Classical Music Agenda (May 2015)
With the arrival of May, the classical music season draws near its end. Although some organizers have already closed up shop by this point, here are the Top 10 performances worth hearing in May.
 Sibelius, Violin Concerto (both versions), L. Kavakos, Lahti Symphony Orchestra, O. Vänskä (BIS, 1992) |
Greek violinist Leonidas Kavakos will have a brief residency with the National Symphony Orchestra in May. He will begin it as a concerto soloist, performing the Sibelius violin concerto with the NSO (May 7 to 9), with Christoph Eschenbach also conducting Mahler's fifth symphony. Next he will take the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater's stage as recitalist, in a concert with Christoph Eschenbach at the piano (May 11, repertoire not yet announced). Finally, he will take the podium of the NSO and conduct works by Musorgsky and Sibelius, as well as playing the solo in Bach's A minor violin concerto (May 14 to 16).
VOICES:
Take your pick of mezzo-sopranos Isabel Leonard and Tara Erraught, who will alternate in the title role of Rossini's La Cenerentola, a delightful corker of a comic opera in a production by Spanish director Joan Font and his troupe Els Comediants (May 9 to 21) at Washington National Opera.
We raved about soprano Heidi Melton in a Wagner program with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in 2013. She returns to sing Richard Strauss's Four Last Songs with the BSO in May, along with guest conductor Markus Stenz leading performances of music by Weber and Schumann (May 21 and 22 in Baltimore; May 23 at Strathmore).
Opera Lafayette gives a staged performance of André Grétry's L'Épreuve Villageoise, from 1784, in the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater (May 30). Pascale Beaudin and Emmanuelle de Negri each take a turn at the role of Denise.
 Bach, Partitas, I. Levit (Sony, 2014) |
Washington Performing Arts presents two pianists who should be on your radar, both in the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater. Igor Levit will play an afternoon recital with music of Bach, Rachmaninoff, and Beethoven, plus Ronald Stevenson's Fantasy on Peter Grimes (May 9). The following day, English pianist Paul Lewis has his turn, playing the last three sonatas of Beethoven (May 10).
In the same week, the National Symphony Orchestra presents French organist Thierry Escaich in a recital on the Kennedy Center Concert Hall's organ (May 13). He plays music by Vierne, Bach, and Stravinsky, as well as his own compositions and, even better, improvisations.
CHAMBER MUSIC:
Pro Musica Hebraica presents the ARC Ensemble in a concert called Before The Night: Jewish Classical Masterpieces of Pre-1933 Europe in the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater (May 7). The program includes music by Jerzy Fitelberg (String Quartet No. 2, 1928), Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (Piano Quintet No. 1, 1931–32), and Erich Korngold (Suite for 2 violins, cello, and piano, left hand, 1930).
You will want to hear the new piano trio by Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho, performed on a free concert by violinist Jennifer Koh, cellist Anssi Karttunen, and pianist Benjamin Hochman (May 22) at the Library of Congress. The three musicians, in various combinations, will also play other music by Saariaho, Ravel, and Debussy.
See the complete calendar after the jump.
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May 1, 2015 (Fri)
8 pm
UMd Wind Ensemble [FREE]
Music by Bernstein, Copland
Clarice Smith Center
May 1, 2015 (Fri)
8 pm
NSO: Beyond the Score
Beethoven, Symphony No. 5
Kennedy Center Concert Hall
May 2, 2015 (Sat)
11 am and 1:30 pm
NSO Ensemble Concert
Connections: Science & Math + Music
Kennedy Center Family Theater
May 2, 2015 (Sat)
8 pm
National Symphony Orchestra
Music by Beethoven, Penderecki, J. Strauss, Jr.
Kennedy Center Concert Hall
May 2, 2015 (Sat)
8 pm
National Philharmonic
Music Center at Strathmore
May 3, 2015 (Sun)
3 pm
Eclipse Recital Series [FREE]
The Lyceum (Alexandria, Va.)
May 3, 2015 (Sun)
3 pm
Augustin Hadelich (violin) and Joyce Yang (piano)
JCCGW (Rockville, Md.)
May 3, 2015 (Sun)
3 pm
National Philharmonic
Music Center at Strathmore
May 3, 2015 (Sun)
3:30 pm
U.S. Army Band [FREE]
National Gallery of Art
May 3, 2015 (Sun)
4 pm
Cambini-Paris Quartet
Phillips Collection
May 3, 2015 (Sun)
8 pm
UMd Symphony Orchestra [FREE]
With Maryland Opera Studio
Rossini, L’occasione fa il ladro
Clarice Smith Center
May 5, 2015 (Tue)
12:10 pm
Noontime Cantata: Wachet! betet! betet! wachet! (BWV 70) [FREE]
Washington Bach Consort
Church of the Epiphany
May 6, 2015 (Wed)
12:10 pm
Air Force Strings [FREE]
St. John's, Lafayette Square
May 6, 2015 (Wed)
7 pm
Choral Arts Society of Washington
Lecture-performance, Carmina Burana
National Museum of the American Indian
May 6, 2015 (Wed)
7:30 pm
ALICE (in wonderland)
Washington Ballet
Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater
May 7, 2015 (Thu)
7 pm
National Symphony Orchestra
With Leonidas Kavakos, violin
Music by Mahler, Sibelius
Kennedy Center Concert Hall
May 7, 2015 (Thu)
7:30 pm
ARC Ensemble
Before The Night: Jewish Classical Masterpieces of Pre-1933 Europe
Pro Musica Hebraica
Kennedy Center Terrace Theater
May 7, 2015 (Thu)
7:30 pm
Alan Choo (violin) and Iris Hsu (piano)
Embassy Series
Embassy of Singapore
May 7, 2015 (Thu)
7:30 pm
ALICE (in wonderland)
Washington Ballet
Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater
May 7, 2015 (Thu)
8 pm
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
With Lukáš Vondráček, piano
Music Center at Strathmore
May 8, 2015 (Fri)
7:30 pm
ALICE (in wonderland)
Washington Ballet
Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater
May 8, 2015 (Fri)
8 pm
National Symphony Orchestra
With Leonidas Kavakos, violin
Music by Mahler, Sibelius
Kennedy Center Concert Hall
May 8, 2015 (Fri)
8 pm
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
With Lukáš Vondráček, piano
Meyerhoff Symphony Hall (Baltimore, Md.)
May 8, 2015 (Fri)
8 pm
UMD Women's Chorus Men's Chorus [FREE]
Spring Choral Showcase
Clarice Smith Center
May 9, 2015 (Sat)
11 am and 1:30 pm
NSO Kinderclassics: Beethoven at the Ballpark!
Kennedy Center Family Theater
May 9, 2015 (Sat)
1:30 and 7:30 pm
ALICE (in wonderland)
Washington Ballet
Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater
May 9, 2015 (Sat)
2 pm
Igor Levit, piano
Washington Performing Arts
Kennedy Center Terrace Theater
May 9, 2015 (Sat)
3 pm
Gamer Symphony Orchestra [FREE]
Smithsonian American Art Museum
May 9, 2015 (Sat)
7 pm
Rossini, Cinderella
Washington National Opera
Kennedy Center Opera House
May 9, 2015 (Sat)
7:30 pm
National Chamber Ensemble
Music by Mexican composers
Spectrum Theater (Rosslyn, Va.)
May 9, 2015 (Sat)
8 pm
National Symphony Orchestra
With Leonidas Kavakos, violin
Music by Mahler, Sibelius
Kennedy Center Concert Hall
May 9, 2015 (Sat)
8 pm
Bach in the Middle: Cöthen Concertos
Bach Sinfonia
Cultural Arts Center (Silver Spring, Md.)
May 9, 2015 (Sat)
8 pm
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
With Lukáš Vondráček, piano
Meyerhoff Symphony Hall (Baltimore, Md.)
May 9, 2015 (Sat)
8 pm
Fairfax Symphony Orchestra
Music by Mahler, Mozart
GMU Center for the Arts
May 10, 2015 (Sun)
1:30 and 6:30 pm
ALICE (in wonderland)
Washington Ballet
Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater
May 10, 2015 (Sun)
3 pm
Mendelssohn Piano Trio [FREE]
Smithsonian American Art Museum
May 10, 2015 (Sun)
3 pm
Mother's Day Concert [FREE]
Washington Piano Society
Calvary Lutheran Church (Silver Spring, Md.)
May 10, 2015 (Sun)
3 pm
Rock Creek Chamber Players [FREE]
Christ Lutheran Church (Bethesda, Md.)
May 10, 2015 (Sun)
3:30 pm
Mykola Suk and Pavel Gintov, pianists [FREE]
National Gallery of Art
May 10, 2015 (Sun)
4 pm
Kristin Lee (violin) and Michael Mizrahi (piano)
Phillips Collection
May 10, 2015 (Sun)
4:30 pm
City Choir of Washington
Choral music by French composers
Saint Luke Catholic Church (McLean, Va.)
May 10, 2015 (Sun)
6 pm
Emerson String Quartet
With Paul Neubauer (viola) and Colin Carr (cello)
Music by Mozart, Lieberman, Tchaikovsky
National Museum of Natural History
May 10, 2015 (Sun)
7 pm
Jeffrey Siegel, lecturer
Rachmaninoff and Friends
GMU Center for the Arts
May 10, 2015 (Sun)
7:30 pm
Paul Lewis, piano
Washington Performing Arts
Kennedy Center Terrace Theater
May 11, 2015 (Mon)
7 pm
Rossini, Cinderella
Washington National Opera
Kennedy Center Opera House
May 11, 2015 (Mon)
7:30 pm
Leonidas Kavakos (violin) and Christoph Eschenbach (piano)
Fortas Chamber Music Concerts
Kennedy Center Terrace Theater
May 11, 2015 (Mon)
8 pm
UMD Percussion Ensemble [FREE]
Clarice Smith Center
May 12, 2015 (Tue)
12:10 pm
Hyewon Lee Gessner, piano [FREE]
Church of the Epiphany
May 13, 2015 (Wed)
7:30 pm
Rossini, Cinderella
Washington National Opera
Kennedy Center Opera House
May 13, 2015 (Wed)
7:30 pm
Tour-de-Force: Serenade
Washington Ballet
Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater
May 13, 2015 (Wed)
8 pm
Thierry Escaich, organ
Kennedy Center Concert Hall
May 14, 2015 (Thu)
7 pm
National Symphony Orchestra
With Leonidas Kavakos, conductor and violin
Kennedy Center Concert Hall
May 14, 2015 (Thu)
7:30 pm
Tour-de-Force: Serenade
Washington Ballet
Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater
May 14, 2015 (Thu)
8 pm
Graduate Fellowship Chamber Ensembles [FREE]
Mahler, Das Lied von der Erde
Clarice Smith Center
May 15, 2015 (Fri)
7:30 pm
Chantry
Music by Palestrina, Byrd
St. Bernadette (Silver Spring, Md.)
May 15, 2015 (Fri)
7:30 pm
Rossini, Cinderella
Washington National Opera
Kennedy Center Opera House
May 15, 2015 (Fri)
7:30 pm
Tour-de-Force: Serenade
Washington Ballet
Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater
May 15, 2015 (Fri)
8 pm
National Symphony Orchestra
With Leonidas Kavakos, conductor and violin
Kennedy Center Concert Hall
May 15, 2015 (Fri)
8 pm
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
With Mario Venzago (conductor) and Oliver Schnyder (piano)
Meyerhoff Symphony Hall (Baltimore, Md.)
May 15, 2015 (Fri)
8 pm
Excelsa String Quartet [FREE]
Clarice Smith Center
May 16, 2015 (Sat)
10 and 11:30 am
BSO Music Box: In the Treetops
Music for toddlers
Strathmore
May 16, 2015 (Sat)
1:30 and 7:30 pm
ALICE (in wonderland)
Washington Ballet
Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater
May 16, 2015 (Sat)
7 pm
Rossini, Cinderella
Washington National Opera
Kennedy Center Opera House
May 16, 2015 (Sat)
7:30 pm
Smithsonian Chamber Music Society
English music from Shakespeare’s time
National Museum of American History
May 16, 2015 (Sat)
8 pm
National Symphony Orchestra
With Leonidas Kavakos, conductor and violin
Kennedy Center Concert Hall
May 16, 2015 (Sat)
8 pm
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
With Mario Venzago (conductor) and Oliver Schnyder (piano)
Music Center at Strathmore
May 16, 2015 (Sat)
8 pm
Chantry
Music by Palestrina, Byrd
St. Mary Mother of God
May 16, 2015 (Sat)
8 pm
Prince George's Philharmonic
Clarice Smith Center
May 17, 2015 (Sun)
1:30 and 6:30 pm
ALICE (in wonderland)
Washington Ballet
Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater
May 17, 2015 (Sun)
2 pm
Rossini, Cinderella
Washington National Opera
Kennedy Center Opera House
May 17, 2015 (Sun)
2 pm
Music for Food [FREE]
With Kim Kashkashian, violin
Christ Lutheran Church (Bethesda, Md.)
May 17, 2015 (Sun)
3 pm
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
With Mario Venzago (conductor) and Oliver Schnyder (piano)
Meyerhoff Symphony Hall (Baltimore, Md.)
May 17, 2015 (Sun)
3:30 pm
NGA Chamber Players with Ana Vigdovic, guitarist [FREE]
National Gallery of Art
May 17, 2015 (Sun)
4 pm
Nicolas Altstaedt (cello) and José Gallardo (piano)
Phillips Collection
May 17, 2015 (Sun)
4 pm
Cathedral Choral Society
Opera choruses
Washington National Cathedral
May 17, 2015 (Sun)
4 pm
Amadeus Orchestra
With Jessica Stecklein, soprano
Saint Luke Catholic Church (McLean, Va.)
May 17, 2015 (Sun)
5 pm
Inscape Chamber Orchestra
Music by Copland, Gorbow, Handel, Howells
Episcopal Church of the Redeemer (Bethesda, Md.)
May 17, 2015 (Sun)
5 pm
Capital City Symphony
Music by Sibelius
Atlas Arts Center
May 17, 2015 (Sun)
7:30 pm
Smithsonian Chamber Music Society
English music from Shakespeare’s time
National Museum of American History
May 17, 2015 (Sun)
8 pm
Choral Arts Society of Washington
Orff, Carmina Burana
Kennedy Center Concert Hall
May 19, 2015 (Tue)
12:10 pm
Ars Nova Brass Ensemble [FREE]
Church of the Epiphany
May 19, 2015 (Tue)
7:30 pm
Rossini, Cinderella
Washington National Opera
Kennedy Center Opera House
May 19, 2015 (Tue)
7:30 pm
Myriad Trio with Anthony McGill, clarinet
Fortas Chamber Music Concerts
Kennedy Center Terrace Theater
May 21, 2015 (Thu)
7:30 pm
Rossini, Cinderella
Washington National Opera
Kennedy Center Opera House
May 21, 2015 (Thu)
8 pm
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
With Markus Stenz (conductor) and Heidi Melton (soprano)
Meyerhoff Symphony Hall (Baltimore, Md.)
May 22, 2015 (Fri)
7:30 pm
Julian Schwarz (cello) and Marika Bournaki (piano)
Embassy Series
Embassy of Austria
May 22, 2015 (Fri)
8 pm
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
With Markus Stenz (conductor) and Heidi Melton (soprano)
Meyerhoff Symphony Hall (Baltimore, Md.)
May 22, 2015 (Fri)
8 pm
Jennifer Koh (violin), Anssi Karttunen (cello), Benjamin Hochman (piano) [FREE]
Music by Debussy, Ravel, Saariaho
Library of Congress
May 23, 2015 (Sat)
8 pm
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
With Markus Stenz (conductor) and Heidi Melton (soprano)
Music Center at Strathmore
May 24, 2015 (Sun)
4 pm
Alexander Schimpf, piano
Phillips Collection
May 26, 2015 (Tue)
12:10 pm
Sarah Rose Taylor (soprano) and Nigel Potts (organ) [FREE]
Church of the Epiphany
May 28, 2015 (Thu)
7:30 pm
Scottish Ballet
Streetcar Named Desire
Kennedy Center Opera House
May 29, 2015 (Fri)
7:30 pm
Scottish Ballet
Streetcar Named Desire
Kennedy Center Opera House
May 29, 2015 (Fri)
8 pm
Eifman Ballet of St. Petersburg
Rodin
Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater
May 30, 2015 (Sat)
11 am and 1:30 pm
NSO Teddy Bear Concert
Violins and Trombones and Bears, Oh My!
Kennedy Center Family Theater
May 30, 2015 (Sat)
2 and 7:30 pm
Opera Lafayette
Grétry, L'Épreuve Villageoise
Kennedy Center Terrace Theater
May 30, 2015 (Sat)
2:30 and 8 pm
Eifman Ballet of St. Petersburg
Rodin
Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater
May 30, 2015 (Sat)
7:30 pm
Scottish Ballet
Streetcar Named Desire
Kennedy Center Opera House
May 30, 2015 (Sat)
8 pm
National Festival Orchestra
With James Stern, violin
Clarice Smith Center
May 30, 2015 (Sat)
8 pm
National Philharmonic
Fauré, Requiem
Music Center at Strathmore
May 31, 2015 (Sun)
1:30 and 4 pm
NSO Teddy Bear Concert
Violins and Trombones and Bears, Oh My!
Kennedy Center Family Theater
May 31, 2015 (Sat)
2:30 pm
Eifman Ballet of St. Petersburg
Rodin
Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater
May 31, 2015 (Sun)
3 pm
U.S. Army Field Band [FREE]
Music by Strauss, Verdi, Massenet, Rossini, Leoncavallo
Smithsonian American Art Museum
May 31, 2015 (Sun)
3 pm
American Youth Philharmonic Orchestra
GMU Center for the Arts
May 31, 2015 (Sun)
4 pm
Phillips Camerata
Phillips Collection
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