The National Symphony Orchestra is about to lose its captain, when Music Director Leonard Slatkin steps down at the end of this season. Slatkin is clearly not ready to retire, although he has hinted that he is all too ready to move past the discomforts of his tenure in Washington. He will split his time among the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic in London, and the Pittsburgh Symphony, as well as teaching at Indiana... more ›

Just one night after the Season Opening Night Gala hosted by Washington National Opera, another set of patrons (and the critics of the Baltimore Sun and Washington Post) came together to fill the Kennedy Center Concert Hall to open the National Symphony Orchestra's season on Sunday night. In terms of funds raised, it was the most successful opening ball in the NSO's history, according to Stephen Schwarzman, Chairman of the Board of Trustees and Blackstone... more ›

At this week's concerts, the National Symphony Orchestra premiered the new harp concerto that it commissioned from Mark Adamo. Adamo dedicated Four Angels to conductor Leonard Slatkin, who helped make the commission happen, and the NSO's principal harpist, Dotian Levalier, for whom the solo part was created. On Friday night at the Kennedy Center, Slatkin led the NSO through a sensitive reading of this rather traditional but hauntingly lovely score. The first movement is named... more ›

Memorial Day has come and gone, and we are now officially in the summer hiatus of the Classical Music Agenda. Here are some highlights for this week: in a week or two, this feature will take a well-deserved rest until Labor Day, when the classical concert schedule returns to full power. TOPS THIS WEEK: >> On Wednesday night, the excellent NPR radio program From the Top will be recorded in front of a live audience... more ›

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... more ›

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... more ›

This past weekend's concerts from the National Symphony Orchestra provided the second opportunity in the last month or so to hear Yundi Li play Liszt's first piano concerto. The first time was with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra at George Mason (reviewed last month), and the coincidence demands a comparison. On both occasions, Li has played the work with impressive accuracy and grace, with renditions remarkably similar to his recent recording. There were a few negligible... more ›

Things are a little slow this week in classical music, because of Easter and all that. There are still a few good things to be heard, but the list is shorter than normal. Besides, it's hard to tolerate being indoors when those trees are doing their whole pink thing. more ›

Hopefully, it was the continuing cold weather that kept people away from last week's concerts by the National Symphony Orchestra, rather than the pathetic provincialism of Washington audiences, wary of too much modern music. If the latter is true, the names of violinist Renaud Capuçon and cellist Gautier Capuçon should have been enough to get listeners through the doors. At the Friday night concert, they played the Brahms violin and cello concerto (A minor, op. 102) with bravura, passion, and a spirit of cooperation that was inspirationally fraternal. This is appropriate enough given that the Capuçons are brothers, born in Chambéry, France, in 1976 and 1981. Although they both have independent solo careers, their performances together, as last year in recital at Shriver Hall, add up to more than the sum of their two excellent parts. more ›

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... more ›

The National Symphony Orchestra gave its first official performance of the fall season last night in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall, opening by tradition with a performance of the national anthem. Music director Leonard Slatkin struck exactly the right tone by opening not with a perennial audience favorite, but with a piece never performed by the NSO until now, William Walton's Partita for Orchestra (1957). It rocketed to a start in a blast of sound,... more ›

In Sunday's Post, classical music critic Tim Page asked the question a lot of us are wondering about these days: who will replace Leonard Slatkin at the podium of the National Symphony Orchestra? Slatkin still has two seasons left on his contract, but some rumormongers whisper his name as a possible replacement for Daniel Barenboim, who will be departing the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at the end of this season. If Slatkin does vacate the post, James Conlon might make a fine replacement, judging by his latest appearance with the NSO (at a concert DCist reviewed in January). Although Conlon would be a great choice, he has apparently ruffled feathers among the players. Still, his is the only name mentioned by Page that sounded both possible and appropriate. We will keep a close eye on the situation for you. more ›

This week it all really begins. On January 27, 1756 -- 250 years ago this Friday -- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born. Chances are that, even for those who do not listen regularly to classical music, you know Mozart's name and could probably hum along with one or more of his pieces. He composed some of the most widely recognized classical music in history. It hardly even seems necessary to observe this bisesquicentennial anniversary, but don't you worry, because everyone will observe it. Probably until we are sick of it. more ›

Leonard Slatkin has been programming good music for the National Symphony Orchestra this season, much of it featuring an impressive roster of guest soloists. So far this fall, this DCist has heard Itzhak Perlman playing Barber and could have heard, but sadly missed, Nikolaj Znaider playing Bruch and Truls Mørk playing Elgar. True, more unusual fare has been safely packaged with favorites, for the most part, but in concert programming, just as in politics, it... more ›

Leonard Slatkin returned to the podium of the National Symphony Orchestra, which is now celebrating its 75th anniversary season, last night in the Kennedy Center's Concert Hall. DCist was there, along with a full audience that actually did not consist only of people over 50. Most of us were there, not only to welcome back Maestro Slatkin, but to hear the first of the superstar soloists appearing with the NSO during its big season, violinist... more ›

Now that we are almost in October, the fall season of classical music is heating up, and we have put together a list of highlights through December for you over at Ionarts. But, this week, you should give some thought to hearing some of the good music out there (we have a more complete listing at Ionarts). We reiterate our recommendation from last week: the first opera in the 50th anniversary season of the Washington... more ›

This year is the 75th anniversary season of the National Symphony Orchestra, as well as the 10th year of the Leonard Slatkin era. So, as we recommended to you people in last week's Classical Music Agenda, this DCist was in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall last night for the second of two performances by the NSO, kicking off the big season as part of the Kennedy Center Prelude Festival. (The Post and Ionarts were there... more ›

D.C.'s best arts and arts organizations were honored Monday night at the 20th annual Mayor's Arts Awards. The gala ceremony, which took place at the Kennedy Center, was presented by the D.C. Commission on the Arts & Humanities and hosted by Mayor Anthony Williams and WRC anchor Jim Vance. Leonard Slatkin (shown at left), music director of the National Symphony Orchestra, was presented the Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his imaginative musical programming and... 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 ›