Last night was one big mess, but at least it wasn't a total loss for one group of people who headed out to see violinist Joshua Bell play at Strathmore. According to DCist reader Dakota Korth, when his group arrived at the venue, they were informed that the show was canceled due to a power outage. We'll let Korth take it from there. more ›

It was the misfortune of the young Scottish violinist Nicola Benedetti to have had her recital scheduled the evening before that of Joshua Bell, hosted by Washington Performing Arts Society at Strathmore on Wednesday night. The comparison was damning, as Bell's technique is practically unassailable and he was playing a program of late 19th- and early 20th-century music, in which he excels as an interpreter. If it is Romantic, ardent, passionate, sweet, Bell at his best will draw the perfect soaring or sotto voce line from his Gibson ex-Huberman, a 1713 Stradivarius instrument that is matched beautifully to his strengths. Of all of his recent appearances in the area — his 2008 recital at the Kennedy Center, his unannounced stint in the L'Enfant Plaza Metro station in 2007, and his 2006 concerts with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra — this was the best program and the strongest performance. more ›

They have a saying in Paris that describes the fast pace of life in that city: Métro, boulot, dodo, meaning that life consists only of an endless repetition of subway rides, work, and sleep. Life in Washington is harried, too, but sometimes you need to stop as you dash through the L'Enfant Plaza station at rush hour on a Friday in January. Who is playing the famous Chaconne from Bach's D minor partita so well... more ›

We are well into the season of seasonal concerts at this point. If you are looking for a performance of Handel's Messiah or a Christmas or Holiday Concert, we've dealt with that. Here is what else is happening this week in classical music. NOT CHRISTMAS: >> Ironically, possibly the best performance this week also happens to be free, the latest concert in the excellent series at the Library of Congress. On Friday (December 15, 8... more ›

The music director of the National Symphony, Leonard Slatkin, is turning 60 years old and the Kennedy Center community will be celebrating in style. The birthday celebration is doubling as the National Symphony Orchestra's Season Opening Ball. The event is being billed as the opening event of Washington's "autumn social calendar." Here's just a partial list of the musical luminaries planning on performing: Joshua Bell, Sir James Galway, Itzhak Perlman, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, and everyone's favorite... more ›