This is another one of those weeks, when devoted classical listeners could be in one hall or another every night of the week. Enjoy it while you can, as the summer is almost here and with it far fewer concerts to hear. ESSENTIAL: >> A concert by French pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard is an event to be cherished, and this week he will play twice in Washington. The first occasion is a solo recital at the…
April continues to be a busy month for your classical music critic, and that is just the way we like it here. This week has just about everything: some big names, some opera, some early music, and more free concerts than we probably deserve. Take your pick. >> The main event of the week is the much-anticipated (and sold out) Kennedy Center recital by Evgeny Kissin, sponsored by Washington Performing Arts Society. The program features…
This week you could be a busy classical listener, and hearing a concert almost every day, sometimes twice, without paying anything. The problem is that not all free concerts are equally strong, but who can complain about hearing music for free? MONDAY: >> The women of the Salem Academy Glee Club will give a free lunchtime concert (February 26, 12:10 p.m.) at the National Museum of Women in the Arts. The program will consist of…
>>On Thursday, La Maison Française (4101 Reservoir Rd. NW) is hosting a double screening of two of the funniest movies ever made in France. First, at 6:30 p.m., it is Patrice Leconte’s Les Bronzés (1978), whose story follows a group of nutcases trying to relax at a vacation resort in Ivory Coast. Second, at 8:45 p.m., they will show Jean-Marie Poiré’s Le Père Noël est une ordure, which mostly takes place in a suicide hotline…
If you love French film, then the festival that opens this week, C’est Chic, is right up your allée. Between October 12 and 28, recent French releases will be given special screenings at three excellent venues, the National Gallery of Art, La Maison Française, and the AFI Silver Theater. You can purchase a pass ($60 for members of La Cinémathèque) through the Web site of La Maison Française, which will get you 13 films for…
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…
We considered not even posting the Classical Music Agenda this week, given how few concerts there are to hear. (Our concert schedule for the month of August at Ionarts is the shortest it’s ever been.) Still, it would be pathetic for this DCist to shirk work this easy, so we promise to keep it short. Basically, it comes down to one of two instruments, cello or organ, and both are free. So, choose your poison….
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…
