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Letter V Classical Radio Oct. 20 – Letter V
On the 150th birthday of Charles Ives, we’ll contrast his vision of American music’s future and the future anticipated by Antonín Dvořák, and works by two living American composers, Jessie Montgomery and Carlos Simon, who sound to have taken both elders’ advice. 7-9 p.m. EDT2300-0100 UTC/GMTWDCE, University of Richmond90.1 FMhttp://wdce.org Ives: “Variations on ‘America’ ”Gerard…
‘A radically original American musical voice’ – Letter V
Pianist Jeremy Denk, writing in The New York Times, marks the 150th birthday of Charles Ives, the American maverick composer who (in)famously told musicians and their audiences to “stand up and take your dissonance like a man.” “He dreamed that music would evolve into ‘a language, so transcendent, that its heights and depths will be…
Review: ‘Swept Away’ – Letter V
Chamber Music Society of Central VirginiaOct. 14, First Unitarian Universalist Church The artistically venturesome and behaviorally libertine culture of Weimar Germany lasted barely 10 years before it was suppressed by the Nazis, but has had a long afterlife. Its music spread well beyond its home turf of Berlin cabarets and theaters in the 1920s and…
A robot conductor and a dead critic – Letter V
Over the weekend, Germany’s Dresden Sinfoniker presented a concert in which the orchestra’s musicians were conducted by a robot. The highlight of this “Robotersinfonie” program was Andreas Gundlach’s “aptly named ‘Semiconductor’s Masterpiece’ for 16 brass musicians and four percussionists playing wildly diverging time signatures,” The Guardian’s Deborah Cole reports. The orchestra’s artistic director, Markus Rindt,…
Letter V Classical Radio Oct. 13 – Letter V
7-9 p.m. EDT2300-0100 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) Amy Beach: Piano Concerto in C sharp minorDanny Driver, pianoBBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra/Rebecca Miller(Hyperion) David Matthews: “Dark Pastoral” (after Vaughan Williams)Guy Johnston, celloRoyal Scottish National Orchestra/Martin Yates(Dutton) Barber: “Knoxville, Summer of 1915”Dawn…
Leif Segerstam (1944-2024) – Letter V
Leif Segerstam, the Finnish conductor and composer, and one of the most colorful characters in classical music, has died at 80. Best-known outside Scandinavia for his interpretations of his fellow Finns Jean Sibelius and Einojuhani Rautavaara, Segerstam was the longtime conductor of the Helsinki Philharmonic and the Royal Opera in Stockholm, and a conducting teacher…
New Yorkers learning to play new instrument – Letter V
The New York Times’ Javier C. Hernández surveys New York Philharmonic musicians, guest soloists and composers to find out whether the $550 million renovation of the orchestra’s concert hall in Lincoln Center, touted at its 2022 reopening as “our 2,200-seat crown jewel,” really shines. The venue, known as Philharmonic Hall when it opened in 1962,…
Review: Ferguson & Katz – Letter V
William Ferguson, tenorMartin Katz, pianoOct. 5, Perkinson Recital Hall, University of Richmond William Ferguson may be Richmond’s favorite classical singer. Having been born to a prominent family, and being an alumnus of St. Christopher’s School, no doubt gives him a local leg up; but what really attracts listeners, here or elsewhere, is his versatility. Opera…
Letter V Classical Radio Oct. 6 – Letter V
7-9 p.m. EDT2300-0100 UTC/GMTWDCE, University of Richmond90.1 FMhttp://wdce.org Schumann: Konzertstück in F major, Op. 86, for 4 horns & orchestraMarkus Maskuniitty, Martin Schöpfer, Kristofer Öberg & Monica Berenguer Caro, French hornsRoyal Stockholm Philharmonic/Sakari Oramo(Ondine) Schumann: “Carnaval” – “Marche des Davidsbündler contre les Philistins”(Maurice Ravel orchestration)Royal Philharmonic/Dirk Joeres Rossini: “William Tell” – Pas de deuxOrchestra Sinfonica…
Gandelsman tapped for ‘genius grant’ – Letter V
Violinist Johnny Gandelsman, a frequent guest of the Chamber Music Society of Central Virginia, has been awarded a MacArthur Foundation fellowship – aka “genius grant.” The MacArthur judges cited his work forging “connections among diverse musical cultures and global artistic threads. He uniquely synthesizes past and present, making the experience of listening to music wholly…
October 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 may not include service fees. Oct. 1 (7:30 p.m.)Old Cabell Hall,…
National Symphony strike ends quickly – Letter V
The musicians’ strike at Washington’s National Symphony Orchestra ended less than four hours after it began on Sept. 26, with the musicians and the Kennedy Center, which houses the orchestra and controls many of its administrative functions, settled on a contract raising the musicians’ salaries and improving benefits such as healthcare and parental leave. Under…
Letter V Classical Radio Sept. 29 – Letter V
7-9 p.m. EDT2300-0100 UTC/GMTWDCE, University of Richmond90.1 FMhttp://wdce.org Chopin: “Rondo à la krakowiak” in F major, Op. 14Jan Lisiecki, pianoNDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester/Krzysztof Urbański(Deutsche Grammophon) Alice Mary Smith: Andante for clarinet & orchestraAngela Malsbury, clarinetLondon Mozart Players/Howard Shelley(Chandos) Johann Nepomuk Hummel: Piano Concerto in B minorStephen Hough, pianoEnglish Chamber Orchestra/Bryden Thomson(Chandos) Rossini: “La scala di seta”…
Review: ‘What Belongs to You’ – Letter V
Karim Sulayman, tenorAlarm Will SoundAlan Pierson conductingSept. 26, Modlin Arts Center, University of Richmond David T. Little’s “What Belongs to You,” being introduced at the University of Richmond’s Modlin Arts Center (which co-commissioned the work) in performances by tenor Karim Sulayman and the new-music ensemble Alarm Will Sound, is a chamber opera based on the…
National Symphony musicians strike – Letter V
Musicians of Washington’s National Symphony Orchestra have gone on strike. Contract negotiations with the Kennedy Center, which houses and provides management services for the NSO, have stalled, with the musicians’ union local stating that union proposals and management response “remain far apart on wages and other important issues.” The NSO’s Sept. 28 season-opening gala has…
Previewing a Richmond premiere – Letter V
The New York Times’ Joshua Barone recounts the genesis and performance challenges of “What Belongs to You,” David T. Little’s opera based on the Garth Greenwell novel, receiving its premiere by vocalist Karim Sulayman and the Alarm Will Sound ensemble in a production choreographed by Mark Morris, at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 26 and 28 at…
National Symphony players vote to strike – Letter V
Musicians of Washington’s National Symphony Orchestra have voted unanimously to go on strike, citing stalled negotiations with the Kennedy Center, which partially funds and provides a venue and services for the orchestra. NSO’s union negotiators called for musicians’ wages to rise by 25 percent over the next four years. The Kennedy Center’s counter-proposal is for…
Review: Belvedere Series – Letter V
Nicholas DiEugenio & Ellen Cockerham Riccio, violinsFitz Gary & Andriana Linares, violasRaman Ramakrishnan, celloIngrid Keller, pianoSept. 21, Ryan Recital Hall, St. Christopher’s School The third season of Richmond’s Belvedere Series of chamber concerts opened with music that hinges, in part, on the stringed instrument that gets the least love: the viola. The program paired major…
Letter V Classical Radio Sept. 15 – Letter V
7-9 p.m. EDT2300-0100 UTC/GMTWDCE, University of Richmond90.1 FMhttp://wdce.org Hamish MacCunn: “The Land of the Mountain and the Flood”Royal Liverpool Philharmonic/Grant Llewellyn(Argo) Frank Bridge: “Oration” (“Concerto elegiaco”)Steven Isserlis, celloDeutsches Sinfonie-Orchester Berlin/Hugh Wolff(BIS) Vaughan Williams: “The Lark Ascending”Iona Brown, violinAcademy of St. Martin in the Fields/Neville Marriner(Decca) Samuel Barber: “Medea’s Dance of Vengeance”Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra/Leonard Slatkin(Warner…
Review: Richmond Symphony – Letter V
Valentina Peleggi conductingwith Daniel Dastoor, Annelle Gregory, William Hagen, Qing Li, Emma Meinreken, Julian Rhee, Adé Williams & Daisuke Yamamoto, violinsSept. 13, Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center The Richmond Symphony is launching its 2024-25 season with Strad Fest, a showcase of violins crafted in the early 18th century by Antonio Stradivari. Nine of these classic…
2024-25 season overview – Letter V
For years, it has been common in the Richmond area’s classical season to see multiple events on the same day. In the coming season, conflicts really abound. Among the events scheduled to date, I count nine one-or-the-other decisions to make for comparably programmed events – even dueling Christmas festivals of lessons and carols at the…
Letter V Classical Radio Sept. 8 – Letter V
7-9 p.m. EDT2300-0100 UTC/GMTWDCE, University of Richmond90.1 FMhttp://wdce.org Vaughan Williams: “The Wasps” OvertureLondon Symphony Orchestra/André Previn(RCA) Stravinsky: Violin Concerto in D majorHilary Hahn, violinAcademy of St. Martin in the Fields/Neville Marriner(Sony Classical) Ravel: “Miroirs”Stewart Goodyear, piano(Orchid Classics) Carl Orff: “Carmina burana”Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, baritoneGundula Janowitz, sopranoGerhard Stoltze, tenorDeutsche Oper Berlin Chorus & Orchestra/Eugen Jochum(Deutsche Grammophon)
Chamber Music Society 2024-25 – Letter V
Major works by Handel, Bach, Haydn, Schubert, Mendelssohn, Borodin and Elgar, and works by eight living composers, will be featured in the 20th anniversary season of the Chamber Music Society of Central Virginia. Cellist James Wilson, the Chamber Music Society’s artistic director, has mustered 42 instrumentalists, singers, actors and speakers, as well as the 132…
UR Modlin Center 2024-25 – Letter V
The premiere of David T. Little’s “What Belongs to You,” a chamber opera adapted from the novel by Garth Greenwell; new and recent commissions by the Kronos Quartet and Third Coast Percussion with international guests; a folk-classical crossover program with violinist Tessa Lark, cellist Joshua Roman and double-bassist and composer Edgar Meyer; and recitals by…
VCU Rennolds Chamber Concerts 2024-25 – Letter V
The young Russian pianist Alexander Malofeev, Germany’s Goldmund Quartet, the Spanish Brass quintet and two classical-crossover ensembles, Time for Three and the Harlem Quartet, will perform in the 2024-25 season of Virginia Commonwealth University’s Mary Anne Rennolds Chamber Concerts series. Repertory for the programs will be announced later. Subscriptions are $100. Single tickets are $35.…
Belvedere Series 2024-25 – Letter V
The Belvedere Series of chamber-music programs will present 10 programs in its 2024-25 season, including performances by Richmond-bred tenor William Ferguson, soprano Emily Fons, violinist Nicholas Dieugenio, pianist Spencer Myer, the jazz trio of pianist Adam Birnbaum, bassist Matt Clohesy and percussionist Keita Ogawa, and ensembles joining pianist Ingrid Keller, the series’ artistic director. Subscriptions…
Richmond Symphony 2024-25 – Letter V
Itzhak Perlman will headline a “Strad Fest,” leading a cast playing classic Stradivarius violins, in the 2024-25 season-opening concerts of the Richmond Symphony. Two other prominent violinists, the Canadian James Ehnes, playing Brahms’ Violin Concerto, and the South Korean Inmo Yang, playing Jennifer Higdon’s Violin Concerto, also will be featured in the orchestra’s mainstage Symphony…
September 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. Sept. 1 (3 p.m.)Garth Newel Music…
Letter V Classical Radio Sept. 1 – Letter V
7-9 p.m. EDT2300-0100 UTC/GMTWDCE, University of Richmond90.1 FMhttp://wdce.org Arthur Sullivan: “The Merchant of Venice” SuiteCity of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra/Vivian Dunn(Klavier) Samuel Coleridge-Taylor: Romance in G major, Op. 39Rachel Barton Pine, violinEncore Chamber Orchestra/Daniel Hege(Çedille) Ernst von Dohnányi: Sextet in C major, Op. 37Kálmán Berkes, clarinetRadovan Vlatković, French hornAndrás Schiff, pianoTakács Quartet members(Decca) Borodin: Piano Quintet…
‘Synchrony’ at the symphony – Letter V
Eric W. Dolan, writing for the PsyPost website, outlines research, published in Scientific Reports, suggesting that “the shared experience of live music creates a remarkable physiological bond among audience members, revealing the profound impact of music on the human body.” In the “passive settings” of symphony concerts, “where listeners are not consciously interacting with one…
Letter V Classical Radio Aug. 25 – Letter V
7-9 p.m. EDT2300-0100 UTC/GMTWDCE, University of Richmond90.1 FMhttp://wdce.org Franz von Suppé: “Poet and Peasant” OvertureVienna Philharmonic/Zubin Mehta(Sony Classical) Chopin: Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minorMartha Argerich, pianoNational Symphony Orchestra/Mstislav Rostropovich(Deutsche Grammophon) Mahler: “Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen” (“Songs of a Wayfarer”)Christian Gerhaher, baritoneOrchestre symphonique de Montréal/Kent Nagano(Sony Classical) Brahms: Scherzo in C minor (from “F.A.E.”…
Letter V Classical Radio Aug. 18 – Letter V
7-9 p.m. EDT2300-0100 UTC/GMTWDCE, University of Richmond90.1 FMhttp://wdce.org Daniel Auber: “Fra Diavolo” OvertureCincinnati Pops/Erich Kunzel(Telarc) Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 12 in A major, K. 414Fazil Say, pianoZürich Chamber Orchestra/Howard Griffiths(Naïve) Dvořák: Quartet in F major, Op. 96 (“American”)Smetana Quartet(Testament) Mieczysław Weinberg: Fantasia, Op. 52Pieter Wispelwey, celloLes Métamorphoses/Raphaël Feye(Evil Penguin) Schumann: Symphony No. 2 in C…
Mahler & MTT upscale Schubert – Letter V
YouTube’s algorithm has served me a 2019 performance of Mahler’s string orchestration of Schubert’s Quartet in D minor, D. 810 (“Death and the Maiden”) by Michael Tilson Thomas conducting the New World Symphony, the Miami ensemble that he founded as a post-graduate finishing school for young orchestral musicians. This caught my eye because the New…
Review: Richmond Chamber Players – Letter V
Aug. 11, Bon Air Presbyterian Church Olivier Messiaen’s “Quartet for the End of Time” has a meteorological history in these parts. Its instrumentation – violin, clarinet, cello and piano – isn’t one of the standard chamber-music configurations, so the piece is most often heard at festivals. Most are in the summer, which in the southeastern…
Letter V Classical Radio Aug. 11 – Letter V
7-9 p.m. EDT2300-0100 UTC/GMTWDCE, University of Richmond90.1 FMhttp://wdce.org Boccherini: Guitar Quintet in D major, G. 448 (“Fandango”)Rolf Lislevand, guitarJosé de Udaeta, castanetsLes Concert des Nations/Jordi Savall(AliaVox) Manuel Ponce: Theme, Variations and FinaleDiego Blanco, guitar(BIS) Schubert: Sonata in A minor, D. 821 (“Arpeggione”)(John Williams & Christopher Gunning arrangement)John Williams, guitarAustralian Chamber Orchestra/Richard Tognetti(Sony Classical) Louise Farrenc:…
Letter V Classical Radio Aug. 4 – Letter V
7-9 p.m. EDT2300-0100 UTC/GMTWDCE, University of Richmond90.1 FMhttp://wdce.org Kurt Weill: “Little Threepenny Music”London Symphony Orchestra/Michael Tilson Thomas(Sony Classical) Bernstein: “Facsimile”Baltimore Symphony Orchestra/David Zinman(Decca) Bohuslav Martinů: “Estampes”Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra/Tomáš Netopil(Supraphon) Prokofiev: “Overture on Hebrew Themes”Ensemble Contraste(Alpha) Osvaldo Golijov: “The Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind”David Orlovsky, clarinetVogler Quartett(Sony Classical) Kodály: “Dances of Galánta”Chicago Symphony…
August 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. Service fees may be added. Aug. 1 (7:30 p.m.)Neptune’s Park, 3001 Atlantic Ave.,…