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 birthday on the brain. On Tuesday, the respected American minimalist composer Steve Reich turns 70. It is hard to believe that one of the bad boys of the 1970s New York contemporary scene is now a member of the AARP. On Saturday (October 7, 8 p.m.) the Great Noise Ensemble will give a concert of Reich’s music, including Electric Counterpoint, Tehillim, and the marvelous Music for Pieces of Wood at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Silver Spring. Tickets: $20 (students, $10).
>> On Tuesday (October 3, 2006, 5:30 p.m.), cellist Madeleine Shapiro will give a free recital of new works for cello and electronics at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center in College Park. At the same venue, on Saturday (October 7, 8 p.m.), the Left Bank Concert Society will give a concert of music by Janáček, Yun, Moss, and Smetana. Tickets: $30 (students, $7).
>> Finally, on Sunday (October 8, 5 p.m.), the Inscape Chamber Music Project will give a concert at the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer in Bethesda. The program is noteworthy principally because it will include a piece by William Walton that I would love to get to hear, Façade: An Entertainment (for reciter and six instruments). Tickets: $16 (students, $10). Unfortunately, I am opting to go instead that evening (October 8, 6:30 p.m.) to the free recital by pianist Louis Lortie at the National Gallery of Art. He will play music by Thomas Adès, Chopin, and Liszt.
