This is going to be a good week for serious listening, the beginning of the onslaught of end-of-the-season events that will take us into summer. Since April is Take a Friend to the Orchestra Month, you should start laying plans to take a classical newbie with you to a concert this month. The first recommendation below would be an excellent opportunity to do your part to rejuvenate the classical music audience.
HEADLINES:
 Iván Fischer, Principal Conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra |
>> Mahler’s symphonies may not be for everyone, but if there is one of them that is a relatively easy sell, it would be the second. Known as The Resurrection, it is a transcendent work with heavenly orchestration, celestial choirs, and powerful solo vocal parts. It can always fall flat, but this week’s performances by the National Symphony Orchestra, led by Principal Conductor Iván Fischer, are likely to be sublime. The vocal contributions, by soprano Juliane Banse, mezzo-soprano Jennifer Larmore, and the voices of the Master Chorale of Washington, will be of high quality, and Fischer is a hand to be trusted with this piece (his recording of it was nominated for a Grammy). Kennedy Center Concert Hall, April 3 to 5 ($10 tickets available to students through the Attend! program)
>> The Washington National Opera is back, with a few tickets remaining for the April 2 and 10 performances of The Flying Dutchman. This week, the production of Verdi’s Rigoletto opens (expect my review on Monday), with performances on March 31, April 1, and April 3. This is an excellent opera for a first-time opera-goer, with some famous melodies, but be prepared to be depressed. For more affordable ticket options, join the Generation O program (students and young professionals, ages 18 to 35) or try your hand at the block of tickets offered for $25 through the WNO Access of Opera program (April 3 and 8 performances only, sold on the day of performance starting at 10 am, at the box office).
>> Respected Scottish composer James MacMillan will be the guest conductor for this week’s concerts by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. He will conduct Beethoven’s second symphony and some of his own music, including his second piano concerto with Rolf Hind as soloist. Music Center at Strathmore (April 3) and in Baltimore (April 4 to 6). See what a living, breathing composer is like at the Composers in Conversation event with James MacMillan on Wednesday (April 2, 7:30 p.m.) at Baltimore’s Meyerhoff Symphony Hall.
