Classical Music

Review: Clarinetist Valentin Uryupin at the Phillips Collection

The Music Room at the Phillips Collection is such a distinctive and up-close venue to hear performers that you can forget how momentous the events there can turn out to be. That may well have been the...

Review: Academy of St Martin in the Fields with Violinist Joshua Bell at Strathmore

All eyes were on Joshua Bell during the Academy of St Martin in the Fields performance, although only one of the three pieces played by the world-renowned chamber orchestra featured him. Although the...

A Master Class with Renée Fleming at The Catholic University of America

The Catholic University of America’s (CUA) Benjamin T. Rome School of Music presented a master class by Renée Fleming on Sunday, March 13, 2016. Dr. Grayson Wagstaff, Dean of the School of Music, gave...

Review: The Montreal Symphony Orchestra with Washington Performing Arts at the Kennedy Center

Who needs to skip around musical history in a concert? A hundred years ago the musical world was in ferment, with shocking new developments right before and after World War I. The Montreal Symphony...

Review: ‘Advance Always: A Celebration of Frank Battisti and Garwood Whaley’ at The Kennedy Center

The Baldwin Wallace University Symphonic Wind Ensemble (BWUSWE), conducted by Dr. Brendan Caldwell, and the Bishop Ireton Symphonic Wind Ensemble, conducted by Dr. Randall Eyles, performed the concert...

Review: BSO: All-Beethoven at the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall

Showcasing Beethoven’s pioneering range and imaginative ingenuity, Conductor Markus Stenz led the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in the Romantic and triumphant incidental music to Egmont last night,...

Prokofiev Spring in Washington: A Preview of Seven Musical Events

When Andrew Lloyd Webber recently told a group of teenage rock musicians on Broadway that he wanted to talk about the music of Sergei Prokofiev rather than his own musicals, he was the latest in a...

Review: Fortas Chamber Music Concerts: eighth blackbird at The Kennedy Center

eighth blackbird‘s performance on Monday night at The Kennedy Center was introduced with the theme of murder and mayhem, which explained the state of the set. Rickety looking ladders, dead clocks,...

National Chamber Ensemble Presents ‘American Landscape’ This Saturday 3/12@7:30 PM at The Rosslyn Spectrum

National Chamber Ensemble Presents ‘American Landscape’ This Saturday 3/12@7:30 PM at The Rosslyn Spectrum, Doors Open for seating at 7:00 PM Join us in Celebrating Great Music of American Composers...

Review: ‘Vienna Mozart Orchestra’ at Strathmore

Opera-lovers got a chance to travel back to the 18th Century the night of March 7, 2016, at The Music Center at Strathmore’s J. Willard and Alice Marriott Foundation Concert Stage, when the Vienna...

Review: ‘The Silver Age in Russian Poetry in Music’ at the Russian Chamber Art Society

The musical imagery of the material presented by Washington’s Russian Chamber Art Society is so distinctive that its substantial audiences actually crave the work that goes into listening to it as...

Review: Pianist András Schiff with Washington Performing Arts at Strathmore

If there is a spiritual content to music – music by itself, no lyrics, just abstract sound – then many listeners down through history have claimed to hear it in the final works of great composers. The...

Review: Pianist Steven Osborne Plays Rachmaninoff at the Phillips Collection

Given a choice between the intellectual and the emotional, most concert-goers, in their heart of hearts, will want to hear something that moves them. They got their wish on Sunday afternoon at the...

Review: ‘Sleeping Beauty’ at Ballet Theatre of Maryland

So you think ballet is boring. Or maybe you’re a ballet fan but would rather see something “new” and “innovative” instead of one of the old classic standards. Perhaps you just feel like the story of...

In the Moment: Reston Community Center Presents ‘If Music Be the Food of Love’ on 2/24 & Washington Chorus Presents ‘New Music for a New Age’ on 2/28 at National Presbyterian Church

Adventurous? Looking for something fresh, uplifting, and yes, even heavenly in contemporary classical music with ethereal, hypnotic voices? There are two upcoming musical events in close-by venues to...

Review: Joshua Bell Plays Tchaikovsky at The BSO at Strathmore

Having the privilege to witness Joshua Bell play is an honor, but to see him play in celebration of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s (BSO’s) centennial is a once in a lifetime experience. Growing up...

Review: ‘Bizet’s Carmen in Havana’ at The In Series

The In Series wows again with one of their trademark reimaginings: Carmen in Havana, which takes the essential scenes from Bizet’s classic and adds the Latin rhythms of the Caribbean with iconic Cuban...

Pianist Brian Ganz and Mezzo-Soprano Magdalena Wór in Their All-Chopin Performance at Strathmore

Songs you’ve never heard of in a foreign language you rarely hear, performed by two artists who started rehearsing them two days earlier. What kind of a formula for success is that? This kind: When it...

Pianist Brian Ganz and Mezzo-Soprano Magdalena Wór Team Up for Special Chopin Concert This Saturday Night at Strathmore

They say the show must go on, and a set of unusual circumstances is bringing together two of Washington’s most distinctive classical performers this Saturday evening for a special concert at The Music...

The National Philharmonic’s ‘Messiah’ at Strathmore

There is a legend about the London premiere of George Frideric Handel’s Messiah involving King George II. The story says that he was so moved by the ‘Hallelujah Chorus’ in Part Two that he stood and...

‘The Season Bids Us’ at The Folger Consort

The Folger Consort — this splendid, and lapidary jewel in the crown of the Greater Washington area, and indeed, “all the world’s a stage” when it comes to the Folger — opened its Christmas-season...

The Philadelphia Orchestra Presented by Washington Performing Arts at Strathmore

Composers wrote great ballet and opera music for two reasons. The first was to help dancers and singers to portray characters and tell their stories. The second was to have the music led in the 21st...

‘Tribute to Dmitri Shostakovich’ at the Russian Chamber Art Society

The thematic music of Dmitri Shostakovich echoed the halls of the Embassy of Austria from the multi-talented artists of the Russian Chamber Art Society. Seven classically trained musicians and...

Review: Hope Garden Children’s Ballet Theatre Presents ‘A Christmas Carol’

I walked in to The F. Scott Fitzgerald Theatre yesterday feeling very ‘Bah Humbug-gy’ and I left overflowing with holiday joy and the spirit of the holidays after being entertained by over 40 young...

‘Semiramide’ with Washington Concert Opera at Lisner Auditorium

The predominance of voice in the operatic tradition usually doesn’t change the need for effective staging to put the full point across. Washington Concert Opera showcased at least one exception to...

Cellist Amit Peled and Pianist Noreen Polera with Washington Performing Arts at the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater

Cellist Amit Peled is one of those practitioners of “serious” music who brings a kind of pizzazz that’s probably needed in the 21st century world of what’s generically dubbed classical music. His...

An Interview with Antony Walker, Artistic Director of Washington Concert Opera

The operas of early 19th century master Gioachino Rossini play a big part in the life of Maestro Antony Walker. The artistic director of Washington Concert Opera is preparing for the company’s...

Pianist Olga Kern in Recital at the 92nd Street Y in New York City

Dreamy music about the memories of childhood and a virtuoso spin through the themes of one of history’s greatest operas are the stuff of which great piano recitals are made. But it’s a mark of the...

From Beethoven to Rachmaninoff to Billy Joel: An Interview with Superstar Pianist Olga Kern

If you believe that a good way to judge music is on whether it sounds good and moves you, then you have a friend in international concert pianist Olga Kern. The Russian-bred, New York-based classical...

Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s ‘Off the Cuff: A Season of Vivaldi’

The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra has some fun as they tackle Vivaldi as part of their Off the Cuff series. The series includes a smaller gathering of strings, about 35 in all, and an informal...

Live Arts Maryland Presents ‘Music for a New World’ on November 7th at Maryland Hall

No one appreciates a great live music experience more than Live Arts Maryland Music Director J. Ernest Green. One of the area’s most visible and enthusiastic cheerleaders for music of all kinds, if he...

‘Northern Lights’ at Columbia Pro Cantare

On Saturday October 24, 2015 the Columbia Pro Cantare Choral group, lead by Conductor Frances Motyca Dawson, opened their 39th Season with Northern Lights, performed at the Jim Rouse Theatre for the...

‘Mozart and Friends’ at The National Chamber Ensemble by J.M. Greig

The National Chamber Ensemble opened its ninth season in style at the Rosslyn Spectrum Theatre on Saturday with a program entitled Mozart and Friends. After introductory remarks by guest host and...

Jackie Evancho: ‘Awakening’ at Strathmore

As Jackie Evancho walked onstage on Saturday, October 10, 2015 at the Music Center at Strathmore to perform her “Awakening” concert, the excitement among the packed crowd was palpable, and only...

The University of Maryland Wind Orchestra and Concert Choir Perform Anton Bruckner’s ‘Mass in E Minor’ at The Clarice

When you think of a 19th century Mass, you might imagine a grandiose piece of music, featuring a large orchestra, lengthy solos and dynamic percussion. Anton Bruckner’s Mass in E Minor, composed in...

Violinist Aleksey Semenenko at the Embassy of Ukraine in the Embassy Series

Hearing the rising Ukrainian violinist Aleksey Semenenko perform is like a visit to a musical laboratory. At age 25, the monstrously talented Mr. Semenenko is still exploring various approaches to...

The Russian Chamber Art Society Hosts Its 10th Anniversary Concert at the Austrian Embassy

Mainstream classical music commentary in Washington often complains about an over-reliance on the symphonies and concertos of Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff for the programming at the area’s major...

Pianist Olga Kern and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra at Strathmore

Russian pianist Olga Kern is something of a cult figure because of her landmark victory in the 2001 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in Fort Worth, captured in one of the greatest...

The Charlottesville Chamber Music Festival: A Gem in UVA Country

Summer music festivals in both the pop and classical music worlds can come with a lot of flash and dash. But not to be overlooked in our region is a more modest gem tacked onto the end of festival...

National Symphony Orchestra, ‘Mahler Explored’ With Christoph Eschenbach, Conductor and Leonidas Kavakos, Violin

Last night at The Kennedy Center Concert Hall marked a special evening for all – conductor, players, and audience alike. The audience, foremost, was treated to the special talents of violin virtuoso...

Guitarist Orlando Roman on The National Chamber Ensemble’s ‘Musical Gems of Mexico’ on Sat May 9th at 7:30 PM

This Saturday, May 9th at 7:30 PM The National Chamber Ensemble will be hosting Guitarist Orlando Roman talks about the concert. What is your relationship with Mexican classical music? Mexican music...

Keith Lockhart Conducting The BBC Concert Orchestra at George Mason University’s Center for the Arts

The DC Metro area is blessed with a plethora of very good orchestras and symphonies, all very close by, and all worthwhile. Yet hearing the BBC Concert Orchestra, under the direction of Keith...

‘From Moscow to Hollywood: Songs from the Movies” at Russian Chamber Art Society

Even today, a trip from Moscow to Hollywood is not one to be taken on the spur of the moment. What must it have meant for those in the early years of the last century, artists and musicians seeking...

Pianist Martin Kasik with the Embassy Series at the Czech Embassy

Czech pianist Martin Kasik has an important historic connection with Washington despite relatively infrequent visits here. He was a 1999 winner of the Young Concert Artists series, which launches...

Bach’s ‘St. John Passion’ with the National Philharmonic at Strathmore

Johann Sebastian Bach wasn’t just fulfilling a professional responsibility when he wrote religious music. A devout Lutheran, Bach meant what he wrote and sought musical texts and texture that would...

The Philadelphia Orchestra with Washington Performing Arts at the Kennedy Center

Subtext abounded as the Philadelphia Orchestra arrived at The Kennedy Center Tuesday night. In Washington, rising politicians are “mentioned for president.” In classical music, rising conductors are...

‘Haydn and Ravel’ with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra at Strathmore

You can’t get a much pithier title of a composition than Maurice Ravel’s La Valse. You also can’t get a much more misleading one, either, even if the composer fully meant the irony of the title. Oh,...

Mahler’s Ninth with the National Symphony Orchestra at The Kennedy Center

If you choose to let it, Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 9 can scare you to death. Or you can let its vast scope and its ethereal beginning and ending that sandwiches raucous and even sarcastic episodes...

Pianist András Schiff at Washington Performing Arts at Strathmore

One of the most charming moments I’ve seen at a concert in years occurred yesterday at The Music Center at Strathmore. András Schiff, one of the world’s leading pianists, brought a program of the...

‘Mozart’s Great Mass’ with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra at Strathmore

If I told you that the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra may be the most dynamic classical music organization in our region, you’d probably expect me to prove it with a report on a daring program featuring...