeover of the Kennedy Center by President Trump and his allies, and the resulting prospect of “a clear divergence from the mission laid out in the Kennedy Center’s authorizing statute requiring programs and policies that ‘meet the highest level of excellence and reflect…
What ‘Loving,’ and loving, are all about – Letter V
Lovers struggling to prevail over those who would thwart them is a familiar trope of opera. So is the struggle against oppression. Both inform “Loving v. Virginia,” an opera by composer Damien Geter and librettist Jessica Murphy Moo receiving its premiere this weekend by Virginia Opera. The opera, the finale of the company’s 50th-anniversary season,…
No radio this week – Letter V
The University of Richmond largely closed down on Monday after a snake slithered into “a central piece of equipment that safely delivers electrical power to our campus,” a UR spokesperson reports. While power is expected to be restored and university operations to resume today, I’m going to pass on broadcasting until the situation is well…
Letter V Classical Radio April 15 – Letter V
10 a.m.-noon EDT1500-1700 UTC/GMTWDCE, University of Richmond90.1 FMhttp://wdce.org Handel: “Solomon” –“Swell, swell the full chorus”“May no rash intruder” (“Nightingale Chorus”)“From the censer curling rise”Monteverdi ChoirEnglish Baroque Soloists/John Eliot Gardiner(Decca) William Boyce: “Solomon” – “Softly rise, O southern breeze!”Ian Bostridge, tenorvocal ensembleThe English Concert/Bernard Labadie(Warner Classics) John Marsh: Symphony No. 10 in E flat major(“Conversation Symphony…
Time’s up for live reviews – Letter V
After 54 years of reviewing live performances, I’m calling it quits. For two reasons: – Health: For several years, I’ve been coping with inflammatory ailments. I’m prescribed drugs that suppress my immune system, making me more vulnerable to infectious diseases. Attending public events is potentially hazardous. Until recently, I reviewed Richmond Symphony concerts from video…
(Not quite) dead White male composer – Letter V
The US composer Alvin Lucier, who died in 2021, continues to make music, after a fashion. An Australian foursome – three artists and a neuroscientist – have “revivified” Lucier’s brain, whose neural signals are being translated into sounds. Lucier, a prominent experimental composer, donated blood to the project a year before his death. “[H]is white…
Letter V Classical Radio April 8 – Letter V
Keyboards galore – harpsichord, tangent piano, fortepiano and modern piano, in music ranging from Haydn and Beethoven to Poulenc and Martinů. 10 a.m.-noon EDT1400-1600 UTC/GMTWDCE, University of Richmond90.1 FMhttp://wdce.org Beethoven: Sonata in C major, Op. 53 (“Waldstein”)Ronald Brautigam, fortepiano(BIS) Haydn: Symphony No. 94 in G major (“Surprise”)(Johann Peter Salomon arrangement)Simon Standage & Monica Huggett, violinsJan…
April calendar – 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. Ticket prices do not include service fees. April 1 (7:30 p.m.)Old Cabell Hall,…
Letter V Classical Radio April 1 – Letter V
Highbrow humor for April Fools’ Day . . . 10 a.m.-noon EDT1400-1600 UTC/GMTWDCE, University of Richmond90.1 FMhttp://wdce.org Richard Strauss: “Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks”Staatskapelle Dresden/Rudolf Kempe(Warner Classics) Haydn: Quartet in E flat major, Op. 33, No. 2 (“The Joke”)Cuarteto Casals(Harmonia Mundi) Stravinsky: “The Soldier’s Tale” SuiteRichard Stoltzman, clarinetLucy Chapman Stoltzman, violinRichard Goode, piano(RCA) Hindemith: “Overture to…
‘Fragile moments of happiness’ – Letter V
Kirill Petrenko, the chief conductor the Berlin Philharmonic, is famously disinclined to sit for media interviews. A conversation with Malte Krasting and Tobias Müller, posted on the orchestra’s website, may be the most personally and professionally revealing remarks that Petrenko has made for public consumption. Since taking over artistic direction of the Berliners in 2019,…
Letter V Classical Radio March 18 – Letter V
10 a.m.-noon EDT1400-1600 UTC/GMTWDCE, University of Richmond90.1 FMhttp://wdce.org Dvořák: “Scherzo capriccioso”Cleveland Orchestra/Christoph von Dohnányi(Decca) Saint-Saëns: Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minorBella Davidovich, pianoRoyal Concertgebouw Orchestra/Neeme Järvi(Philips Eloquence) Mel Bonis: “Femmes de légende” (“Legendary Women”)Orchestre national de Metz/David Reiland(La Dolce Volta) Debussy: 3 Nocturneswomen of Choeur de Radio FranceOrchestre Philharmonique de Radio France/Mikko Franck(Alpha) Stravinsky:…
Sofia Gubaidulina (1931-2025) – Letter V
Sofia Gubaidulina, the Russian composer whose works, combining modernist techniques with Christian spirituality, drew the ire of Soviet authorities, has died at 93. Born in Tatarstan, then a Soviet republic, and schooled in the conservatories of Kazan and Moscow, Gubaidulina had a fraught relationship with the cultural establishment, recognized for her talent and encouraged by…
Ravel lost & found – Letter V
Just in time for this 150th anniversary year of Maurice Ravel’s birth, French scholars have unearthed an almost forgotten work written when Ravel was a student at the Paris Conservatoire: a prelude, dance and aria for “Sémiramis,” a cantata that was never completed. On March 13, the New York Philharmonic will give the premiere of…
Letter V Classical Radio March 11 – Letter V
10 a.m.-noon EDT1400-1600 UTC/GMTWDCE, University of Richmond90.1 FMhttp://wdce.org Hamish MacCunn: “The Land of the Mountain and the Flood”Royal Scottish National Orchestra/Alexander Gibson(Warner Classics) Grieg: Piano Concerto in A minorLeif Ove Andsnes, pianoBerlin Philharmonic/Mariss Jansons(Warner Classics) Delius: “Brigg Fair”Welsh National Opera Orchestra/Charles Mackerras(Decca) William Schuman: “New England Triptych:Three Pieces for Orchestra after Willing Billings”Saint Louis Symphony…
Letter V Classical Radio March 4 – Letter V
10 a.m.-noon EST1500-1700 UTC/GMTWDCE, University of Richmond90.1 FMhttp://wdce.org Brahms: “Tragic” OvertureChicago Symphony Orchestra/Fritz Reiner(Warner Classics) Mendelssohn: Quartet in F minor, Op. 80Artemis Quartet(Erato) Mieczysław Weinberg: Fantasia, Op. 52, for cello & orchestraPieter Wispelwey, celloLes Métamorphoses/Raphaël Feye(Evil Penguin) Haydn: Symphony No. 39 in G minorMunich Chamber Orchestra/Alexander Liebreich(ECM) Shostakovich: Quartet No. 8 in C minor, Op.…
Review: Richmond Symphony – Letter V
Rei Hotoda conductingwith Michael Sachs, trumpetFeb. 22-23, Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Centerreviewed from online stream, posted Feb. 28 Rei Hotoda, music director of California’s Fresno Philharmonic, booked on short notice as guest conductor of the Richmond Symphony’s latest mainstage program, led two musical mash-ups and one of the more elusive symphonies of the romantic era.…
March calendar – 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. Ticket prices do not include service fees. March 1 (7:30 p.m.)Ryan Recital Hall,…
Coup and consequences – Letter V
The takeover of the Kennedy Center, Washington’s largest performing-arts venue, by President Trump and his supporters has provoked a predictable outcry from people against whom Trump campaigned. The place where over-educated elites and denizens of the deep state go for opera, ballet, symphony concerts and DEI-indoctrination productions was an easy and obvious target. Is the…
Letter V Classical Radio Feb. 25 – Letter V
10 a.m.-noon EST1500-1700 UTC/GMTWDCE, University of Richmond90.1 FMhttp://wdce.org Carlos Simon: “Tales – a Folklore Symphony”National Symphony Orchestra/Gianandrea Noseda(National Symphony Orchestra) Rachmaninoff: Symphonic DancesMartha Argerich & Nicolas Economou, pianos(Deutsche Grammophon) Florence Price: “Fantasie nègre” No. 1 in E minorMichelle Cann, piano(Curtis Studio) Bartók: “Contrasts”Ricardo Morales, clarinetJasper Wood, violinDavid Riley, piano(Endeavour Classics) William Levi Dawson: “Negro Folk…
Trump & allies take over Kennedy Center – Letter V
President Donald J. Trump has dismissed the Kennedy Center’s board chairman and trustees not appointed by him, and the newly configured board has fired the center’s president, Deborah Rutter, naming Trump its chairman and an ally as interim president. In accepting the board chair after its longtime leader, David M. Rubenstein, was dismissed, Trump said…
February calendar – 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. Ticket prices do not include service fees. Feb. 1 (7:30 p.m.)Ryan Recital Hall,…
Reviews? – Letter V
I am again (sigh) undergoing medical treatment that compromises my immune system. This, as we reportedly have hit peak season for the spread of infectious diseases. So, again, I’m advised to avoid spending time in crowds – i.e., attending performances in large or tightly packed spaces. As a result, I’m not able to review concerts…
Kennedy Center chief announces departure – Letter V
Deborah Rutter, president of Washington’s Kennedy Center since 2014, has announced that she will vacate the post at the end of this year. Rutter, who came to Washington after serving as president of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, earlier held executive posts with the Seattle Symphony and Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. During her time at the…
Letter V Classical Radio Jan. 28 – Letter V
A midwinter exploration of Scandinavian music, from an 18th-century wedding celebration to a contemporary contemplation on medieval mystical themes. 10 a.m.-noon EST1500-1700 UTC/GMTWDCE, University of Richmond90.1 FMhttp://wdce.org Johan Helmich Roman: “Drottningholm Music” (selections)Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra/Andrew Manze(BIS) Niels W. Gade: Violin Concerto in D minorChristina Åstrand, violinTampere Philharmonic/John Storgårds(Dacapo) Grieg: “Peer Gynt” Suite No. 1San Francisco…
The ‘ritual’ of vinyl – Letter V
Writing for the website digitaltrends, John Higgins deconstructs the notion that the analog recording process produces better (“warmer”) sound than digital recording, noting that “apart from perhaps a few rare instances, there’s no such thing as a purely analog production chain. At some point, even if you’re listening to a vinyl record, that audio signal…
Letter V Classical Radio Jan. 21 – Letter V
10 a.m.-noon EST1500-1700 UTC/GMTWDCE, University of Richmond90.1 FMhttp://wdce.org Beethoven: “Leonore” Overture No. 1Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich/David Zinman(RCA) Schubert: Quartet in A minor, D. 804 (“Rosamunde”)Alban Berg Quartett(Warner Classics) Karol Szymanowski: Nocturne and Tarantella(Grzegorz Fitelberg orchestration)Ilya Kaler, violinWarsaw Philharmonic/Antoni Wit(Naxos) Dvořák: Symphony No. 6 in D majorCzech Philharmonic/Charles Mackerras(Supraphon) Osvaldo Golijov: “Last Round”St. Lawrence String QuartetYing QuartetMark Dresser,…