Ionarts-at-Large: Eschenbach in Munich

In July of 2007 I heard the Munich Philharmonic for the first time in almost seven years. After having spent years of jumping to the defense of the orchestra’s shoddy or non-existent reputation in America, my excitement was considerable; on the program: Mahler’s Ninth Symphony. The concert was a blunt shock: with a performance so pallid, listless, and uninvolved, I feared that the orchestra’s worst detractors had been right and I—unwittingly rooting for the home team—completely off. It took a while to reckon that that Mahler Ninth under a non-conductor was not representative of the quality of the orchestra’s potential. Merely representative of their fickleness when it comes to working with conductors they deem beneath themselves. A pity they took it out on Mahler and the audience, but also a relief to find them capable of providing the orchestral highlights of the Munich orchestral scene pretty much whenever Christian Thielemann took the reins.

Three and a half years later they redeemed their earlier Mahler misdeeds. Christoph Eschenbach had long been absent from Munich after some less fortunate stints with the orchestras in town, but since he and MPhil executive director Paul Müller go back a long way, he’s a regular again with the Munich Philharmonic. Fortunately the orchestra plays along.

G.Mahler, Symphony No.9, J.Levine / Munich Philharmonic Oehms

Whether Eschenbach is uniquely suited to Mahler (he claimed yes when we talked about Mahler last year, his Paris videos suggest no, the Philadelphia recordings yes again…) is debatable. The Mahler on this occasion, however, goes solidly into the book on the “yes” side. Anyone unprejudiced by Eschenbach’s checkered reputation heard troubled-but-terrific Mahler this mid-January Sunday night at the Gasteig. The first movement was an exclamation mark, with orchestral waves lapping over the music, their crests breaking early on the many premature climaxes Mahler strews about. No trace of diffidence or oddly non-committed romantic soup here. There may have been little by way of communication coming from Eschenbach in rehearsal and concert, but the result was considerably more idiomatic than the routinely praised, micromanaged, wholly aloft Mahler of Mariss Jansons.

Whether it was Eschenbach’s explicit wish to let the second violins tear into the second movement with gutsy abandon and rustic vigor—or whether it was his laissez-faire approach that allowed them to do so is immaterial. Ditto wherefrom the third movement’s shrieks, hairpin turns, its nervous restlessness and hounded and unruly elements came. Usually those two middle movements stand no chance against the towering pillars of the outer movements, and while Eschenbach, too, seemed to feel more at home in the elegiac first and fourth movements, the Ländler and the Rondo were no mere filler. Still, the no holds barred finale overshadowed all that came before. Less Brucknerian than it can be in calmer hands, Eschenbach held the tension to the very end, through moments of absolute silence… all while almost stretching it to Levine-like 30 minutes. Apart from greater technical assurance and a properly performing trumpeter—the solo trumpet on duty, either plagued by health problems, a case of the nerves, or both, should have excused himself—the only thing missing was a small hatchet that, swiftly wielded, might have prevented the worst in ruthless coughing (always in the most tender spots of silence) of audience members so audibly showing off the discomfort of their overtaxed minds.

Polyphony of the Northern Renaissance

Renaissance am Rhein, Singer Pur (released on November 16, 2010) Oehms OC 820 | 66'39"

The sounds of talented new (to me, at least) choral ensembles continue to reach my ears this year, from the talented English ensemble Stile Antico to the Boston-based Blue Heron to the German all-male ensemble Amarcord. Just as that last group was formed by former choristers from Leipzig, another group called Singer Pur was founded in 1991 by five former choirboys from Regensburg Cathedral. They made the right decision to augment the group with soprano Claudia Reinhard, which exposes the high male voices less (a good thing). The ensemble's latest CD is the fruit of a collaboration with the LVR-LandesMuseum Bonn, as part of Renaissance am Rhein, a large exhibition devoted to Renaissance art and music in the Rhineland. No one needs to convince me of the beauty of these things, but it is always good to have a demonstration of just how many worthy works are still out there to be discovered.

Limiting itself to the stretch of the Rhine from Aachen to the Netherlands, the group put together this program of little-known music from the 16th century (some possibly from the early 17th). Lassus is the only name you are likely to recognize, represented by a single piece, O mors, quam amara, in a version copied down in an Aachen choirbook. Far less familiar composers include Petit Jean de Latre, Nicolaus Zangius, Andreas Pevernage, Konrad Hagius, Johannes de Cleve, Jean de Castro, Johannes Mangon, and Martin Peudargent, that last one a wonderfully appropriate name for a musician. The music includes examples of complex Catholic polyphony (settings of the Salve regina and other traditional Gregorian texts, in alternatim and other types of arrangements -- Petit Jean de Latre's Qualis est dilecta mea is one of new favorite Marian motets), alongside more somber Protestant homophony (like Oh Herr dein Ohr mit gnaden) and decidedly non-sacred chansons and humorous songs (the German texts not so helpfully not translated into English in the booklet). Not a must-have disc, but worthy performances of repertory worth hearing.

Classical Month in Washington (April)

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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!

April 1, 2011 (Fri)
7:30 pm
Mendelssohn Piano Trio
Embassy of Austria

April 1, 2011 (Fri)
7:30 pm
Fauré, Requiem
Christ Church Cathedral Choir and Cathedra
Washington National Cathedral

April 1, 2011 (Fri)
7:30 pm
Rossini, L'Italiana in Algeri
Opera Bel Cantanti
JCCGW (Rockville, Md.)

April 1, 2011 (Fri)
8 pm
National Symphony Orchestra
With Iván Fischer (conductor) and Jozsef Lendvay, Jr. (violin)
Kennedy Center Concert Hall

April 1, 2011 (Fri)
8 pm
University of Maryland Wind Orchestra
Music by Torke, Messiaen
Clarice Smith Center

April 1, 2011 (Fri)
8:15 pm
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Prokofiev, Cinderella Suite
Music Center at Strathmore

April 2, 2011 (Sat)
3 pm
Rossini, L'Italiana in Algeri
Opera Bel Cantanti
JCCGW (Rockville, Md.)

April 2, 2011 (Sat)
7 pm
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Prokofiev, Cinderella Suite
Meyerhoff Symphony Hall (Baltimore, Md.)

April 2, 2011 (Sat)
8 pm
Stile Antico
Lutheran Church of the Reformation

April 2, 2011 (Sat)
8 pm
National Symphony Orchestra
With Iván Fischer (conductor) and Jozsef Lendvay, Jr. (violin)
Kennedy Center Concert Hall

April 2, 2011 (Sat)
8 pm
Trio Solisti
Music by Dvořák, Piazzolla, Musorgsky
Dumbarton Concerts

April 2, 2011 (Sat)
8 pm
National Philharmonic
Music by Beethoven
Music Center at Strathmore

April 3, 2011 (Sun)
2 pm
Puccini, Madama Butterfly
Virginia Opera
GMU Center for the Arts

April 3, 2011 (Sun)
3 pm
University of Maryland Wind Ensemble [FREE]
Clarice Smith Center

April 3, 2011 (Sun)
3 pm
National Philharmonic
Music by Beethoven
Music Center at Strathmore

April 3, 2011 (Sun)
4 pm
Steven Scheschareg, bass-baritone
Songs of travel by Foote, Mahler, Vaughan Williams
Phillips Collection

April 3, 2011 (Sun)
5 pm
Washington Chorus
Music by Elena Ruehr
National Presbyterian Church

April 3, 2011 (Sun)
6:30 pm
Inscape Chamber Orchestra [FREE]
Music by Messiaen
National Gallery of Art

April 3, 2011 (Sun)
8:30 pm
Spring Gala: Michael Kaiser at the Kennedy Center
NSO with Joshua Bell, Renée Fleming, et al.
Kennedy Center Opera House

April 5, 2011 (Tue)
12:10 pm
Noontime Cantata Series: Jesus nahm zu sich die Zwolfe, BWV 22 [FREE]
Washington Bach Consort
Church of the Epiphany

April 5, 2011 (Tue)
7:30 pm
Handel, Acis and Galatea
Opera Lafayette
Kennedy Center Terrace Theater

April 5, 2011 (Tue)
7:30 pm
New York City Ballet
Ballets by Balanchine
Kennedy Center Opera House

April 5, 2011 (Tue)
7:30 pm
Fessenden Ensemble
Music by Grieg, Schumann
St. Columba's Episcopal Church

April 6, 2011 (Wed)
12:10 pm
Prayers from the Ark [FREE]
Soloists from St. John's Choir
St. John's, Lafayette Square

April 6, 2011 (Wed)
7:30 pm
New York City Ballet
Ballets by Balanchine
Kennedy Center Opera House

April 6, 2011 (Wed)
7:30 pm
Midori (violin) and Jonathan Biss (piano)
With Nobuko Imai (viola) and Antoine Lederlin (cello)
Kennedy Center Terrace Theater

April 6, 2011 (Wed)
8 pm
Adam, Le Corsaire
Washington Ballet
Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater

April 6, 2011 (Wed)
8 pm
Mobtown Modern
Music by Oscar Bettison
The Windup Space (Baltimore, Md.)

April 7, 2011 (Thu)
7 pm
National Symphony Orchestra
With Dawn Upshaw, soprano (music by Golijov, Webern, Mahler)
Kennedy Center Concert Hall

April 7, 2011 (Thu)
7:30 pm
New York City Ballet
Ballets by Balanchine
Kennedy Center Opera House

April 7, 2011 (Thu)
7:30 pm
Vertigo String Quartet
Music by Corigliano, Mendelssohn
Mansion at Strathmore

April 7, 2011 (Thu)
7:30 pm
ATOS Trio
Music by Dvořák, Haydn, Beethoven
Kennedy Center Terrace Theater

April 7, 2011 (Thu)
8 pm
Adam, Le Corsaire
Washington Ballet
Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater

April 8, 2011 (Fri)
1:30 pm
National Symphony Orchestra
With Dawn Upshaw, soprano (music by Golijov, Webern, Mahler)
Kennedy Center Concert Hall

April 8, 2011 (Fri)
7:30 pm
Lorenzo Gatto (violin) and Roman Rabinovich (piano)
Residence of the Belgian Ambassador

April 8, 2011 (Fri)
7:30 pm
New York City Ballet
Ballets by Balanchine
Kennedy Center Opera House

April 8, 2011 (Fri)
7:30 pm
Tavener, Lament for Jerusalem
Cathedra
Washington National Cathedral

April 8, 2011 (Fri)
7:30 pm
Rossini, Barber of Seville
Maryland Opera Studio
Clarice Smith Center

April 8, 2011 (Fri)
7:30 pm
Madison Brass Quintet
Kennedy Center Terrace Theater

April 8, 2011 (Fri)
8 pm
Fête d’Eté: French Cantatas and Suites
Folger Consort
With Jolle Greenleaf, soprano
Folger Shakespeare Library

April 8, 2011 (Fri)
8 pm
Adam, Le Corsaire
Washington Ballet
Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater

April 8, 2011 (Fri)
8 pm
Carnegie Mellon Philharmonic
Kennedy Center Concert Hall

April 8, 2011 (Fri)
8 pm
London Conchord Ensemble [FREE]
Music by Mozart, Poulenc, Bridge, Beethoven
Library of Congress

April 8, 2011 (Fri)
8 pm
Kate Lindsey, mezzo-soprano
Barns at Wolf Trap

April 8, 2011 (Fri)
8 pm
University of Maryland Men's and Women's Choruses [FREE]
Clarice Smith Center

April 8, 2011 (Fri)
8 pm
Post-Classical Ensemble
Music by Stravinsky
Music Center at Strathmore

April 9, 2011 (Sat)
11 am
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra
Meyerhoff Symphony Hall (Baltimore, Md.)

April 9, 2011 (Sat)
1:30 and 7:30 pm
New York City Ballet
Ballets by Balanchine
Kennedy Center Opera House

April 9, 2011 (Sat)
2 pm
U.S. Army Band "Pershing's Own" [FREE]
Music of Copland
Library of Congress

April 9, 2011 (Sat)
2:30 and 8 pm
Adam, Le Corsaire
Washington Ballet
Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater

April 9, 2011 (Sat)
3 pm
Escher String Quartet [FREE]
Baltimore Museum of Art

April 9, 2011 (Sat)
5 and 8 pm
Fête d’Eté: French Cantatas and Suites
Folger Consort
With Jolle Greenleaf, soprano
Folger Shakespeare Library

April 9, 2011 (Sat)
7:30 pm
Mozart, Abduction from the Seraglio
Maryland Opera Studio
Clarice Smith Center

April 9, 2011 (Sat)
8 pm
National Symphony Orchestra
With Dawn Upshaw, soprano (music by Golijov, Webern, Mahler)
Kennedy Center Concert Hall

April 9, 2011 (Sat)
8 pm
Simone Dinnerstein, piano
WPAS
Sixth and I Historic Synagogue

April 9, 2011 (Sat)
8 pm
Borealis String Quartet
Music by Beethoven
Smith Theater, Howard Community College (Columbia, Md.)

April 9, 2011 (Sat)
8 pm
Prokofiev, Romeo and Juliet
Russian National Ballet Theater
GMU Center for the Arts

April 10, 2011 (Sun)
1 and 5:30 pm
Adam, Le Corsaire
Washington Ballet
Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater

April 10, 2011 (Sun)
1:30 pm
New York City Ballet
Ballets by Balanchine
Kennedy Center Opera House

April 10, 2011 (Sun)
2 pm
Kennedy Center Chamber Players
Music by Brahms
Kennedy Center Terrace Theater

April 10, 2011 (Sun)
2 pm
Fête d’Eté: French Cantatas and Suites
Folger Consort
With Jolle Greenleaf, soprano
Folger Shakespeare Library

April 10, 2011 (Sun)
3 pm
Left Bank Concert Society [FREE]
Music by Poulenc, Schnittke, Prokofiev
Smithsonian American Art Museum

April 10, 2011 (Sun)
3 pm
Rossini, Barber of Seville
Maryland Opera Studio
Clarice Smith Center

April 10, 2011 (Sun)
3 pm
Choral Arts Society of Washington
Mozart, Requiem (with Rob Kapilow, lecturer)
WPAS
Kennedy Center Concert Hall

April 10, 2011 (Sun)
4 pm
Tchaikovsky, Romeo and Juliet
Russian National Ballet Theater
GMU Center for the Arts

April 10, 2011 (Sun)
4 pm
Post-Classical Ensemble: Stravinsky and the Piano
Music Center at Strathmore

April 10, 2011 (Sun)
4 pm
WarnerNuzova, cello and piano
Music by Beethoven
Phillips Collection

April 10, 2011 (Sun)
6:30 pm
Venice Baroque Orchestra [FREE]
Music by Vivaldi, others
National Gallery of Art

April 10, 2011 (Sun)
7 pm
Kronos Quartet
Music by Partch, Reich, others
Clarice Smith Center

April 10, 2011 (Sun)
7:30 pm
Orli Shaham (piano) and Gil Shaham (violin)
JCCGW (Rockville, Md.)

April 11, 2011 (Mon)
6 pm
Laura Strickling and Melissa Wimbish, sopranos [FREE]
With J. Timothy McReynolds, piano
Kennedy Center Millennium Stage

April 11, 2011 (Mon)
7:30 pm
Jennifer Johnson, mezzo-soprano
Young Concert Artists
Kennedy Center Terrace Theater

April 12, 2011 (Tue)
6 pm
National Gallery of Art String Quartet [FREE]
Kennedy Center Millennium Stage

April 12, 2011 (Tue)
8 pm
St. Petersburg Philharmonic
With Yuri Temirkanov (conductor) and Alisa Weilerstein (cello)
WPAS
Music Center at Strathmore

April 12, 2011 (Tue)
8 pm
Kronos Quartet [FREE]
Reading of student compositions
Clarice Smith Center

April 13, 2011 (Wed)
7:30 pm
Rossini, Barber of Seville
Maryland Opera Studio
Clarice Smith Center

April 14, 2011 (Thu)
1:30 pm
Bach Cantata Series [FREE]
Clarice Smith Center

April 14, 2011 (Thu)
7:30 pm
Fragments (directed by Peter Brook)
Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater

April 14, 2011 (Thu)
7:30 pm
Rossini, Barber of Seville
Maryland Opera Studio
Clarice Smith Center

April 15, 2011 (Fri)
7:30 pm
Mozart, Abduction from the Seraglio
Maryland Opera Studio
Clarice Smith Center

April 15, 2011 (Fri)
7:30 pm
Fragments (directed by Peter Brook)
Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater

April 15, 2011 (Fri)
7:30 pm
Carl Donakowski (cello) and Gabriel Dobner (piano)
Kennedy Center Terrace Theater

April 15, 2011 (Fri)
8 pm
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Chaplin, The Gold Rush (screening with live music)
Music Center at Strathmore

April 15, 2011 (Fri)
8 pm
Mason Symphony Orchestra
GMU Center for the Arts

April 16, 2011 (Sat)
1:30 and 7:30 pm
Fragments (directed by Peter Brook)
Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater

April 16, 2011 (Sat)
3 pm
Hans Kristian Goldstein, cello [FREE]
Baltimore Museum of Art

April 16, 2011 (Sat)
5 pm
21st Century Consort
Smithsonian American Art Museum

April 16, 2011 (Sat)
6 pm
Winners of Joseph and Goldie Feder Memorial String Competition [FREE]
Kennedy Center Millennium Stage

April 16, 2011 (Sat)
7:30 pm
Rossini, Barber of Seville
Maryland Opera Studio
Clarice Smith Center

April 16, 2011 (Sat)
8 pm
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Chaplin, The Gold Rush (screening with live music)
Meyerhoff Symphony Hall (Baltimore, Md.)

April 16, 2011 (Sat)
8 pm
From the Top (taping)
With Christopher O'Riley, piano
Clarice Smith Center

April 17, 2011 (Sun)
1:30 pm
Fragments (directed by Peter Brook)
Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater

April 17, 2011 (Sun)
2 pm
Afiara String Quartet
WPAS
Kennedy Center Terrace Theater

April 17, 2011 (Sun)
3 pm
Mozart, Abduction from the Seraglio
Maryland Opera Studio
Clarice Smith Center

April 17, 2011 (Sun)
3 pm
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Chaplin, The Gold Rush (screening with live music)
Meyerhoff Symphony Hall (Baltimore, Md.)

April 17, 2011 (Sun)
3 pm
Eclipse Chamber Orchestra
With Carole Bean (flute) and Cristina Nassif (soprano)
George Washington Masonic Memorial (Alexandria, Va.)

April 17, 2011 (Sun)
4 pm
Bach, St. John Passion
Washington National Cathedral

April 17, 2011 (Sun)
4 pm
WarnerNuzova, cello and piano
Music by Beethoven
Phillips Collection

April 17, 2011 (Sun)
6:30 pm
Georgia Chamber Singers [FREE]
Music by Frank Martin
National Gallery of Art

April 17, 2011 (Sun)
7 pm
Jon Manasse (clarinet) and Jon Nakamatsu (piano)
Dumbarton Oaks

April 17, 2011 (Sun)
7 pm
Michael Feinstein, piano
WPAS
Kennedy Center Concert Hall

April 17, 2011 (Sun)
7:30 pm
Smithsonian Chamber Music Society
National Museum of American History

April 18, 2011 (Mon)
8 pm
Jon Manasse (clarinet) and Jon Nakamatsu (piano)
Dumbarton Oaks

April 21, 2011 (Thu)
8 pm
Lucinda Childs, Dance
Music by Philip Glass
Clarice Smith Center

April 22, 2011 (Fri)
8 pm
Lucinda Childs, Dance
Music by Philip Glass
Clarice Smith Center

April 23, 2011 (Sat)
8 pm
Orpheus Chamber Orchestra
With Arabella Steinbacher, violin
GMU Center for the Arts

April 24, 2011 (Sun)
4 pm
Sara Daneshpour, piano
Phillips Collection

April 26, 2011 (Tue)
8 pm
New Music at Maryland [FREE]
Performance of student compositions
Clarice Smith Center

April 27, 2011 (Wed)
7:30 pm
Sofja Gülbadamova, piano
National Museum of Women in the Arts

April 28, 2011 (Thu)
12:10 pm
Christian Tetzlaff and Antje Weithaas, violinists [FREE]
Music by Bartók, others
National Gallery of Art

April 28, 2011 (Thu)
7 pm
National Symphony Orchestra
With Kurt Masur (conductor) and Sarah Chang (violin)
Kennedy Center Concert Hall

April 28, 2011 (Thu)
8 pm
Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center [FREE]
With Thomas Hampson, baritone
Music by Crumb, Tan Dun
Library of Congress

April 28, 2011 (Thu)
8 pm
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Music by Smetana, Bruch, Brahms
Meyerhoff Symphony Hall (Baltimore, Md.)

April 29, 2011 (Fri)
8 pm
National Symphony Orchestra
With Kurt Masur (conductor) and Sarah Chang (violin)
Kennedy Center Concert Hall

April 29, 2011 (Fri)
8 pm
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Music by Smetana, Bruch, Brahms
Meyerhoff Symphony Hall (Baltimore, Md.)

April 29, 2011 (Fri)
8 pm
Marc-André Hamelin, piano
WPAS
Music Center at Strathmore

April 30, 2011 (Sat)
8 pm
National Symphony Orchestra
With Kurt Masur (conductor) and Sarah Chang (violin)
Kennedy Center Concert Hall

April 30, 2011 (Sat)
8 pm
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Music by Smetana, Bruch, Brahms
Music Center at Strathmore

For Your Consideration: 'Another Year'

English director Mike Leigh makes the sort of movies that are easily nominated for Academy Awards but never win any, that is, the sort of movies Hollywood knows it is supposed to appreciate but mostly does not. Leigh's latest film, Another Year, revisits some terrain similar to the earlier, highly decorated Secrets and Lies (five nominations, no Oscars), in a way that prompted our film contributor Todd Babcock to joke that the movie's title should be Another [Mike Leigh] Year. Leigh's working method is as well-known as it is unusual, a process by which the actors improvise the lines of the screenplay: as they rehearse and film scenes, they have usually received from Leigh some background on who their character is but often none of the specifics of what may happen. The goal is dialogue that sounds less like dialogue and more like conversation, but the result is a movie paced less like a well-planned drama and more like a slightly disordered life.

Another Year is centered on the warm home of the equally warm couple Tom (Leigh favorite Jim Broadbent, of Topsy-Turvy, among other Leigh films, which was thrown a bone with Oscars for costumes and makeup) and Gerri (Ruth Sheen). Over the course of four seasons, their contented, loving marriage is the only point of solace, helped along by an easy-going original score by Gary Yershon, among a number of less fortunate friends and hangers-on drawn to their generosity, their well-tended "allotment" (a garden plot that they happily visit throughout the film -- Il faut cultiver notre jardin is the obvious, Voltaire-inspired moral), and their well-appointed table. As in Secrets and Lies, much of the plot is driven by interactions in a government office, where Gerri works as a counselor. (I was totally fooled by Leigh favorite Imelda Staunton, the star of Vera Drake -- three nominations, no Oscars -- who had an intriguing couple of scenes with Gerri at the opening of the film but turns out to be a dead end character.) Like most Leigh films, there is a proximity between poor and middle class, who overlap through various connections, a situation that Leigh has said resembles his own upbringing.

Other Reviews: Roger Ebert | Anthony Lane | A. O. Scott | Washington Post | Los Angeles Times Village Voice | Movie Review Intelligence

The most important character drawn to Tom and Gerri is Mary, who works at the same office as Gerri, but who has a completely different life: a divorce and a series of failed relationships, a problem with drinking, a lack of responsibility or normality. As played magnificently by Lesley Manville, Mary is a wreck of a woman, who desperately craves companionship and comforts of home but has no idea how to find them, or at least no luck in doing so. It is a performance reminiscent in many ways -- pathos, desperation, plainness -- of Brenda Blethyn's role in Secrets and Lies, and one feels torn between moments of empathy and disdain for Mary. With increasingly nervous agitation, she attempts to insinuate herself into Gerri's family, throwing herself somewhat desperately at Tom and Gerri's adult son, Joe (Oliver Maltman), only to be visibly angered when introduced to his new girlfriend, Katie (Karina Fernandez).

Tom and Gerri also receive a visit from Ken, an old friend of Tom's from Hull, whose drinking and smoking and lack of exercise are on the verge of killing him. Seemingly suited perfectly to Mary, he throws himself at her rather desperately, when thoroughly drunk, as she is dropping him off at the train station. The outlook of this world is understandably bleak, a worldview seemingly formed by existentialist thought. Do the less fortunate characters wallow in their private hells because of the choices they have made in their lives? Although obviously the happiest, neither Tom nor Gerri is presented as being without fault, especially as they seem to enjoy their misfit friends to some degree, even to the point of being entertained by them. There is no easy answer, as there is not in most lives, and that is what makes Leigh's films so often rewarding to watch, and infuriating to some. It is why Leigh has won the Palme d'Or, the Leone d'oro, and the Best Director award at Cannes, and likely why an Academy Award will continue to elude him.

Side Notes: Audite's Furtwängler Deal

The German label "audite - Musikproduktion", perhaps best known to ionarts readers as the issuers of Rafael Kubelik's live Mahler recordings, is one of the keenest exploiters of well preserved tapes from various German radio stations. Knappertsbusch, Fricsay, Boehm, Kempf, and Fischer-Dieskau are just some of most notable artists whose (early) recordings they have brought to light (usually for the first time on sound recording), often in astonishing quality. Sometimes the results are great (Kubelik's BRSO broadcasts, for example), sometimes my thus-heigthened expectations have not been met (I was disappointed with Fricsay's Haydn, for example, which I hoped to be as good or even surpass the stupendous DG recording). I've recently written about releases with Backhaus and Solomon on Classical WETA.

I've not heard much of the 13-CD Furtwängler box with all his Berlin Philharmonic RIAS recordings, but what I've heard so far was rather impressive. I have also enjoyed the twenty-some minute podcast on the subject "Historic Recordings and Remastering" that audite has made available on their website. It shows, with several examples, how the work of their sound engineer can improve, even 'enable', the sound of the extant radio tapes with which audite works. The reason for bringing this up is an enticing offer from Audite that makes the Furtwängler box available along with Kubelik's Bruckner Third (SACD) (aud. 92.543), and four of Fricsay's RIAS opera recordings (albeit all in German), which includes Rigoletto (aud. 23.406), his Fledermaus (incl. Rita Streich, (aud. 23.411), his Lucia di Lammermoor (incl. Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Ernst Haefliger, Maria Stader and Sieglinde Wagner, aud. 23.412), and highlights from Carmen (aud. 95.497). All for €45. Even if the package doesn't ultimately appeal to you, the podcast (in English) and various excerpts of Furtwängler speaking on conducting (most of it in German) are well worth hearing.

Sweelinck for Harpsichord

J. P. Sweelinck, Fortune My Foe (Works for harpsichord), A. Rotaru (released on November 16, 2010) Carpe Diem CD-16281 | 77'40"

Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck (1562-1621), after making a career as an organist and composer of vocal music, acquired a Ruckers harpsichord in 1604. Although Sweelinck had succeeded his father in his position as a church organist, the organ had been banned in his native Amsterdam's Calvinist churches soon after. Harpsichordist Alina Rotaru, born in Bucharest and trained in Germany, plays a selection of the composer's works for harpsichord, on an instrument built by Fred Bettenhausen in Haarlem, with a Ruckers instrument as model. The selection of pieces, which are available on other recordings, is intended to provide a sort of tombeau for Sweelinck, drawing together his youthful triumphs (like the brilliant Fantasia chromatica) and expressions of the regrets of of old age (like the transcription of Dowland's famous Pavana Lachrymae, recorded in the video embedded below), artful renderings of simple dances and secular songs, as well as of weightier pieces like Engelse Fortuin, a setting of the "hanging tune" Fortune, my foe, often played at executions.

The disc closes with pieces by Sweelinck's contemporaries, including one extremely chromatic tribute to Sweelinck, Fantazia op de Fuga van M. J. P., made by John Bull upon hearing of Sweelinck's death in 1621 (here the harpsichord's temperament can curl your hair with all those half-steps). The sound is particularly satisfying (production by Jonas Niederstadt), capturing in vivid detail most of the core of the harpsichord's sound without too much of the clattering action. Birds can be heard outside the St. Johannis-Kirche in Arenshorst, Germany, singing in the silences, in the somber Ach Gott von Himmel sieh darein, a setting of a chorale of particularly Protestant fervor (the choice by the Catholic Sweelinck perhaps showing his malleable loyalty), among many other tracks. Rotaru has an accomplished, rather active, even flashy style of playing, heard in the crisp repeated notes, dotted groupings, and divisions of Mein junges Leben hat ein End', for example. While this disc is not an easy one to recommend except for fans of the harpsichord, it is no surprise to learn that it has been nominated for the 2011 MIDEM “International Classical Music Award” in the Early Music category.

For Your Consideration: 'The King's Speech'

M. Logue and P. Conradi, The King's Speech: How One Man Saved the British Monarchy

Kings have always had to speak well, from the oratory of the Roman emperors to the courtesy of Machiavelli's The Prince to the wily tongue of Shakespeare's Richard III. However, when almost all real powers of a monarch have been assumed by a parliament, as they have been in Great Britain, the words of a king may be the most visible, even only, sign of their authority. As the House of Windsor quickly discovered over the course of the 20th century, radio and television and other mass media have magnified this last remaining role of the sovereign, almost entirely symbolic, but no less crucial to the maintenance of government and public hopes. (The President of the United States has a similar role to play in times of crisis.) The reigning queen, Elizabeth II, certainly had to recognize how important her words -- or lack thereof -- were in the weeks following the death of her daughter-in-law, the Princess of Wales, dramatized in Stephen Frears's outstanding film The Queen.

The magnificent movie The King's Speech relates a little-known, in fact intentionally hidden, part of the life of Elizabeth II's father, George VI, whose pronounced stammer impeded his ability to speak publicly. Mark Logue wrote a book of the same title, based on what he discovered in the journals of his grandfather, Lionel Logue, an Australian who turned his work helping shell-shocked World War I veterans into a career as a speech pathologist, before taking on his most famous patient. Logue's notes were also the basis of the film's excellent screenplay, written by David Seidler, whose last memorable work was the quirky Tucker. Director Tom Hooper, who also directed the television miniseries Elizabeth I, with Helen Mirren as the earlier Elizabeth, leads a cast composed of the cream of British acting in a note-perfect evocation of the monarchy and its surroundings in the early 20th century. In the movie, when the Duchess of York (the elegant Helena Bonham Carter) first speaks to Logue, under an assumed name, about treating her husband, Logue counsels her that perhaps her husband should change jobs to something that does not require public speaking. When she responds that he cannot, Logue asks wryly, "Indentured servitude?" The equally witty reply is "Something of the sort."

Colin Firth is equal parts prickly and charming as the Duke of York, the younger son of a stern father (the imposing Michael Gambon) who is never expected to come to the throne. Firth makes the Duke's stammer, and the shame and hurt pride that goes with it, both endearing and obvious, without crossing that easy-to-cross boundary into parody. It turns out that Bertie, as he is called by his family, is much better disposed to the crown than his playboy older brother (the suave Guy Pearce), who becomes king, only to abdicate out of love for a notorious American divorcee. The equally fine supporting cast includes Derek Jacobi as the imperious Archbishop of Canterbury; the regal Claire Bloom (among many other roles, Hera in the gloriously bad original Clash of the Titans) as Queen Mary, who cannot even bring herself to comfort her son at her husband's deathbed; and Timothy Spall hamming it up as Winston Churchill.

Other Reviews: Roger Ebert | Anthony Lane | Manohla Dargis | Washington Post | Los Angeles Times | Wall Street Journal | Village Voice | Rolling Stone | Hollywood Reporter | Movie Review Intelligence

The film hinges, however, on the antagonism between Firth and the Lionel Logue of Geoffrey Rush, a bristling class-inspired clash that warms into mutual admiration and friendship. If Firth appears on track to win an Academy Award -- he has been tipped as Best Actor by the New York Film Critics Circle and the Golden Globes (the latter perhaps overshadowed by the controversial hosting of Ricky Gervais) -- Rush's performance seemed even subtler, creating a character who was certainly eccentric but also visionary, pushing the class boundary in search of a cure but also painfully aware of his place and devoted to the king. The role was a bit of a needle to thread, and Rush conveys the corniness of the man, who was a failed Shakespearean actor, as well as his sincerity, without ever making the portrayal campy. At an estimated budget of only $15 million, this film is yet another reminder that 3-D or CGI special effects have nothing on a well-crafted screenplay, clean direction, and a talented cast.

Classical Month in Washington (March)

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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!

March 1, 2011 (Tue)
12:10 pm
Noontime Cantata: Himmelskonig, sei willkommen, BWV 182 [FREE]
Washington Bach Consort
Church of the Epiphany

March 1, 2011 (Tue)
7:30 pm
Puccini, Madama Butterfly
Washington National Opera
Kennedy Center Opera House

March 1, 2011 (Tue)
8 pm
Brad Mehldau, jazz piano [FREE]
Library of Congress

March 2, 2011 (Wed)
12:10 pm
Wilhem Latchoumia, piano [FREE]
Music by Debussy, Hahn, Villa-Lobos
National Gallery of Art

March 2, 2011 (Wed)
7:30 pm
Puccini, Madama Butterfly
Washington National Opera
Kennedy Center Opera House

March 3, 2011 (Thu)
1:30 pm
Bach Cantata Series [FREE]
Clarice Smith Center

March 3, 2011 (Thu)
6:30 pm
Music by Roger Reynolds
Phillips Collection

March 3, 2011 (Thu)
7 pm
National Symphony Orchestra
Excerpts of Roussel Padmâvatî
Kennedy Center Concert Hall

March 3, 2011 (Thu)
7:30 pm
Wilhem Latchoumia, piano
"Les écritures nouvelles"
La Maison Française

March 3, 2011 (Thu)
7:30 pm
Continuum: Composers of the Caucasus [FREE]
Freer Gallery of Art

March 3, 2011 (Thu)
8 pm
Schumann Trio [FREE]
Library of Congress

March 4, 2011 (Fri)
7:30 pm
Great Noise Ensemble
Catholic University

March 4, 2011 (Fri)
7:30 pm
Caroline Chéhadé (violin) and Jennifer Jackson (piano)
Residence of the Egyptian Ambassador

March 4, 2011 (Fri)
7:30 pm
Puccini, Madama Butterfly
Washington National Opera
Kennedy Center Opera House

March 4, 2011 (Fri)
8 pm
National Symphony Orchestra
Excerpts of Roussel Padmâvatî
Kennedy Center Concert Hall

March 4, 2011 (Fri)
8 pm
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Music by Prokofiev, Rachmaninoff (with Lukás Vondrácek, piano)
Meyerhoff Symphony Hall (Baltimore, Md.)

March 4, 2011 (Fri)
8 pm
American Voices
Evelyn Elsing and other faculty artists
Clarice Smith Center

March 4, 2011 (Fri)
8 pm
Imani Winds
Barns at Wolf Trap

March 5, 2011 (Sat)
2 pm
Evgeny Kissin, piano (all-Liszt program)
WPAS
Kennedy Center Concert Hall

March 5, 2011 (Sat)
7 pm
Puccini, Madama Butterfly
Washington National Opera
Kennedy Center Opera House

March 5, 2011 (Sat)
8 pm
National Symphony Orchestra
Excerpts of Roussel Padmâvatî
Kennedy Center Concert Hall

March 5, 2011 (Sat)
8 pm
Leipzig String Quartet
Music by Beethoven
Candlelight Concert Society
First Evangelical Lutheran Church (Columbia, Md.)

March 5, 2011 (Sat)
8 pm
Post-Classical Ensemble
Music of Lou Harrison
Lisner Auditorium

March 5, 2011 (Sat)
8 pm
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Music by Prokofiev, Rachmaninoff (with Lukás Vondrácek, piano)
Music Center at Strathmore

March 5, 2011 (Sat)
8 pm
Brooklyn Rider with Kayhan Kalhor (Iranian kamancheh)
Sixth and I Historic Synagogue

March 5, 2011 (Sat)
8 pm
Bach Sinfonia: A Whole Lot of Bachs
Cultural Arts Center, Montgomery College (Silver Spring, Md.)

March 6, 2011 (Sun)
2 pm
Puccini, Madama Butterfly
Washington National Opera
Kennedy Center Opera House

March 6, 2011 (Sun)
2 pm
Reflections from the Keyboard [FREE]
Mayron Tsong, piano
Music by Haydn, Scriabin, others
Clarice Smith Center

March 6, 2011 (Sun)
3 pm
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Music by Prokofiev, Rachmaninoff (with Lukás Vondrácek, piano)
Meyerhoff Symphony Hall (Baltimore, Md.)

March 6, 2011 (Sun)
3 pm
A Crown of Stars, with Maryland State Boychoir (music by Andrew Simpson)
Cantate Chamber Singers
St. Paul's Lutheran Church

March 6, 2011 (Sun)
4 pm
Bridget Kibbey, harp
Phillips Collection

March 6, 2011 (Sun)
5:30 pm
Nelson Freire, piano
Shriver Hall (Baltimore, Md.)

March 6, 2011 (Sun)
6 pm
What Makes It Great? Mozart
Peabody String Quartet with Rob Kapilow, lecturer
National Museum of Natural History

March 6, 2011 (Sun)
6:30 pm
Leipzig String Quartet [FREE]
Music by Beethoven
National Gallery of Art

March 7, 2011 (Mon)
7 pm
Open Rehearsal with UMSO [FREE]
Christoph Eschenbach, conductor (Brahms, third symphony)
Clarice Smith Center

March 7, 2011 (Mon)
7 pm
Puccini, Madama Butterfly
Washington National Opera
Kennedy Center Opera House

March 8, 2011 (Tue)
7:30 pm
Fessenden Ensemble
Music by Larsen, Corigliano, Barber
St. Columba's Church

March 9, 2011 (Wed)
7:30 pm
Sara Davis Buechner, piano
National Museum of Women in the Arts

March 9, 2011 (Wed)
7:30 pm
Fessenden Ensemble
Music by Larsen, Corigliano, Barber
National City Christian Church

March 9, 2011 (Wed)
8 pm
Todd Reynolds and the LEMUR Robots
Mobtown Modern
The Windup Space (Baltimore, Md.)

March 10, 2011 (Thu)
7 pm
National Symphony Orchestra
Messiaen, Turangalîla-Symphonie
Kennedy Center Concert Hall

March 10, 2011 (Thu)
7:30 pm
Puccini, Madama Butterfly
Washington National Opera
Kennedy Center Opera House

March 10, 2011 (Thu)
7:30 pm
Hahn-Bin, violin
Mansion at Strathmore

March 10, 2011 (Thu)
8 pm
Wordless Music with Tyondai Braxton [FREE]
Music by Adams, Andriessen, others
Library of Congress

March 11, 2011 (Fri)
7:30 pm
Narek Hakhnazaryan (cello) and Noreen Polera (piano)
Embassy of Armenia

March 11, 2011 (Fri)
8 pm
National Symphony Orchestra
Messiaen, Turangalîla-Symphonie
Kennedy Center Concert Hall

March 11, 2011 (Fri)
8 pm
Antares, with Marianna Mihai-Zoeter, soprano [FREE]
Library of Congress

March 11, 2011 (Fri)
8 pm
Harlem String Quartet with Misha Dichter (piano)
Music by Turina, Brahms, Strayhorn, others
Clarice Smith Center

March 11, 2011 (Fri)
8 pm
Ecco la Primavera (music of Landini, Ciconia, Du Fay)
Folger Consort, with Trefoil
Folger Shakespeare Library

March 12, 2011 (Sat)
5 and 8 pm
Ecco la Primavera (music of Landini, Ciconia, Du Fay)
Folger Consort, with Trefoil
Folger Shakespeare Library

March 12, 2011 (Sat)
7 pm
Bryn Terfel, bass-baritone
Washington National Opera
Kennedy Center Opera House

March 12, 2011 (Sat)
8 pm
National Symphony Orchestra
Messiaen, Turangalîla-Symphonie
Kennedy Center Concert Hall

March 12, 2011 (Sat)
8 pm
National Philharmonic
With Brian Ganz, piano (Grieg, piano concerto)
Music Center at Strathmore

March 13, 2011 (Sun)
2 pm
Ecco la Primavera (music of Landini, Ciconia, Du Fay)
Folger Consort, with Trefoil
Folger Shakespeare Library

March 13, 2011 (Sun)
4 pm
Yevgeny Kutik, violin
Phillips Collection

March 13, 2011 (Sun)
4 pm
Carter Brey (cello) and Christopher O'Riley (piano)
Music by Bach, Justin Dello Joio, Grieg
Châteauville Foundation (Castleton Farms, Va.)

March 13, 2011 (Sun)
4 pm
Beethoven, Missa Solemnis
Cathedral Choral Society
Washington National Cathedral

March 13, 2011 (Sun)
6:30 pm
National Gallery of Art Vocal Ensemble and Chatham Baroque [FREE]
Music by Vivaldi
National Gallery of Art

March 13, 2011 (Sun)
7 pm
Keyboard Conversations with Jeffrey Siegel
GMU Center for the Arts

March 13, 2011 (Sun)
7:30 pm
Claremont Piano Trio with Nokuthula Ngwenyama (viola)
JCCGW (Rockville, Md.)

March 14, 2011 (Mon)
8 pm
Ilya Sinaisky and Natasha Kislenko, piano duo [FREE]
Clarice Smith Center

March 15, 2011 (Tue)
7:30 pm
Béatrice Martin, harpsichord
Music by Couperin, Forqueray, Royer, Rameau
La Maison Française

March 16, 2011 (Wed)
8 pm
NHK Symphony Orchestra of Japan
With André Previn (conductor) and Daniel Müller-Schott (cello)
WPAS
Music Center at Strathmore

March 17, 2011 (Thu)
7 pm
National Symphony Orchestra
Zemlinsky, Lyric Symphony with Matthias Goerne, baritone
Kennedy Center Concert Hall

March 17, 2011 (Thu)
8 pm
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
With Baiba Skride, violin (music by Schubert, Berg, Beethoven)
Music Center at Strathmore

March 17, 2011 (Thu)
8 pm
University of Maryland Symphony Orchestra
Music by Brahms, Adams (Harmonielehre)
Clarice Smith Center

March 18, 2011 (Fri)
7:30 pm
Bach, St. Matthew Passion
Cathedra
Washington National Cathedral

March 18, 2011 (Fri)
8 pm
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
With Baiba Skride, violin (music by Schubert, Berg, Beethoven)
Meyerhoff Symphony Hall (Baltimore, Md.)

March 18, 2011 (Fri)
8 pm
Cuarteto Latinoamericano
Barns at Wolf Trap

March 19, 2011 (Sat)
4 pm
Boston Symphony Orchestra
WPAS
Kennedy Center Concert Hall

March 19, 2011 (Sat)
5 pm
Bach, St. Matthew Passion
Cathedra
Washington National Cathedral

March 19, 2011 (Sat)
7 pm
Choralis (Brahms, German Requiem)
With Angela Meade (soprano) and Timothy Mix (bass)
Music Center at Strathmore

March 19, 2011 (Sat)
7:30 pm
Lotus Chamber Ensemble
Catholic University

March 19, 2011 (Sat)
8 pm
National Symphony Orchestra
Zemlinsky, Lyric Symphony with Matthias Goerne, baritone
Kennedy Center Concert Hall

March 19, 2011 (Sat)
8 pm
Vogler Quartett
Music by Dvořák, Beethoven, Schulhoff
Dumbarton Concerts

March 19, 2011 (Sat)
8 pm
Wind Soloists of New York, with Pedja Muzijevic (piano)
Music by Saint-Saëns, Beethoven, Françaix, Poulenc
Candlelight Concert Society
Smith Theater, Howard Community College (Columbia, Md.)

March 19, 2011 (Sat)
8 pm
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
With Baiba Skride, violin (music by Schubert, Berg, Beethoven)
Meyerhoff Symphony Hall (Baltimore, Md.)

March 19, 2011 (Sat)
8 pm
Fairfax Symphony Orchestra
GMU Center for the Arts

March 20, 2011 (Sun)
1:30 pm
National Symphony Orchestra
Zemlinsky, Lyric Symphony with Matthias Goerne, baritone
Kennedy Center Concert Hall

March 20, 2011 (Sun)
4 pm
Verdehr Trio
Phillips Collection

March 20, 2011 (Sun)
5:30 pm
Gil Shaham, violin
Solo pieces by Bach
Shriver Hall (Baltimore, Md.)

March 20, 2011 (Sun)
6:30 pm
François Chaplin, piano [FREE]
Music by Debussy
National Gallery of Art

March 22, 2011 (Tue)
7:30 pm
Miriam Fried (violin) and Jonathan Biss (piano)
Music by Beethoven
Kennedy Center Terrace Theater

March 22, 2011 (Tue)
7:30 pm
CUA Symphony Orchestra
Church of the Ascension and St. Agnes

March 22, 2011 (Tue)
8 pm
Paul Taylor Dance Company
Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater

March 23, 2011 (Wed)
12:10 pm
Tanya Anisimova (cello) and Lydia Frumkin (piano) [FREE]
National Gallery of Art

March 23, 2011 (Wed)
7:30 pm
Christine Brewer (soprano) and Craig Rutenberg (piano)
Vocal Arts D.C.
Kennedy Center Terrace Theater

March 23, 2011 (Wed)
8 pm
Paul Taylor Dance Company
Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater

March 24, 2011 (Thu)
7:30 pm
Perlman Music Program (with Itzhak Perlman)
Kennedy Center Terrace Theater

March 24, 2011 (Thu)
7:30 pm
CUA Symphony Orchestra
Sligo Seventh-Day Adventist Church (Takoma Park, Md.)

March 24, 2011 (Thu)
8 pm
Paul Taylor Dance Company
Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater

March 24, 2011 (Thu)
8 pm
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
With Yan Pascal Tortelier (conductor) and Orion Weiss (piano)
Music by Ravel, Grieg, Lutosławski
Meyerhoff Symphony Hall (Baltimore, Md.)

March 25, 2011 (Fri)
7:30 pm
Rossini, L'Italiana in Algeri
Opera Bel Cantanti
JCCGW (Rockville, Md.)

March 25, 2011 (Fri)
8 pm
Tenebrae (music by Victoria, Macmillan, Martin)
Cathedra
Washington National Cathedral

March 25, 2011 (Fri)
8 pm
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
With Yan Pascal Tortelier (conductor) and Orion Weiss (piano)
Music by Ravel, Grieg, Lutosławski
Meyerhoff Symphony Hall (Baltimore, Md.)

March 26, 2011 (Sat)
11 am and 5:30 pm
Tanya Tomkins, Baroque cello [FREE]
Bach, solo cello suites
Library of Congress

March 26, 2011 (Sat)
7:30 pm
Diva's Night Out with soprano Carmen Balthrop
National Chamber Ensemble
Rosslyn Spectrum Theater (Arlington, Va.)

March 26, 2011 (Sat)
7:30 pm
Kevin McMillan (baritone) and Gabriel Dobner (piano)
Kennedy Center Family Theater

March 26, 2011 (Sat)
8 pm
Branford Marsalis Quartet and Terence Blanchard Quintet
Kennedy Center Concert Hall

March 26, 2011 (Sat)
8 pm
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
With Yan Pascal Tortelier (conductor) and Orion Weiss (piano)
Music by Ravel, Grieg (piano concerto), Lutosławski
Music Center at Strathmore

March 27, 2011 (Sun)
2 and 5 pm
NSO Family Concert
The Trumpet of the Swan: A Novel Symphony
Kennedy Center Concert Hall

March 27, 2011 (Sun)
2 pm
Rossini, L'Italiana in Algeri
Opera Bel Cantanti
JCCGW (Rockville, Md.)

March 27, 2011 (Sun)
3 pm
Washington Bach Consort
Bach, Music for keyboard
National Presbyterian Church

March 27, 2011 (Sun)
3 pm
American Youth Philharmonic Orchestra
GMU Center for the Arts

March 27, 2011 (Sun)
4 pm
Olivier Cave, piano
Phillips Collection

March 27, 2011 (Sun)
7 pm
Altenberg Trio
Music by Haydn, Ravel, Chausson
Dumbarton Oaks

March 28, 2011 (Mon)
8 pm
Altenberg Trio
Music by Haydn, Ravel, Chausson
Dumbarton Oaks

March 29, 2011 (Tue)
8 pm
Trevor Pinnock, harpsichord [FREE]
Tribute to Wanda Landowska
Library of Congress

March 30, 2011 (Wed)
7 pm
Maya Stone (bassoon) with Stephen Gorbos and Spencer Lambright, composers
CUA School of Music

March 30, 2011 (Wed)
8 pm
Maurizio Pollini, piano
Beethoven, final three sonatas
WPAS
Music Center at Strathmore
[CANCELED]

March 31, 2011 (Thu)
7 pm
National Symphony Orchestra
With Iván Fischer (conductor) and Jozsef Lendvay, Jr. (violin)
Kennedy Center Concert Hall

March 31, 2011 (Thu)
8 pm
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
With Emily Skala (flute) and BSO OrchKids
Music by David Rimelis, Corigliano, Prokofiev
Meyerhoff Symphony Hall (Baltimore, Md.)