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July 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. July 1 (7:30 p.m.)The Barns at…
Letter V Classical Radio June 29 – Letter V
7-10 p.m. EDT2300-0200 UTCWDCE, University of Richmond90.1 FMhttp://wdce.org Mozart: “Die Entführung aus dem Serail” (“The Abduction from the Seraglio”) Suite(Johann Went arrangement)Netherlands Wind Ensemble(Decca Eloquence) Elgar: Serenade in E minor, Op. 20Camerata Wales/Owain Arwel Hughes(BIS) Amy Beach: Theme and Variations, Op. 80Eugenia Zukerman, fluteShanghai Quartet(Delos) Mendelssohn: “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” film score(Erich Wolfgang Korngold arrangement)Celinda…
Letter V Classical Radio June 22 – Letter V
In the second hour of the program, remembering Alfred Brendel, one of the most esteemed pianists of the past 50 years, in music that was foundational in his repertory: Mozart, Haydn and Liszt. 7-10 p.m. EDT2300-0200 UTCWDCE, University of Richmond90.1 FMhttp://wdce.org Wagner: “Rienzi” OvertureVienna Philharmonic/Christian Thielemann(Deutsche Grammophon) Bruch: Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minorJoshua…
Alfred Brendel (1931-2025) – Letter V
Alfred Brendel, the Moravian-born Austrian-British pianist widely celebrated as an authoritative interpreter of the Austro-German classical repertory, has died at 94. A largely self-taught musician, Brendel began his career in post-World War II Vienna. He first drew international notice with recordings, especially of the Mozart piano concertos, for Vox, a budget record label. His later…
Letter V Classical Radio June 15 – Letter V
7-10 p.m. EDT2300-0200 UTCWDCE, University of Richmond90.1 FMhttp://wdce.org Walton: Partita for OrchestraCleveland Orchestra/George Szell(Sony Classical) Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 3 in C majorMartha Argerich, pianoBerlin Philharmonic/Claudio Abbado(Deutsche Grammophon) Milhaud: “La Cheminée du roi René” (“The Chimney of King René”)Berlin Philharmonic Wind Quintet(BIS) Barber: “Medea’s Dance of Vengeance”Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra/Leonard Slatkin(Warner Classics) Janáček: Quartet No.…
Opera introduced at UR wins critics’ award – Letter V
“What Belongs to You,” David T. Little’s opera based on the Garth Greenwell novel, introduced last fall at the University of Richmond’s Modlin Arts Center, has won the 2025 Best New Opera award from the Music Critics Association of North America. In the September 2024 premiere performances, Little’s opera, a musical monodrama, starred tenor Karim…
Bach choy beats rock choy – Letter V
Bok choy, a Chinese cabbage used in East Asian cuisine, grows more robustly when exposed to music – but not just any music, a group of researchers from Malaysia and the United Kingdom report in a recent study. “Music for Plants? An Investigation into the Impact of Exposure to Acoustic Stimulus in Bok Choy (Brassica…
Arizona Opera taps Charlottesville maestro – Letter V
Brian DeMaris, who this summer concludes a three-year tenure as conductor of Charlottesville Opera, has been named president and general manager of Arizona Opera. DeMaris, an Arizona native, is artistic director of the music theater and opera program at Arizona State University, and has held positions at New York City Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Glimmerglass…
Letter V Classical Radio June 8 – Letter V
7-10 p.m. EDT2300-0200 UTCWDCE, University of Richmond90.1 FMhttp://wdce.org Sibelius: “Finlandia”YT Male Voice ChoirMinnesota Orchestra/Osmo Vänskä(BIS) Schumann: Symphony No. 3 in E flat major (“Rhenish”)Cleveland Orchestra/Christoph von Dohnányi(Decca) Vaughan Williams: “The Lark Ascending”Iona Brown, violinAcademy of St. Martin in the Fields/Neville Marriner(Decca) Johann Strauss II: “On the Beautiful Blue Danube”Vienna Philharmonic/Josef Krips(Decca Eloquence) Brahms: “Liebeslieder-Walzer,” Op.…
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,…