Classical Music Agenda (January 2015)

The year is rapidly drawing to a close, so it must be time to make your concert plans for January. Here are the ten performances we most want to hear.

Mozart / Haydn, A. Tharaud, J. DiDonato, Les Violons du Roy, B. Labadie (Erato, 2014)

TOP BILLING:
Ionarts favorite Alexandre Tharaud comes to town every two years or so, most recently in 2012. For his recital at the Phillips Collection (January 25), he will play Couperin, plus sonatas by Mozart and Beethoven (op. 110) and some Schubert dances. Not to be missed.

Later the same week, the Mariinsky Ballet returns to the Kennedy Center Opera House with an assortment of choreographies, headlined by Millicent Hodson's reconstruction of Vaslav Nijinsky's original movements for Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring (January 27 to February 1). Other highlights include choreographies by Fokine, Le Spectre de la Rose and The Swan.

We will also make the trip to Charm City for the recital by violinist Gidon Kremer and pianist Daniil Trifonov at Shriver Hall (January 18). The pair will play music a Mozart sonata and a Schubert fantasy, and cellist Geidre Dirvanauskaite will join them for Rachmaninoff's Trio élégiaque No. 2.

It is indeed a good season for the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, which offers two excellent programs in the month of January. Günther Herbig returns to conduct Bruckner's eighth symphony, with Alon Goldstein as soloist in Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 21 (January 17 at Strathmore). Then Marin Alsop is back on the podium for Mahler's third symphony, with mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton as soloist (January 31 at Strathmore).

Mozart / Haydn, A. Tharaud, J. DiDonato, Les Violons du Roy, B. Labadie (Erato, 2014)

ALSO:
Celebrate the New Year with a program of music from medieval England, performed by the Folger Consort and Lionheart at Washington National Cathedral (January 9 and 10), including a song mentioned in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, dances, and sacred music.

The series of concerts by the Emerson Quartet at the National Museum of Natural History continues with a program of music by Mozart, Shostakovich, and Beethoven (January 10).

Tenor Matthew Polenzani sings a program of songs by Beethoven, Liszt, Ravel, Satie, and Barber with pianist Julius Drake, presented by Vocal Arts D.C. in the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater (January 14).

Tzimon Barto joins the National Symphony Orchestra for the U.S. premiere of Wolfgang Rihm's new piano concerto, paired with Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique (January 15 and 17).

Finally, Washington National Opera continues its American Opera Initiative with a performance of Penny by Douglas Pew and Dara Weinberg (January 23 and 24), presented at the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater.

SVILUPPO:
The concert by the Budapest Festival Orchestra (January 23), presented by Washington Performing Arts in the Music Center at Strathmore, was inadvertently left off the list.

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!

January 2, 2015 (Fri)
8 pm
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Beethoven, 9th symphony
Meyerhoff Symphony Hall (Baltimore, Md.)

January 3, 2015 (Sat)
8 pm
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Beethoven, 9th symphony
Music Center at Strathmore

January 4, 2015 (Sun)
3 pm
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Beethoven, 9th symphony
Meyerhoff Symphony Hall (Baltimore, Md.)

January 4, 2015 (Sun)
4 pm
Abigail Mitchell (soprano) and Casey Robards (piano)
Phillips Collection

January 7, 2015 (Wed)
12:10 pm
Iris Lan, organ [FREE]
Complete sonatas by Paul Hindemith
St. John's, Lafayette Square

January 8, 2015 (Thu)
8 pm
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Stravinsky, Rite of Spring
Meyerhoff Symphony Hall (Baltimore, Md.)

January 9, 2015 (Fri)
8 pm
Folger Consort and Lionheart
Music of Medieval England
Washington National Cathedral

January 9, 2015 (Fri)
8 pm
Ying Quartet
Barns at Wolf Trap

January 9, 2015 (Fri)
8:15 pm
Off the Cuff: Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Stravinsky, Rite of Spring
Music Center at Strathmore

January 10, 2015 (Sat)
6 pm
Emerson Quartet
Music by Mozart, Shostakovich, Beethoven
National Museum of Natural History

January 10, 2015 (Sat)
7 pm
Off the Cuff: Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Stravinsky, Rite of Spring
Meyerhoff Symphony Hall (Baltimore, Md.)

January 10, 2015 (Sat)
7:30 pm
Smithsonian Chamber Music Society
Music by Schubert
National Museum of American History

January 10, 2015 (Sat)
8 pm
Momenta String Quartet
Candlelight Concert Society
Howard Community College (Columbia, Md.)

January 10, 2015 (Sat)
8 pm
Folger Consort and Lionheart
Music of Medieval England
Washington National Cathedral

January 10, 2015 (Sat)
8 pm
Alexander Paley, piano [FREE]
Washington Conservatory of Music
Westmoreland Congregational UCC Church (Bethesda, Md.)

January 11, 2015 (Sun)
2 pm
U.S. Marine Band
GMU Center for the Arts

January 11, 2015 (Sun)
2 pm
Kennedy Center Chamber Players
Music by Bartók, Ravel, Bowen, Arensky
Kennedy Center Terrace Theater

January 11, 2015 (Sun)
3 pm
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Stravinsky, Rite of Spring
Music Center at Strathmore

January 11, 2015 (Sun)
3 pm
Leo Sushansky (violin) and Carlos César Rodríguez (piano) [FREE]
Steinway Series
Smithsonian American Art Museum

January 11, 2015 (Sun)
3:30 pm
Bellini, La Sonnambula
In Series
Source

January 11, 2015 (Sun)
4 pm
Timo Andres, piano
Phillips Collection

January 11, 2015 (Sun)
7:30 pm
Smithsonian Chamber Music Society
Music by Schubert
National Museum of American History

January 14, 2015 (Wed)
7:30 pm
Matthew Polenzani (tenor) and Julius Drake (piano)
Vocal Arts D.C.
Kennedy Center Terrace Theater

January 15, 2015 (Thu)
7 pm
National Symphony Orchestra
With Tzimon Barto, piano
Music by Rihm, Berlioz, Dvorák
Kennedy Center Concert Hall

January 15, 2015 (Thu)
7:30 pm
Bellini, La Sonnambula
In Series
Source

January 16, 2015 (Fri)
8 pm
Beyond the Score: Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique
National Symphony Orchestra
Kennedy Center Concert Hall

January 16, 2015 (Fri)
8 pm
Gil Shaham, violin
Washington Performing Arts
Music Center at Strathmore

January 16, 2015 (Fri)
8 pm
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Bruckner, Symphony No. 8
Meyerhoff Symphony Hall (Baltimore, Md.)

January 17, 2015 (Sat)
8 pm
National Symphony Orchestra
With Tzimon Barto, piano
Music by Rihm, Berlioz, Dvorák
Kennedy Center Concert Hall

January 17, 2015 (Sat)
8 pm
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Bruckner, Symphony No. 8
Music Center at Strathmore

January 17, 2015 (Sat)
8 pm
National Philharmonic
Music Center at Strathmore

January 17, 2015 (Sat)
8 pm
Bellini, La Sonnambula
In Series
Source

January 18, 2015 (Sun)
2 pm
Metropolitan Opera National Council
Middle Atlantic Region Auditions
Kennedy Center Terrace Theater

January 18, 2015 (Sun)
3 pm
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Bruckner, Symphony No. 8
Meyerhoff Symphony Hall (Baltimore, Md.)

January 18, 2015 (Sun)
3:30 pm
Federico Agostini (violin) and Enrico Elisi (piano) [FREE]
National Gallery of Art

January 18, 2015 (Sun)
4 pm
Kristóf Baráti, violin
Phillips Collection

January 18, 2015 (Sun)
5:30 pm
Gidon Kremer (violin), Geidre Dirvanauskaite (cello), and Daniil Trifonov (piano)
Shriver Hall (Baltimore, Md.)

January 22, 2015 (Thu)
7 pm
National Symphony Orchestra
Music by Tchaikovsky
Kennedy Center Concert Hall

January 22, 2015 (Thu)
7:30 pm
Jennifer Koh, violin
Bach and Beyond, Part III
Mansion at Strathmore

January 23, 2015 (Fri)
7:30 pm
American Opera Initiative: Penny
Washington National Opera
Kennedy Center Terrace Theater

January 23, 2015 (Fri)
8 pm
St. Lawrence String Quartet [FREE]
Library of Congress

January 23, 2015 (Fri)
8 pm
National Symphony Orchestra
Music by Tchaikovsky
Kennedy Center Concert Hall

January 23, 2015 (Fri)
8 pm
Budapest Festival Orchestra
Washington Performing Arts
Music Center at Strathmore

January 23, 2015 (Fri)
8 pm
Nick Canellakis (cello) and Michael Brown (piano)
Music by Beethoven, Schnittke, Brown
Barns at Wolf Trap

January 23, 2015 (Fri)
8 pm
Bellini, La Sonnambula
In Series
Source

January 24, 2015 (Sat)
7:30 pm
American Opera Initiative: Penny
Washington National Opera
Kennedy Center Terrace Theater

January 24, 2015 (Sat)
8 pm
Curtis on Tour
Candlelight Concert Society
Howard Community College (Columbia, Md.)

January 24, 2015 (Sat)
8 pm
Steven Honigberg (cello) and Volta Chamber Ensemble
Dumbarton Concerts

January 24, 2015 (Sat)
8 pm
National Symphony Orchestra
Music by Tchaikovsky
Kennedy Center Concert Hall

January 24, 2015 (Sat)
8 pm
National Philharmonic
Bach, Brandenburg Concertos
Music Center at Strathmore

January 25, 2015 (Sun)
2:30 pm
Bellini, La Sonnambula
In Series
Source

January 25, 2015 (Sun)
3 pm
National Philharmonic
Bach, Brandenburg Concertos
Music Center at Strathmore

January 25, 2015 (Sun)
3 pm
American Youth Philharmonic Orchestra
GMU Center for the Arts

January 25, 2015 (Sun)
4 pm
Alexandre Tharaud, piano
Phillips Collection

January 25, 2015 (Sun)
6 pm
National Gallery of Art Vocal Ensemble and Chamber Players [FREE]
With lecturers Laura Benedetti and Peter Lukehart
National Gallery of Art

January 25, 2015 (Sun)
7 pm
Gut Reaction
Dumbarton Oaks

January 26, 2015 (Mon)
8 pm
Gut Reaction
Dumbarton Oaks

January 27, 2015 (Tue)
7:30 pm
Mariinsky Ballet
Stravinsky, Rite of Spring
Kennedy Center Opera House

January 28, 2015 (Wed)
7:30 pm
Mariinsky Ballet
Stravinsky, Rite of Spring
Kennedy Center Opera House

January 29, 2015 (Thu)
7 pm
National Symphony Orchestra
With Arabella Steinbacher, violin
Music by Tchaikovsky
Kennedy Center Concert Hall

January 29, 2015 (Thu)
7:30 pm
Mariinsky Ballet
Stravinsky, Rite of Spring
Kennedy Center Opera House

January 29, 2015 (Thu)
8 pm
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Mahler, 3rd symphony
Meyerhoff Symphony Hall (Baltimore, Md.)

January 30, 2015 (Fri)
7:30 pm
Mariinsky Ballet
Stravinsky, Rite of Spring
Kennedy Center Opera House

January 30, 2015 (Fri)
8 pm
National Symphony Orchestra
With Arabella Steinbacher, violin
Music by Tchaikovsky
Kennedy Center Concert Hall

January 30, 2015 (Fri)
8 pm
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Mahler, 3rd symphony
Meyerhoff Symphony Hall (Baltimore, Md.)

January 31, 2015 (Sat)
1:30 and 7:30 pm
Mariinsky Ballet
Stravinsky, Rite of Spring
Kennedy Center Opera House

January 31, 2015 (Sat)
7 pm
National Symphony Orchestra
With Arabella Steinbacher, violin
Music by Tchaikovsky
Kennedy Center Concert Hall

January 31, 2015 (Sat)
7:30 pm
Axelrod String Quartet
With Leah Gastler (viola) and Arnie Tanimoto (cello)
National Museum of American History

January 31, 2015 (Sat)
8 pm
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Mahler, 3rd symphony
Music Center at Strathmore

January 31, 2015 (Sat)
8 pm
State Symphony Orchestra of Mexico
GMU Center for the Arts