Results tagged “claricesmithperformingartscenter”

Bang on A Can has always been about innovation, exploration, and breaking boundaries. Formed in 1987 by composers Michael Gordon, David Lang and Julia Wolfe, the New York based collective acts as an incubator for new and contemporary music. The organization is a place where adventurous composers and performers strive to add a fresh voice to the musical landscape.

Most of us have made, or will make, a major career change at some point, but it must have been a shock to those close to her when, in 1997, Vijai Nathan decided to abandon her career in journalism for the dog-eat-dog world of stand-up comedy. Since then, she has appeared on ABC News’ 20/20, PBS, The Oxygen Network, the BBC, and in 2003 was named one of the country's top ten comics by Backstage Magazine. For the past several years, she also followed another path by developing solo theater pieces.

Pianist Chick Corea and vibraphonist Gary Burton are both jazz giants in their own right, but they have forged a musical partnership that is one of the most special and enduring in music, regardless of genre. Last night's sell out crowd in the lovely Dekelboum Concert Hall at the University of Maryland's Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center no doubt had high expectations, but as it cheered the two masters as they took the stage, no one had any idea the audience would be in for such a treat. Burton and Corea guided the listener through two hours of absolutely sparkling performance, which not only met any expectations, but far exceeded them in what was the finest jazz performance we have seen so far this year.

It was a good weekend for historically informed performance: after a stunning concert of the Bachs by Café Zimmermann at the Library of Congress, it was out to the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center on Sunday night for a recital by the British duo of Andrew Manze and Richard Egarr. In charming prefatory remarks, Manze labeled the selection of one Schubert and three Mozart sonatas as "some of our favorites." A look back over their...

It is always good to know how your concert schedule is going to play out, and this week things could not be any clearer (and none of these events has sold out). Here is your list of what's good, what's free, and even some of what's both. THE BIG GUNS: >> A couple years ago, soprano Anne Schwanewilms was in the news because she replaced Deborah Voigt, when the latter could not fit into a...

While no major event on the schedule this week trumps all others, there are several concerts that will merit your attention. Three of them are scheduled for Thursday night. If contemporary music was the headliner last week, this week it is early music. >> Opera Lafayette's bread and butter is in presenting obscure Baroque operas, usually French, sung by exceptional voices and with the help of their fine instrumental ensemble. The group opens its season...

>> Tonight, Baltimore-based funk/fusion act Basshound comes to DC9 for a night of highly danceable grooves. With Hello Society and DJ Robinson. 8:30 p.m., $8. >> On Thursday, the Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage presents Ecuador's Jazz Envoys, a group that blends the indigenous sounds of its homeland with jazz to create a unique groove. The free show begins at 6 p.m. >> Latin jazz legend Paquito D'Rivera comes to Strathmore on Thursday to play with...

Everyone needs a vacation, even musicians, and the summer is quite naturally a time that the classical music world slows down. So this is it for your Classical Music Agenda, until August. This week's installment will be a little longer than normal, because there are several interesting things happening over the next couple months. If you want to hear some music this summer, you can, and here's where. HEADLINES: >> The most important classical music...

DCist Jeff Beam contributed to this post. Drew McManus, who writes about the orchestra business at the ArtsJournal blog Adaptistration, has dubbed April Take a Friend to the Orchestra month. For the second year now, Drew has lined up names in the classical music world to write pieces on how ordinary people who love classical music can invite a friend who does not regularly go to hear live music to a concert. This year's articles...

April has been an exhausting month for classical music listeners. Still, when that means staying out late to hear Evgeny Kissin play eight encores, you will not hear me complaining. Put your shoes back on, because there is more music to be heard. We start with the best events this week. >> By all accounts, Chinese-American pianist Chu-Fang Huang, winner of the 2005 Cleveland Piano Competition, is an exceptional talent at age 23. She is...

April continues to be a busy month for your classical music critic, and that is just the way we like it here. This week has just about everything: some big names, some opera, some early music, and more free concerts than we probably deserve. Take your pick. >> The main event of the week is the much-anticipated (and sold out) Kennedy Center recital by Evgeny Kissin, sponsored by Washington Performing Arts Society. The program features...

Fans of classical music had a light schedule last week, but there is plenty to be heard this week to make up for lost time. Most evenings it is going to come down to a choice. WEDNESDAY: >> The Embassy of Austria (3524 International Ct. NW) is hosting a series of concerts called An das Lied: Festival of Song 2007, devoted to the greats of German-language song composition. The music starts this Wednesday, with a...

This time of year, with so many concerts on the schedule, it is sometimes hard to separate what is essential from the rest. If we had to pick this week — and we do have to pick, every week — it would be as follows. >> Last week's stellar concerts from the National Symphony, with Osmo Vänskä and Leonidas Kavakos, were scandalously underattended. If you like good music but were unable to hear the Finnish...

This week you could be a busy classical listener, and hearing a concert almost every day, sometimes twice, without paying anything. The problem is that not all free concerts are equally strong, but who can complain about hearing music for free? MONDAY: >> The women of the Salem Academy Glee Club will give a free lunchtime concert (February 26, 12:10 p.m.) at the National Museum of Women in the Arts. The program will consist of...

There may not be many concerts happening during this coming work week, but the number of concerts scheduled for the weekend will require shrewd planning for serious listeners. SYMPHONY: >> Renaud and Gautier Capuçon, the brothers from France who play violin and cello with exceptional flair, will join the National Symphony Orchestra this week. The program in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall includes the Brahms double concerto (for violin and cello), Debussy's iconic symbolist poem...

This year Opera Lafayette has devoted most of its season to the Armide Project, a plan to perform two famous operatic realizations of the same libretto, Armide by Philippe Quinault. First on the schedule was the original version, premiered by Jean-Baptiste Lully in 1686, in a concert performance at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center on Saturday afternoon. The version made by Gluck in the 18th century will follow, in a staged production with Maryland Opera Studio in April.

The magic word this week is opera, and just taking in all of the opera performances on the schedule is going to keep you busy. You will find options other than opera after the jump. PLEASURES OPERATIC: >> After Rossini's Il Viaggio a Reims this weekend, the Kirov Opera will perform Verdi's Falstaff on Wednesday (January 31, 7:30 p.m.), Friday (February 2, 7:30 p.m.), and Saturday (February 3, 7:30 p.m.) in the Kennedy Center Concert...

After several feverish weeks of wall-to-wall concerts, the approach of Thanksgiving puts the Classical Music Agenda into a temporary lull this week. Not to worry: we have some concerts for you even this week, and next week we will come back out swinging.

Usually I recommend concert experiences I have actually heard or at least of which I have a fairly good idea what to expect. However, sometimes I recommend things that sound interesting but may be even stranger than I could have foreseen. This week I am leading with one of those.

Well, Washington, we may not have a Shostakovich festival (*sniff*), but there are some concerts of contemporary music to lead off this week's agenda. Nothing is scheduled for Halloween itself, so before that alcoholic "ghastly goblin" feeling sets in or after it has finally worn off, you should get out there and hear some new music. CONTEMPORARY: >> Monday night is a big one, with a recital of new music (October 30, 7:30 p.m.) by...

This is a good week for hearing 20th-century symphonic repertoire, even though the National Symphony Orchestra is on another break. As we approach the first major event of the NSO's season, the two-week Shostakovich festival in November, we will have the chance Since the NSO Shostakovich festival in November has been cancelled (due to Mstislav Rostropovich's health problems), this week is our only chance to celebrate the Dmitri Shostakovich centenary some more. MODERN: >> On...

If there are far more possible concerts in a week than I could possibly mention, it must be October. The good news is that there are more free concerts to tell you about, and the bad news is that there are so many concerts for me to attend that I could be spending every night listening to music. Wait, that sounds like more good news. CONTEMPORARY MUSIC: >> In last week's agenda, I had Shostakovich's...

On Monday, one of the great modernist composers, Dmitri Shostakovich, would have been 100 years old. All around the world, classical musicians and audiences will be celebrating with performances of his music. The major Washington concerts in honor of the Shostakovich centennial, with the National Symphony Orchestra, are scheduled for November. However, there are a few concerts, Shostakovich and otherwise, to tell you about this week. DSCH: >> If you really love Shostakovich, you might...

FRIDAY: The Mozart Year is almost halfway over — the man's birthday was January 27 — but classical concert programming continues to celebrate it. Opera Lafayette gets in the game tonight and tomorrow (June 2 and 3, 7:30 p.m.) with a concert performance of Mozart's first important opera, Idomeneo, at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center in College Park. The vocal cast promises to be excellent, including an up-and-coming young singer named Millicent Scarlett, who...

Well, it's almost June now, which means that most of the free concert series have ended. There are still some good things to hear this coming month, although you will have to pay for them. Concerts will start to trickle off as summer gets hotter, so take your friend and hear some music. THE BIG GUNS: >> This week Kurt Masur appears for the first time as guest conductor with the National Symphony, in an...

With Passover and Easter, this week is mostly about taking off work and preparing food. Not surprisingly, there is not much to tell about concerts, but there are a few interesting things that I must mention. Classical music life in Washington will get its buzz back next week, lasting another eight to ten weeks or so until the summer doldrums settle in. CONTEMPORARY MUSIC: On Monday (April 10, 7:30 p.m.), the Diotima String Quartet will...

Classical music listeners in Washington are going to be busy this month, since we are tracking an imposing number of must-see concerts and performances in February. We will pick the best of the best for you every Sunday here at DCist. If you want more information, go to our Classical Week in Washington feature at Ionarts. THE BIG NAMES: >> Without a doubt, the main event this week is the recital by legendary pianist Alfred...

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