From this point until the summer, the classical music concert schedule is going to be very busy. Even if you, like me, keep your week full of music, there are some tough choices to make.
HEADLINES:
>> The Juilliard String Quartet, a venerable American institution, has long been in residence at the Library of Congress, but we have not heard them in Washington since 2006 since that residency was extended to the rest of the country. So we are glad to have them back this Sunday (February 17, 6:30 p.m.), on the free concert series at the National Gallery of Art. The program includes one of the string quartets by Elliott Carter, the American composer who turns 100 years old this December. Attendance is likely to exceed the amount of space, so early arrival is recommended to get a seat. The doors at the Constitution Ave. entrance of the West Building, at Sixth St. NW, open at 6 p.m.
>> The Post-Classical Ensemble has been producing some of the most interesting programs in the area. Timed for Black History Month, their latest effort, called Free to Sing: The Story of the First African-American Opera Company, will be presented on Saturday night (February 16, 8 p.m.) in the Music Center at Strathmore. You can also attend a lecture about the history of black opera companies in America (February 16, 4 p.m.) at the Strathmore Mansion.
>> The Mark Morris Dance Group caused quite a controversy with an inventive, gender-bending adaptation of Henry Purcell’s opera Dido and Aeneas. Although Morris himself has retired from the stage and recast the production, you have a welcome chance to witness this unusual work on Friday and Saturday (February 15 and 16, 8 p.m.), all the way out at the George Mason University Center for the Arts.
>> Speaking of new work, the Peabody Chamber Opera will give the world premiere of a new opera by Catherine Reid, The Yellow Wallpaper, in the quirky venue of Baltimore Theater Project (February 14 to 17). The libretto by Judith Lane adapts the early feminist short story by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, about a writer struggling with postpartum depression and the stifling attitude of her physician husband.
Photo of Juilliard String Quartet by Nana Watanabe/SONY Classical
