Handel’s ‘feat of sustained inspiration’
As we approach “Messiah” season, when orchestras, church choirs, community choruses and sing-along participants celebrate Christmas with George Frideric Handel’s sacred oratorio (never mind that it...
View ArticleQuincy Jones (1933-2024)
Quincy Jones, the jazz trumpeter turned composer, arranger, producer and facilitator for a wide range of artists and musical styles, has died at 91. Born on the South Side of Chicago and reared in the...
View ArticleReview: Alexander Malofeev
Nov. 3, Singleton Arts Center, Virginia Commonwealth University The Russian school of piano playing, in which muscularity meets poetry, is an archetype of classical music dating back to Anton...
View ArticleNew York Philharmonic fires 2 players accused of sexual misconduct
Two musicians of the New York Philharmonic, oboist Liang Wang and trumpeter Matthew Muckey, accused of sexual misconduct by multiple women presently or formerly in the orchestra, have been fired after...
View ArticleLetter V Classical Radio Nov. 10
7-9 p.m. EST0000-0200 UTC/GMTWDCE, University of Richmond90.1 FMhttp://wdce.org Smetana: “Libuše” OvertureCleveland Orchestra/Christoph von Dohnányi(Decca) Thomas de Hartmann: Violin ConcertoJoshua...
View ArticleLetter V Classical Radio Nov. 17
7-9 p.m. EST0000-0200 UTC/GMTWDCE, University of Richmond90.1 FMhttp://wdce.org J.S. Bach: “Brandenburg” Concerto No. 4 in G major, BWV 1049Alan Choo, violinDaphna Mor, recorderApollo’s Fire/Jeannette...
View ArticleAlexander Paley Music Festival 2025
The Alexander Paley Music Festival, in which the Moldovan-born pianist will perform with his wife and duo/4-hands partner, the Taiwan-born pianist Peiwen Chen, and two principals of the Richmond...
View ArticleA for starters
Why do orchestras tune to an A, and why is the note played on an oboe? The Australian music educator Kathleen McGuire answers those and other questions in a tutorial on orchestral tuning. Writing for...
View ArticleLetter V Classical Radio Nov. 24
7-9 p.m. EST0000-0200 UTC/GMTWDCE, University of Richmond90.1 FMhttp://wdce.org Weber: “Oberon” OvertureStaatskapelle Dresden/Bernard Haitink(Hänssler Profil) Louise Farrenc: Piano Trio in E minor,...
View ArticleKeeping watch on musical predators
Katherine Needleman, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s principal oboist, who played the same role in the Richmond Symphony two decades ago, has become a leading US advocate for female musicians who...
View ArticleDecember calendar
Classical performances in and around Richmond, with selected events elsewhere in Virginia and the Washington area. Program information, provided by presenters, is updated as details become available....
View Article70 years of music-making on the ‘frontier’
Ashley Mulcahy, writing for Early Music America, chronicles the history of the Boston Camerata, an ensemble formed 70 years ago in a musty museum basement, that went on to explore periods and genres...
View ArticleLetter V Classical Radio Dec. 8
Home for the holidays: Music by composers and for artists from Virginia: A new piano concerto by Mason Bates; chamber works by Adolphus Hailstork, Mary Howe and Damien Geter; Richmond-born...
View ArticleBerlin and Amsterdam: championship playoff
The Berlin Philharmonic and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam have been on tour in the US. The two ensembles are leading contenders in symphonic music’s favorite parlor game: Identifying...
View ArticleLetter V Classical Radio Dec. 15
7-9 p.m. EST0000-0200 UTC/GMTWDCE, University of Richmond90.1 FMhttp://wdce.org Dag Wirén: Serenade for String OrchestraAcademy of St. Martin in the Fields/Neville Marriner(Caprice) Shostakovich:...
View ArticleZakir Hussain (1951-2024)
Zakir Hussain, the most prominent performer on the tabla, the tuned drum that is part of Indian ensembles playing classical ragas, has died at 73. Hussain, a mainstay of groups led by sitar master...
View ArticleReview: Gandelsman & Wilson
Johnny Gandelsman, violinJames Wilson, celloDec. 16, Church of the Holy Comforter, Episcopal Johann Sebastian Bach’s works for unaccompanied strings, the six sonatas and partitas for violin and six...
View ArticleLetter V Classical Radio Dec. 22
A baroque Christmas, featuring Corelli, Bach and Vivaldi – plus the most prolific of all composers, anon., and the tree-trimming music of choice at my house. 7-9 p.m. EST0000-0200 UTC/GMTWDCE,...
View Article‘Good gifts’ regiven
“Give good gifts one to another” is Letter V’s traditional Christmas Eve offering. This 19th-century Shaker hymn is not a Christmas carol per se, but a song for all seasons and spiritual inclinations....
View ArticleLetter V Classical Radio Dec. 29
7-9 p.m. EST0000-0200 UTC/GMTWDCE, University of Richmond90.1 FMhttp://wdce.org Prokofiev: “Overture on Hebrew Themes”Pierre Génisson, clarinetEnsemble Contraste(Alpha) Brahms: Piano Quartet in C...
View Article