Classical Music Agenda (March 2015)

In general, I do not feel bad about exceeding my self-imposed limit of the top ten concerts to hear in the month, if it means including a free concert. So this month's list has a lagniappe or two that will not cost you anything extra.

OPERA:
Finally, a rarity for the Richard Strauss anniversary last year, with Washington Concert Opera's performance of the composer's first opera, Guntram, at Lisner Auditorium (March 1). We have yet to review this work in the history of Ionarts, unless you count those places where Strauss quoted it in Ein Heldenleben. With its medieval story of knights and adulterous love, Guntram might be thought of as late Wagner, but the soprano role of Freihild is signature Strauss, written for his then-fiancée Pauline de Ahna and sung here by Marjorie Owens.

Speaking of Wagner, we are looking forward to the Washington National Opera's revival of Stephen Lawless's production of The Flying Dutchman (March 7 to 21), last seen in 2008. The cast list is encouraging, with Eric Owens (pictured), Jay Hunter Morris, Christiane Libor, and Ain Anger, and the Wagner conducting of music director Philippe Auguin recommends itself.

SYMPHONY:
One program from the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra tops our list, with guest conductor Masaaki Suzuki leading a performance of Mozart's Great Mass in C Minor, plus the same composer's fifth violin concerto with Ionarts favorite Augustin Hadelich as soloist (March 12 at Strathmore).

You will find us at pretty much any performance of Mahler's ninth symphony, last heard from the BSO in 2009. Christoph Eschenbach continues his unofficial Mahler cycle with the National Symphony Orchestra with the work (March 19 to 21) at the Kennedy Center Concert Hall.

CHAMBER MUSIC:
The Embassy Series offers two concerts that make the cut this month, recitals by pianist Till Fellner (March 6) and the Minetti Quartet (March 13), both at the Austrian Embassy. Both will feature programs of appetizing music, both to be followed by the Austrian Embassy panoply of refreshments.

The second of those concerts overlaps with two excellent concerts at the Library of Congress, which have the added virtue of being free. Violist Kim Kashkashian gets a chance to play the 1690 “Tuscan-Medici” viola on loan to the Library, partnering with pianist Peter Nagy (March 13). Then the Leipzig String Quartet, last under review in 2012, returns to Washington (March 21).

Sadly, I will also need to bilocate somehow on the Ides of March, to be able to hear both András Schiff's recital at Strathmore (March 15, 4 pm), presented by Washington Performing Arts, and Marc-André Hamelin's concert with Les Violons du Roy at Shriver Hall in Baltimore (March 15, 5:30 pm).

OTHER:
After a fine performance by the Westminster Abbey Choir last fall, the British choir festival at Washington National Cathedral continues with a concert by the Choir of Kings College, Cambridge (March 21).

Having been charmed by recent performances of choreographies by Frederick Ashton, The Dream and Les Patineurs, I am looking forward to seeing his version of Cinderella, presented by American Ballet Theater at the Kennedy Center Opera House (March 26 to 29). The company also performs a mixed program with choreographies to music by Tchaikovsky, Schoenberg, and Copland (March 24 and 25).

See the complete calendar after the jump.

COMPLETE CALENDAR:
Last month | Next monthClassical Month in Washington is a monthly feature. If there are concerts you would like to see included on our schedule, send your suggestions by e-mail (ionarts at gmail dot com). Happy listening!

March 1, 2015 (Sun)
3 pm
Eclipse Chamber Orchestra
With Nicholas Stovall, oboe
George Washington Masonic Memorial (Alexandria, Va.)

March 1, 2015 (Sun)
3 pm
Annapolis Symphony Orchestra
With Simone Dinnerstein, piano
Music Center at Strathmore

March 1, 2015 (Sun)
3 pm
Washington Piano Society [FREE]
Calvary Lutheran Church

March 1, 2015 (Sun)
4 pm
Mark Morris Dance Group
GMU Center for the Arts

March 1, 2015 (Sun)
4 pm
Sitkovetsky Trio
Phillips Collection

March 1, 2015 (Sun)
4 pm
Cantate Chamber Singers
Bach, St. John Passion
Bradley Hills Presbyterian Church (Bethesda, Md.)

March 1, 2015 (Sun)
5 pm
Silk Road Ensemble
With Yo-Yo Ma, cello
Washington Performing Arts
Kennedy Center Concert Hall

March 1, 2015 (Sun)
6 pm
Strauss, Guntram
Washington Concert Opera
Lisner Auditorium

March 1, 2015 (Sun)
7:30 pm
Imani Winds
Kennedy Center Terrace Theater

March 2, 2015 (Mon)
7:30 pm
Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir
Music by Sibelius, Tormis, Pärt
National City Christian Church

March 2, 2015 (Mon)
8 pm
TEMPO: Spring Concert [FREE]
Clarice Smith Center

March 3, 2015 (Tue)
12:10 pm
Noontime Cantata: Herr Jesu Christ, wahr' Mensch [FREE]
Washington Bach Consort
Church of the Epiphany

March 4, 2015 (Wed)
12:10 pm
Jared Denhard (bagpipes) and Michael Lodico (organ) [FREE]
St. John's, Lafayette Square

March 5, 2015 (Thu)
7 pm
National Symphony Orchestra
Music by Albeniz, others
Kennedy Center Concert Hall

March 5, 2015 (Thu)
7:30 pm
Poulenc, Dialogues of the Carmelites
Washington National Opera
Kennedy Center Opera House

March 6, 2015 (Fri)
7:30 pm
Till Fellner, piano
Embassy Series
Embassy of Austria

March 6, 2015 (Fri)
8 pm
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
With Simon Trpčeski, piano
Meyerhoff Symphony Hall (Baltimore, Md.)

March 6, 2015 (Fri)
8 pm
UMd Wind Ensemble [FREE]
Music by Shostakovich, Hindemith
Clarice Smith Center

March 6, 2015 (Fri)
8 pm
National Symphony Orchestra
Music by Albeniz, others
Kennedy Center Concert Hall

March 7, 2015 (Sat)
4 pm
Lang Lang, piano
Kennedy Center Concert Hall

March 7, 2015 (Sat)
7 pm
Wagner, Flying Dutchman
Washington National Opera
Kennedy Center Opera House

March 7, 2015 (Sat)
7:30 pm
Axelrod String Quartet
National Museum of American History

March 7, 2015 (Sat)
7:30 pm
Mozart, Abduction from the Seraglio
Peabody Opera Theater
Modell Center at the Lyric (Baltimore, Md.)

March 7, 2015 (Sat)
8 pm
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
With Simon Trpčeski, piano
Music Center at Strathmore

March 7, 2015 (Sat)
8 pm
Curtis Chamber Orchestra [FREE]
With Roberto Díaz, viola
Library of Congress

March 7, 2015 (Sat)
8 pm
National Symphony Orchestra
Music by Albeniz, others
Kennedy Center Concert Hall

March 8, 2015 (Sun)
2 pm
Poulenc, Dialogues of the Carmelites
Washington National Opera
Kennedy Center Opera House

March 8, 2015 (Sun)
3 pm
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
With Simon Trpčeski, piano
Meyerhoff Symphony Hall (Baltimore, Md.)

March 8, 2015 (Sat)
3 pm
Mozart, Abduction from the Seraglio
Peabody Opera Theater
Modell Center at the Lyric (Baltimore, Md.)

March 8, 2015 (Sun)
4 pm
Alina Ibragimova, violin
Phillips Collection

March 8, 2015 (Sun)
4 pm
Cathedral Choral Society
Music by Langlais, Boulanger, Poulenc, Fauré
Washington National Cathedral

March 8, 2015 (Sun)
7 pm
Peter Wiley (cello) and Anna Polonsky (piano)
Music by Beethoven (Part 1)
Clarice Smith Center

March 8, 2015 (Sun)
7 pm
Keyboard Conversations with Jeffrey Siegel
Music of Franz Liszt
GMU Center for the Arts

March 8, 2015 (Sun)
7:30 pm
Axelrod String Quartet
National Museum of American History

March 8, 2015 (Sun)
7:30 pm
Fine Arts String Quartet
JCCGW (Rockville, Md.)

March 9, 2015 (Mon)
7 pm
Wagner, Flying Dutchman
Washington National Opera
Kennedy Center Opera House

March 10, 2015 (Tue)
12:10 pm
Elizabeth Adams (violin) and Sam Post (piano) [FREE]
Church of the Epiphany

March 10, 2015 (Tue)
7 pm
Peter Wiley (cello) and Anna Polonsky (piano)
Music by Beethoven (Part 2)
Clarice Smith Center

March 10, 2015 (Tue)
7:30 pm
Poulenc, Dialogues of the Carmelites
Washington National Opera
Kennedy Center Opera House

March 11, 2015 (Wed)
7:30 pm
Wagner, Flying Dutchman
Washington National Opera
Kennedy Center Opera House

March 12, 2015 (Thu)
6 pm
Pedro Carboné (piano) and Antonio Muñoz Molina (author)
Spain, Flamenco, and the Piano
Phillips Collection

March 12, 2015 (Thu)
7 pm
National Symphony Orchestra
With Leticia Moreno, violin
Kennedy Center Concert Hall

March 12, 2015 (Thu)
7:30 pm
Steven Lin, piano
Mansion at Strathmore

March 12, 2015 (Thu)
8 pm
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
With Masaaki Suzuki (conductor) and Augustin Hadelich (violin)
Music Center at Strathmore

March 13, 2015 (Fri)
7:30 pm
Minetti Quartet
Embassy Series
Embassy of Austria

March 13, 2015 (Fri)
7:30 pm
Wagner, Flying Dutchman
Washington National Opera
Kennedy Center Opera House

March 13, 2015 (Fri)
8 pm
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
With Masaaki Suzuki (conductor) and Augustin Hadelich (violin)
Meyerhoff Symphony Hall (Baltimore, Md.)

March 13, 2015 (Fri)
8 pm
Kim Kashkashian (viola) and Peter Nagy (piano) [FREE]
Library of Congress

March 13, 2015 (Fri)
8 pm
National Symphony Orchestra
With Leticia Moreno, violin
Kennedy Center Concert Hall

March 14, 2015 (Sat)
6 pm
Leticia Moreno (violin) and Christoph Eschenbach (piano) [FREE]
Kennedy Center Millennium Stage

March 14, 2015 (Sat)
7:30 pm
National Chamber Ensemble
With Bowen McCauley Dance (music by Beethoven, Bach)
Spectrum Theater (Rosslyn, Va.)

March 14, 2015 (Sat)
8 pm
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
With Masaaki Suzuki (conductor) and Augustin Hadelich (violin)
Meyerhoff Symphony Hall (Baltimore, Md.)

March 14, 2015 (Sat)
8 pm
National Symphony Orchestra
With Leticia Moreno, violin
Kennedy Center Concert Hall

March 14, 2015 (Sat)
8 pm
Fairfax Symphony Orchestra
GMU Center for the Arts

March 14, 2015 (Sat)
8 pm
Mozart, Don Giovanni
In Series
Gala Theater

March 15, 2015 (Sun)
2 pm
Wagner, Flying Dutchman
Washington National Opera
Kennedy Center Opera House

March 15, 2015 (Sun)
2:30 pm
Mozart, Don Giovanni
In Series
Gala Theater

March 15, 2015 (Sun)
4 pm
Nelson Goerner, piano
Phillips Collection

March 15, 2015 (Sun)
4 pm
András Schiff, piano
Music Center at Strathmore

March 15, 2015 (Sun)
4 pm
Brendan Conway (violin) and Florian Noack (piano)
Amadeus Concerts
Saint Francis Church (Great Falls, Va.)

March 15, 2015 (Sun)
4:30 pm
City Choir of Washington
Music by Mozart, Pärt
National Presbyterian Church

March 15, 2015 (Sun)
5 pm
Inscape Chamber Orchestra
Music by Hallman, Bayolo, others
Episcopal Church of the Redeemer (Bethesda, Md.)

March 15, 2015 (Sun)
5 pm
Heritage Signature Chorale
Washington National Cathedral

March 15, 2015 (Sun)
5:30 pm
Les Violons du Roy
With Marc-André Hamelin, piano
Shriver Hall (Baltimore, Md.)

March 15, 2015 (Sun)
7 pm
Dominique Labelle, soprano
Dumbarton Oaks

March 16, 2015 (Mon)
8 pm
Dominique Labelle, soprano
Dumbarton Oaks

March 17, 2015 (Tue)
12:10 pm
U.S. Air Force String Orchestra [FREE]
Church of the Epiphany

March 19, 2015 (Thu)
7 pm
National Symphony Orchestra
Mahler, Symphony No. 9
Kennedy Center Concert Hall

March 19, 2015 (Thu)
7:30 pm
Wagner, Flying Dutchman
Washington National Opera
Kennedy Center Opera House

March 19, 2015 (Thu)
7:30 pm
Trio con Brio Copenhagen
Mansion at Strathmore

March 20, 2015 (Fri)
7:30 pm
Domingo-Cafritz Young Artists
With Eric Owens (conductor)
Kennedy Center Opera House

March 20, 2015 (Fri)
8 pm
National Symphony Orchestra
Mahler, Symphony No. 9
Kennedy Center Concert Hall

March 20, 2015 (Fri)
8 pm
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
With Sol Gabetta, cello
Meyerhoff Symphony Hall (Baltimore, Md.)

March 20, 2015 (Fri)
8 pm
Peter Hilliard, Blue Viola
UrbanArias
With Inscape Chamber Orchestra
Artisphere

March 21, 2015 (Sat)
2 pm
Leipzig String Quartet [FREE]
Library of Congress

March 21, 2015 (Sat)
5 pm
Choir of Kings College, Cambridge
Washington National Cathedral

March 21, 2015 (Sat)
7 pm
Wagner, Flying Dutchman
Washington National Opera
Kennedy Center Opera House

March 21, 2015 (Sat)
8 pm
National Symphony Orchestra
Mahler, Symphony No. 9
Kennedy Center Concert Hall

March 21, 2015 (Sat)
8 pm
Rachel Barton Pine (violin) and Matthew Hagle (piano)
Candlelight Concerts
Horowitz Performing Arts Center (Columbia, Md.)

March 21, 2015 (Sat)
8 pm
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
With Sol Gabetta, cello
Meyerhoff Symphony Hall (Baltimore, Md.)

March 21, 2015 (Sat)
8 pm
Verdi, La Traviata
Virginia Opera
GMU Center for the Arts

March 21, 2015 (Sat)
8 pm
Peter Hilliard, Blue Viola
UrbanArias
With Inscape Chamber Orchestra
Artisphere

March 21, 2015 (Sat)
8 pm
Nicholas White and Tiffany Consort
Dumbarton Concerts

March 21, 2015 (Sat)
8 pm
Mozart, Don Giovanni
In Series
Gala Theater

March 22, 2015 (Sun)
2 pm
Verdi, La Traviata
Virginia Opera
GMU Center for the Arts

March 22, 2015 (Sun)
2 pm
Peter Hilliard, Blue Viola
UrbanArias
With Inscape Chamber Orchestra
Artisphere

March 22, 2015 (Sun)
2:30 pm
Mozart, Don Giovanni
In Series
Gala Theater

March 22, 2015 (Sun)
3 pm
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
With Sol Gabetta, cello
Music Center at Strathmore

March 22, 2015 (Sun)
3 pm
Washington Bach Consort
Motets of the Bach family
National Presbyterian Church

March 22, 2015 (Sun)
4 pm
Jose Franch-Ballester (clarinet) and Michael Brown (piano)
Phillips Collection

March 22, 2015 (Sun)
6:30 pm
Third Coast Percussion [FREE]
National Gallery of Art

March 23, 2015 (Mon)
7:30 pm
Mozart, Don Giovanni
In Series
Gala Theater

March 24, 2015 (Tue)
12:10 pm
Sarah Biber (cello) and Jeremy Filsell (piano) [FREE]
Church of the Epiphany

March 24, 2015 (Tue)
7:30 pm
Isabel Leonard (mezzo-soprano) and Sharon Isbin (guitar)
Fortas Chamber Music Concerts
Kennedy Center Terrace Theater

March 24, 2015 (Tue)
7:30 pm
American Ballet Theater
Rodeo and others
Kennedy Center Opera House

March 25, 2015 (Wed)
7:30 pm
American Ballet Theater
Rodeo and others
Kennedy Center Opera House

March 25, 2015 (Wed)
8 pm
New Music at Maryland [FREE]
Clarice Smith Center

March 26, 2015 (Thu)
7:30 pm
American Ballet Theater
Prokofiev, Cinderella (chor. Ashton)
Kennedy Center Opera House

March 26, 2015 (Thu)
7:30 pm
Emerson String Quartet
Fortas Chamber Music Concerts
Kennedy Center Terrace Theater

March 27, 2015 (Fri)
1:15 pm
Edvinas Minkstimas, piano [FREE]
Georgetown University

March 27, 2015 (Fri)
7 pm
Matt Haimovitz, cello
Mansion at Strathmore

March 27, 2015 (Fri)
7:30 pm
American Ballet Theater
Prokofiev, Cinderella (chor. Ashton)
Kennedy Center Opera House

March 27, 2015 (Fri)
8 pm
Peter Hilliard, Blue Viola
UrbanArias
With Inscape Chamber Orchestra
Artisphere

March 27, 2015 (Fri)
8 pm
Cantus
Barns at Wolf Trap

March 27, 2015 (Fri)
9 pm
Matt Haimovitz, cello
Mansion at Strathmore

March 28, 2015 (Sat)
1:30 and 7:30 pm
American Ballet Theater
Prokofiev, Cinderella (chor. Ashton)
Kennedy Center Opera House

March 28, 2015 (Sat)
2 pm
Jan Lisiecki, piano
Washington Performing Arts
Kennedy Center Terrace Theater

March 28, 2015 (Sat)
3 pm
Jasper String Quartet [FREE]
Baltimore Museum of Art

March 28, 2015 (Sat)
7:30 pm
Smithsonian Chamber Music Society
National Museum of American History

March 28, 2015 (Sat)
8 pm
UMd Wind Orchestra
Clarice Smith Center

March 28, 2015 (Sat)
8 pm
Peter Hilliard, Blue Viola
UrbanArias
With Inscape Chamber Orchestra
Artisphere

March 28, 2015 (Sat)
8 pm
National Philharmonic
With Haochen Zhang, piano
Music Center at Strathmore

March 29, 2015 (Sun)
1:30 pm
American Ballet Theater
Prokofiev, Cinderella (chor. Ashton)
Kennedy Center Opera House

March 29, 2015 (Sun)
2 pm
Peter Hilliard, Blue Viola
UrbanArias
With Inscape Chamber Orchestra
Artisphere

March 29, 2015 (Sun)
2 and 4 pm
NSO Family Concert: The Magic Horn
Kennedy Center Concert Hall

March 29, 2015 (Sun)
2 pm
William and Mary Ensemble
Kennedy Center Terrace Theater

March 29, 2015 (Sun)
3 pm
National Philharmonic
With Haochen Zhang, piano
Music Center at Strathmore

March 29, 2015 (Sun)
3 pm
Washington Piano Society [FREE]
Calvary Lutheran Church (Silver Spring, Md.)

March 29, 2015 (Sun)
3:30 pm
Irina Nuzova (piano), Mara Milkis (violin), Sophie Shao (cello) [FREE]
National Gallery of Art

March 29, 2015 (Sun)
4 pm
Marc Coppey (cello) and Ran Dank (piano)
Phillips Collection

March 29, 2015 (Sun)
4 pm
Bach, St. John's Passion
Washington National Cathedral

March 29, 2015 (Sun)
7:30 pm
Smithsonian Chamber Music Society
National Museum of American History

March 30, 2015 (Mon)
7:30 pm
Raphaël Sévère, clarinet
Washington Performing Arts
Kennedy Center Terrace Theater

March 31, 2015 (Tue)
12:10 pm
Rebecca Kellerman Petretta and Katelyn Aungst, sopranos [FREE]
With Jeremy Filsell, continuo
Church of the Epiphany

March 31, 2015 (Tue)
7:30 pm
Nikolay Khozyainov, piano
Embassy Series
Russian Ambassador's Residence

March 31, 2015 (Tue)
8 pm
Joshua Bell (violin) and Sam Haywood (piano)
Washington Performing Arts
Kennedy Center Concert Hall