Peter Oundjian leads Baltimore Symphony, Choral Arts in Beethoven, Bruckner
Beethoven's Ninth, never too far from earshot in Baltimore, is back this week, but with a most welcome companion piece -- Bruckner's "Te Deum."
And the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra has a most welcome companion to conduct this pairing -- Peter Oundjian, who made a memorable appearance with the ensemble in 2009 and is generating telling results again.
Last night's concert at the Meyerhoff produced the most consistently satisfying account of the Ninth I've heard the BSO give. If the Bruckner performance wasn't as solid, it stirred nonetheless.
Oundjian, music director of the excellent Toronto Symphony Orchestra, managed to breathe a great deal of fresh life into the venerable Beethoven work. He did so not by applying any wildly unconventional touches (I wouldn't have minded those a bit, of course), but simply by ...
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Vanessa Perez, a young Venezuelan making waves in an ever-crowded sea of talented pianists, visited Baltimore Saturday afternoon to promote her new, all-Chopin Telarc recording. 
Baltimore Concert Opera wrapped up its season with the three vivid one-acters that make up Puccini's "Il Trittico." I caught two of them Friday night at the Engineers Club.
While we await the long-predicted — heck, long-declared — death of the classical recording industry, new releases continue to emerge, day after day. 
“I’m going to change Africa,” Fela Kuti says in the ambitious, highly-charged musical about his life and work. “I’m going to change the world.” 
Maybe it is not better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all. 
After 35 years, the Greater Baltimore Youth Orchestras, an educational enterprise involving multiple ensembles, will officially dissolve on Aug. 31, to reemerge on Sept. 1 as the Baltimore Symphony Youth Orchestras.
May is turning out to be a great month for the Baltimore Symphony. 
I started off at the Maryland Hall Friday night with a program marking the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra's 50th anniversary; continued Saturday night at the Lyric for the finale to the Concert Artists of Baltimore's 25th anniversary season; and concluded Sunday afternoon at Kraushaar Auditorium, where the Baltimore Choral Arts Society wrapped up the 30th anniversary of its music director Tom Hall.
With “Nabucco,” his third opera, Verdi’s career truly began. He would go on to do much finer work, but his talent and potential are unmistakable here. 
Meyerhoff Hall was the place to be Thursday night. 
The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra is concentrating this week on meat-and-potatoes German fare from the the first half of the 19th century. 
The Takacs Quartet first came to attention in Budapest more than 30 years ago and quickly earned a prominent place in the chamber music world. 
Not long after I arrived in Baltimore a dozen years ago, I heard a performance by soprano Janice Chandler Eteme. 
OK, I admit it upfront. I'm going to reach for a silly stereotype and generalization in discussing Lionel Bringuier's podium debut with leading the Baltimore Symphony this weekend in an all-Russian program. 
My thanks to Megan Ihnen, mezzo, concert presenter, 
The bicentennial of the War of 1812 will be commemorated musically with a new work by Baltimore-born Philip Glass, the celebrated minimalist composer.
Dear blog readers, greetings from a land of huge eucalyptus, old olive, stately pine and tropical palm trees, town of many incredible farm-to-table restaurants, unsavory but entertaining characters on the sidewalks, ever-present fog and mist in the hills, and, of course, great coffee shops. 
The Baltimore Symphony spent the weekend in a fabled counterculture center (lots of regular culture there, too, of course). Here's a report from violinist Greg Mulligan on Saturday's multimedia performance fusing a 1928 silent film about Joan of Arc with a contemporary score by Richard Einhorn, part of the BSO's mini-residency at the University of California, Berkeley. 
First, you have to admire the chutzpah. 
Tonight at 8 at 
And now a few words from the Southern California critical community about the Baltimore Symphony performance Wednesday at the Segerstrom Concert Hall in Costa Mesa with Marin Alsop conducting, percussionist Colin Currie as soloist: 
The Soulful Symphony, led by Darin Atwater, will honor the legacy of Whitney Houston at its June 1 season-finale gala concert at the Hippodrome. 
The Baltimore Symphony's 2012 summer season will have a mostly pop music flavor and take place mostly in the open (or semi-open) air.
Mr Mallard has shuffled round to poolside at the deep end, slumbering in the sunshine, his beady eye opening only momentarily to impart mock disdain at my diving skills. 
Bach's "St. Matthew Passion" will fill this weekend in Baltimore. The Bach Concert Series offers this monument of Western music in a two-part presentation, 
Nothing like a perennial favorite and a bit of novelty to pack 'em in. So it was for Baltimore Concert Opera, which gave two SRO performances of "Lucia di Lammermoor" over the weekend, complete with the armonica Donizetti originally intended for the mad scene.
Just a hunch on my part, but I think that West Coast audiences are going to enjoy the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s visit that starts next week. 
The program, not surprisingly, focused mostly on Eastern-European repertoire. The exception was Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4 -- I couldn't help but think that Dvorak's Piano Concerto would have been even more fun here, in company with that composer's "Carnival," Kodaly's "Dances of Galanta" and Janacek's "Taras Bulba."
Beethoven's link to the what, in some quarters, would be called liberal causes -- liberty from tyrannical states, the brotherhood of man, the power of love and justice -- may have been a bit exaggerated over time. 
Peabody Opera Theatre is on a roll. In the same season that saw worthy productions of Igor Stravinsky's "The Rake's Progress" and Dominick Argento's "Postcard from Morocco," the company has successfully tackled another demanding 20th-century work, Robert Ward's "The Crucible."
The years after World War II, when Sen. Joseph McCarthy launched his crusade against suspected communists in the government, were filled with intimidation, false accusations and rushes to judgment. 
The tally for 
When Christoph Eschenbach was named music director of the National Symphony Orchestra, he was simultaneously named music director of the Kennedy Center, a newly created post. 
If you are very, very lucky, you get to hear a performance every now and then that is so sublime in execution, so profound in expressive realization that it will have a place with you for the rest of your life.
The music portion of the Kennedy Center's 2012-2013 season, announced Tuesday, includes a rich assortment of repertoire led by Christoph Eschenbach in his third season as music director of the National Symphony Orchestra and a trio of dynamic sopranos fueling Washington National Opera's productions.
There are so many amazing elements in "The Passion of Joan of Arc," the 1928 silent film the Baltimore Symphony is presenting this weekend with an affecting musical score, Richard Einhorn's "Voices of Light."
In a world of so many variables, it is heartening to know that some things stay wonderfully consistent. The Vienna Philharmonic, for one.
Leon Fleisher brings an air of authority into a concert hall, whether he walks over to a piano or a podium. 
From Renee Fleming to Claire Bloom and John Waters, from Wagner's "Ring" to a new symphony by Christopher Rouse and a lot of classic film scores, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra's 2012-2013 season promises a notably diverse and interesting diet. 
When Franz Schubert was feeling down, we're talking way down. And no composer could capture the heart of despondency the way he could in song, especially in "Winterreise." 
Baltimore philanthropists Robert E. Meyerhoff and Rheda Becker pledged $750,000 Monday to the Leon Fleisher Scholars Fund for piano students at the Peabody Conservatory. 
Mozart's "Cosi fan tutte," with its wicked libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte, postulates that all women are faithless in love. An absurd notion, of course, as countless men demonstrate day after day. 
Music from the 20th century gets the lion's share of attention on the latest BSO program -- the operative word is lion. 
The 
Among the six young winners of the 41st annual 
In addition to Winters and Nelson, the 2012 winners are bass-baritone Brandon Cedel, contralto Suzanne Hendrix, mezzo-soprano Margaret Mezzacappa and soprano Chloé Moore. They were chosen from a field of 90 singers. 
f you have a chance to catch Peabody Chamber Opera's presentation of Handel's "Giulio Cesare in Egitto" at Theatre Project -- 
Drama is the operative word in this week's Baltimore Symphony Orchestra program. 
Denyce Graves, the much-admired mezzo-soprano whose portrayals of Carmen and other alluring characters have been celebrated in the world's leading opera houses, will join the faculty of the 
If they gave medals for musical bravery, dexterity and perseverance, Adam Tendler would earn them all.
In the better-late-than-never category, note that Dyana Neal, of WBJC-FM fame and many local music/theater credits,will give a Valentine's Day cabaret show tonight at An die Musik. 
Philip Glass secured his notable place in the history of 20th century opera with such epic works as "Einstein on the Beach" and "Satyagraha." 
Some works of art pull you in by the clearest, most direct of means; you know why you're hooked at the start and you know what you've been through when it's all over. 
As some of you know well -- because I frequently go on and on about it -- I love piano transcriptions. 
I don't think of the typical 
After a long period schedule conflicts (and the occasional fatigue) this season, I finally got a chance to catch up the the 
The Soulful Symphony, dormant for more than a year, will be back in the spotlight on Saturday. 
The early music scene in our region -- the early music scene, period -- is particularly fortunate to have 
It is possible to quibble with the idea of cramming three blockbuster works into a single program, but the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra carries it off. 
It was only a matter of time — and circumstance. 
While most of the city was no doubt riveted to the Ravens game Sunday afternoon, classical music fans packed at least two local venues -- Meyerhoff Hall, where Itzhak Perlman was wrapping up 
At the risk of repeating myself, I must reiterate a few observations:
The classical music world, ever on the hunt for bright young stars with box office snap, still has some reliably surefire veterans. One of them is Itzhak Perlman, the most popular, widely recognized violinist since Heifetz. 
This is the so-called "American" Ring, a concept developed by Francesca Zambello, who directed the first three installments in Washington ("Das Rheingold" in 2006, "Die Walküre" in 2007, "Siegfried" in 2009). 
Under Old Business from 2011, I've got a whole bunch of recordings that I never managed to hear. 
It’s not easy inserting an element of surprise into an all-Gershwin program, but the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra succeeds handsomely with this weekend's SuperPops venture. 
On Wednesday afternoon, I took part in a conversation on 
Debbie Chinn, former managing director of Center Stage, has been named executive director of the 
To mark the centennial of Mahler's death in 2011, I finally read, cover to cover, the last volume in the monumental biography of the composer by Henry-Louis de la Grange. 
Each year at this time, Everyman Theatre takes a nostalgic walk through the Great American Songbook, departing from the company's usual focus to offer a cabaret-type show with a few singers and a single pianist.
OK, I know I am very late with this, but a few shopping days do remain. 
If the name Dorothy Fields doesn’t ring immediate and appreciative bells, you are not alone. But, chances are, you know this lyricist’s work a lot better than you think. 
If you're in the market for another Christmas record this year, you can't go wrong with the one featuring pianist Jeffrey Biegel. 
Please excuse the sacrilege, but I do not feel the need to hear 'Messiah' every single season. It's just one of those masterworks that I can cherish deeply without yearly exposure. 
Having watched box office numbers decline after several years of its Holiday Spectacular (a product that originated at the Indianapolis Symphony), the BSO tried out Cirque de la Symphony this season. I caught up with it over the weekend.
If, like me, you value spirituals as highly as lieder, there is a new recording you'll want to grab. 
For no good reasons -- I'd like to blame my intense work schedule, but I suspect I'd have to cite my faulty time management, too -- I never managed to write about last week's concert by the 
Marin Alsop may not single-handedly reverse the fate of Arthur Honegger's neglected oratorio "Jeanne d'Arc au bucher," but the conductor is certainly giving it a valiant try. 
Forgive the abbreviated report (ever the slothful one, I do try to take a day off every now and then), but I wanted to get a little something on the record about Peabody Opera Theater. 
Joan of Arc did not get a fair trial. But she did received a pretty decent form of posthumous vindication -- sainthood. 
Maybe it's just the contrast with a safe and predictable "La Traviata" the other day in Baltimore that makes the thoroughly unsafe and unpredictable "Lucia di Lammermoor" in DC so much fun. 
Among the many things happening out there these days is Opera Week at Towson University. Even though we're partway through said week, there's still a lot of activity left: 
Alsop, who has recorded many works by Collins, chose one of them to balance the standard fare by George Gershwin and Aaron Copland in the latest Baltimore Symphony Orchestra program. It's a particularly timely choice, too, given Veterans Day. 
Two recordings with Baltimore connections caught my ear lately.
OK, get your sniggering out of the way now. Yes, I am a Gleek who looks forward to every episode of "Glee," even after sitting through the so-so and repetitive ones. 
My Sunday afternoon musical outings included a delectable Pro Musica Rara program and a Peabody concert that showcased some very promising talent.
Baltimore doesn't like to part with beloved, long-established people, places and things. 
When the financially strapped Baltimore Opera Company went into liquidation in 2009, after more than five decades, it seemed unlikely that a new organization would take its place any time soon. But the unlikely has happened. 
I worry about you not having enough music in your diet, so here are a few things you should consider taking in this weekend: 
By Logan K. Young 
According to Dr. Linda Dusman, Concert Committee Chair at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, LIVEWIRE is “UMBC’s celebration of the extraordinary musical creativity that characterizes the first decade of the 21st century.” 
Vasily Petrenko's guest-conducting debut with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in early 2009 made a very strong impression. 
Thanks to the Mahler centennial year (he died, much too young, in 1911), his music has been performed even more often than usual. No complaints about that, of course. We diehard Mahler-ites never entirely get our fill.
The 
It probably would have been a good idea to set up an anti-depressant concession stand in the Peabody Institute lobby Saturday night. 
The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra's nationally recognized educational outreach project, OrchKids, is expanding to a third location, Mary Winterling Elementary School. 
Sometimes, the programs that look on paper rather routine turn out to be unusually rewarding. I'd put the latest Baltimore Symphony offering -- standard fare by Mozart and Debussy -- in that category.
OK, Baltimore opera-goers. Listen up. Get those mirrors out well before you leave home on Nov. 4 to attend the opening night of "La Traviata," 
Yes, we all know that Tony Bennett has been around a long time and that, at 85, he's still going strong. But it's still a bit of shock any time you get to experience his age-defying artistry in person.
The bicentennial of Franz Liszt has inspired various commemorations around the music world. including the inevitable batch of recordings. 
The history of opera has witnessed many great singers whose names continue to resonate through the years and whose artistic standards continue to inspire. Ranking very high on this luminous list is Rosa Ponselle. 
Folks convinced that they hate chamber music should spend a couple hours with the St. Lawrence String Quartet. The conversion rate would surely be high.
Although the perfect weather kept taunting and tempting me on Sunday, I headed indoors to catch two performances. The first, in the afternoon, was the 25th season-opener for 
Opera Vivente, which has enlivened the Baltimore scene for 13 years with wide-ranging repertoire and often highly imaginative productions, all performed in English, has cancelled its 2011-2012 season.
In the performing arts, each little milestone means a lot, from the inaugural season on. If you last five years, it's time to celebrate. Get to 10, and that's 20 in for-profit years. Hit 25, and you are making a really big statement. 
This weekend's Baltimore Symphony Orchestra program has a lot going for it -- spirited conductor, inspired soloist, a vibrant mix of repertoire. 
I know I am late sharing my incredibly important views on some events I attended last weekend, but I kept getting swept up in the eddies of life. Stuff happened. Stuff is happening still. 
In addition to such things as new recording contracts and a nationally recognized education program, Marin Alsop’s influence as music director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra can be seen in the programming each season. 
This weekend, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra unexpectedly will have two recipients of MacArthur Fellowship Grants onstage -- cellist Alisa Weilerstein, who is among the 2011 winners; and conductor Marin Alsop, who earned her distinction in 2005. 
The most devout agnostic might easily be shaken to the core by the emotional force of Gustav Mahler's epic Symphony No. 2, nicknamed "Resurrection," the sole piece on the 
The first cool thing about Wednesday night's season-opening presentation by 
The main reason to catch 
The annual Baltimore Symphony Orchestra gala gives each new season a jolt of cash and energy. 
Igor Yuzefovich, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra's assistant concertmaster since 2005, has been named concertmaster of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra. 
The recipients of the 2011 Kennedy Center Honors include two giants of classical music and the musical theater: Cellist Yo-Yo Ma and vocal artist Barbara Cook. Excellent choices by any measure. 
The Kennedy Center turns 40 in September (I'm always happy to bore anyone with my memories of attending the very first public performance there -- at an impossibly young age, needless to say). 
The music season is getting closer, which seems as good an occasion as any for addressing the issue of dressing -- what classical musicians wear onstage. 
If you're still in a celebratory, good-vibe mood after marking Leonard Bernstein's birthday this week -- and who isn't? (especially if you viewed 
These have been tough times for arts groups; they can be even tougher on niche groups. 
Darthea Redding Kerr, who died last week from cancer at the age of 61, was a valued member of the administrative staffs of our region's two major orchestras. 
Like so many artsy types, I spend a good deal of most Sunday mornings poring through the New York Times. It's what one does, after all.
Not surprisingly, when it comes to orchestral thought, this is pretty much a Baltimore Symphony-centric area. It's got the biggest budget, the most musicians, the most concerts, the most famous music director, etc. 
There must be innumerable stories of suffering and loss from the London riots, so it may seem unfair to single any of them out. 
When it comes to opera in the summertime around this region, the most notable action is to be found in Northern Virginia. 
Classical concerts are few and far between in Baltimore this month, so this one commands extra attention: 
Last year, I wrote a little something about 
File this under Not Surprising, But Disappointing. 
I loved the music of Philip Glass long before moving to his native city, but I get an extra kick out of it living here, knowing that this is where he grew up. 
It's once again that time of year when I whine about the lack of significant, substantive music in Baltimore during the long summer months. 
You've all heard the lament of music lovers with an ear fixated on the past: "They just don't make 'em like that anymore." 
This has turned into a newsy week for Israeli orchestras. 
It is worth pausing to reflect on what happened this week in Bayreuth, Germany, at the famed festival founded by Richard Wagner as a showcase for his music. 
Dariusz Skoraczewski, whose lush tone, expressive style and solid technique have earned him admiration in a career that encompasses solo, chamber and orchestral music-making, has been named principal cellist of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. 
About a week ago, in the privacy of my living room and seated at my beloved Steinway, I started working my way through the piano sonatas of Mozart -- not the whole sonatas, mind you, just the easier -- I mean slower -- movements. 
Time to get those instruments out of attics and basements and start tuning up for the second annual "Rusty Musicians" night with the Baltimore Symphony at Meyerhoff Hall. 
"United for Uganda" was launched by pianist Amy Klosterman, a Peabody grad and former faculty member at the Baltimore School for the Arts. 
The novelty factor of Placido Domingo's singing "Rigoletto" for the first time -- the baritone title role, that is -- makes watching the 
You probably know Puccini lovers who still only have time for "Boheme," "Butterfly" and "Tosca," and keep their distance from such wonderful pieces as "La Rondine" and "La Fanciulla del West."
As the heat continues its grip, don't overlook opportunities to find comfort at various indoor musical oases -- if you can get there without wilting. Here are some classical and jazz examples on the horizon: 
It's that time of year again for the 
Diana, the troubled wife and mother at the heart of the Pulitzer and Tony-winning musical "Next to Normal," sees things a little, well, on the dark side. "Most people who are happy," she says, "just haven't thought about it enough." 
For lovers of Shakespeare, great actors and exceptional music-makers, the Castleton Festival offered an ideal package Thursday night at Strathmore. 
Some people wouldn't cross the street to hear an opera. And some opera lovers wouldn't cross the street to hear yet another "La Boheme." 
Founded in 1971 as a free-admission venue, 
If you haven't made the trip down to Rappahannock County to experience the Castleton festival, you ought to give it a try. 
Montana-born, 24-year-old Lee Mills, will be the third recipient of the BSO-Peabody Conducting Fellowship, starting in September. 
The 
The dames, I mean women, immortalized in classic show tunes by Rodgers and Hammerstein are the focus of a program that will be performed Wednesday and Thursday at 
I started remembering that controversy part-way through "Criminal Element," the work by Baltimore-based composer David Smooke that was given an admirable performance by 
If you haven't heard the name 
For the benefit of those who do not automatically find every breathless bit of my prose, I just wanted you to mention two stories that appear elsewhere on the Sun site. Both happen to have string quartets in common. 
If you want to stump your most smug opera-nut friends, just ask them to name more than two works by Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari. 
I started my weekend Friday night at the Kennedy Center Concert Hall in order to hear Christoph Eschenbach's last program of his inaugural season as National Symphony Orchestra music director. 
OK, so a requiem isn't the most obvious way to end a season. Something of a downer, all that singing in Latin about judgment day and eternal rest. 
If, like those so-uncool-they're-cool kids on "Glee," you just can't help breaking into nicely harmonized song, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra wants to give you a chance to perform at Meyheroff Symphony. 
There is a growing chorus of dismay and anger over the dire situation at New York City Opera. 
I know Baltimore is just the coolest place and just overflowing with cultural activity, but, come on, don't you wish we could hear the likes of the Vienna Philharmonic and Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique right here, instead of having to schlep to DC? Wouldn't it be nice if the Philadelphia Orchestra stopped by, like it did ages ago, instead of whooshing right past us on the way to the Kennedy Center or Strathmore? 
The penultimate program of the 
The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra's board of directors has elected a new chairman: Kenneth W. DeFontes, Jr., president and CEO of Baltimore Gas and Electric Company and a senior vice president with Constellation Energy. 
Now that the 
If you're in New York City Thursday night in the vicinity of the Palace Theater (Broadway, between 46th and 47th), you'll find some interesting action outside. 
There’s something almost subversive about Stephen Sondheim's "Follies." 
One hundred years ago today -- May 18, 1911-- Gustav Mahler died. He was only 50.
The latest proof came Sunday afternoon with a concert that filled the elegant space of St. Ignatius Church -- one of my favorite spots in Baltimore -- with a rich, cohesive sound. The event filled the place with listeners, too. It was good to see such a big turnout. 
Robert Schumann could have been the perfect poster child for musical romanticism. 
If you aren't in the habit of excavating the Sun's Web site, you may have missed this: my 
For Gustav Mahler, even before he learned of his own life-threatening heart condition when he was in his 40s, death was always a lurking presence. Funeral marches haunt his earliest symphonies. 
A story making its way through cyberspace this week (it started at 247wallst.com and was quickly picked up by other sitesd) offers a snapshot of the "most cash-strapped classical music organizations." 
It turns out that the raid on Osama bin Laden wasn't the only secret operation being painstakingly planned on recent days. 
In 2005, celebrated pianist Leon Fleisher stepped up quickly to help raise money for Americans hit hard by Hurricane Katrina. 
The Tokyo String Quartet is a strong enough draw on its own, but the additional presence of veteran pianist Leon Fleisher guaranteed a large turnout to Sunday's season finale of the 
Wow. That sure was fun. 
As I took a break from eating bonbons during the final days of my exile (you may recall that I've been burning off five -- count 'em, five -- weeks of use-or-lose vacation time), I noticed that this weekend presents another large assortment of musical activity. 
As April winds down (my extended vacation ends this week, too), things are heating up at 
As last respects are being paid to William Donald Schaefer, the dynamo Baltimore mayor and Maryland governor, it's a great time to remember what he did for the cause of culture. 
As you may have noticed, I still keep popping in and out of music and theater performances during this hiatus -- call me a culture-user with a heavy habit. I felt I needed another fix on Sunday afternoon, so I checked out two cool programs happening within a short distance of each other in Towson. 
Big surprise -- too many musical delights jammed into another weekend in Baltimore, especially on Sunday. Good luck choosing. 
It was one of those deja-vu-all-over-again moments when Yuri Temirkanov walked onstage at 
In my usual, just-missed-the-trend way, I discovered late in the game this week that a classical music pun-fest has been whirling through the Twitter-sphere.
The 
I could have done without the "Emperor" Concerto in the first half. Pianist Clinton Adams, a fine musician with a long tenure at Peabody and a strong connection to Concert Artists, didn't really have all the technical chops for the assignment; his tone was mostly loud, his phrasing mostly cold. More interesting was the colorful playing from the orchestra, guided by conductor Edward Polochick with his usual flair of expressive contour. The horns came through with particular suavity. 
However, this means that I can actually recommend one of the items from first-hand experience -- the 
Not to make this about me -- honest -- but I couldn't help get a flashback today after receiving the terrible news of Elizabeth Taylor's death.