Oct. 5
I Musici de Montréal, Yuli Turovsky, artistic director. Canada's
internationally renowned chamber orchestra gives a fresh reading
of Tchaikovsky's popular Serenade for Strings, op. 48, and performances
of Britten's "Variations on a Theme" by Frank Bridge and three
Jewish pieces by Bloch with maestro Turovsky as cello soloist,
plus the Washington premiere of "Coup d'Archet" by Canadian composer
Denis Gougeon. Tickets available Sept. 1.
Oct. 20
Nadeem Dlaikan. Born in the village of Alai in Lebanon and now
a member of the music community of Arab Detroit, Nadeem Dlaikan, maker
and virtuoso player of the nay, a single-reed wind instrument, received
a National Heritage Fellowship Award from the National Endowment for the
Arts in 2002. Homegrown Series, no tickets required.
Oct. 20
Panocha Quartet. Haydn: String Quartet in D Major, op. 33, no.
6; Smetana: String Quartet no. 2 in D Minor; Dvorák: String Quartet in
E-flat Major, op. 51 ("Slavonic"). Tickets available Sept. 8.
Oct. 22
Jacky Terrasson Trio. A winner of the Thelonious Monk International
Jazz Competition, the Paris-based French-American pianist leads his trio,
praised for its "rhythmic elasticity, harmonic richness, and melodic elan,"
in unexpected and fresh interpretations of standards and original works
that bear the influence of Miles Davis, Ahmad Jamal, Jacques Brel, and
Edith Piaf. Presented in cooperation with the Embassy of France. Tickets
available Sept. 8.
Oct. 26
Election Singers, Judith Clurman, conductor. A delightful evening
of works from the Library's collections of Berlin, Gershwin and campaign
songs, and the premiere of a new choral cycle based on presidential speeches,
"Mr. President," written for this concert by prominent American composers—Adler,
Babbitt, Brown, Cabaniss, Hagen, Heggie, Moravec, Schwartz, Shatin and
others. Tickets available Sept. 15.
Oct. 29
George Crumb Ensemble: 75th birthday tour. A retrospective concert
of works by Musical America's "2004 Composer of the Year" spanning 55
years of his creative output, including "Eine Kleine Mitternachtmusik"
on Thelonious Monk's "'Round Midnight." The composer himself is the percussionist,
joined by soprano Tony Arnold, pianist Robert Shannon, and guitarist David
Starobin. Tickets available Sept. 15.
Nov. 3
Kopelman Quartet. Prokofiev: String Quartet no. 2 (on Kabardinian
themes) in F Major, op. 92; Miaskovsky: String Quartet no.13 in A Minor,
op. 86; Tchaikovsky: String Quartet no. 3 in E-flat Minor, op. 33. Tickets
available Sept. 22.
Nov. 9
Le Concert Spirituel, Hervé Niquet, director. Unparalleled interpreters
of the 17th- and 18th-century French Grand Motet, the 16 singers and instrumentalists
of the group under its founding director commemorate the 300th death anniversary
of Marc-Antoine Charpentier with a performance of his "Te Deum" and "Messe
de Monsieur de Mauroy"—two crowning achievements of French Baroque music.
Presented in cooperation with the Embassy of France. Tickets available
Sept. 29.
Nov. 17
American Indian Music and Dance Troupe. Noted flute player Tom
Mauchahty-Ware directs a group from the Kiowa and Comanche nations from
Oklahoma in a program of Eagle, Hoop, Fancy, and Grass dances, among others.
Co-sponsored by the National Museum of the American Indian at the Smithsonian
Institution. Homegrown Series, no tickets required.
Dec. 7
Thomas Hampson, with Craig Rutenberg, piano. The first in a series
of collaborative educational programs between the Library of Congress
and the Hampsong Foundation (www.hampsong.com)
established by the internationally acclaimed American baritone for the
promotion of the art song in America. Presented in cooperation with the
Vocal Arts Society. Tickets available Oct. 27.
Dec. 8
Jerry Grcevich Tamburitza Orchestra. Elected to the Tamburitza
Hall of Fame, Jerry Grcevich, a master player, composer and arranger from
Pennsylvania, leads an ensemble in an afternoon of tambura music, the
intricate and virtuosic string-ensemble music of Eastern Europe. Homegrown
Series, no tickets required.
Dec. 10
Fanfare Consort: In Sweet Joy, Thom Freas, founder and artistic
director. A musical celebration of the winter season from the Christian
and Jewish traditions, highlighted by the Vivaldi "Gloria" in D Major
and settings of the Christmas chorale "In dulci jubilo," as well as secular
literature—in historically informed performances by a vocal quartet and
an ensemble of Baroque strings, winds, trumpet and basso continuo. Tickets
available Oct. 27.
Dec. 14
Beaux Arts Trio: 50th anniversary season. In its current incarnation—pianist
Menahem Pressler, the remaining founding member; violinist Daniel Hope;
and cellist Antonio Meneses—the chamber music legend continues the tradition
of eminent artistry, profound musicianship, comprehensive repertoire and
extensive discography. The program will include a piece commissioned by
the McKim Fund in the Library of Congress. Tickets available Nov. 3.
Dec. 17
Juilliard String Quartet with Christopher Oldfather, piano. Stephen
Hartke's "Diferencias" for violin and piano, a new commission by the McKim
Fund in the Library of Congress, receives its world premiere. Tickets
available Nov. 3.
Feb. 4
Danilo Pérez Trio. The young Panamanian pianist-composer and innovative exponent
of Pan-American jazz leads drummer Adam Cruz and bassist Ben Street in an insightful
and distinctive blend of standard jazz, Latin-Afro-Cuban rhythms, and folk
and world music. Tickets available Dec. 22.
Feb. 10
Aviv String Quartet. McMillan: Sketches (Washington premiere);
Shostakovich: String Quartet no. 4; Brahms: String Quartet in B-flat Major,
op. 67. Presented in cooperation with the Embassy of Israel. Tickets available
Dec. 22.
Feb. 18
Bill Frisell, guitar, with Jenny Sheiman and Eyvind Kang, violins;
Ava King, viola; Hank Roberts, cello. "A country lament that ends up as
a tango" is not surprising from the Baltimore-born guitarist and two-time
DownBeat Guitarist of the Year, whose eclectic style has been called "Americana,"
melding jazz, country, folk, blues, rock, world and classical music. Tickets
available Jan. 5.
Feb. 23
Sabine Meyer/Trio di Clarone, with Kalle Randalu, piano. Mozart
(arr. Schottstädt): Divertimento F Major on Four Arias from "Così fan
tutte" for three Basset Horns; Poulenc: Sonata for Clarinet (1918); Milhaud:
Scaramouche for Clarinet and Piano; Mozart: Trio in E-flat Major, K. 498
("Kegelstatt") for Clarinet, Basset Horn, and Piano; Françaix: Quartet
for Clarinet, Basset Horn, Bass Clarinet, and Piano (1994). Tickets available
Jan. 12.
Feb. 25
Rebel: Ensemble for Baroque Music, Jörg-Michael Schwarz & Karen
Marie Marmer, directors. A program of Vivaldi concertos and sonatas including
the popular "La Follia," an early edition of which is in the Library's special
collections—performed on period instruments by flute/recorder player Matthias
Maute, violinists Schwarz and Marmer, violist Risa Browder, cellist John
Moran, bassist Anne Trout and theorbo/lute/guitar player Daniel Swenberg.
Tickets available Jan. 12.
March 8
Keller Quartet. Schubert: String Quartet in E-Flat Major, D. 87;
Ligeti: String Quartet no. 1 ("Métamorphoses nocturnes"); Debussy: String
Quartet in G Minor, op. 10. Tickets available
Jan. 26.
March 16
Aguavá New Music Studio, Alain Barker, Cary Boyce and Carmen Helena Téllez, artistic
directors. Considered one of today's most impressive new-music ensembles in
America, Aguavá New Music Studio, conducted by Carmen Helena Téllez, is a network
of classically trained composers and performers that presents masterworks of
the late 20th century and recently composed works of the 21st in a variety
of contexts for listeners and organizations worldwide. Tickets available Feb.
2. Pre-concert presentation: Panel discussion on the evolution of Latin American
classical music, moderated by composer Aurelio de la Vega, 6 p.m. Whittall
Pavilion (no tickets required).
March 30
Musicians from Ravinia's Steans Institute. Brahms' late masterwork,
String Quintet in G Major, op. 111, and Dvorák's charming and unusual
Terzetto, op. 74, highlight an evening with eminent violinist Miriam Fried,
violinist/violist Paul Biss and an international quintet from Ireland,
Holland, France, Israel and the United States—participants in the Ravinia
Festival professional program for young artists.
April 15
Washington Bach Consort: Bach Alive in the Nation's Library, J.
Reilly Lewis, music director and founder. First in a series of performances
exploring connections between the Baroque master, whose autograph scores
of Cantatas 9 and 10 reside in the Library, and other genres of choral
music found in the Library's vast archives. Choir and period instruments
perform Cantata BWV 10, Meine Seel' erhebt den Herren, along with Barber's
Agnus Dei, works by Amy Beach and Eleanor Remick Warren's arrangement
of Bist du bei mir. This series and past performances of the Consort will
be made available online at www.loc.gov/rr/perform/ihas/.
A special collaborative project sponsored by the Washington Bach Consort,
the Eleanor Remick Warren Society and the Library of Congress. Tickets
available March 2.
April 22
David Cates, harpsichord. Praised for the "variety of playing style
and interpretive surprise" in his performances of Johann Sebastian Bach,
an outstanding talent among the new generation of American harpsichordists
offers an evening of masterworks by the great composer including the Partita
in D Major, BWV 828 and the English Suite in G Minor, BWV 808. Tickets
available March 9.
April 27
L'Ensemble Baroque de Limoges, Christophe Coin, director. Led by
a cellist of "imaginative high spirits," members of a period instrument
group praised for the "refined nuances" and "eloquently spun" lines of
its playing, in works by Leclair, Marin Marais, Rameau, Telemann and excerpts
from J.S. Bach's Musical Offering. Presented in cooperation with the Embassy
of France. Tickets available March 16.
April 29
David Finckel, cello, and Wu Han, piano. Recently named artistic
directors of the New York Chamber Music Society, the brilliant husband-and-wife
duo presents an evening of Russian classics and the Washington premiere
of a sonata by poet-pianist-composer Lera Auerbach dedicated to them.
Tickets available March 16.
May 12
Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin. Veracini: Overture no. 6; Vivaldi:
Concerto for Strings, RV 156 and Concerto for Two Violins, RV 533; Geminiani:
Concerto Grosso no. 12 in D Minor; Bach: Orchestral Suite no. 1, BWV 1066
and Concerto for Two Violins, BWV 1043. Tickets available March 30.
May 17
New York Festival of Song: Lost Tribes of Vaudeville, Michael Barrett
and Steven Blier, artistic directors. Pianist-arranger Steven Blier leads
vocalists and instrumentalists in "a light-hearted salute" to black and
Jewish vaudeville performers—legends Bert Williams, George Walker, Fanny
Brice, Sophie Tucker, Ethel Waters, Cab Calloway, Al Jolson, Eddie Cantor
and Molly Picon. Tickets available April 6.
May 20
Rolf Schulte, violin; James Finn, piano; and Jerry Grossman, cello.
Ravel: Sonate postume; Lerdahl: Duo for Violin and Piano (world premiere);
Brahms: Scherzo in C Minor; Schumann: Piano Trio in D Minor, op. 63. Tickets
available April 6.