Last month, Washington’s classical music scene was inundated by string quartets, and this week it is a plague of pianists, all of whom are of major stature and most of whom all serious listeners will want to hear. Also, we go back to the opera.
AT THE BENCH:
>> The most famous, in terms of sheer star power, is probably Chinese pianist Lang Lang, he of the leather pants and spiky hair. Washington Performing Arts Society will present his recital in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall on Tuesday night (March 11, 8 p.m.). The repertoire list includes Schubert, Bartók, Debussy, and Chopin, which Lang Lang will surely play with technical panache (and, the wags would add, nothing else). A few tickets ($75 to $40) remain.
>> More worthy of listening, in our opinion, is the other hotshot Chinese pianist, the more reserved Yundi Li, whom WPAS will present the very next night (March 12, 8 p.m.) in the Music Center at Strathmore. The selection of music is also much more interesting, with Berg, Ginastera, Chopin, Liszt, Ravel, and Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. A few tickets ($80 to $35) remain, too.
>> Best of all, in terms of the quality of pianistic ideas and the repertory, is the recital by French pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard (pictured) at Baltimore’s Shriver Hall on Sunday (March 16, 5:30 p.m.). Yes, it’s in Baltimore and, yes, it is just a day before Alfred Brendel gives his farewell recital (more about that next week), but to hear Aimard bring together severe counterpoint by Bach, twelve-tone pieces by Schoeberg, and a late Beethoven sonata will be worth it. Tickets: $33 (students, $17).
ON THE STAGE:
>> If you thought the months-long hiatus of the Washington National Opera would never end, you are about to find relief. The company returns to the Kennedy Center Opera House this Saturday (March 15, 7 p.m.) with a production (by Stephen Lawless, borrowed from New York City Opera) of Wagner’s crowd-pleasing opera The Flying Dutchman. This will be the debut of baritone Alan Held in the title role, the cursed captain of a phantom ship who finds the love of an innocent girl, and Jennifer Wilson as Senta should be quite a draw. Read our review next Monday to find out more. Performances continue through April 10, with the weekend shows already sold out.
