Classical Music Agenda (October 2013)

Tintoretto, Tancredi Baptizes Clorinda Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

EARLY MUSIC:
Leading the picks of the ten concerts I most want to hear in October are several free performances of early music. It is the month when the Washington Bach Consort's noontime cantata series gets under way, one of the best musical offerings in the city. On the first Tuesday of most months, WBC members perform one of the cantatas of Johann Sebastian Bach, at a free concert at the Church of the Epiphany. This month it will be Ärgre dich, o Seele, nicht, BWV 186 (October 1, 12:10 pm).

On the free concert series of the National Gallery of Art is a performance of Claudio Monteverdi's Il Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda (October 13, 6:30 pm). This concert is in the better acoustic of the East Building's auditorium and will feature the National Gallery of Art Vocal Ensemble and Chamber Players, as well as lectures by Laura Benedetti and Peter Lukehart.

Add to those a free performance of music by Renaissance composers at the Library of Congress (October 30, 7 pm) featuring the vocal ensemble Blue Heron, the wind band Piffaro, and the U.S. Navy Band Brass Choirs. When the names on the program are Gabrieli, Gesualdo, Agricola, Obrecht, Dufay, Ockeghem, Sweelinck, and Clemens non Papa, we will be there.

You cannot have everything for free, but I have already recommended the concert by Les Violons du Roy among my Top 25 picks of the season. It will feature the Canadian early music ensemble in orchestral suites by Telemann and Bach, with mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe in vocal selections by Haydn and Handel, in the Music Center at Strathmore (October 15, 8 pm).

MORE RECENT:
The Young Concert Artists honored a young string quartet I have been wanting to hear live, the Quatuor Hermès. The foursome from Lyon will open the YCA series at the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater (October 8, 7:30 pm), with a program of music by Debussy, Dutilleux, Schubert, and Verdi.

Also among my Top 25 picks of the season was Christoph Eschenbach's concert performance of the third act of Wagner's Parsifal (October 10 to 12). The National Symphony Orchestra is joined by tenor Nikolai Schukoff, baritone Thomas Hampson, and bass Yuri Vorobiev in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall.

Organist Cameron Carpenter

If you thought the organ was a staid instrument heard only in church, Cameron Carpenter can change your mind. The often eccentric but daring organist takes the Kennedy Center Concert Hall's new instrument for a spin at a recital (October 16, 8 pm) that is sure to shake the rafters.

When Valentina Lisitsa played in Washington in 2009, I found her playing not quite fully developed, more boom than subtlety. She also impressed me as someone who was likely to mature and improve, so I look forward to her free concert at the Library of Congress (October 17, 7 pm). Her program includes Rachmaninoff, Chopin, Liszt, and a piece that can stand some forceful playing, Prokofiev's blockbuster seventh sonata. Try out the Library of Congress's new lecture format and join the artist for a post-concert discussion (note the starting time).

In any battle of the flying fingers, though, my money would still be on the tiny dynamo Yuja Wang, whom Washington Performing Arts Society will again present in concert, this time in the Music Center at Strathmore (October 25, 8 pm). She will play her own Prokofiev sonata (no. 3 -- this after her rendition of no. 6 in 2010 was a knockout), plus music by Chopin, Kapustin, and Stravinsky's scorching Three Movements from Petrushka.

It's true that I may not think much of the sound of the Kronos Quartet, but I do enjoy their often audacious choice of programming, which may annoy me just as much as it pleases me. Whatever else they play at the first concert of their ongoing residency at the Clarice Smith Center (October 24, 8 pm), it will be the first chance on the East Coast to hear the new sixth string quartet by Philip Glass.

See the complete calendar after the jump.

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!

October 1, 2013 (Tue)
12:10 pm
Noontime Cantata: Ärgre dich, o Seele, nicht, BWV 186 [FREE]
Washington Bach Consort
Church of the Epiphany

October 2, 2013 (Wed)
12:10 pm
U.S. Army Chorus [FREE]
St. John's, Lafayette Square

October 2, 2013 (Wed)
7:30 pm
Emerson String Quartet
Kennedy Center Terrace Theater

October 3, 2013 (Thu)
7 pm
National Symphony Orchestra
Music by Saint-Saëns, Roger Reynolds
Kennedy Center Terrace Theater

October 3, 2013 (Thu)
7:30 pm
Aeolus Quartet
With Michael Tree, viola
Mansion at Strathmore

October 4, 2013 (Fri)
7:30 pm
Shanghai Quartet and Miró Quartet [FREE]
Music by Mendelssohn, Welcher, Shostakovich
Freer Gallery of Art

October 4, 2013 (Fri)
8 pm
National Symphony Orchestra
Music by Saint-Saëns, Roger Reynolds
Kennedy Center Terrace Theater

October 4, 2013 (Fri)
8 pm
Miami String Quartet
Music by Tower, Shostakovich, Mendelssohn
Clarice Smith Center

October 5, 2013 (Sat)
11 am and 1:30 pm
NSO Teddy Bear Concert
Kennedy Center Family Theater

October 5, 2013 (Sat)
8 pm
National Symphony Orchestra
Music by Saint-Saëns, Roger Reynolds
Kennedy Center Terrace Theater

October 5, 2013 (Sat)
8 pm
Dover String Quartet
Candlelight Concert Society
Smith Theater, Howard Community College (Columbia, Md.)

October 5, 2013 (Sat)
8 pm
Bach Sinfonia
Music by Johann Ernst Altenburg, Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber, Jan Dismas Zelenka, others
Cultural Arts Center, Montgomery Community College (Silver Spring, Md.)

October 5, 2013 (Sat)
8 pm
Haskell Small, piano [FREE]
Music by Federico Mompou (Musica Callada)
Washington Conservatory
Westmoreland Congregational UCC Church (Bethedsda, Md.)

October 6, 2013 (Sun)
1:30 and 4 pm
NSO Teddy Bear Concert
Kennedy Center Family Theater

October 6, 2013 (Sun)
2 pm
Donald Manildi, piano [FREE]
Lecture-recital
Clarice Smith Center

October 6, 2013 (Sun)
4 pm
Phillips Camerata
Music by Dutilleux, Bizet, Saint-Saëns
Phillips Collection

October 6, 2013 (Sun)
4 pm
Chamber Orchestra Kremlin
GMU Center for the Arts

October 6, 2013 (Sun)
5 pm
Inscape Chamber Orchestra
Music by Visconti, Berio, Mahler
With Monica Soto-Gil, mezzo-soprano
Episcopal Church of the Redeemer

October 6, 2013 (Sun)
5 pm
Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra
WPAS
Kennedy Center Concert Hall

October 6, 2013 (Sun)
5:15 pm
Tom Bell, organ
Washington National Cathedral

October 6, 2013 (Sun)
5:30 pm
Mischa Maisky (cello) and Lily Maisky (piano)
Shriver Hall (Baltimore, Md.)

October 6, 2013 (Sun)
6:30 pm
Caceres/Ramos-Santana Piano Duo [FREE]
National Gallery of Art

October 6, 2013 (Sun)
7:30 pm
Kennedy Center Chamber Players
Kennedy Center Terrace Theater

October 7, 2013 (Mon)
8 pm
The Knights
Dumbarton Oaks

October 8, 2013 (Tue)
7:30 pm
Quatuor Hermès
Young Concert Artists
Kennedy Center Terrace Theater

October 8, 2013 (Tue)
8 pm
The Knights
Dumbarton Oaks

October 9, 2013 (Wed)
7 pm
Cameristi della Scala [FREE]
Arrangements of Verdi operas
Library of Congress

October 10, 2013 (Thu)
7 pm
National Symphony Orchestra
Wagner, Parsifal (Act III)
Kennedy Center Concert Hall

October 11, 2013 (Fri)
7:30 pm
Orion Weiss, piano
Music by Scarlatti, Granados
Mansion at Strathmore

October 11, 2013 (Fri)
7:30 pm
Andrei Licaret, piano
Embassy Series
Romanian Ambassador's Residence

October 11, 2013 (Fri)
8 pm
National Symphony Orchestra
Wagner, Parsifal (Act III)
Kennedy Center Concert Hall

October 11, 2013 (Fri)
8 pm
Verdi, Falstaff
Virginia Opera
GMU Center for the Arts

October 11, 2013 (Fri)
8 pm
University of Maryland Symphony Orchestra
Music by Esa-Pekka Salonen, Wagner, others
Clarice Smith Center

October 12, 2013 (Sat)
2 pm
Jeremy Denk, piano
WPAS
Kennedy Center Terrace Theater

October 12, 2013 (Sat)
5 pm
21st Century Consort [FREE]
Music by Eugene O'Brien, David Biedenbender, John Cage, and Alexandra Gardner
Smithsonian American Art Museum

October 12, 2013 (Sat)
7 pm
Verdi, La Forza del Destino
Washington National Opera
Kennedy Center Opera House

October 12, 2013 (Sat)
8 pm
National Symphony Orchestra
Wagner, Parsifal (Act III)
Kennedy Center Concert Hall

October 12, 2013 (Sat)
8 pm
Claire Chase, flute
Atlas Center

October 13, 2013 (Sun)
2 pm
Verdi, Falstaff
Virginia Opera
GMU Center for the Arts

October 13, 2013 (Sun)
3 pm
Claremont Trio [FREE]
Steinway Series
Smithsonian American Art Museum

October 13, 2013 (Sun)
4 pm
Dublin Guitar Quartet
Music by Ligeti, Glass, Pärt, Reich
Phillips Collection

October 13, 2013 (Sun)
4 pm
University of Maryland Wind Orchestra
Music by Skrowaczyewski, Webern, Lampe, Ruggles
Clarice Smith Center

October 13, 2013 (Sun)
6:30 pm
National Gallery of Art Vocal Ensemble and Chamber Players [FREE]
Monteverdi, Il Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda
National Gallery of Art

October 14, 2013 (Mon)
7:30 pm
Mariinsky Orchestra
WPAS
Kennedy Center Concert Hall

October 15, 2013 (Tue)
8 pm
Les Violons du Roy
With Stephanie Blythe, mezzo-soprano
Music Center at Strathmore

October 16, 2013 (Wed)
7:30 pm
Verdi, La Forza del Destino
Washington National Opera
Kennedy Center Opera House

October 16, 2013 (Wed)
8 pm
Cameron Carpenter, organ
Kennedy Center Concert Hall

October 17, 2013 (Thu)
7 pm
Valentina Lisitsa, piano [FREE]
Music by Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev, Liszt, Chopin
Library of Congress

October 17, 2013 (Thu)
8 pm
Hubbard Street Dance Chicago
Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater

October 18, 2013 (Fri)
7:30 pm
Verdi, La Forza del Destino
Washington National Opera
Kennedy Center Opera House

October 18, 2013 (Fri)
7:30 pm
Paul Jacobs, organ
Music by Bach, Schumann, Boulanger, Elgar, others
St. Luke Lutheran Church (Silver Spring, Md.)

October 18, 2013 (Fri)
7:30 pm
Mozart, Così fan tutte (French version)
Opera Lafayette
Kennedy Center Terrace Theater

October 18, 2013 (Fri)
8 pm
Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg (violin) and Anne-Marie McDermott (piano)
Barns at Wolf Trap

October 18, 2013 (Fri)
8 pm
University of Maryland Wind Ensemble [FREE]
Music by Hindemith, Bach, Vaughn Williams
Clarice Smith Center

October 18, 2013 (Fri)
8 pm
Hubbard Street Dance Chicago
Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater

October 18, 2013 (Fri)
8 pm
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
With Arild Remmereit (conductor) and Nobuyuki Tsujii (piano)
Meyerhoff Symphony Hall (Baltimore, Md.)

October 19, 2013 (Sat)
2 pm
Mozart, Così fan tutte (French version)
Opera Lafayette
Kennedy Center Terrace Theater

October 19, 2013 (Sat)
8 pm
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
With Arild Remmereit (conductor) and Nobuyuki Tsujii (piano)
Music Center at Strathmore

October 19, 2013 (Sat)
8 pm
Jupiter String Quartet with James Dunham (viola)
Candlelight Concert Society
Smith Theater, Howard Community College (Columbia, Md.)

October 19, 2013 (Sat)
8 pm
Hubbard Street Dance Chicago
Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater

October 19, 2013 (Sat)
8 pm
ETHEL
Dumbarton Concerts

October 20, 2013 (Sun)
2 pm
Verdi, La Forza del Destino
Washington National Opera
Kennedy Center Opera House

October 20, 2013 (Sun)
2 pm
Han Bin Yoon, cello
Korean Concert Society
Kennedy Center Terrace Theater

October 20, 2013 (Sun)
3 pm
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
With Arild Remmereit (conductor) and Nobuyuki Tsujii (piano)
Meyerhoff Symphony Hall (Baltimore, Md.)

October 20, 2013 (Sun)
3 pm
Delores Zeigler (mezzo-soprano) and Friends
Music for voice and chamber ensemble by Delage, Berio, Poulenc, de Falla, Stravinsky
Clarice Smith Center

October 20, 2013 (Sun)
4 pm
Ivana Gavric, piano
Music by Janáček, Grieg, Cheryl Frances-Hoad
Phillips Collection

October 20, 2013 (Sun)
4 pm
Cathedral Choral Society
Verdi, Requiem
Washington National Cathedral

October 20, 2013 (Sun)
4 pm
Scott Dettra, organ
Music by Bach, Handel, Duruflé, and others
Church of the Holy Comforter (Vienna, Va.)

October 20, 2013 (Sun)
5:30 pm
Musicians from Marlboro
Shriver Hall (Baltimore, Md.)

October 20, 2013 (Sun)
6:30 pm
National Gallery Orchestra [FREE]
National Gallery of Art

October 20, 2013 (Sun)
7 pm
Beijing Symphony Orchestra
Music by Guo Wenjing, Prokofiev
Music Center at Strathmore

October 20, 2013 (Sun)
7:30 pm
Joyce Yang, piano
JCCGW (Rockville, Md.)

October 20, 2013 (Sun)
7:30 pm
Smithsonian Chamber Music Society
Renwick Gallery

October 22, 2013 (Tue)
7:30 pm
Verdi, La Forza del Destino
Washington National Opera
Kennedy Center Opera House

October 22, 2013 (Tue)
8 pm
Mason Wind Symphony and Fairfax Wind Symphony
GMU Center for the Arts

October 24, 2013 (Thu)
8 pm
Kronos Quartet
Philip Glass, String Quartet No. 6
Clarice Smith Center

October 24, 2013 (Thu)
8 pm
Cuarteto Casals and Manuel Barrueco (guitar) [FREE]
Music by Haydn, Shostakovich, Turina, others
Library of Congress

October 24, 2013 (Thu)
8 pm
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
With Jun Märkl (conductor) and Johannes Moser (cello)
Music Center at Strathmore

October 24, 2013 (Thu)
7:30 pm
Verdi, La Forza del Destino
Washington National Opera
Kennedy Center Opera House

October 25, 2013 (Fri)
7:30 pm
Maurice Steger Trio
Music for recorder by Baroque composers
Mansion at Strathmore

October 25, 2013 (Fri)
7:30 pm
Michael Kelly (baritone), Samantha Malk (mezzo-soprano), Daniel Schlosberg
Baltimore Lieder Weekend

October 25, 2013 (Fri)
8 pm
Yuja Wang, piano
WPAS
Music Center at Strathmore

October 25, 2013 (Fri)
8 pm
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
With Jun Märkl (conductor) and Johannes Moser (cello)
Meyerhoff Symphony Hall (Baltimore, Md.)

October 25, 2013 (Fri)
8 pm
Lar Lubovitch Dance Company
GMU Center for the Arts

October 26, 2013 (Sat)
3:30 pm
Zuill Bailey (cello) and Navah Perlman (piano)
Music by Schumann
Music Center at Strathmore

October 26, 2013 (Sat)
7 pm
Verdi, La Forza del Destino
Washington National Opera
Kennedy Center Opera House

October 26, 2013 (Sat)
8 pm
National Philharmonic
With Zuill Bailey, cello (Schumann concerto)
Music Center at Strathmore

October 26, 2013 (Sat)
8 pm
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
With Jun Märkl (conductor) and Johannes Moser (cello)
Meyerhoff Symphony Hall (Baltimore, Md.)

October 27, 2013 (Sun)
1 and 3 pm
NSO Family Concert
Halloween Spooktacular
Kennedy Center Concert Hall

October 27, 2013 (Sun)
2:30 pm
Michael Kelly (baritone), Samantha Malk (mezzo-soprano), Daniel Schlosberg, Madeline Adkins
Baltimore Lieder Weekend

October 27, 2013 (Sun)
3 pm
National Philharmonic
With Zuill Bailey, cello (Schumann concerto)
Music Center at Strathmore

October 27, 2013 (Sun)
4 pm
Sophie Shao (cello) and Ieva Jockubaviciute (piano)
Music by Schumann, Brahms, Beethoven
Phillips Collection

October 27, 2013 (Sun)
6 pm
What Makes It Great? Beethoven's Kreutzer Sonata
Lecture-concert with Rob Kapilow
WPAS
National Museum of National History

October 27, 2013 (Sun)
6:30 pm
Cappella Romana [FREE]
Music based on Byzantine chant
National Gallery of Art

October 29, 2013 (Tue)
7:30 pm
Susan Marshall and Co.
Play/Pause (music by David Lang)
Kennedy Center Terrace Theater

October 29, 2013 (Tue)
8 pm
University of Maryland Repertoire Orchestra [FREE]
Clarice Smith Center

October 30, 2013 (Wed)
7 pm
Blue Heron, Piffaro, U.S. Navy Band Brass Choirs [FREE]
Music by Renaissance composers
Library of Congress

October 30, 2013 (Wed)
7:30 pm
Adam, Giselle
Washington Ballet
Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater

October 30, 2013 (Wed)
7:30 pm
Susan Marshall and Co.
Play/Pause (music by David Lang)
Kennedy Center Terrace Theater

October 31, 2013 (Thu)
7 pm
National Symphony Orchestra
With Kristjan Järvi (conductor) and Jennifer Koh (violin)
Kennedy Center Concert Hall

October 31, 2013 (Thu)
7:30 pm
Susan Marshall and Co.
Play/Pause (music by David Lang)
Kennedy Center Terrace Theater

October 31, 2013 (Thu)
7:30 pm
Adam, Giselle
Washington Ballet
Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater