Owen Wingrave

Britten, Owen Wingrave, P. Coleman-Wright, J. Watson, R. Leggate, City of London Sinfonia, R. Hickox (released June 24, 2008) Chandos CHAN 10473(2) DVD Cond. Britten

Lorin Maazel will hopefully get around to staging Owen Wingrave at the Châteauville Foundation eventually: it is one of the Britten operas I have yet to see on stage. A recent film version came under review on DVD last year (the only one available on DVD), and the only recording available was the remastered one conducted by Britten himself. That is, until Richard Hickox released this new 2-CD set as the latest in his fine series of Britten operas on the Chandos label. Owen Wingrave was conceived for television broadcast in 1971, and the libretto often reads in a way that presumes the medium of television rather than the stage, which explains at least part of its subsequent neglect.

Myfanwy Piper adapted the libretto from a short story by Henry James, published in 1893. The plot resonated strongly with Britten's own pacifist convictions, as it concerns the son of a military family who decides to break the cycle and not take up a career in the army. The specter of father-son conflict hovers over the family estate, Paramore, in the legend of an ancestor who angrily killed his son because the boy refused to act with violence. That Owen's decision will mean his doom seems clear from the Ballad of Paramore, which the boys' chorus sings to open the second act ("Trumpet blow, trumpet blow, / Paramore shall welcome woe"). In fact, the house itself is haunted by that father and son: in Act I, scene 4, the women in the house sing about Owen's impending arrival, "The very house seems to groan. Surely, when he comes he will listen to the house."

The score is vivid and ethereally beautiful, with percussive harp and string effects and gamelan-like percussion predominant. Chamber-ensemble assortments of winds and solo strings make it more like a subtle watercolor than a grand oil canvas. Much of the detail is hard to pick up via recording, making a live performance in a small theater probably the best place to experience it. The work is often described as a failure, and it is true that, as one of Britten's last operas, many themes seem to recycle bits from previous operas (snatches from Rape of Lucretia, Turn of the Screw stand out to my ears). What this opera lacks is some gripping aria moments, as found in most of the great Britten operas. Even Owen's big monologue in the second act ("Now you may save your scornful looks"), although it has a promising, tingly accompaniment and some dramatic peaks, falls flat. Much of Owen is dry dialogue, in that sort of Britten recitative that is found, in mostly undistinguishable form, in most of his operas.

Other Reviews: Musical Criticism (Dominic McHugh) The Guardian (Andrew Clements)

In a podcast interview this summer, conductor Richard Hickox spoke about this recording project. Hickox said he prefers to take long takes when recording, after meticulous rehearsal and, preferably, a concert performance (which he had with Owen Wingrave). While admitting that the opera is "elusive," Hickox says that it "repays repeated hearings." It certainly does in this fine reading by the City of London Sinfonia, the orchestra founded by Hickox, who sound in top form, always responsive to the profound understanding of Hickox, who is likely today's leading Britten conductor. The only flaw, at least in my copy, is a minor tracking error in the last track of the first disc, resulting in several seconds of silence (not consistently the same ones, but generally around 8:20).

Hickox put together a good cast, beginning with the warm baritone of Peter Coleman-Wright as Owen and the rougher one of Alan Opie as Spencer Coyle, the concerned teacher of the military academy. The female voices go deeper, from the imperious Elizabeth Connell as Owen's aunt, to the maternal Janice Watson as Mrs Coyle (the teacher's caring wife), to the shrewish Pamela Helen Stephen as Kate, who dares Owen to the action that leads to his death. The cast, without major stars, excels especially in the ensemble numbers, of which this opera has several fine examples. Ultimately, however, the work's flaws limit this recording's appeal. Hickox says that his next project in the Britten series for Chandos will be Britten's version of The Beggar's Opera (set for February 2009), which will likely reach a wider audience.

107'18"

Ludus Danielis

Ludus Danielis, Dufay Collective, W. Lyons (released August 12, 2008) Harmonia Mundi HMU 907479

One of the great achievements in the genre of liturgical drama is the so-called Ludus Danielis (.PDF file), the Play of Daniel, one of the plays known to have been performed at the Cathedral of Beauvais in the 13th century. The music was notated in a manuscript, Egerton MS 2615, now in the British Museum in London, generally dated to the early 13th century, probably between 1227 and 1234. That is around the time at which the bishop of Beauvais undertook the building of a new, but ultimately ill-fated Gothic cathedral to replace his Romanesque one, which had suffered a series of fires. Plans to give Beauvais the highest Gothic vault in Europe proved disastrous, as repeated collapses of the structure halted the building process shortly after the choir was completed. In any case, performances of the Ludus Danielis probably took place first in the old cathedral, now known as Notre-Dame-de-la-Basse-Œuvre, parts of which are still standing on the site where the new enormous nave was planned.

David Hiley, in his landmark book Western Plainchant: A Handbook, notes the unique qualities of the Ludus Danielis, that it is not made up mostly of recombined pieces of traditional chant, that it is not as repetitive as the Sponsus play or miracle plays, that its text is "rhymed with regular rhythm, set in music of admirable directness. Whereas much of the Tours and Fleury music moves at the leisurely pace of traditional chant, Daniel often slips into syllabic, patterned phrases (p. 271)." The work's appeal lies in its eclectic mix of styles:

No other work of the period moves with such directness and energy. Even in its time it must have seemed extravagant, not least musically. Little of the liturgical spirit informs it, although it ends with Te Deum. It stands at the opposite end of the scale from the Peregrinus ceremonies, with their copious use of biblical and liturgical material. It seems to have had no successors, and indeed, the composition of new dramatic liturgical ceremonies of any kind fell off rapidly after the thirteenth century (p. 273).

The work has been recorded with incredible frequency, by the Harp Consort, the Clemencic Consort, Schola Hungarica, Ensemble Venance Fortunat, Hortus Musicus, and several others. This new recording by the Dufay Collective reflects the oh-so-quirky style of that early music ensemble, which has really created a modern adaptation of the work rather than a historically minded recreation. In Egerton 2615, the music is notated monophonically and for voice alone (see this image of the play's first folio in the manuscript), meaning that the accompaniment of drones and other instrumental parts is the invention of the Dufay Collective. (Their director, William Lyons, has stated that those parts were created "during rehearsal, and the element of improvisation was constant.") While these parts are fanciful in many details, there is textual justification: in the Latin text, the singers refer to the sounds of strings, drums, harps in polyphony joining with the voices.

How to transcribe the vocal parts rhythmically is, as always, fraught with interpretative difficulties, especially in the rhymed passages like "Astra tenenti." Lyons writes in his liner notes that "the transcription of the music allowed both rhythmic and free interpretations but the basic rule established was that all choruses were rhythmic, and all solos unmeasured. This allowed for dramatic declamation in the solo sections, and for a strong processional impetus to the conductus." There is no real evidence to support it, but the sound of the grouop's exultant voices, propelled by strong rhythm, is compelling, as are the occasional vocal harmonies they add to the texture.

Dufay Collective

The singers appear to leave out or elide over some of the notes in the manuscript, as if it were the basis for a quasi-improvisatory performance. Another strange quality of this recording is that the pronunciation appears to be an attempt to make the Latin closer to French, leaving out most final consonants and using French vowels. As parts of the play are macaronic, mixing Latin with Old French, giving the Beauvais play a broad, nonclerical appeal, this makes some sense. The group uses some strange, rather modern instrumental effects to underscore the more mystical moments of the story, such as playing behind the bridge on the strings for the mystical hand "writing on the wall" and clashing dissonance in the instrumental improvisation describing Daniel's private worship of God in his house, which leads to his downfall. To introduce a moment in the second half of play, when the false counsellors are themselves thrown to the lions, the instruments play an (unintentional?) quoptation of the first part of the Dies Irae sequence (this piece is actually one of the rare quotations of pre-existing chant in the play, the responsory Merito hec patimur).

The feast of St. Daniel was celebrated on July 21 in the Catholic calendar, but the play was most certainly associated with the so-called Feast of Fools, a time at the end of the calendar year when the subdeacons and young people took over many cathedrals (from December 30 to January 1 -- references in the play to Christmas, in the conductus for Daniel of the Darius half, for example, confirm this). The voices used were presumably all male, something that this recording does not follow (not that it has to). The casting of solo parts misses one of the big jokes in the play by having soprano Vivien Ellis sing the role of the queen. That the role was sung by a male voice seems certain, and the comic effect was probably heightened in the faux-solemn conductus that hails her arrival, identifying the cross-dressed actor as "prudens styrpe" (the chaste stem) and "haec virago" (that virago, or large, domineering woman). A similar ironic tone is heard in the conductus for the queen's exit.

The choristers of Southwell Minster, where the recording was made, do an excellent job on the boys' parts, which do capture the likely character of the Beauvais original. At the end of play, which seems to coincide with the arrival of Christmas (or, rather, its octave), the Te Deum is beautifully accompanied by the bells of Southwell Minster. This may not be the version of the Ludus Danielis to own (more listening will be required for me to form an opinion on that matter), but with the above reservations in mind, it is a worthy adaptation.

68'23"

Pancrace Royer by Christophe Rousset

Pancrace Royer, Premier Livre de Pièces pour clavecin, C. Rousset (released July 29, 2008) Ambroisie (Naïve) AM 151 Online scores

Christophe Rousset surely needs no introduction, as conductor or as harpsichordist. Jens has already raved about Rousset's startling recording of Bach's Klavierbüchlein für Wilhelm Friedemann, and Rousset continues to release beautiful discs in a series for Ambroisie. The latest one is more esoteric, the first book of keyboard pieces by Joseph-Nicolas-Pancrace Royer (1705-1755), published in 1746. As he so often does, Rousset went out of his way to find a gorgeous and historically appropriate instrument, a Jean-Claude Goujon harpsichord updated (ravalé) by Jacques Joachim Swanen in 1784, borrowed from the collection of the Musée de la Musique. It produces and is recorded in ravishing sound.

Thanks to the online edition by Hermann Hinsch, this is a set of pieces I plan on getting to know on my own little harpsichord. Some of the pieces are easier than others, and the difficult ones sparkle with daring brio under Rousset's hands. He plays the "Tambourin des Matelots" with a ruffian's gusto, using more or less clipped articulation to make differences on repeats and with drone-like evenness to the repeated left-hand chords. The crazy toccata of "Le Vertigo" features a colorful succession of panicky repeated chords and flighty runs, and the tour de force of the final movement, "La Marche des Scythes," is an arrogant, forceful returning theme alternating with a wild extravagance of frenetic arpeggiation. Rousset judiciously applies historically informed performance ideas, like double-dotting in the "Allemande" and notes inégales in "L'Incertaine" (Rousset may have interpreted the indication of "Marqué" as dotted rhythms, since he plays it pretty smoothly otherwise).

"Les Tendres Sentiments" is perhaps a little too schmaltzy, with beat-obscuring rubato stretching out the movement to over seven minutes. By contrast, the playful "Bagatelle" is a high point, with Rousset's giocose treatment of the movement's recurring joke, short notes that displace the downbeat, enhanced by some echo effects by manual switching (he also adds nice rhythmic arpeggiations of the final chords in the "Suite de la Bagatelle"). If anything, Rousset is stingy with ornamentation, although all of Royer's marked embellishments are handled scrupulously. It would be nice to hear more embellishments added, especially in the several rondeau pieces, where the A section is repeated so many times. A good example of what this might have yielded is the little graceful cadenza interpolated by Rousset at the Lent marking in "L'Aimable," just before the final return of A section. The only possible change made by Rousset is the addition of repeats to "La Rémouleuse" (at least they are not indicated in Hinsch's edition). That movement has the only title that might be too obscure for most English readers: the word refers to someone whose business is to sharpen knives and other utensils.

58'46"


Pancrace Royer's Premier Livre de Pièces pour clavecin
(Alessandra Iovino, harpsichord -- see the other movements)

Moon-Lee Piano Duo

The concert on Saturday night in the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater was a public event motivated by some very personal concerns. Vivian Kim, the National Chair of the National Association of Professional Asian-American Women, organizes an annual memorial concert in honor of her daughter, Susanna "Susie" Kim, who died of cancer in 2000. This year's concert ended with the conferral of a Lifetime Achievement Award on the headline performers, the Korean-born piano duo of Yong Hi Moon and Dai Uk Lee, as well as several other awards.

The evening began with an introductory program that hovered uneasily between memorial service, with several pop music tributes, and concert. The high point was the fluffy, fluty soubrette voice of soprano Amy K. Kwon, who gave reputable performances of Violetta's Act I scena from La Traviata and "Mein Herr Marquis" from Die Fledermaus. Tenor Daniel Heyk Chae had a heroic but overly shouty tone in his selections, with occasional scratchiness that seemed connected to his frequent exits between numbers, presumably to drink water.

Yong Hi Moon, pianist

After intermission, the Moon-Lee duo presented a varied program of unusual repertoire for two pianos. What follows is an appreciation, rather than a review, of their performance, because of a conflict of interest (Ms. Moon had the misfortune to have me as an undergraduate piano student at Michigan State University 20-some years ago). She and her husband are a well-regarded piano duo, and her practical instruction, while recital partners and I worked on four-hands or two-piano pieces, is among the best memories of my work with her. Moon and Lee's coordinated, finely tooled rendition of the first suite for two pianos (op. 5) was even able to make me love Rachmaninoff. As Ms. Moon explained in her introduction, each of the movements is based on a poem, read to the audience by Mr. Lee. Dedicated to Tchaikovsky, the piece was conceived by Rachmaninoff as "a fantasy for two pianos consisting of a series of musical pictures," although it has since been known simply as a suite rather than by the title he chose originally, "Fantaisie-Tableaux."

The Barcarolle was a languid, gently rocking voyage, with well-timed hand-crossings coordinated by the two players. The second movement ("Night for Love") took its epigraph from Lord Byron as inspiration, depicting a mixture of sighs and the trills of nightingales (the piece would make a nice comparison to Messiaen's birdsong music), rising to a heaving climax. Omitting the third movement ("Les Larmes"), the duo gave an ecstatic, hammered performance of the final movement ("Pâques"), taken at an exceptionally rapid tempo, with the clammering tintinnabulation of ringing church bells echoing the Easter chant "Christ Is Risen." Two final selections were introduced simply as "dance pieces," beginning with a sultry Tango by Stravinsky and concluding with a stately "Grand Waltz" from Eugene Onegin, both arranged for two pianos by Victor Babin.


Martha Argerich and Lilya Zilberstein play Rachmaninoff's Suite
for Two Pianos No. 1, Op. 5 (I. Barcarolle), Lugano, June 11, 2008
(watch the other movements)

Les Journaux: Port of Theodosius I

A few years ago, archeological authorities in Istanbul discovered the ancient port built by Theodosius I in the 4th century, a few hundred meters from the Marmara Sea at Yenikapi. It is still being excavated in the dig begun during the ill-fated construction of the Marmaray, the rail project to connect the European and Asian parts of Turkey by a tunnel under the Bosporus Strait. The latest news is that thirty-two ships have been discovered there and much more is likely to be uncovered, as described in an article by Laure Marchand (La flotte de Théodose Ier refait surface à Istanbul, August 6) in Le Figaro (my translation):

"This is the first time that research has taken place on an area this vast in Istanbul," explains Aksel Tibet, an archeologist and co-author of a report for Unesco on the impact of the Marmaray on historical sites. "We already have good written topographic sources, but the main city, capital of several empires, has always presented a very dense habitat: what we have now is a unique opportunity to verify what we know about the terrain."

In the holds [of the ships], the cargo has confirmed the paths of maritime mercantile routes followed at the time. The wheat was imported from Alexandria, because the Byzantine emperor distributed 100,000 loaves of bread daily to the needy. The ceramics came from Milet [in Anatolia] and from the Iberian peninsula. Oblong or long-end amphoras, to keep dried fish or vinegar... The presence of hundreds of vessels made with all the techniques used along the Mediterranean basin is the proof of prosperous commerce.

How did so many ships end up being preserved near the port like this, with their cargo intact? "A tsunami is one of the hypotheses," says Metin Gökçay, which would explain some of the damage to the remains. There were apparently violent earthquakes in the 6th, 9th, and 11th centuries, and the boats may have been encased rapidly in sand, explaining why the precious cargo was never recovered. Silt from the Lycos River, which dumps into the bay, eventually caused the port to be abandoned in the 12th century. Other discoveries in the area include a section of the Walls of Constantinople, built by Constantine, and a 12th-century church. Researchers have also dug down far enough to discover neolithic graves with skeletons. For now, the continuing excavation has almost completely halted the completion of the Marmaray Project, which is costing the Turkish government big bucks. See some pictures here.

In Brief: Back to School

Here is your regular Sunday selection of links to good things in Blogville and Beyond. There is not much activity out there, it being summer and all, but a few people are still posting.

• La Cieca tells us that Rufus Wainwright's opera, Prima Donna, will actually not, to my great surprise, receive its premiere at the Metropolitan Opera. Why? Because the libretto is in French, which is somehow a problem for the "American opera" slot of Peter Gelb's American house. [Parterre Box]


• Meanwhile, Nico Muhly, whose opera is still slated to be premiered at the Met (well, at Lincoln Center), has hit the press jackpot in the coverage of his new album, Mothertongue. Even I reviewed his music for the Post last spring. If he gets this kind of attention in the mainstream press, Nico Muhly must be the promised savior of supposedly dying classical music, right? [Washington Post]


• From Bart Collins, whose blog is a new read around here, a nice article in the Boston Globe on Laury Gutiérrez and her HIP ensemble, La Donna Musicale, who are dedicated to the rediscovery of women composers in the Baroque period. [The Well-Tempered Blog]


• Put me down as a fan of the film composer Bernard Herrmann, whose opera Wuthering Heights is one of the great, underappreciated American stage works. (Hopefully, someone at Washington National Opera is reading?) Another new blog read for me, Elaine Fine, adds a layer to my appreciation of Herrmann by pointing out that the composer used a viola d'amore in his score for the 1951 Ida Lupino film On Dangerous Ground. The player, Virginia Majewski, got solo billing in the credits. [Musical Assumptions]


• Ilan Volkov will be in Washington this winter, conducting a very interesting program with the National Symphony in January, as well as making his Washington National Opera debut in their production of Peter Grimes. Andrew Clements says that when Volkov steps down as chief conductor of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra next month, British music will lose "by far the most enterprising [programs] of any of the BBC orchestras." [The Guardian]


• Although she was in Salzburg, a certain Denmark-based blogger has some reports about Daniel Barenboim's collapse at the podium during a Copenhagen concert by the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra. Scary stuff. [Mostly Opera]

Classical Month in Washington (November)

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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!

November 1, 2008 (Sat)
7 pm
Donizetti, Lucrezia Borgia
Washington National Opera
Kennedy Center Opera House

November 1, 2008 (Sat)
7:30 pm
Post-Classical Ensemble: Voice of Mexico [FREE]
With Georgetown University Chamber Singers
Georgetown University, McNeir Hall

November 1, 2008 (Sat)
7:30 pm
D.C. A Cappella Festival
Georgetown University, Gaston Hall

November 1, 2008 (Sat)
7:30 pm
Puccini, La Bohème
Catholic University School of Music

November 1, 2008 (Sat)
8 pm
National Symphony Orchestra
All-Wagner program (Iván Fischer, conductor)
Kennedy Center Concert Hall

November 1, 2008 (Sat)
8 pm
Tony Arnold (soprano) and Jacob Greenberg (piano) [FREE]
Messiaen Centennial Concert
Library of Congress

November 1, 2008 (Sat)
8 pm
University of Maryland Symphony Orchestra
Clarice Smith Center

November 1, 2008 (Sat)
8 pm
Shaun Tirrell, piano
Washington Conservatory
Westmoreland Congregational United Church of Christ (Bethesda, Md.)

November 2, 2008 (Sun)
2 pm
Puccini, La Bohème
Catholic University School of Music

November 2, 2008 (Sun)
2 and 4 pm
National Symphony Orchestra
Children's Concert (Iván Fischer, conductor)
Kennedy Center Family Theater

November 2, 2008 (Sun)
3 pm
Verdi, Requiem Mass
Choral Arts Society of Washington
Kennedy Center Concert Hall

November 2, 2008 (Sun)
3 pm
Soheil Nasseri, piano
Mansion at Strathmore

November 2, 2008 (Sun)
3 pm
Pan American Symphony
Lisner Auditorium

November 2, 2008 (Sun)
4 pm
Midori (violin) and Robert McDonald (piano)
Music by Schumann, Beethoven, Cage, Enescu
WPAS
Music Center at Strathmore

November 2, 2008 (Sun)
4 pm
Janice Fehlauer, piano [FREE]
Phillips Collection

November 2, 2008 (Sun)
5:15 pm
Christopher Jacobson, organ (My Dancing Day) [FREE]
Washington National Cathedral

November 2, 2008 (Sun)
5:30 pm
Guarneri String Quartet
Shriver Hall (Baltimore, Md.)

November 2, 2008 (Sun)
6:30 pm
NGA Vocal Arts Ensemble [FREE]
17th-century Dutch music
National Gallery of Art

November 2, 2008 (Sun)
7 pm
Keyboard Conversation with Jeffrey Siegel: Basking In Beethoven
George Mason University Center for the Arts

November 2, 2008 (Sun)
7:30 pm
Haydn, Armida Abbandonata / Arianna a Naxos
Opera Lafayette
La Maison Française

November 2, 2008 (Sun)
7:30 pm
Kronos Quartet: Alternative Radio
Clarice Smith Center

November 2, 2008 (Sun)
7:30 pm
Brillaner Duo with Amit Peled (cello)
Jewish Community Center of Greater Washington (Rockville, Md.)

November 3, 2008 (Mon)
7:30 pm
Friday Morning Music Club Orchestra
With Wayne Weng, piano [FREE]
Kennedy Center Terrace Theater

November 4, 2008 (Tue)
12:10 pm
Noontime Cantata: Lobe den Herren (BWV 137) [FREE]
Members of Washington Bach Consort
Church of the Epiphany (1317 G St. NW)

November 5, 2008 (Wed)
7:30 pm
Emerson String Quartet
Shostakovich quartets no. 9-12
Kennedy Center Terrace Theater

November 5, 2008 (Wed)
7:30 pm
Donizetti, Lucrezia Borgia
Washington National Opera
Kennedy Center Opera House

November 6, 2008 (Thu)
7:30 pm
Emerson String Quartet
Shostakovich quartets no. 13-15
Kennedy Center Terrace Theater

November 6, 2008 (Thu)
7:30 pm
Post-Classical Ensemble: The Mexican Odyssey
With Georgetown University Chamber Singers
Harman Center for the Arts

November 6, 2008 (Thu)
8 pm
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
With Leonard Slatkin, guest conductor
Music Center at Strathmore

November 7, 2008 (Fri)
1:15 pm
Osiris Molina, clarinet
Friday Music Series [FREE]
Georgetown University, McNeir Hall

November 7, 2008 (Fri)
7:30 pm
Donizetti, Lucrezia Borgia
Washington National Opera
Kennedy Center Opera House

November 7, 2008 (Fri)
8 pm
Jeremy Denk, piano
Sonatas by Ives (Concord) and Beethoven (Hammerklavier)
Barns at Wolf Trap

November 7, 2008 (Fri)
8 pm
Tetzlaff Quartet [FREE]
Library of Congress

November 8, 2008 (Sat)
7 pm
Bizet, Carmen
Washington National Opera
Kennedy Center Opera House

November 8, 2008 (Sat)
7:30 pm
Tara-Louise Montour (violin) and Timothy Long (piano)
National Museum of the American Indian

November 8, 2008 (Sat)
7:30 pm
D.C. A Cappella Festival
Georgetown University, Gaston Hall

November 9, 2008 (Sun)
2 pm
Donizetti, Lucrezia Borgia
Washington National Opera
Kennedy Center Opera House

November 9, 2008 (Sun)
2 pm
GMU Chamber Ensembles [FREE]
George Mason University Center for the Arts

November 9, 2008 (Sun)
3 pm
Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir with the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra
Music by Vivaldi, Pärt, Tüür
Clarice Smith Center

November 9, 2008 (Sun)
3 pm
Left Bank Concert Society
Music by Dallapiccola, Ravel, Moss
Reynolds Center for American Art and Portraiture

November 9, 2008 (Sun)
3 pm
BWV 50, 80, 207
Washington Bach Consort
Harman Center for the Arts

November 9, 2008 (Sun)
3 pm
Diane Walsh, piano [FREE]
Music by Schubert, Ravel, Beethoven
National Academy of Science

November 9, 2008 (Sun)
3 pm
Georgetown Chamber Music Ensembles
Georgetown University, McNeir Hall

November 9, 2008 (Sun)
3 pm
Curtis Institute Contemporary Music Festival
Music by Messiaen and Varèse
La Maison Française

November 9, 2008 (Sun)
3 pm
American Youth Philharmonic
George Mason University Center for the Fine Arts

November 9, 2008 (Sun)
4 pm
ArcoVoce [FREE]
Phillips Collection

November 9, 2008 (Sun)
4 pm
Amadeus Virtuosi, A Sylvan Landscape
With Jessica Swink, soprano
Music by Britten, Ravel, Handel
St. Francis Episcopal Church (Great Falls, Va.)

November 9, 2008 (Sun)
5 pm
Takács Quartet
Corcoran Gallery of Art

November 9, 2008 (Sun)
6 pm
Donizetti, Maria Padilla
Washington Concert Opera
Lisner Auditorium

November 9, 2008 (Sun)
6:30 pm
The Coast Orchestra [FREE]
Silent film, In the Land of the Head Hunters, with live music
National Gallery of Art

November 9, 2008 (Sun)
7 pm
GMU Percussion Ensemble [FREE]
George Mason University Center for the Arts

November 9, 2008 (Sun)
7:30 pm
Stephanie Jeong (violin) and Jie Chen (piano)
Korean Concert Society
Kennedy Center Terrace Theater

November 10, 2008 (Mon)
7 pm
Bizet, Carmen
Washington National Opera
Kennedy Center Opera House

November 11, 2008 (Tue)
7:30 pm
Donizetti, Lucrezia Borgia
Washington National Opera
Kennedy Center Opera House

November 11, 2008 (Tue)
7:30 pm
Emanuele Arciuli, piano
National Museum of the American Indian

November 11, 2008 (Tue)
8 pm
GMU Symphonic Band
George Mason University Center for the Arts

November 12, 2008 (Wed)
7 pm
Reading: John Adams on Hallelujah Junction
Politcs and Prose

November 12, 2008 (Wed)
7:30 pm
Bizet, Carmen
Washington National Opera
Kennedy Center Opera House

November 12, 2008 (Wed)
7:30 pm
Perlman-Schmidt-Bailey Trio
Fortas Chamber Music Series
Kennedy Center Terrace Theater

November 12, 2008 (Wed)
7:30 pm
The King's Mistress (French Baroque music)
Les Paladins, with Jérôme Corréas
With Isabelle Poulenard (soprano)
La Maison Française

November 12, 2008 (Wed)
8 pm
Stanley Curtis, trumpet [FREE]
George Mason University Center for the Arts

November 13, 2008 (Thu)
7 pm
National Symphony Orchestra
With Jennifer Koh (violin) and Michael Christie (conductor)
Kennedy Center Concert Hall

November 13, 2008 (Thu)
8 pm
Kuss Quartet [FREE]
Library of Congress

November 14, 2008 (Fri)
1:15 pm
Marcolivia Duo
Friday Music Series [FREE]
Georgetown University, McNeir Hall

November 14, 2008 (Fri)
1:30 pm
National Symphony Orchestra
With Jennifer Koh (violin) and Michael Christie (conductor)
Kennedy Center Concert Hall

November 14, 2008 (Fri)
7:30 pm
Bizet, Carmen
Washington National Opera
Kennedy Center Opera House

November 14, 2008 (Fri)
7:30 pm
New York Festival of Song
With Kate Lindsey (mezzo-soprano) and Joseph Kaiser (tenor)
Vocal Arts Society
Kennedy Center Terrace Theater

November 14, 2008 (Fri)
7:30 pm
Levine School: Music of Messiaen
Atlas Performing Arts Center

November 14, 2008 (Fri)
8 pm
Takács Quartet and Muzsikás [FREE]
With Márta Sebestyén
Library of Congress

November 14, 2008 (Fri)
8 pm
Kirov Orchestra (with Valery Gergiev, Alexei Volodin)
George Mason University Center for the Arts

November 14, 2008 (Fri)
8 pm
Alienated Artists — Determined Voices
University of Maryland Music Faculty
Music by Amy Beach, Insang Yun, Tchaikovsky
Clarice Smith Center

November 14, 2008 (Fri)
8 pm
Glenn Smith (GMU faculty) and guest Steven Nachmonvich [FREE]
George Mason University Center for the Arts

November 15, 2008 (Sat)
11:30 am
Family Look-In: Carmen
Washington National Opera
Kennedy Center Opera House

November 15, 2008 (Sat)
2 pm
Daria Rabotkina, piano
WPAS
Kennedy Center Terrace Theater

November 15, 2008 (Sat)
4 pm
Vadim Repin (violin) and Nikolai Lugansky (piano)
WPAS
Kennedy Center Concert Hall

November 15, 2008 (Sat)
7 pm
Donizetti, Lucrezia Borgia
Washington National Opera
Kennedy Center Opera House

November 15, 2008 (Sat)
7:30 pm
Anders Lundegård (saxophone) and Monika Mockovčáková (piano)
The Lyceum (Alexandria, Va.)

November 15, 2008 (Sat)
8 pm
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
With Stefan Jackiw (violin)
Music Center at Strathmore

November 15, 2008 (Sat)
8 pm
National Symphony Orchestra
With Jennifer Koh (violin) and Michael Christie (conductor)
Kennedy Center Concert Hall

November 15, 2008 (Sat)
8 pm
Bellini, Norma
With Hasmik Papian and Ruth Ann Swenson
Baltimore Opera

November 15, 2008 (Sat)
8 pm
Alexandria Symphony Orchestra
Schlesinger Hall (Alexandria, Va.)

November 16, 2008 (Sun)
2 pm
Bizet, Carmen
Washington National Opera
Kennedy Center Opera House

November 16, 2008 (Sun)
2 pm
Bach, Mass in B Minor
Washington Chorus
Kennedy Center Concert Hall

November 16, 2008 (Sun)
4 pm
Verdehr Trio [FREE]
Phillips Collection

November 16, 2008 (Sun)
5 pm
Inscape Chamber Music Project with Abigail Haynes Lennox (soprano)
Music by Ravel, Hindemith, Hallman
Church of the Redeemer (Bethesda, Md.)

November 16, 2008 (Sun)
6:30 pm
Euclid String Quartet [FREE]
Quartets by Ades, Beethoven, and Chernin
National Gallery of Art

November 16, 2008 (Sun)
7 pm
Wind Soloists of New York
Dumbarton Oaks

November 16, 2008 (Sun)
7:30 pm
Washington Youth Foundation: Youth Symphony Orchestra Annual Concert
Kennedy Center Terrace Theater

November 16, 2008 (Sun)
7:30 pm
Smithsonian Chamber Music Society
Piano trios by Mendelssohn
Renwick Gallery

November 17, 2008 (Mon)
7:30 pm
Donizetti, Lucrezia Borgia
Washington National Opera
Kennedy Center Opera House

November 17, 2008 (Mon)
8 pm
Wind Soloists of New York
Dumbarton Oaks

November 18, 2008 (Tue)
12:10 pm
Marie-Claude Montplaisir, piano [FREE]
Church of the Epiphany (1317 G St. NW)

November 18, 2008 (Tue)
7:30 pm
Bizet, Carmen
Washington National Opera
Kennedy Center Opera House

November 18, 2008 (Tue)
7:30 pm
ARC Ensemble
Pro Musica Hebraica
Kennedy Center Terrace Theater

November 18, 2008 (Tue)
7:30 pm
Pierre Hantaï, harpsichord
Music by Bach, Scarlatti
La Maison Française

November 18, 2008 (Tue)
8 pm
Israel Philharmonic
With Gustavo Dudamel, conductor
Kennedy Center Concert Hall

November 18, 2008 (Tue)
8 pm
Fessenden Ensemble
All-Dvořák program
St. Columba's Episcopal Church

November 18, 2008 (Tue)
8 pm
M3E (Mason Modern Music Ensemble) [FREE]
George Mason University Center for the Arts

November 19, 2008 (Wed)
7:30 pm
Bellini, Norma
With Hasmik Papian and Ruth Ann Swenson
Baltimore Opera

November 19, 2008 (Wed)
7:30 pm
Tanya Bannister, piano
With commentary by Rob Kapilow (Chopin, Etudes and Preludes)
Freer Gallery of Art

November 19, 2008 (Wed)
7:30 pm
Bizet, Carmen
Washington National Opera
Kennedy Center Opera House

November 19, 2008 (Wed)
8 pm
Georgetown University Concert Choir
Georgetown University, Dahlgren Chapel

November 20, 2008 (Thu)
7 pm
National Symphony Orchestra
With Lars Vogt (piano) and Yakov Kreizberg (conductor)
Kennedy Center Concert Hall

November 20, 2008 (Thu)
7:30 pm
Britten, A Midsummer Night's Dream
Maryland Opera Studio
Clarice Smith Center

November 20, 2008 (Thu)
7:30 pm
James Weaver (baritone) and Joanne Kong (piano)
Schubert, Winterreise
Mansion at Strathmore

November 20, 2008 (Thu)
7:30 pm
Washington Musica Viva
Embassy of the Czech Republic

November 20, 2008 (Thu)
8 pm
Georgetown University Wind Ensemble
Georgetown University, Gaston Hall

November 21, 2008 (Fri)
6 pm
Solemn Vespers for Feast of St. Cecilia
Catholic University School of Music
Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception

November 21, 2008 (Fri)
7:30 pm
Capuçon/Angelich Trio
WPAS
Kennedy Center Terrace Theater

November 21, 2008 (Fri)
8 pm
Bellini, Norma
With Hasmik Papian and Ruth Ann Swenson
Baltimore Opera

November 21, 2008 (Fri)
7:30 pm
Rossini, Petite Messe Solenelle
Washington National Opera
Kennedy Center Opera House

November 21, 2008 (Fri)
7:30 pm
Britten, A Midsummer Night's Dream
Maryland Opera Studio
Clarice Smith Center

November 21, 2008 (Fri)
7:30 pm
Musical Miniatures, with Rachel Franlkin and Airi Yoshioka
Mansion at Strathmore

November 21, 2008 (Fri)
8 pm
National Symphony Orchestra
With Lars Vogt (piano) and Yakov Kreizberg (conductor)
Kennedy Center Concert Hall

November 21, 2008 (Fri)
8 pm
Warsaw Philharmonic
With Valentina Lisitsa, piano
Music Center at Strathmore

November 22, 2008 (Sat)
7 pm
Rossini, Petite Messe Solenelle
Washington National Opera
Kennedy Center Opera House

November 22, 2008 (Sat)
8 pm
National Symphony Orchestra
With Lars Vogt (piano) and Yakov Kreizberg (conductor)
Kennedy Center Concert Hall

November 22, 2008 (Sat)
8 pm
Music for St. Cecilia (Purcell, Britten, Howells)
Cantate Chamber Singers
St. John's Norwood Paris (Chevy Chase, Md.)

November 22, 2008 (Sat)
8 pm
Handel, Israel in Egypt
City Choir of Washington
Schlesinger Hall (Alexandria, Va.)

November 22, 2008 (Sat)
8 pm
Fairfax Symphony Orchestra
George Mason University Center for the Fine Arts

November 22, 2008 (Sat)
8 pm
National Philharmonic
Orff, Carmina Burana
Music Center at Strathmore

November 23, 2008 (Sun)
3 pm
Britten, A Midsummer Night's Dream
Maryland Opera Studio
Clarice Smith Center

November 23, 2008 (Sun)
3 pm
Bellini, Norma
With Hasmik Papian and Ruth Ann Swenson
Baltimore Opera

November 23, 2008 (Sun)
3 pm
Mendelssohn, Elijah
Master Chorale of Washington
Kennedy Center Concert Hall

November 23, 2008 (Sun)
3 pm
GMU Chamber Ensembles [FREE]
George Mason University Center for the Arts

November 23, 2008 (Sun)
4 pm
Emanuel Ax and Yefim Bronfman, piano duo
George Mason University Center for the Arts

November 23, 2008 (Sun)
4 pm
Leonid Sushansky (violin) and Paul Shaw (piano) [FREE]
Phillips Collection

November 23, 2008 (Sun)
5:15 pm
Scott Dettra, organ (Bach and Beyond) [FREE]
Washington National Cathedral

November 23, 2008 (Sun)
6:30 pm
The Singers’ Companye [FREE]
Music by American composers
National Gallery of Art

November 23, 2008 (Sun)
7 pm
GMU Saxophone Ensemble [FREE]
George Mason University Center for the Arts

November 23, 2008 (Sun)
7:30 pm
University of Maryland Chorale and Chamber Singers
Clarice Smith Center

November 24, 2008 (Mon)
7:30 pm
Britten, A Midsummer Night's Dream
Maryland Opera Studio
Clarice Smith Center

November 25, 2008 (Tue)
12:10 pm
Friends of Fasch, with Tom McCracken (recorder) [FREE]
Church of the Epiphany (1317 G St. NW)

November 29, 2008 (Sat)
8 pm
A Chanticleer Christmas
George Mason University Center for the Arts

November 30, 2008 (Sun)
4 pm
Su Jeon, piano [FREE]
Phillips Collection

November 30, 2008 (Sun)
8 pm
A Chanticleer Christmas
George Mason University Center for the Arts

Salzburg Debut of the Quatuor Ébène

The Quatuor Ébène impressed audiences around the world, not the least since their winning the ARD Competition in 2004. In Washington Pierre Colombet (first violin), Gabriel Le Magadure (second violin), Mathieu Herzog (viola), and Raphaël Merlin (cello) last played in 2006 where they offered repertoire staples (Bartók, Haydn, Ravel) at the Corcoran and examples of their other passion – Jazz – at the Library of Congress. On March 6^th, they will embark on their first big North American tour, starting in Boston, criss-crossing the country by hitting Oklahoma, Gainsville, Portland, Seattle, New York’s Carnegie Hall, and – fortunately – Washington DC at the Library of Congress on March 13^th. Even for a town spoiled with great chamber music, this recital of Debussy, Fauré, and Ravel should be circled in all music enthusiasts’ calendards.

On August 18^th this year, they gave their Salzburg Festival debut at the gorgeous Large Concert Hall of the Mozarteum. Their last concert before a months worth of vacation, it was at first a nervous, then free-wheeling, and on the whole triumphant debut.

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