The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Carolyn Kuan, with violinist Philippe Quint, will present Charlie Chaplin's Legacy - Classical Music in Film in The Music Center on February 8. The program will combine clips from classic Chaplin films with live music in Quint’s tribute to Chaplin on his 130th birthday. The concert will trace Chaplin’s relationship with 20th-century master composers and his own film scores. The cinematic program will also feature John Corigliano’s Red Violin Chaconne, Barber’s Adagio for Strings (Platoon), Carlos Gardel’s tango from Scent of a Woman, themes from John Williams’s Schindler’s List and Ennio Moricone’s Cinema Paradiso.
The BSO, conducted by Marin Alsop, will perform Prokofiev's Romeo & Juliet in The Music Center on February 16. The program will feature Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro Overture, and Russian pianist Yulianna Avdeeva will perform Chopin’s Second Piano Concerto.
The BSO, conducted by Lucas Waldin, will present Aretha - A Tribute in The Music Center on February 27. The tribute to The Queen of Soulwill feature symphony favorites Capathia Jenkins and Darryl Williams performing such iconic hits as “Respect,” “A Natural Woman,” “Chain of Fools,” “Amazing Grace” and much more.
The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, led by early-music specialist/harpsichord Nicholas McGegan, with Israeli mandolinist Avi Avital, will perform two of Vivaldi's Mandolin Concertos in The Music Center on March 7. The program will also include Haydn’s Symphony No. 80 and Bizet’s Symphony No. 1, composed when Bizet was 17 and a student at the Paris Conservatory.
Images below: Nicholas McGegan by Steve Sherman & Avi Avital by Zohar Ron
The BSO, conducted by Marin Alsop, will perform Mahler's Symphony No 3 on March 12 & 14 at the Music Center. The orchestra will be joined by Cierra Byrd, mezzo-soprano, the University of Maryland College Park Concert Choir, led by Edward Maclary, director, and the Peabody Children's Chorus, led by Doreen Falby, director.
The BSO, led by Marin Alsop, will perform Mozart and Mendelssohn in The Music Center on March 29. A work newly commissioned by the BSO from the young British composer Anna Clyne will be juxtaposed with Fanny Mendelssohn’s Overture in C Major. The program will also include Fanny’s famous brother’s “Italian” Symphony No. 4. French pianist David Fray will perform Mozart’s youthful masterpiece of the classical style, the Piano Concerto No. 9 “Jeunehomme.”
Images below: Anna Clyne by Jennifer Taylor & David Fray by Paulo Roversi
The National Philharmonic will present pianist Brian Ganz in The Music Center on February 1. Ganz is celebrating the 10th year in his monumental quest to perform the complete works of the great Romantic composer Frédéric Chopin. The concert will feature masterpieces such as the great Polonaise-Fantaisie, the Funeral March, the brilliant Waltzes, Op. 34 and the Nocturnes, Op. 27.
The National Philharmonic, conducted by Piotr Gajewski, will present Black Classical Music Pioneersin The Music Center on February 22. Violinist Melissa White will perform Violin Concerto No. 1 in D Major by Florence Price (1887-1953).
The program will also include Wynton Marsalis’s Wild Strumming of Fiddle (from All Rise); George Walker’s Lyric for Strings and William Grant Still’s Symphony No. 1 ("Afro-American").
The National Philharmonic, conducted by Piotr Gajewski, will perform Mozart's Requiemin The Music Center on March 21. The orchestra will be joined by Suzanne Karpov, soprano, Magdalena Wór, mezzo-soprano, Norman Shankle, tenor and Kevin Deas, bass. The orchestra will also perform Mozart's Clarinet Concerto in A Major with Jon Manasse, clarinet.
Annapolis Symphony Orchestra, conducted by José-Luis Novo, with Anne Akiko Meyers, violin, will perform Adam Schoenberg's Violin Concerto, titled Orchard in Fog, which Meyers commissioned, in the Music Center on March 1. The concert will include Beethoven’s Leonore Overture No. 3 and Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra.
Strathmore will present Juan de Marcos & The Afro-Cuban All Stars in the Music Center on January 31. Featuring a rotating, multi-generational cast, the group draws on the classic Cuban styles of son and danzón, along with contemporary dance rhythms like timba.
Image below: Juan de Marcos & The Afro-Cuban All Stars
Washington Performing Arts will present the Budapest Festival Orchestra, conducted by Iván Fischer, at The Music Center on February 21. German contralto Gerhild Romberger will “bring to life the powerful emotions of Mahler’s Kindertotenlieder.” The program will also include Mahler’s Blumine, plus Dvořák’s “Misto klekani (Evening blessing)” from Four Choruses, Op. 29/1 and Dvořák’s Symphony No. 8 in G Major, Op. 88.
Strathmore will present Drum Tao 2020 in The Music Center on February 7. Tao combines "highly physical, large-scale drumming with contemporary costumes, precise choreography, and innovative visuals."
Strathmore will present ukulele master Jake Shimabukuro in The Music Center on February 13. The Hawaii-born musician melds elements of pop and jazz into his passionate performances. In addition to his original compositions, his repertoire ranges from Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” to Schubert’s “Ave Maria.” He has collaborated with Yo-Yo Ma, Bette Midler, Cyndi Lauper, Jack Johnson, Béla Fleck and The Flecktones, Lyle Lovett and others.
Strathmore will present Bowie Symphonic: Blackstar in The Music Center on February 15. The concert was conceived, adapted, and arranged for orchestra by Evan Ziporyn, conductor, featuring cellist Maya Beiser, with Ambient Orchestra and musicians from the Boston Conservatory at Berklee College of Music. Rock icon David Bowie crafted what would be his final album: the stark yet adventurous Blackstar during his final illness. Composer, performer, and MIT professor Ziporyn "pays tribute to the late Bowie by transforming Blackstar into a cello concerto.”
The President's Own U.S. Marine Band Gala Concert, led by Grammy-winning conductor JoAnn Falletta, will take place at The Music Center on February 17. To read more about the Band, visit www.marineband.marines.mil/
Strathmore will present Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, led by Music Director and violin virtuoso Joshua Bell, at The Music Center on February 20. The program will include Paganini’s Violin Concerto No. 1 in D major, Op. 6 and Brahms’s final work, Symphony No. 4 in E minor, Op. 98.
March 3: Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox March 6: Bruce Hornsby & YMusic combine genres
March 13: The Washington Chorus St. Patrick's Day
March 15: Singer Tony Bennett/Guest Antonia Bennett. March 19: The Florida State U. Symphony Orchestra March 20: Washington Performing Arts presents pianist Murray Perahia - See the photo below.
Pop Vocalist AYO, who is Strathmore’s first Artist in Residence of the 2020 class, will perform in The Mansion on January 29. The Howard University graduate was born in Atlanta and raised in Nigeria. AYO previously performed with Chance the Rapper, Andra Day, and Common and has just played a young Ella Fitzgerald in HBO documentary “The Apollo.”
