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When we get to the busiest part of the classical music season, there is at least one worthy event, sometimes more than one, for every night of the week. No one is complaining, since we like to have concerts to hear, but it does require careful scheduling.
WEDNESDAY:
>> There is no question that, this Wednesday evening (February 21, 8 p.m.), the hottest classical ticket will be a free one. The Venice Baroque Orchestra, directed by Andrea Marcon, will play behind violinist Giuliano Carmignola in a free concert at the Library of Congress. The program is almost entirely devoted to the music of Vivaldi (their recordings of the Red Priest have been warmly received), with one piece by Tartini. If you are not lucky enough to have a reserved ticket, show up as early as possible to line up for an unused seat.
THURSDAY:
>> The following night (February 22, 8 p.m.), it is the concert offered by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, in the Music Center at Strathmore. Incoming music director Marin Alsop has put together a program to honor the 70th birthday of American composer Philip Glass this year, beginning with the Concerto for Saxophone Quartet. The group will also give the world premiere of LIFE: A Journey Through Time, a new score by Glass that accompanies photographs by National Geographic photographer Frans Lanting. Limited tickets remain at the time of this writing.
>> The same night (February 22, 7 p.m.), the National Symphony Orchestra begins its three-night series of concerts in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall. Violinist Janine Jansen will make her first appearance with the NSO, playing the celebrated violin concerto by Felix Mendelssohn. Her new recording of the Mendelssohn (and Bruch) concerto, with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, is good. (Also February 23 and 24.)
FRIDAY:
>> To start your weekend (February 23, 8 p.m.), it is back to the Library of Congress for another free concert of 18th-century music. Marc Hantaï (flute), Alessandro Moccia (violin), Alix Verzier (cello), and Jérôme Hantaï (fortepiano) will play pieces by J. C. Bach, Haydn, and Mozart.
SATURDAY:
>> The Smithsonian Resident Associates are hosting a concert this Saturday (February 24, 6 p.m.) by the Emerson String Quartet (whom we reviewed recently in a series of Shostakovich concerts). This program includes quartets by Haydn, Ives, and Mendelssohn and takes place at the National Museum of Natural History.
>> Another chamber music concert on Saturday (February 24, 8 p.m.) features the Berlin Piano Quartet on the Dumbarton Concerts series in Georgetown. The program includes music by Fauré, Schumann, and Mendelssohn.
SUNDAY:
>> In conjunction with the Jasper Johns exhibit, the National Gallery of Art is devoting three weeks of its regular free Sunday concert series to the Sixty-Second American Music Festival. This week (February 25, 6:30 p.m.) is a recital by pianist Alan Feinberg, featuring music by Beiderbecke, Cage, Feldman, Ives, and Nancarrow. That program promises to be challenging, perhaps even weird, but also a feast of contemporary music for serious listeners. Note that this concert is not in the usual location: go instead to the East Building (entrance on 4th St. NW) and to the Auditorium on the lower level.
FREE, FREE, FREE:
>> Other options for free concerts this week include a recital by pianist Stephen Beus on Sunday (February 25, 4 p.m.) at the Phillips Collection (note that admission to the museum is not free).
>> Faculty members from the University of Maryland are giving free recitals this week at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center in College Park. These include saxophonist Dale Underwood on Wednesday (February 21, 8 p.m.), violinist James Stern on Saturday (February 24, 8 p.m.), and cellist Franklin Cox on Sunday (February 25, 8 p.m.).
ALSO OF INTEREST:
>> The University of Maryland Dance Department will perform Trapped, a new choreography by MFA candidate Waylon Anderson. This new work uses the music from Stravinsky's Rite of Spring to narrate the life and death of transgendered teen Gwen Araujo. The mind boggles. Performances scheduled for Thursday and Friday (February 22 and 23, 8 p.m.) at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center. Tickets: $20 (students, $7).
>> For more concert information, go to Ionarts.
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Another classical option for this coming Friday is Windscape, performing pieces by Debussy, Miyagi, Ravel, Takemitsu, and Messiaen, at The Barns at Wolf Trap.