Classical Music: Symphonies, Operas, and other Concerts

BACH SINFONIA

Takoma Park/Silver Spring Performing Arts Center
Montgomery College
Georgia Avenue and East-West Highway
Silver Spring
301-362-6525
www.bachsinfonia.org

The Story of the Baroque Concerto Grosso — The season opener explores the baroque concerto from its origins through masters of the genre, featuring works by Handel, Vivaldi, Corelli, Scarlatti, Muffat and Locatelli (10/24)

Circa 1800 — Sinfonia presents this period instrument woodwind quintet performing works just on the cusp between the baroque and classical eras for the annual chamber music concert (1/23/10)

The Complete Motets — J.S. Bach’s motets stand at the absolute summit of his work, and Sinfonia performs them as they would have originally been performed with a small core of musicians, choir and some of the country’s best early music vocalists (1/23/10)

The Art of Lute/The Art of Ronn McFarlane — 2009 Grammy nominee McFarlane joins Sinfonia for the complete works for lute by Antonio Vivaldi, plus the world premiere of his own work written especially for the Sinfonia (5/8/10)

BALTIMORE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

410-783-8000
www.bsomusic.org

Time for Three — Marin Alsop conducts with violinists Zachary De Pue and Nicolas Kendall and double bassist Ranaan Meyer in a program of Brahms, Tchaikovsky and Jennifer Higdon (9/24-25, Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall; 9/26, Music Center at Strathmore)

Tchaikovsky and Bartok — Marin Alsop conducts with violinist James Ehnes and an opening performance of traditional Eastern European folk music by Harmonia (10/1, Strathmore; 10/2-4, Meyerhoff)

BSO SuperPops: Hollywood: The Epics — Jack Everly conducts the BSO and Baltimore Choral Arts Society in a program of music from Lawrence of Arabia, Star Wars, Titanic and a tribute to John Williams (10/8, Strathmore; 10/9-11, Meyerhoff)

Simply Classical — Louis Langrée conducts with pianist Simone Dinnerstein this program of Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven (10/22, 10/25, Meyerhoff; 10/24, Strathmore)

Symphonic Fairytales — Robert Spano conducts with Leila Josefowicz, violin, a program of Rimsky-Korsakov, Adams and Stravinsky (10/29-31, Meyerhoff)

Duke Ellington Orchestra — Ellington’s grandson Paul Mercer Ellington leads this group in a BSO Superpops-presented program including the Washingtonian’s jazz classics (11/5, Strathmore) Mozart and Mahler — Marin Alsop conducts with soprano Susanna Phillips Mozart’s Eine kleine Nachtmusik and Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 (11/6-8, Meyerhoff)

All Gershwin — Marin Alsop conducts with pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet a program including Rhapsody in Blue

and ”I Got Rhythm” variations (11/12-13, 11/15, Meyerhoff; 11/14, Strathmore)

Demons, Drama and Dance — Marin Alsop conducts with pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet a program of Michael Daugherty, Liszt and Berlioz (11/19, Strathmore; 11/20-21, Meyerhoff)

Handel’s Messiah — Edward Polochick conducts and plays harpsichord along with Mary Wilson, soprano, Ryan MacPhereson, tenor, Michael Dean, bass baritone, and Concert Artists of Baltimore Symphonic Chorale (12/4, Meyerhoff)

Too Hot to Handel: The Gospel Messiah — Marin Alsop conducts Clifford Carter, piano, Bob Christianson, Hammond B-3 Organ, Mike Pope, bass, and Clint de Ganon, drums (12/10, Strathmore; 12/11-12, Meyerhoff)

Holiday Spectacular — Jack Everly conducts with Ann Hampton Callaway as host, the Capitol Quartet and Holiday Spectacular Chorus and Dancers (12/18-23, Meyerhoff)

BSO SuperPops: Linda Eder’s Judy Garland Songbook (1/28/10, Strathmore; 1/29-31, Meyerhoff)

Porgy & Bess — The BSO presents a full second-half suite of music from Gershwin’s classic opera, complete with vocal soloists (but no stage production) (2/4/10, Strathmore; 2/5-6, Meyerhoff)

Itzhak Perlman (2/18/10, Meyerhoff; 2/20-21/10, Strathmore)

Cirque de la Symphonie — The BSO’s four-week midseason music carnival opens with this program of brilliant music and spectacular performances from performers on and above the stage, presenting a feast for your eyes and ears. Marin Alsop leads a magnificent lineup of music from across the continents (3/11-12/10, Meyerhoff; 3/13-14/10, Strathmore)

BSO SuperPops: A Tribute to Irving Berlin — Internationally renowned singer and pianist Tony DeSare and Broadway star Ashley Brown join Jack Everly in this celebration of this composer of many pop standards (5/20/10, Strathmore; 5/21-23/10, Meyerhoff)

Underground Railroad: An Evening with Kathleen Battle (5/27/10, Strathmore; 5/29/10, Meyerhoff)

Brahms’ German Requiem — Marin Alsop enlists soprano Janice Chandler-Eteme, bass Stephen Powell and the Washington Chorus to close the BSO season with a concert of innocence and remembrance (6/10/10, Strathmore; 6/11-13/10, Meyerhoff)

CLARICE SMITH PERFORMING ARTS CENTER AT UMD

University of Maryland
College Park
301-405-ARTS
www.claricesmithcenter.umd.edu

Calder Quartet — Benjamin Jacobson, violin, Andrew Bulbrook, violin, Jonathan Moerschel, viola, and Eric Byers, cello take inspiration from innovative American visual artist Alexander Calder in challenging conventions of chamber music (9/30)

UM Wind Orchestra’s Season Opener — The School of Music’s newest orchestra opens its season with Carter Pann’s Slalom and Jacob ter Veldhuis’ Tallahatchie Concerto (10/1)

UM Symphony Orchestra’s Season Opener — This orchestra begins its season with a program including Mozart, Christopher Rouse and Bartok (10/2)

Academy of St. Martin in the Fields Chamber Ensemble — An octet of musicians drawn from this Academy perform Brahms, Shostakovich and Mendelssohn (10/9)

UM Symphony Orchestra: Sibelius’ Fourth Symphony — Sibelius’ rarely performed symphony in a program including Wagner and Ravel (10/31)

UM Wind Orchestra: All-American Program — A program of prominent and promising American composers, from Ned Rorem, Alan Hovhaness, Jennifer Higdon and John Adams (11/6)

University Chorale and UM Chamber Singers — Edward Maclary directs this annual fall concert of UMD’s two most select vocal ensembles (11/22)

Annual Kaleidoscope of Bands — The UM Wind Orchestra, the University Band, the Community Band and the ”Mighty Sound of Maryland” Marching Band all perform in this holiday program (12/11)

Peabody Trio — Based at the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, this trio has established itself in the chamber music world (3/5/10)

Shadowboxer: An Opera Based on the Life of Joe Louis — The Maryland Opera Studio presents this world premiere directed by Leon Major with music by Frank Proto and libretto by John Chenault (4/17-4/25/10)

Annual Pops Concert — The great American songwriting team of George and Ira Gershwin is celebrated in this program featuring the UM Wind Ensemble and the Community Band (5/1/10)

COOLIDGE AUDITORIUM

AT THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
Thomas Jefferson Building
10 First St. SE
202-707-8000
www.loc.gov/concerts

Regev-Huang-Weilerstein Trio — A trio of virtuoso soloists — violinist Frank Huang, cellist Alisa Weilerstein, and pianist Ron Regev — come together for a concert with a Mendelssohn focus (10/9)

Eroica Quartet and Friends — The first period-instrument performance of Felix Mendelssohn’s masterly Octet, informed by the Library’s original score for the work, and a lecture by musicologist Clive Brown. Britain’s Eroica quartet brings along four colleagues from Sir John Eliot Gardiner’s Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique (10/19)  

Kayhan Kalhor & Brooklyn Rider — Collaborators in Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Project, the master kamancheh (spike fiddle) player/composer Kalhor tours with an adventurous young quartet (11/14)

Haydn Trio Eisenstadt with Lorna Anderson and Jamie MacDougall — Wrapping up the Library’s celebration of the Haydn bicentenary, this trio appears with two Scottish singers, its partners in a project to record the composer’s complete piano chamber music — and all 429 Scottish songs — at the Esterházy Castle (11/20)

St. Lawrence String Quartet — This quartet performs Haydn and John Adams, plus a world premiere of Ezequiel Viñao’s String Quartet, co-commissioned by the Library of Congress and Stanford Lively Arts (12/4)

Parker String Quartet — Winners of the Concert Artists Guild and Bordeaux competitions, this young quartet from Boston plays a program inspired by the natural world (12/18)

Tapestry & Friends — Laurie Monahan, mezzo-soprano, Cristi Catt, soprano, Daniela Tosic, alto, with guest artists Diana Brewer, mezzo and fiddle, Shira Kammen, mezzo, fiddle and vielle, and Takaaki Masuko, percussion. Part of A Festival of American Music for the Voice, Tapestry performs works by Samuel Barber, Aaron Copland, Anton Dvorak, Alan Hovhannes, Billie Holiday and today’s rising composers, paired with American folk songs and hymns (2/19/10)

Juilliard String Quartet — This internationally acclaimed Quartet, in residence at the Library of Congress for four decades, returns with its new first violinist, Nicholas Eanet (4/9/10)

D.C.’S DIFFERENT DRUMMERS

CAPITOL PRIDE SYMPHONIC BAND
202-269-4868
www.dcdd.org

Music of Hope and Equality — Capital Pride Winds joins the band for a concert subtitled ”A Celebration of Cinema and Solidarity through Song” (10/10, Harman Hall)

Holiday Concert — (12/12-13, Lutheran Church of the Reformation)

Intimate Winds — An afternoon of small ensemble music (Feb., 2010, Hillwood Estate)

Songs in Blue — (April, 2010)

FAIRFAX SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

703-563-1990
www.fairfaxsymphony.org

Masterworks 2: Jon Manasse — This clarinetist joins the Orchestra led by its new conductor Christopher Zimmerman for a chamber-size concert focusing on Mozart and Beethoven (10/3)

Masterworks 3: Chu-Fang Huang — This pianist plays from Gershwin and Ravel while the orchestra focuses on lively dance rhythms from Argentina, France and Spain (11/21)

Masterworks 4: Augustin Hadelich — The orchestra pays homage to the anniversary year of Samuel Barber’s birth with this pianist (1/23/10)

Masterworks 5: Alon Goldstein — The orchestra presents an East Coast premiere, Avner Dorman’s Piano Concerto, composed for and played by this pianist (3/13/10)

Masterworks 6: Julie Albers — As part of ”Minds Wide Open: Virginia Celebrates Women in the Arts,” the orchestra, with conductor Glenn Quader, presents Jennifer Higdon’s blue cathedral and Albers performing the Elgar Cello Concerto (5/1/10)

FOLGER CONSORT

Folger Elizabethan Theatre
201 East Capitol St. SE
202-544-7077
www.folger.edu

A History of Friends: Music of Italy and China — With pipa virtuoso Yang Wei and sopranos Jolle Greenleaf and Elizabeth Hungerford, the consort performs Italian and Chinese music circa 1610 (10/2-4)

In Dulci Jubilo: A German Christmas — With Cantate Chamber Singers and an ensemble of brass, wind, strings and organ, the consort celebrates the holidays with the festive music of Michael Praetorius, the most prolific German composer of the early 17th century (12/11-20)

Monteverdi’s 1610 Vespers — With sopranos Ann Monoyios and Johanna Arnold, tenor Robert Petillo, bass Peter Becker, virtuoso violinist Julie Andrijeski, brass, winds, strings, organ and choir (1/8-1/9/10, Washington National Cathedral)

Ballets and Brawls: French Music of Court and Countryside — Soprano Rosa Lamoreaux, baritone William Sharp, Renaissance winds and strings join the consort for this springtime program of romance and wit circa 1610 (3/19-3/21/10)

A Musical Banquet: Songs for Lute, Voice and Viol — Tenor and multi-instrumentalists Charlie Weaver and Tom Zajac help the consort return to its English roots with music from 1610, when the lute and viol still reigned as the most important English instruments, but the violin was beginning to make its presence felt (4/9-4/11/10)

GAY MEN’S CHORUS OF WASHINGTON, D.C.

202-293-1548
www.gmcw.org

Winter Concert — Wonderful winter music, plus Snow White and 175 Faeries, an original, high-camp adaptation of the popular fairytale. The Right Reverend Bishop Gene Robinson will be a guest conductor opening night (12/18-20, Lisner Auditorium)

Love — In time for Valentine’s Day comes this performance by the chorus’ select chamber ensemble Rock Creek Singers in the premiere performance of a new men’s chorus transcription of Johannes Brahms’ Liebeslieder Waltzes (2/13/10, Church of the Epiphany)

Grease — Following in the footsteps of The Wizard of Oz and Bye Bye Birdie, GMCW presents a fully staged, all-male production of this Broadway musical (3/19-3/21/10, Lisner)

Fever— GMCW’s select, close-harmony pop ensemble Potomac Fever joins with Rock Creek Singers and special guests from the Philadelphia Gay Men’s Chorus (5/8/10, Metropolitan Community Church of Washington)

Divas — Guest star Christopher Peterson offers his incomparable vocal and physical impersonations of everyone from Judy to Barbra to Elton to Britney (6/5-6/6/10, Lincoln Theatre)

GMU CENTER FOR THE ARTS

4373 Mason Pond Drive
Fairfax
888-945-2468
www.gmu.edu/cfa

Keyboard Conversations with Jeffrey Siegel — This renowned pianist focuses this season’s ”concerts with commentary” series on the 200th anniversary of the birth of Chopin (9/20, 11/15, 3/7, 5/9)

Brian Stokes Mitchell and The American Festival Pops Orchestra — Anthony Maiello conducts the orchestra in this performance of showtunes, ballads and classic love songs with the Broadway sensation from shows including Kiss Me, Kate, Man of La Mancha and Ragtime (9/26)

Virginia Opera: La Bohème — Puccini’s bittersweet romantic tragedy is among the most popular works in operatic literature (10/16, 18)

The King’s Singers — For more than 40 years, this remarkable British sextet has stood at the apex of a cappella singing, delighting audiences around the world with their incomparable musicianship, charm and wit (11/6)

Shanghai Symphony Orchestra — Long Yu conducts this orchestra, known as the ”best in the Far East” and credited with the development of Chinese symphonic music — not to mention the music for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Teenage piano phenomenon Peng Peng joins for this performance (11/14)

A Chanticleer Christmas — This spectacular and elegant holiday concert is a cherished tradition (11/28)

Virginia Opera: The Daughter of the Regiment — Donizetti’s rollicking romantic comedy follows Marie, a young woman who was adopted and raised by a regiment of the French army, and Tonio, a young man who saved Marie’s life and is now desperately in love with her (12/4, 6)

A Canadian Brass Christmas — This extraordinary brass quintet combines virtuosity and showmanship with a playful sense of humor (12/12)

Natalie MacMaster: Christmas in Cape Breton — This Grammy-nominated virtuoso fiddler invokes the holiday traditions of her native Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, in a spirited Christmas show that makes audiences leap to their feet (12/18)

Eileen Ivers: Beyond the Bog Road — The nine-time All-Ireland Fiddle Champion returns for a stellar collaboration of Irish and Old Time musicians, singers, step dancers and cloggers in time for St. Patrick’s Day

(3/14/10)

Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra with Lang Lang — Christoph Eschenbach conducts the orchestra in its first tour of the United States in a program of Beethoven and Prokofiev and featuring Lang, the virtuoso pianist (4/3/10)

Academy of St. Martin in the Fields — Founded by Sir Neville Marriner, this British ensemble has established itself as one of the world’s leading chamber orchestras and its most recorded (4/18/10)

Virginia Opera: Porgy and Bess — (4/23-25/10)

KENNEDY CENTER

202-467-4600
www.kennedy-center.org

Australian Chamber Orchestra — Richard Tognetti directs this orchestra in two different programs kicking off the center’s Fortas Chamber Music Concerts season (9/29, 9/30)

American Brass Quintet — Raymond Mase, trumpet, Kevin Cobb, trumpet, David Wakefield, horn, Michael Powell, trombone, and John D. Rojak, bass trombone, make up this ensemble, now in its 50th anniversary year (10/6)

Christopher Taylor — This pianist performs Bach’s Goldberg Variations on the only Steinway equipped with the double keyboard developed by Emanuel Moor some 80 years ago but just recently restored (10/14)

Kennedy Center Chamber Players — This ensemble opens its seventh season with Fauré’s Piano Quartet and Tchaikovsky’s Piano Trio (11/15) Volger String Quartet — The ZIMRO project centers around a lost generation of Jewish-Russian composers, played side-by-side with Jewish-infused music by Prokofiev and Osvaldo Golijov (11/19)

Trio Solisti — Maria Bachmann, violin, Alexis Pia Gerlach, cello, and Jon Kilbonoff, piano, perform a concert commemorating the 200th birthday of Mendelssohn (12/3)

Kennedy Center Chamber Players — Three Brahms sonatas are on display, for piano, with cello, viola and violin (1/10/10)

Mariinsky Opera & Orchestra — This world-renowned company from St. Petersburg, Russia, presents two programs as part of the Kennedy Center’s Focus on Russia: concert versions of Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Origin and Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov;and Prokofiev’s War and Peace (2/27-3/7/10)

LEVINE SCHOOL OF MUSIC

202-686-8000
www.levineschool.org

Irina Katz — This pianist performs movements from Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition as part of the free ”Lunch with Levine” concert series (10/13, Church of the Epiphany, 1317 G St. NW)

A Celebration of George Crumb’s 80th Birthday — Crumb’s reputation as a composer of hauntingly beautiful scores has made him one of the most frequently performed living composers in today’s musical world (10/23, Atlas Performing Arts Center, 1333 H St. NE)

IBIS Chamber Music Society with Susan Fuller and Cecilia Cho — Violinist Fuller and pianist Cho join IBIS to perform Joaquin Turina’s Scene Andalouse for solo viola, string quartet and piano (12/4, Atlas)

John S. Martin Chamber Music Master Class — Featuring members of the Emerson String Quartet (2/7/10, Jane Lang Recital Hall)

(2/9/10, Strathmore)

Musical Devotions: The Story of Brahms & Clara — Explore the oft-misunderstood, devoted relationship of Johannes Brahms and Clara Schumann through Schumann’s rarely heard Romances for violin and piano, Brahms’ early piano Ballades which were written for her, and his sublime Violin Sonata in G Major

MUSIC CENTER AT STRATHMORE

5301 Tuckerman Lane
North Bethesda
301-581-5100
www.strathmore.org

Argos Trio — Liana Koteva, violin, Lars Kirvan, cello, and Linda Bojanova, piano (9/24)

The Chiara String Quartet — Rebecca Fisher, violin, Julie Yoon, violin, Jonah Sirota, viola, and Gregory Beaver, cello (10/16)

Orquestra de São Paulo — One of Latin America’s premiere orchestras teams with Grammy Award-winning percussionist Dame Evelyn Glennie (10/21)

Dawn Upshaw — This Grammy-winning soprano sings music by Charles Ives, Debussy, Mussorgsky and more (10/23)

Paris Piano Trio — Regia Pasquier, violin, Roland Pidous, cello, and Jean-Claude Pennetier, piano perform in a program of Schubert, Rachmaninov and Ravel (11/9)

12 Cellists of the Berlin Philharmonic — Celebrating the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall (11/10)

Malcolm Bilson — Performing an evening of classics on his own 1799 Longman & Clementi replica by Chris Maene and Strathmore’s 19th century Broadwood piano (11/19)

Vienna Chamber Orchestra — Philippe Entremont conducts and plays piano in a program of Mozart and Haydn (11/22)

Brian Setzer Orchestra — The orchestra performs ”Christmas Rocks! Extravaganza,” a twist on seasonal favorites (11/27)

NATIONAL PHILHARMONIC

Music Center at Strathmore
5301 Tuckerman Lane
North Bethesda
301-493-9283
www.nationalphilharmonic.org

Beethoven One, Two, Three — Piotr Gajewski conducts with pianist Misha Dichter and several soloists an all-Beethoven program (10/3-4)

The Artistry of Richard Stoltzman — Piotr Gajewski conducts with this clarinetist in a program of Mozart, Copland and Gershwin (10/17)

The Three Bs — Piotr Gajewski conducts with cellist Zuill Bailey, pianist Brian Ganz and violinist Elena Urioste this program of Bach, Brahms and Beethoven (10/31)

200th Anniversary: Haydn and Mendelssohn — Predrag Gosta conducts the orchestra, with soprano Sherri Seiden, mezzo-soprano Magdalena Wor, tenor Leif Aruhn-Solen and bass Jason Hardy, in this celebration (11/7)

Handel’s Messiah — Stan Engebretson conducts with Danielle Talamantes, soprano, Victoria Livvengood, mezzo-soprano, Robert Baker, tenor, and Leon Williams, baritone (12/12-13)

Brahms Requiem — Written as a tribute to his mother, this is considered Brahm’s greatest vocal work (3/27/10)

NATIONAL SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Kennedy Center Concert Hall
202-467-4600
www.kennedy-center.org

Season Opening Ball Concert — Ivan Fischer conducts with pianist Evgeny Kissin and violinist Jozsef Lendvay Jr. Performing Glinka, Kodaly, Sarasate, Chopin and Strauss (9/26)

Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6 — Ivan Fischer conducts this ”Pastoral” Symphony plus Bartok’s The Wooden Prince (10/1-3)

Ludovic Morlot — This notable young French artist makes his NSO debut in a program of Tchaikovsky, Brahms and Martinu’s The Frescoes of Piero della Francesca (10/8-11)

Lorin Maazel — Returns to conduct with violinist Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg and his wife, actress Dietlinde Turban-Maazel, who will narrate his own The Giving Tree. Performance also includes Mussorgsky, Barber and Franck (10/15-17)

Ben Heppner — The dramatic tenor debuts at the NSO in an all-German program with conductor Edo de Waart (10/22)

Lang Lang and Andrew Litton — The famed young Chinese pianist joins conductor Litton to perform a program including Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 1 and Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3 (11/13)

NSO Pops: The Music of The Music Man — Marvin Hamlisch conducts songs from Meredith Wilson’s Tony-winning blockbuster musical (11/27-28)

Jennifer Higdon — Andrew Litton conducts this American composer’s Piano Concerto in its world premiere, with soloist Yuja Wang (12/3-5)

NSO Pops: Happy Holidays — (12/10-13)

Handel’s Messiah— Rossen Milanov conducts soprano Elza van den Heever, contralto Meredith Arwady, tenor Jason Collins, bass-baritone Eric Owens and the Washington Chorus in the NSO’s first of the Goossens edition of Messiah, featuring vastly expanded orchestration (12/17-20)

Leonard Slatkin — The former NSO music director conducts an all-English program with violinist Nikolaj Znaider (1/7-1/9/10)

Ivan Fischer — The NSO principal conductor conducts a program, with cellist Mischa Maisky, featuring dance episodes from Bernstein’s On The Town, plus Tchaikovsky and Dvorak (1/28-1/30/10)

NSO Pops: And The Winner Is … — Guest conductor and film composer Bill Conti conducts the Pops in a salute to the Academy Awards (2/11-2/13/10)

Bach’s Mass in B Minor — To celebrate Easter week, Ivan Fischer conducts this monumental masterpiece, with the University of Maryland Concert Choir, for the NSO’s first time in over three decades (4/1-4/3/10)

Stephen Sondheim 80th Birthday Tribute — Marvin Hamlisch conducts the NSO Pops in a celebration of the best loved tunes from Broadway’s wittiest composer (5/6-5/8/10)

John Adams — The composer will lead two weeks of programs of his own works: The Dharma at Big SurCity Noir Symphony and The Wound-Dresser (5/13-5/22/10) with Leila Josefowicz on six-string electric violin,

NSO Pops: Classical Mystery Tour — Martin Herman conducts Beatlemania performers Jim Owen, Tony Kishman, Tom Teeley and Chris Camilleri in this tribute to the original Fab Four (6/24-6/26/10)

Yo-Yo Ma and Jeffrey Kahane — (6/29/10)

WASHINGTON BACH CONSORT

National Presbyterian Church
4101 Nebraska Ave. NW
202-429-2121
www.bachconsort.org

Noontime Cantata Series — Six free, monthly concerts include an organ prelude and fugue featuring area keyboard artists, and one of J.S. Bach’s Cantatas with chorus and orchestra (10/6, 11/3, 12/1, 3/2/10, 4/6/10, 5/4/10, Church of the Epiphany, 13th and G Streets NW)

Mass in B Minor — This Bach masterpiece is the consort’s signature (10/4)

An International Christmas — Music by composers from around the world, from Norway (Grieg) to Russia (Rachmaninoff) to England (Britten) to Germany (Bach, but of course) (12/20)

Happy Birthday Bach! — Honoring the composer’s 325th birthday with a selection of his most brilliant, joyful and best-loved works, many of which were created during the composer’s highly productive tenure as

Capellmeister to the Prince of Anhalt-Cöthen — (3/21/10)

Magnificat! — Two settings of this work reveal the genius of two generations of the Bach family: J.S. Bach and his brilliantly innovative son C.P.E. Bach (5/2/10)

WASHINGTON PERFORMING ARTS SOCIETY

202-833-9800
www.wpas.org

Murray Perahia — This American pianist, one of the most sought-after and cherished today, performs Bach, Beethoven, Schumann and Chopin (10/17, Kennedy Center Concert Hall)

Peabody Chamber Players — This ”What Makes It Great?” program with Rob Kapilow focuses on J.S. Bach’s Double Violin Concerto in D Minor (11/10, Museum of Natural History’s Baird Auditorium)

Dame Kiri Te Kanawa — This soprano has lit up stages for decades with her rich, velvety voice and regal aura (11/14, Concert Hall)

New York Philharmonic — Riccardo Muti conducts the orchestra in a program of Liszt, Elgar and Prokoviev (11/21, Concert Hall)

Angela Hewitt — A leading Bach interpreter, this pianist performs Bach’s Goldberg Variations (12/3, Music Center at Strathmore)

Plamena Mangova — This Bulgarian pianist, a favorite of European audiences, performs a program of Scriabin, Chopen and Ravel (12/5, Terrace Theater)

Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra — For decades, this orchestra has been one of the world’s finest musical ensembles (2/15/10, Concert Hall)

WASHINGTON WOMEN’S CHORUS

202-244-7367
www.washingtonwomenschorus.org

Shakespeare in Song — Featuring works by Verdi, Amy M. C. Beach and John Govedas, with Shakespeare set in a variety of musical styles from buttoned-down to passionate, from the pulsing bossa nova to jazzy swing (10/17, Metropolitan Memorial United Methodist Church)

Let it Snow — Cokie Roberts hosts and narrates this concert of great songs of the holiday season, featuring the Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart Handbell Ensemble (12/6, Metropolitan Memorial Church)

Fourth Annual Women’s Choral Festival of Washington — The University of Maryland Women’s Chorus and the women’s choruses of Elizabeth Seton High School and Bethesda Chevy Chase High School join this Chorus to sing songs by women composers during Women’s History Month (3/7/10, UMD Memorial Chapel)

WASHINGTON OPERA

Kennedy Center Opera House
202-295-2400
www.dc-opera.org

The Barber of Seville — Rossini’s vibrant romp (now-9/20)

Falstaff — Giuseppe Verdi composed this production with libretto by Arrigo Boito based on William Shakespeare’s play The Merry Wives of Windsor and scenes from Henry IV. Alan Opie sings the title role (10/10-30)

Ariadne auf Naxos — Tragedy and comedy collide when two sets of performers — one an opera company and the other a commedia dell’arte troupe — are forced to perform together. With stunning melodies and relentless energy, the results are cleverly amusing in this work by Richard Strauss (10/24-11/13)

Götterdämmerung In Concert — The breathtaking finale to Wagner’s formidable “Ring Cycle” is presented in concert. Featuring Ian Storey, Irené Theorin, Gordon Hawkins and Alan Held (11/7-15)

Porgy and Bess— The Gershwin classic features such treasures as “Summertime” and “Bess, You Is My Woman Now.” Directed by Francesca Zambello and conducted by John Mauceri (3/20-4/3/10)

The Marriage of Figaro — Mozart’s timeless classic, in a production from the Houston Grand Opera (4/24/10-5/7/10)

Hamlet — Placido Domingo conducts the company premiere of this French Opera based on the Shakespeare classic. Featuring Carlos Alvarez, Diana Damrau and Samuel Ramey (5/19-6/4/10)