18.4.14

Classical Music Agenda: May 2014

Winter may finally be over, so it is safe to plan your springtime concert schedule. Here are the ten performances most worth hearing in the month of May.

available at Amazon
Mendelssohn, Ein Sommernachtstraum, La Chapelle Royale, Collegium Vocale Gent, Orchestre des Champs-Elysées, P. Herreweghe
(Harmonia Mundi, 2012)
SYMPHONY:
Two programs from the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra make the cut, beginning with Marin Alsop leading a performance of Shostakovich's twelfth symphony, paired with Beethoven's "Emperor" concerto featuring pianist Yefim Bronfman as soloist (May 2 to 4). The second is a performance of Mendelssohn's complete incidental music for A Midsummer Night's Dream, with parts of the play performed by actors (May 29 to June 1)

Orchestral music merges with dance in interesting ways, first in a performance of Copland's Appalachian Spring from the University of Maryland Symphony Orchestra, with the musicians themselves choreographed by Liz Lerman (May 4), at the Clarice Smith Center. In a related vein, the last of the NEW MOVES: Symphony + Dance mini-festival from the National Symphony Orchestra looks interesting, with conductor Thomas Wilkins and violinist Leila Josefowicz in music of Copland, John Adams, Michael Daugherty, and George Walker (May 16 and 17).

KEYBOARD:
A trip to Charm City is in order for the free recital by Yevgeny Sudbin at Hodson Hall Auditorium in Baltimore (May 3). He will play sonatas by Scarlatti and Scriabin, plus preludes by Shostakovich and Rachmaninov. Washington Performing Arts [Society] presents one of their best events of the year, pianist Martin Helmchen in a recital of music by Bach, Schubert, and Schumann (May 10) at the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater.


The Fortas Chamber Music series hosts pianist Marc-André Hamelin and the Pacifica String Quartet in the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater (May 20). They will perform piano quintets by Dvořák and Leo Ornstein, with Hamelin also playing his 2011 Variations on a Theme of Paganini.

VOICES:
Get your C. P. E. Bach fix with a program of his symphonic and vocal music performed by the Washington Bach Consort at National Presbyterian Church (May 4). As in most months, there will also be two free cantatas by his famous father: Noontime Cantata: Halt im Gedächtnis Jesum Christ, BWV 67, with the Washington Bach Consort (May 6) at the Church of the Epiphany, and Darzu ist erschienen der Sohn Gottes, BWV 40, on the Bach Cantata Series at the Clarice Smith Center (May 8).

Lastly, Vocal Arts D.C. presents the outstanding tenor Lawrence Brownlee and pianist Kevin Murphy at George Washington University's Lisner Auditorium (May 13). The program features songs by Marx, Ginastera, Verdi, Poulenc, and Ben Moore, as well as arrangements of spirituals.

DANCE:
The Bolshoi Ballet returns to the Kennedy Center Opera House in May, with their production of Adolphe Adam's Giselle, with choreography by Jean Coralli, Jules Perrot, and Marius Petipa and staging by Yuri Grigorovich.
Headlining the casting will be Svetlana Zakharova (Giselle) and American dancer David Hallberg (Albrecht).

COMPLETE CALENDAR:
Last month | Next month
Classical 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!

May 1, 2014 (Thu)
7:30 pm
Trio Cloisonne
Mansion at Strathmore

May 1, 2014 (Thu)
8 pm
City Choir of Washington
Defiant Requiem: Verdi at Terezín
Music Center at Strathmore

May 2, 2014 (Fri)
8 pm
Koussevitzky Legacy Celebration [FREE]
Music by Crumb, Foss, Babbitt, others
Library of Congress

May 2, 2014 (Fri)
8 pm
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
With Yefim Bronfman, piano
Meyerhoff Symphony Hall (Baltimore, Md.)

May 3, 2014 (Sat)
11 and 1:30 pm
NSO Kinderclassics: Bears, Bears Everywhere!
Kennedy Center Family Theater

May 3, 2014 (Sat)
3 pm
Yevgeny Sudbin, piano [FREE]
Hodson Hall Auditorium (Baltimore, Md.)

May 3, 2014 (Sat)
7 pm
Mozart, Magic Flute
Washington National Opera
Kennedy Center Opera House
[Opera in the Outfield]

May 3, 2014 (Sat)
7:30 pm
CUA Chamber Choir and University Singers [FREE]
Music for Two Popes
Cathedral of St. Matthew

May 3, 2014 (Sat)
8 pm
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
With Yefim Bronfman, piano
Music Center at Strathmore

May 3, 2014 (Sat)
8 pm
Left Bank Quartet
Clarice Smith Center

May 4, 2014 (Sun)
3 pm
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
With Yefim Bronfman, piano
Meyerhoff Symphony Hall (Baltimore, Md.)

May 4, 2014 (Sun)
3 pm
Washington Piano Society [FREE]
Calvary Lutheran Church (Silver Spring, Md.)

May 4, 2014 (Sun)
3 pm
Washington Bach Consort
Music by C.P.E. Bach
National Presbyterian Church

May 4, 2014 (Sun)
4 pm
Amit Peled (cello) and friends
Phillips Collection

May 4, 2014 (Sun)
4 pm
University of Maryland Symphony Orchestra
Copland, Appalachian Sping (with choreography by Liz Lerman)
Clarice Smith Center

May 4, 2014 (Sun)
5 pm
Capital Symphony
Music by Samuel Barber
Atlas Performing Arts Center

May 4, 2014 (Sun)
6:30 pm
Paul Galbraith, guitar [FREE]
National Gallery of Art

May 5, 2014 (Mon)
7 pm
Mozart, Magic Flute
Washington National Opera
Kennedy Center Opera House

May 5, 2014 (Mon)
8 pm
University of Maryland Percussion Ensemble [FREE]
Clarice Smith Center

May 6, 2014 (Thu)
12:10 pm
Noontime Cantata: Halt im Gedächtnis Jesum Christ, BWV 67 [FREE]
Church of the Epiphany

May 7, 2014 (Wed)
7:30 pm
Mozart, Magic Flute
Washington National Opera
Kennedy Center Opera House

May 7, 2014 (Wed)
7 pm
National Symphony Orchestra
NEW MOVES: Symphony + Dance
Thomas Wilkins, conductor
Kennedy Center Concert Hall

May 7, 2014 (Wed)
7:30 pm
Aima Labra-Makk (piano) and Florian Kitt (cello)
Austrian Embassy

May 8, 2014 (Thu)
1:30 pm
Bach, Darzu ist erschienen der Sohn Gottes (BWV 40)
Bach Cantata Series [FREE]
Clarice Smith Center

May 8, 2014 (Thu)
7:30 pm
Mozart, Magic Flute
Washington National Opera
Kennedy Center Opera House

May 8, 2014 (Thu)
7 pm
National Symphony Orchestra
NEW MOVES: Symphony + Dance
Thomas Wilkins, conductor
Kennedy Center Concert Hall

May 10, 2014 (Sat)
2 pm
Martin Helmchen, piano
WPAS
Kennedy Center Terrace Theater

May 10, 2014 (Sat)
7 pm
Mozart, Magic Flute
Washington National Opera
Kennedy Center Opera House

May 10, 2014 (Sat)
7 pm
Moscow Virtuosi
Music Center at Strathmore

May 10, 2014 (Sat)
7:30 pm
Postclassical Ensemble
Music by Mexican composers
Clarice Smith Center

May 10, 2014 (Sat)
8 pm
National Symphony Orchestra
NEW MOVES: Symphony + Dance
Thomas Wilkins, conductor
Kennedy Center Concert Hall

May 10, 2014 (Sat)
8 pm
Bach Sinfonia
Music by Mozart
Cultural Arts Center (Silver Spring, Md.)

May 10, 2014 (Sat)
8 pm
Fairfax Symphony Orchestra
GMU Center for the Arts

May 11, 2014 (Sun)
1:30 and 4 pm
NSO Teddy Bear Concert
Kennedy Center Family Theater

May 11, 2014 (Sun)
2 pm
Mozart, Magic Flute
Washington National Opera
Kennedy Center Opera House

May 11, 2014 (Sun)
3 pm
American Youth Philharmonic Orchestra
GMU Center for the Arts

May 11, 2014 (Sun)
4 pm
Joanna Kurkowicz (violin) and Gloria Chien (piano)
Music Schnittke, Lutoslawski, Pärt, Szymanowski
Phillips Collection

May 11, 2014 (Sun)
5:30 pm
Emanuel Ax, piano
Shriver Hall (Baltimore, Md.)

May 11, 2014 (Sun)
6:30 pm
Henschel String Quartet [FREE]
National Gallery of Art

May 13, 2014 (Tue)
7 pm
National Symphony Orchestra
NEW MOVES: Symphony + Dance
Thomas Wilkins, conductor
Kennedy Center Concert Hall

May 13, 2014 (Tue)
7:30 pm
Lawrence Brownlee (tenor) and Kevin Murphy (piano)
Vocal Arts D.C.
Lisner Auditorium

May 14, 2014 (Wed)
12:10 pm
Edvinas Minkstimas, piano [FREE]
National Gallery of Art

May 14, 2014 (Wed)
7:30 pm
Carlo Grante, piano
Kennedy Center Terrace Theater

May 15, 2014 (Thu)
7:30 pm
Mozart, Magic Flute
Washington National Opera
Kennedy Center Opera House

May 15, 2014 (Thu)
7:30 pm
Krisztina David (soprano) and Michael Heim (tenor)
Austrian Embassy

May 15, 2014 (Thu)
8 pm
Contemporary Music Ensemble (U.S. Air Force Band)
Music by Brun, Mellits, Adams
JCCGW (Rockville, Md.)

May 16, 2014 (Fri)
7 pm
National Symphony Orchestra
NEW MOVES: Symphony + Dance
Thomas Wilkins, conductor; Leila Josefowicz, violin
Kennedy Center Concert Hall

May 16, 2014 (Fri)
7:30 pm
Krisztina David (soprano) and Michael Heim (tenor)
Embassy of Hungary

May 16, 2014 (Fri)
7:30 pm
Mozart, Magic Flute
Washington National Opera
Kennedy Center Opera House

May 17, 2014 (Sat)
7 pm
Mozart, Magic Flute
Washington National Opera
Kennedy Center Opera House

May 17, 2014 (Sat)
8 pm
National Symphony Orchestra
NEW MOVES: Symphony + Dance
Thomas Wilkins, conductor; Leila Josefowicz, violin
Kennedy Center Concert Hall

May 17, 2014 (Sat)
8 pm
Prince George's Philharmonic
Clarice Smith Center

May 17, 2014 (Sat)
8 pm
National Philharmonic
With Sarah Chang, violin
Music Center at Strathmore

May 18, 2014 (Sun)
2 pm
Mozart, Magic Flute
Washington National Opera
Kennedy Center Opera House

May 18, 2014 (Sun)
3 pm
National Philharmonic
With Sarah Chang, violin
Music Center at Strathmore

May 18, 2014 (Sun)
4 pm
Tanya Bannister, piano
Phillips Collection

May 18, 2014 (Sun)
4 pm
Winners from the WPAS Misbin Family Memorial Competition [FREE]
National Gallery of Art

May 18, 2014 (Sun)
6:30 pm
Mícéal O’Rourke, piano [FREE]
National Gallery of Art

May 18, 2014 (Sun)
7:30 pm
Chee-Yun, violin
JCCGW (Rockville, Md.)

May 20, 2014 (Tue)
7:30 pm
Marc-André Hamelin (piano) and Pacifica Quartet
Kennedy Center Terrace Theater

May 20, 2014 (Tue)
7:30 pm
Arabella String Quartet
European Union Ambassador's Residence

May 20, 2014 (Tue)
7:30 pm
Adam, Giselle
Bolshoi Ballet
Kennedy Center Opera House

May 21, 2014 (Wed)
7:30 pm
Adam, Giselle
Bolshoi Ballet
Kennedy Center Opera House

May 21, 2014 (Wed)
7:30 pm
Stefan Jackiw (violin) and Anna Polonsky (piano)
WPAS
Kennedy Center Terrace Theater

May 21, 2014 (Wed)
8 pm
Iveta Apkalna, organ
Kennedy Center Concert Hall

May 22, 2014 (Thu)
7:30 pm
Adam, Giselle
Bolshoi Ballet
Kennedy Center Opera House

May 22, 2014 (Thu)
7:30 pm
Ann Schein (piano) and Friends
Chamber Music of Ravel, Debussy
Embassy of France

May 22, 2014 (Thu)
8 pm
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
With Ray Chen, violin
Meyerhoff Symphony Hall (Baltimore, Md.)

May 23, 2014 (Fri)
7:30 pm
Adam, Giselle
Bolshoi Ballet
Kennedy Center Opera House

May 23, 2014 (Fri)
8 pm
Winnie Nieh (soprano), Zachary Burgess (baritone), Sharisse Taylor (actor)
Music by Schubert (Goethe-Lieder)
Austrian Embassy

May 23, 2014 (Fri)
8 pm
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
With Ray Chen, violin
Meyerhoff Symphony Hall (Baltimore, Md.)

May 24, 2014 (Sat)
11 am and 1:30 pm
NSO Teddy Bear Concert
Kennedy Center Family Theater

May 24, 2014 (Sat)
1:30 and 7:30 pm
Adam, Giselle
Bolshoi Ballet
Kennedy Center Opera House

May 24, 2014 (Sat)
8 pm
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
With Ray Chen, violin
Music Center at Strathmore

May 25, 2014 (Sun)
1:30 pm
Adam, Giselle
Bolshoi Ballet
Kennedy Center Opera House

May 25, 2014 (Sun)
4 pm
Metropolis Ensemble and Phillips Camerata
Phillips Collection

May 27, 2014 (Tue)
7:30 pm
Corda Nova with Rebecca Mariman, soprano
Music by Couperin, Lully, Marais
St. Thomas Episcopal

May 28, 2014 (Wed)
12:10 pm
NGA Chamber Players [FREE]
National Gallery of Art

May 29, 2014 (Thu)
6:30 pm
Leading European Composers: Arvo Pärt
Phillips Collection

May 29, 2014 (Thu)
8 pm
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Mendelssohn, A Midsummer Night's Dream
Music Center at Strathmore

May 30, 2014 (Fri)
7:30 pm
Washington Men's Camerata
Kennedy Center Terrace Theater

May 30, 2014 (Fri)
8 pm
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Mendelssohn, A Midsummer Night's Dream
Meyerhoff Symphony Hall (Baltimore, Md.)

May 31, 2014 (Sat)
2 pm
Sam Haywood, piano
WPAS
Kennedy Center Terrace Theater

May 31, 2014 (Sat)
8 pm
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Mendelssohn, A Midsummer Night's Dream
Meyerhoff Symphony Hall (Baltimore, Md.)

May 31, 2014 (Sat)
8 pm
National Philharmonic
Music by Richard Strauss
Music Center at Strathmore

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