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November 21, 2008

Messiaen immersion this weekend

If you're a Messiaen fan, this is a great weekend in Baltimore. If you haven't yet explored the composer's mystical, sensual, prismatic and totally incomparable music, this is the perfect opportunity to dive in.

Jonathan Moyers's months-long cycle of performing the complete Messiaen organ music, to honoe the composer's centennial, was alreadly scheduled to wrap up on Sunday with a recital, but the organist has managed to add on to that, creating a mini-Messiaen festival.

At 6:30 p.m. Saturday, he'll give a lecture about the composer at Second Presbyterian Church (4200 Saint Paul St.), leading into an 8 p.m. concert there that includes vocal works and the profound Quartet for the End of Time. (Tickets are $10 and $20.)

On Sunday, the action moves to the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen (5200 N. Charles St.), where Diane Luchese will talk about Messiaen's daunting organ work from the 1980s, Livre du Saint Sacrement, at 4 p.m. The Chandos Singers of the Handel Choir will give a prelude concert of Messiaen works at 5:15, and Moyer will then play the complete, 18-movement Livre du Saint Sacrement at 5:30 (free admission).

Posted by Tim Smith at 6:11 PM | | Comments (0)
        

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About Tim Smith
I was born in Washington, D.C., and grew up there. Initial thoughts of becoming a cocktail pianist faded when I realized I hated taking requests. I decided to study music history instead, and got a B. A. in that field from Eisenhower College in Seneca Falls, New York, and an M.A. from Occidental College in Los Angeles. After free-lance gigs for the Washington Star and the Washington Post, I worked as classical music critic for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel during the 1980s and '90s, a period when I also ventured into radio, contributing to NPR and hosting a weekly show on a West Palm Beach station. Since April 2000, I've been classical music critic at the Baltimore Sun. Over the years, I've written occasional articles for the New York Times, BBC Music Magazine and other publications, and I'm a longtime, regular contributor to Opera News and the U.K. magazine Opera. You may still be able to find on the remainder racks my one and only book, The NPR Curious Listener's Guide to Classical Music (Perigee, 2002).
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