The classical music season got officially under way this weekend, and there will be more and more choices facing eager listeners. Even if you cannot afford all the concerts you want to attend, since local radio station WETA, at 90.9 FM, went back to a classical format, there is more local music on the airwaves, too. Tune in this evening (September 16, 7 p.m.) to the live broadcast of the National Symphony Orchestra's Season Opening... more ›

>> Local group Ocio brings its repertoire of classic jazz standards to Twins Jazz tonight. Call (202) 234-0072 for cover information. >> It might be a bit of a drive for those of us who live in D.C., but Jeff Antoniuk and the Jazz Update, a stellar band comprised of saxophonist Antoniuk, bassist Tom Baldwin, pianist Wade Beach, and drummer Tony Martucci, plays tonight at 49 West in Annapolis. Their album, Here Today, has charted... more ›

Be a good son or daughter and call your mother today. Then you can start thinking about what concerts to hear this week. Maybe you can ask your mom to come with you. THE BIG GUNS: >> Joining the National Symphony Orchestra this week is Chinese pianist Lang Lang. He and composer Jennifer Higdon have parted ways about her new piano concerto, which he was supposed to premiere this week. Instead, Lang Lang will play... more ›

>> Rorschach Theatre begins its "pay what you can" previews of References To Salvador Dali Make Me Hot tonight. The surreal and emotional play runs through May 13, but tonight through Friday ticket prices are fluid. There are no reservations, so you'll have to get to the box office at 7:00 p.m. to snatch up cheap seats for the 8:00 p.m. show [The Sanctuary Theatre, Casa del Pueblo Methodist Church, 1459 Columbia Road NW] more ›

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... more ›

Last week's Classical Music Agenda omitted an excellent concert opportunity that just came to my attention, annual concerts of Schubert's music called Schubert, Schubert, and Schubert. The final installment is this evening (March 18, 8 p.m.), at Georgetown University's Gaston Hall (37th and O St. NW), when the Auryn String Quartet will play Schubert's Quartetsatz, D. 703, and the "Death and the Maiden" quartet, D. 810. Pianist Kyoko Hashimoto will also play the four Schubert... more ›

FRIDAY: >> Print out this PDF and take it to Local 16 between 6 to 9 p.m. tonight to receive a free drink, courtesy the Not For Tourists Guide to Washington, DC 2007. They'll also be giving away free copies of the Guide. >> Local rockers The Pharmacy Prophets are brewing up a high-concept hootenanny at Iota tonight. When the band takes the stage, they'll simultaneously be filming live concert footage for a multimedia project... more ›

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... more ›

Here are a few highlights for your first full week of classical concerts in March, followed by a respectable list of free events for the small of budget. >> Argentinian pianist Ingrid Fliter won the second prize, after the astounding performance by Yundi Li, at the Chopin Competition in Warsaw in 2000. She will play a free recital at the National Museum of Women in the Arts (1250 New York Ave. NW). You need a... more ›

When members of the now defunct Theater Chamber Players formed the Left Bank Concert Society in 2004, they took on the worthy mission of bringing chamber music, especially modern repertory, to new audiences. On Saturday night in the Kennedy Center's Terrace Theater, the Left Bank String Quartet shared the stage with a young string quartet called the Dionysian Quartet, made up of University of Maryland students. Most of the Left Bank's core members (all but second violinist Sally McLain) are teacher-performers on faculty at Maryland, and they sometimes perform with their best students. more ›

Does anyone else need a vacation from their vacation? Some good classical music is just the thing to calm your nerves after battling the traffic or the airport crowds. Happily, we have some excellent things on the agenda for this week, before the Holiday Concert Madness truly sets in, beginning with some of the big guns. STAR CONCERTS: >> The main event this week as far as I am concerned is the recital by powerhouse... more ›

FRIDAY: >> The EU Film Showcase kicked off at the AFI Silver Theater and Cultural Center last weekend, and we'll have a little more about it for you this weekend. In the meantime film buffs should consider checking out Bergman Island, a documentary by another Swedish filmmaker, Marie Nyeröd, that visits legendary director Ingmar Bergman at his home on the island of Fårö. Now 88 years old, this is no doubt the final document of... more ›

This week, the free concerts are at the top of my classical music picks, because everyone loves to hear music for free, especially when it promises to be of such high quality as most of these concerts. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS: >> It is finally time to go hear excellent chamber music at the Library of Congress again. This Wednesday (October 11, 8 p.m.), one of the finest chamber groups around, the Beaux Arts Trio, will... more ›

MONDAY >> If you like your electroclash sample-free, head to the 9:30 Club for Liverpool's Ladytron. $20 >> Not quite sure what to make of it, but the Bodog Battle of the Bands rolls on this Monday and Tuesday at DC9. $15 each night >> The last time Architecture in Helsinki came to the Black Cat, they tested the stage's human-holding capacity. Though Lambchop and the Tosca String Quartet may have given them a run... more ›

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The Ahn Trio are three sisters, originally from Korea, who graduated from Juilliard. Their performance on Wednesday night at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, the conclusion of this year's three-concert Shenson Chamber Music Concert Series, was a lightweight 80 minutes of mostly popular music. The Ahn Trio thrives on the same crossover concept as the Turtle Island String Quartet, in fact opening with a piece by the Turtle Island's first violinist, David Balakrishnan (Tremors), and closing with a piece first recorded by the Turtles, Katrina Wreede's Mr. Twitty's Chair. What do the Ahn sisters have over the Turtle Island String Quartet? People Magazine included them in their issue of the 50 most beautiful people. And with good reason. However, of dubious worth as a recommendation for listening. more ›

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... more ›

There is little doubt about the major event in classical music this week in Washington. On Tuesday (April 4, 8 p.m.) renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma will play a recital in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall. Not only that, but he will be playing three of the solo cello suites by J. S. Bach, works with which he is widely identified, to the point that when he appeared on The West Wing, he was playing one... more ›

Well, Washington, we are now two weeks into Christmas Concert Hell, and it's only going to get worse. Non-holiday programs will increasingly be edged out by holiday ones, but this does not mean that there will be no good concerts to be heard, of either kind. Let DCist be your guide. We are planning to take some time off from the Classical Music Agenda for the holiday break: for concert information, read our Classical Week... more ›

Last week, we announced the beginning of Washington's orgy of Christmas and non-specific winter holiday concerts, but that was only the tip of the iceberg. However, there are some good concerts this week that are not specifically for the holidays, and that's where we'll start. WE LIKE FREE: >> We have three good free concerts for you this week. On the first Tuesday of most months, the Washington Bach Consort performs a noontime cantata, at... more ›

Over the remaining weeks of October, we have some excellent classical music events on the schedule here in Washington. The problem for us is certainly not going to be finding things to recommend in our weekly agenda, but rather choosing which of many possible concerts we should counsel you to attend. This week, we are going mostly with the big guns. 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 ›

In last week's Classical Music Agenda, we suggested that you attend a rare performance of Czech composer Hans Krása's children's opera Brundibár, performed by the talented children taking part in this summer's Opera Camp for Kids with Washington National Opera. Well, this DCist heard the first performance of the work yesterday morning (see our review at Ionarts), and we must urge you once again to go and hear this opera if you can. There is... more ›

June is finally here, and that means that this DCist can direct you to a few more concerts this week for your classical listening enjoyment (see more at Ionarts), after the lull of late May. You can plan your concert schedule for the entire month of June with our Classical Month in Washington (June), or your summer opera listening with Opera in the Summer 2005, both at Ionarts. Our activities will taper off again in August, before getting back into full swing in the fall. more ›