2006-2007 Schedule of Performances & Lectures
Season-at-a-Glance 2006: October | November | December 2007: January | February | March | April | May
Unless otherwise indicated, events are held in the Coolidge Auditorium at 8 p.m. All concerts are free but require tickets (see ticket information and dates when tickets are available for each concert). All programs and dates are subject to change without notice. Please check this Web site for the most up-to-date information. Request ASL and ADL accommodations five days in advance at 202-707-6362 or ADA@loc.gov.
October 2006
Thursday, October 5 at 8:00pm
LUCIANA
SOUZA QUARTET and BRAZILIAN DUOS with Romero Lubambo, guitar
"Souza's singing has that special something to it--a quiet passion, a luminous beauty--that makes for transcendental listening."
A composer-performer of remarkable stylistic versatility, Luciana Souza has gained renown as a singer of jazz as well as of contemporary classical works, such as Golijov's St. Matthew Passion, and for her settings of Neruda's poems. She is joined by three of her colleagues in vocal jazz and by special guest Romero Lubambo in selections from their Grammy-nominated albums of "luscious, sophisticated Brazilian classics."
Wednesday, October 11
at 8:00pm
BEAUX
ARTS TRIO
"The gold standard for trios throughout the world."
The "generation-crossing threesome . . . more vital than ever," returns in a program encompassing three centuries--the Romantic Schubert, the modern Shostakovich, and the London-based British composer, Mark-Anthony Turnage, "whose works skillfully blend classical and jazz idioms, modernism and tradition."
SCHUBERT: Notturno in E-flat Major, D. 897
SHOSTAKOVICH: Trio no. 2 in E minor, op. 67
TURNAGE: "A Slow Pavane"
SCHUBERT: Trio no. 1 in B-flat Major, D. 898
6:15 pm: Coolidge Auditorium (no tickets required)
Pre-concert presentation - Cross-currents of Music: Jazz, Klezmer,
Folk with Rachel Franklin, classical/jazz pianist and music
commentator, UMBC and Peabody,
Friday, October 13 at 8:00pm
MANDELRING
STRING QUARTET
"unfailing sensitivity . . . enraptured affection . . . technical aplomb"
The Mandelring Quartet from Germany has distinguished itself as one of the most adventurous young groups, both for its repertoire with an impressive for number of twentieth-century works, and for its collaborations with living composers, such as György Ligeti, whose Quartet no. 2 is heard for the first time at the Library of Congress.
HAYDN: String Quartet in op. 20, no. 3
LIGETI: String Quartet no. 2
BRAHMS: String Quartet in C minor, op. 51, no. 1
6:15 pm: Whittall Pavilion (no tickets required)
Pre-concert presentation - Dangerous Music: Anathema to Society?
-- Composer-pianist Jessica Krash, George Washington University,
and Norman A. Middleton, Jr., Music Division, Library of Congress, will
explore the concept of "dangerous music" works and genres banned
around the world and over the centuries for religious, racial, and cultural
reasons. They will also discuss Entartete Musik-"degenerate" music-banned
by the Nazis and later by the Soviets. During the Communist regime György
Ligeti, a Jewish-Hungarian composer, was forced to hide innovative music
in his desk drawer. Ligeti's String Quartet no. 2 will be performed in the
program of the Mandelring Quartet.
Wednesday, October 18 at 8:00pm
MONTAGE
Music Society
Sarita Uranovsky, violin
Marc Moskovitz, cello
Debra Ayers, piano
with Janna Baty, mezzo-soprano
The Boston-based ensemble unveils the North American premiere of the recently-discovered Sonata for Cello and Piano by Alexander Zemlinsky in a program built around the Symbolist poems of Richard Dehmel. The Music Division has the largest collection of Zemlinsky materials in the world and owns the manuscript of the original sextet version of Arnold Schoenberg's Verklärte Nacht ("Transfigured Night") and the Steuermann transcription.
SCHOENBERG
and ZEMLINSKY: Dehmel Songs
ZEMLINSKY: Cello Sonata (North American premiere)
SCHOENBERG: "Verklarte Nacht" (transcribed for
piano trio by Eduard Steuermann)
6:15 pm - Whitall Pavilion (no tickets required)
Pre-concert presentation - Dehmel, Schoenberg and Zemlinsky
with Cellist Marc Moskovitz, Dr. Gerald Perman, Artistic Director,
Vocal Arts Society, and Susan Clermont, Music Division, Library of Congress
in the Whittall Pavilion (no tickets required)
Monday, October 23 at 8:00pm --
American Creativity: The Composer
THE MUSIC OF JONATHAN LARSON
Tim Weil, Music Director
RENT -- "the first original breakthrough rock musical since Hair."
Larson's phenomenally successful musical RENT (a rock opera inspired by
Puccini's La Bohème), which blends pop, dance, salsa, rhythm and
blues, gospel, and rock music, won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and four
Tony Awards. Larson died prematurely before realizing fully his desire to
"infuse musical theater with a contemporary, joyful, urban vitality."
In celebration of his creative spirit, the Library of Congress brings together
Anthony Rapp, who starred in the original production of RENT with Broadway
stars Natascia Diaz, Randy Graff, Jeremy Kushnier, Michael McElroy and Gwen
Stewart. The concert will be under the musical direction of Tim Weil, the
original musical director of Rent. In addition to selections from
Rent and other Larson works, the evening includes songs written
and performed by three of the songwriters who have received grants from
the Jonathan Larson Performing Arts Foundation -- Cynthia Hopkins, Joe Iconis,
and Steven Lutvak -- established by family and friends to honor his memory.
6:15 pm - Whitall Pavilion (no tickets required)
Pre-concert presentation - The Legacy of Jonathan Larson
with Mark Horowitz, Music Specialist, Library of Congress
Monday, October 30 at 8:00pm --
FOUNDER'S DAY CONCERT
CHANTICLEER
Joseph Jennings, Music Director
"Breathtaking in accuracy of intonation, purity of blend, variety of color, and swagger of style."
San
Francisco-based Chanticleer has gained worldwide recognition as "an
orchestra of voices." The first of three programs highlighting American
choral music, this concert features the East Coast premiere of Ezequiel
Viñao's The Wanderer, a setting of an ancient Anglo-Saxon
poem. Works by American composers Paul Schoenfeld, Carlos Sánchez
Gutiérrez, Arthur Jarvinen, and Steven Stucky round out the concert.
6:15 pm - Whitall Pavilion (no tickets required)
Pre-concert presentation - From Poem to Song: Setting Words to Music
with Composers Ezequiel Viñao and Libby Larsen, and poet Elizabeth
Arnold, UMD College Park
November 2006
Friday, November 3 at 8:00pm --
American Creativity: The Composer
CHAMBER
MUSIC OF ELLIOTT SCHWARTZ
Cassatt Quartet with Peter Sheppard Skaerved, violin & Aaron
Shorr, piano
"Passionate, beautifully controlled" -- Cassatt Quartet
"Rapport impeccable" -- Sheppard Skaerved and Shorr
"Sweeping range of stylistic juxtapositions" -- Schwartz
SCHWARTZ: "Bellagio" Variations for string quartet
SCHUBERT: Fantasy in C Major, D. 934, for violin and piano
SCHWARTZ: "Tapestry" for piano trio and "Memorial" for violin and piano (McKim Commission)
RAVEL: String Quartet in F Major
6:15 pm - Whitall Pavilion (no tickets required)
Pre-concert presentation - A Conversation with Elliott Schwartz
-- Stephen Soderberg, Music Division, Library of Congress
Saturday, November 4 at 8:00pm
QUATUOR
ÉBÈNE
PEIRANI-LÊ QUANG DUO
"Spontaneous feeling and perfect rhythmical adaptability"
-- Ébenè Quartet
"A lyrical and incandescent combination of timbres" -- Peirani-Lê
Quang
Two prize-winning young ensembles from France -- one a classical string quartet, the other a jazz duo of accordion and saxophone --join forces in an evening of original compositions that cross musical genres. Co-sponsored by the French-American Cultural Foundation and the Embassy of France.
6:15 pm - Whitall Pavilion (no tickets required)
Pre-concert presentation - A Conversation with the Artists
-- P. J. Mondin, publisher, Le monde du jazz and Loras Schissel,
Music Division, Library of Congress.
Wednesday, November 8 at 8:00pm
SANGAM
Charles Lloyd, flute, sax, piano, percussion
Zakir Hussain, tabla, vocals, percussion
Eric Harland, drums, piano, percussion
"Inclusive. . . playful. . . joyous"
Sangam means "confluence and coming together": three virtuosos come together and share their talents in an evening that blurs the boundaries of blues, sufi music, and jazz--demonstrating that "sometimes jazz works wonders when it is mixed with music that wasn't bred in the U.S."
>> See
and hear SANGAM (Quicktime video)
Saturday, November 18 at 8:00pm
MUSIC
FROM THE BARD FESTIVAL
Melvin Chen, piano
Jeremy Denk, piano
Robert Martin, cello
with performers from the Bard College Conservatory
Bard Music Festival players bring a moveable feast from the Hudson Valley to the Library of Congress -- a program of music and an afternoon symposium celebrating "Franz Liszt and His World: The War of the Romantics." Materials relating to Liszt from the Library's extensive collections will be on display.
SCHUMANN: Piano Quintet in E-flat Major, op. 44
LISZT: Piano Sonata in B minor
BRAHMS: String Quintet no. 2 in G Major, op. 111
3:00 pm - Whitall Pavilion (no tickets required)
Symposium with Bard Festival artistic directors: Robert
Martin, Bard College vice president and director of the Bard College Conservatory
of Music, and musicologist Christopher H. Gibbs; with Dana Gooley, Liszt
scholar, Brown University.
Thursday, November 30 at 7:00 pm
-- LOUIS C. ELSON MEMORIAL LECTURE
WRITING ABOUT MUSIC IN A TIME OF CHANGE
by Tim Page (no tickets required)
Chief classical music critic for the Washington Post, Tim Page won the Pulitzer Prize for criticism in 1997. He is the author or editor of several books, including Dawn Powell: A Biography, The Glenn Gould Reader, and Tim Page on Music.
December 2006
Friday, December 1 at 8:00pm
BILL
CHARLAP TRIO with special guest SANDY STEWART
"Charlap's trio is a seductive group that invites emotive soaking in its sensuous lyricism and warmth."
A rare double bill--two different programs in one terrific evening. Tthe impassioned swing of jazz pianist Bill Charlap joined by bassist Peter Washington and drummer Kenny Washington, is heard in the first half. In the second half Charlap and his mother, veteran songstress Sandy Stewart, "rejoice in the glories of timeless song" performing classics from the American Songbook.
6:15 pm - Whitall Pavilion (no tickets required)
Pre-Concert Presentation: What is the American Songbook?
-- Elizabeth Auman and Mark Horowitz talk about the collections relating
to the American Songbook in the Music Division, Library of Congress.
Thursday, December 7 at 8:00pm
ORCHESTRA
OF THE AGE OF ENLIGHTENMENT
"A rare sense of discovery, sheer joy and, yes, enlightenment."
The celebrated OAE brings to life Mozart's grand masterwork, the "Gran Partitta" (as it appears on the title page of the manuscript) along with another serenade and an unusual trio by the composer's favorite clarinetist, Anton Stadler--all played with the sonic proportions that would have been familiar to the composer's own ears: winds and brass that "bleat and sigh in dark, textured colors unknown to most modern orchestras."
6:15 pm - Whitall Pavilion (no tickets required)
Pre-Concert Presentation - The "Gran Partitta":
From Mozart to Jefferson with Daniel L. Leeson, scholar and
author of The Mozart Forgeries.
Friday,
December 15 at 8:00pm
STEVEN ISSERLIS & FRIENDS
Joshua Bell, violin; Paul Neubauer,
viola; Steven Isserlis, cello; and Jeremy
Denk, piano
An all-Schumann program played by four superlative artists who come together for an evening of "warm, vibrant sound," "ease and elegance that soothe, but also stir, the ear and psyche," and "exceptional musicality and effortless playing."
SCHUMANN: Five Pieces in Folk Style, op. 102 for cello and piano
SCHUMANN: Piano Trio no. 1 in D minor, op. 63
SCHUMANN: Three Romances, op. 94 for violin and piano
SCHUMANN: Piano Quartet in E-flat Major, op. 47
6:15 pm - Whitall Pavilion (no tickets required)
Pre-Concert Presentation - "New Paths"
to Late Schumann -- Steven Isserlis talks about one of his
musical enthusiasms with Francine Maté, Copyright Office, Library
of Congress.
Monday, December 18 at 8:00pm --
Stradivari Anniversary Concert
ENSŌ
STRING QUARTET
"Crisp, incisive playing -- with just the right quotient of sass."
Winner of the 2003 Concert Artists Guild International Competition, the Ensō Quartet was also the top prize-winner in the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition that same year. This young ensemble derived its name from the ancient Zen painting of the circle, representing many things -- perfection and imperfection, the moment of chaos that is creation, the emptiness of the void, the endless circle of life, and the fullness of the spirit.
MOZART: String Quartet in D minor, K. 421
GINASTERA: String Quartet no. 2, op. 26 (Coolidge commission)
DVORAK: Strinq Quartet in E-flat Major, op. 51
6:15 pm - Whitall Pavilion (no tickets required)
Pre-Concert Presentation - The Secrets of Stradivari
with Cellists Richard Belcher (Ensō) and Steven Honigberg, sculptor/instrument
collector Alfredo Halegua, luthier John Montgomery, and Carol Lynn Ward-Bamford,
Music Division, Library of Congress.
January 2007
Wednesday, January 24 at 8:00pm
YURI
BASHMET & THE MOSCOW SOLOISTS
with Wu Man, Chinese pipa
"Performances of astonishing precision and refinement [that] held
the audience transfixed" -- Moscow Soloists
"A prowess and finesse that is the benchmark of excellence" --
Wu Man
Founded in 1992 by renowned violist Yuri Bashmet, the Moscow Soloists -- musicians nominated by professors at the Moscow Conservatory as the cream of the new generation of string players -- offer a unique program that dissolves boundaries between Eastern and Western music.
TAKEMITSU: "Nostalgia" for violin and string orchestra (1997)
TAN DUN: Concerto for pipa and strings
HIKARU HAYASHI: Concerto "Elegie" for viola and strings (1995)
TAKEMITSU: "Three Film Scores" for strings
6:15 pm - Whitall Pavilion (no tickets required)
Pre-Concert Presentation - East Meets West: A Close
Encounter of a Musical Kind with Nora Yeh, ethnomusicologist,
American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
February 2007
Friday, February 9 at 8:00pm --
American Creativity: The Composer
THE
MUSIC OF DANIEL BERNARD ROUMAIN
"Musical ecumenist Daniel Roumain dazzles."
Dubbed a "classical experimentalist," composer/violinist Daniel Bernard Roumain, recently-featured on CBS Evening News, premieres his Library of Congress McKim Fund commission. For the remainder of the program he is joined by the Mission: nine young, multicultural musicians--all well-versed in classical, jazz, rock, and hip-hop performance practices--in music that covers the gamut of styles, "from slow, introspective Neo-Classical ruminations to rhythmically complicated, riffy pieces that would not be out of place in a dance club."
World Premiere
Neo-Soul Sonata for Violin and Synthesizer -- commissioned by the McKim Fund in the Library of Congress
A Civil Rights Reader
Thursday, February 15 at 8:00pm
BENJAMIN
BAGBY'S BEOWULF
"An extraordinary feat of scholarship, imagination, memory, musicianship and, most of all, story-telling."
A solo performance of the monumental 6th century Anglo-Saxon epic, Beowulf, by the co-founder of the early music ensemble Sequentia. Accompanying himself on a copy of an ancient lyre in the manner of the medieval bard, Bagby portrays dozens of characters in the original Old English with a modern translation on surtitles. "A thrilling event of an almost shamanistic power," the performance, encompassing roughly the first quarter of the entire epic, recounts the timeless tale of monsters and heroes that has held an astonishingly varied audience of all ages spellbound.
6:15 pm - Whitall Pavilion (no tickets required)
Pre-Concert Presentation - The Scop's Song
-- Denise Gallo, Music Division, Library of Congress, talks about the
performance practice of the Anglo-Saxon poet-historian and his role as entertainer
and keeper of tradition and culture.
Friday, February 16 at 8:00pm
ROBERT
MANN & FRIENDS
Robert Mann and Geoff Nutall, violins;
Nicholas Mann, viola; and,
Bonnie Hampton, cello
The Juilliard String Quartet's founder and former primarius returns to Coolidge Auditorium with three musical colleagues in an evening of masterworks from the string quartet genre.
MANN: Four Bagatelles
MANN: Two Movements for String Quartet
BARTÓK: Sixth String Quartet
MOZART: String Quintet in G minor, K. 516
6:15 pm - Whitall Pavilion (no tickets required)
Pre-Concert Presentation: Mozart and the
Viola -- Denise Gallo, Music Division, Library of Congress
Wednesday, February 21 at 8:00pm
VENICE
BAROQUE ORCHESTRA
Andrea Marcon, Director
with guest violinist Giuliano Carmignola
"These players are of one mind. . . focused on adventure, excitement,
and -- that word that many classical fans don't want to hear: entertainment."
Carmignola played Vivaldi "with such and energy. . .fearless bowing
and wide but carefully controlled gradations of volume."
The resident orchestra of the city's Scuola Grande di San Rocco, one of Venice's most venerable and respected cultural institutions, has been described as "the true expression of the new Italian style -- an electrifying ensemble, directed with unrelenting passion and crystal clarity . . . in ravishing performances."
VIVALDI: String Concerto in C Major, RV 114
VIVALDI: String Concerto in G minor, RV 156
VIVALDI: String Concerto in D minor, RV 127
VIVALDI: Sinfonia in G Major, RV 146
TARTINI: Violin Concerto in A Major, D 96
VIVALDI: Violin Concerto in C Major, RV 190
VIVALDI: Violin Concerto in E minor, RV 278
VIVALDI: Violin Concerto in G minor, RV 331
Co-sponsored by the Italian Cultural Institute and the Embassy of Italy.
6:15 pm - Whitall Pavilion (no tickets required)
Pre-Concert Presentation: The Venice of
Vivaldi -- Walter Zvonchenko, Music Division, and James Flatness,
Geography & Map Division, Library of Congress.
Friday, February 23 at 8:00pm
HANTAÏ
BROTHERS & FRIENDS
Marc Hantaï, flute; Alessandro Moccia,
violin; Alix Verzier, cello; and, Jérôme
Hantaï, fortepiano
The program features two members of France's brilliant musical family--the Hantaïs--known for the "wit, imagination, virtuosity" of their playing: flutist Marc and Jérôme, well known as a performer on viola da gamba and here featured on fortepiano. Friends join them in works by Johann Christian Friedrich Bach, Haydn, and Mozart.
Haydn: Trio in D Major for flute, violin, and cello, Hob.IV:6
Mozart: Sonata in G Major for violin and piano, K. 379
Haydn: Trio in D Major for piano, flute, and cello, Hob.XV:16
Haydn: Trio in G Major for piano, flute, and cello, Hob.IV:9
Mozart: Sonata in E-flat Major for piano, violin, and cello, K. 481
Haydn: Trio in G Major for piano, flute, and cello, Hob.XV:15
Co-sponsored by the French-American Cultural Foundation and the Embassy of France.
6:15 pm - Whitall Pavilion (no tickets required)
Pre-Concert Presentation - Flutes and Oboes through
the Ages -- Carol Lynn Ward-Bamford and Karen Moses, Music
Division, Library of Congress
Wednesday, February 28 at 8:00pm
ARTIS-QUARTETT
WIEN
"Clearly Viennese in its warmth of sound, flexibility of phrasing, and alertness to rhythmic and emotional nuances."
Formed in 1980, the Artis Quartett, equally distinguished for its playing in the centuries-old Viennese quartet tradition and for its vigorous commitment to contemporary music, performs the East Coast premiere of a new string quartet by Virginia-born Tania Gabrielle French.
MENDELSSOHN: Fugue in E-flat Major, op. 81, no. 4
MENDELSSOHN: Capriccio in E minor, op. 81, no. 3
FRENCH: String Quartet no. 3 (East Coast premiere)
BEETHOVEN: String Quartet in E-flat Major, op. 127
6:15 pm - Whitall Pavilion (no tickets required)
Pre-Concert Presentation: A Composer's Career
with composers Tania Gabrielle French, Tania León, and
Frances McKay with Stephen Soderberg, Music Division, Library of Congress.
March 2007
Friday, March 2 at 8:00pm
ARON
QUARTETT
"A musical dialogue full of tenderness, spice, wildness, and glory."
Since these four principal soloists from the renowned Vienna Chamber Orchestra formed the aron quartett in 1998, they have been recognized as authoritative interpreters of the Viennese string quartet literature, both of the Classical period and of the Second Viennese School.
HAYDN: String Quartet in D minor, op. 76, no. 2 ("The Fifths")
SCHOENBERG: String Quartet no. 3, op. 30 (Coolidge Commission)
KORNGOLD: String Quartet no. 3 in D Major, op. 34
6:15 pm - Whitall Pavilion (no tickets required)
Pre-Concert Presentation: Schoenberg and
Kandinsky -- Fred Wasserman, curator, Jewish Museum, co-editor
of Schoenberg, Kandinsky, and the Blue Rider, with Anne McLean, Music Division,
Library of Congress.
Wednesday, March 7 at 7:00 pm --
LOUIS C. ELSON MEMORIAL LECTURE
THE CLASSICAL MUSIC "CRISIS"
AND WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT
by Joseph Horowitz (no tickets required)
Joseph Horowitz, author of Classical Music in America: A History of Its Rise and Fall (2005) and artistic director of Washington’s Post-Classical Ensemble, traces the decline of classical music in this country and suggests ways to revitalize it. It will be followed by a discussion and Q&A with musicologist Karen Ahlquist, George Washington University, and Christina Sheppelmann, artistic administrator, Washington National Opera.
Friday, March 9 at 8:00pm
MARC
BAMUTHI JOSEPH
Spoken word performance artist
"Stunningly embodies the divine union of poetry and motion."
National Poetry Slam champion and Broadway veteran performer presents new material as well as excerpts from two earlier works, Word Becomes Flesh and Scourge. Bamuthi's work illustrates the intersections of politics, theology, poetry, photography, and various genres of black dance, including tap, modern, hip hop, and West African.
Saturday, March 10 at 12:00noon (Free and Open to the Public)
WOMEN COMPOSERS from THE MacDOWELL COLONY -- Women's History Month Event
Music by Gena Branscombe, Elizabeth Brown, and Louise Talma
Featuring Katie Lansdale, violin and Kathleen Shimeta, mezzo soprano;
with pianists Andrew Harley, Martin Hennessy, and piano duo Sharon Johnson and Nancy Davis.
No Tickets Required
Friday, March 16 at 8:00pm
SEEGER
FAMILY TRIBUTE
with Pete, Mike, and Peggy Seeger
The Library of Congress pays tribute to several generations of the Seeger family, renowned for its great achievements in American music. The Library's Music Division and American Folklife Center are the repositories of multiple collections: those of composer-musicologist Charles; his wife Ruth Crawford, a pathbreaking modernist composer; their children Mike and Peggy; and Charles's son, Mike's and Peggy's half-brother, Pete, who is arguably America's favorite folksinger.
In addition to the concert, there will be film screenings and a symposium
including ethnomusicologist Anthony Seeger, grandson of Charles. For updated
information, log into www.loc.gov/folklife.
Co-presented with the American Folklife Center, Library
of Congress
Friday, March 23 at 8:00pm
BARRY
DOUGLAS & CAMERATA IRELAND
Camerata Ireland possesses the "sensuality, charm and impulse of the best world-level ensembles."
Founded in 1999 by acclaimed pianist Barry Douglas to bring together talented Irish musicians from all over the world, this chamber orchestra has garnered praise for "enthralling performances brim[ming] with musicality."
CARTER: Elegy for Strings
MOZART: Symphony no. 25 in A Major, K. 183
BEETHOVEN: Piano Concerto no. 2 in B-flat Major, op. 19
A Commissioned Work - tba
Co-sponsored by the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure/Arts
Council of Northern Ireland
as part of the Rediscover Northern Ireland Programme 2007.
6:15 pm - Whitall Pavilion (no tickets required)
Pre-Concert Presentation: A Northern Ireland
Perspective (Part One) -- Barry Douglas talks about his musical
life and his Northern Irish roots to Philip Hammond, Creative Director of
the Rediscover Northern Ireland program--a series of cultural events in
Washington DC, March-July 2007.
Friday, March 30 at 8:00pm
CANTUS
"Singing of unimaginable precision, sensitivity, and deep emotional power"
The members of this a capella men's chamber choir from Minneapolis have been described as "down-to-earth types who present their music with the eagerness of hometown guys singing for the pleasure of friends and neighbors." Now in its eleventh season, the ensemble features hymns from four world religions along with works by American composers Bernstein, Cowell, and Hoiby, and arrangements of songs by Stephen Foster, Gordon Lightfoot, Smoky Robinson, Billy Joel, and Sting.
6:15 pm - Whitall Pavilion (no tickets required)
Pre-Concert Presentation: Men, Let's Sing:
Choral Music for Men's Voices -- Gunilla Marcus-Luboff, co-developer
of the LC Choral Series; Frank Albinder, director, Washington Men’s
Camerata; Ann Meier Baker, president and CEO, Chorus America; and Robert
Saladini, Office of Scholarly Programs, Library of Congress and co-developer
of the LC Choral Series.
Saturday, March 31 at 8:00pm
INSTANT
COMPOSERS POOL ORCHESTRA
"There was no mistaking the merger of Kurt Weill-like cabaret motifs with Duke Ellington-inspired orchestrations, Mozartean string passages with uptempo march beats right out of John Philip Sousa."
An offshoot of the Dutch avant-garde movement called the Instant Composers Pool (ICP), this 10-piece nonprofit collective of Dutch composer-improviser-instrumentalists was formed in the early 1980s by pianist Misha Mengelberg and drummer Han Bennink. The music it plays, though improvised, indicate--through coordinated ensemble gestures--an implicit rigor and a "fondness for bygone jazz styles." The first half of the program is a tribute to Duke Ellington.
Co-sponsored by the Embassy of the Netherlands
6:15 pm - Whitall Pavilion (no tickets required)
Pre-Concert Presentation: A Conversation
with the Artists -- Larry Appelbaum, radio host of WPFW’s
Sunday evening program Sound of Surprise and senior audio engineer, Motion
Picture, Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound Division, Library of Congress.
April 2007
Wednesday, April 11 at 8:00pm
JERUSALEM
STRING QUARTET
"Musical electricity may be unfathomable, but one thing is for sure—they have it."
Since its formation at the Jerusalem Music Center in 1993, this young ensemble has quickly risen to the top rank of string quartets worldwide, praised for its flawless technique and perfect control.
BEETHOVEN: String Quartet in F Major, op. 18, no. 1
TZVI AVNI: "Summer Strings" for string quartet
TCHAIKOVSKY: String Quartet no. 1 in D Major, op. 11
Co-sponsored by the Embassy of Israel
6:15 pm - Whitall Pavilion (no tickets required)
Pre-Concert Presentation - The String Quartet:
Past, Present, & Future with Sorab Modi, music commentator.
Please note: The ticket supply for this concert, via Ticketmaster, has been exhausted; however, there are often up to 80 empty seats available for "sold out" concerts at start time. Interested patrons are strongly encouraged to come to the Library by 6:30 p.m. on concert nights to join the standby line for no-show tickets.
Friday, April 13 at 8:00pm
NATHANIEL
DETT CHORALE
"A spirit of unity, rendered in song"
Dedicated to Afro-centric music of all styles, including classical, spiritual, gospel, jazz, folk, and blues, the group from Canada is named for the internationally renowned composer and director of the Hampton (VA) Institute Choir, who dedicated himself to the cause of black music in America.
6:15 pm - Whitall Pavilion (no tickets required)
Pre-Concert Presentation: The Legacy of
Nathaniel Dett -- Lorraine Faxio, Howard University, Anne McLean
and Sam Perryman, Music Division, Library of Congress
Wednesday, April 18 at 8:00pm
MIKLÓS
PERENYI, cello
ANDRÁS SCHIFF, piano
"Articulate, vigorous, elegant, and free of agendas. . . an explosion of tonal colors. . ."
Two distinguished Hungarian musicians--world renowned pianist and cellist widely admired among musicians--"unleash their virtuosity to great effect" in performances of Beethoven’s masterworks.
BEETHOVEN: Sonata in F Major, op. 5, no. 1
BEETHOVEN: Sonata in C Major, op. 102, no. 1
BEETHOVEN: Twelve Variations in F Major on the theme "Ein Mädchen oder Weibchen" from Die Zauberflöte, op. 66
BEETHOVEN: Sonata in A Major, op. 69
6:15 pm - Whitall Pavilion (no tickets required)
Pre-Concert Presentation: Chamber Music in Beethoven's
Vienna -- Denise Gallo, Music Division, and David Morris, German
Area Specialist, European Division, Library of Congress.
Friday, April 20 at 8:00pm
EUCLID
QUARTET & DEGAS QUARTET
"Wonderful intensity, insight and communicative strength"
-- Euclid Quartet
"A model of outstanding chamber music . . . mature and convincing"
-- Degas Quartet
Two young and talented string quartets join forces in the East Coast premiere
of "Ludi" for string octet, a work written for them by Virginia-based
composer Armando Bayolo, 
first
performed at the Aspen Music Festival in June 2006. Euclid opens the program
with Debussy, followed by Degas in Mendelssohn's op. 12.
DEBUSSY: String Quartet in G minor, op. 10
MENDELSSOHN: String Quartet in E-flat Major, op. 12
BAYOLO: "Ludi" string octet
6:15 pm - Whitall Pavilion (no tickets required)
Pre-Concert Presentation: Premiering a
New Work -- composer Armando Bayolo and members of the Euclid
and Degas quartets
Please note: The ticket supply for this concert, via Ticketmaster, has been exhausted; however, there are often up to 80 empty seats available for "sold out" concerts at start time. Interested patrons are strongly encouraged to come to the Library by 6:30 p.m. on concert nights to join the standby line for no-show tickets.
Friday, April 27 at 8:00pm
BRIAN
IRVINE ENSEMBLE
"Crazy, divine, delirious, and extremely funny!!"
Irvine's music is reminiscent of Frank Zappa or Emir Kusturica; "the same piece of music may start as a tango then turns into a salsa while converting for a bit into a sumptuous classical piece accompanied by incredible sound effects before finally ending as a rap."
6:15 pm - Whitall Pavilion (no tickets required)
Pre-Concert Presentation: A Northern Ireland
Perspective - Part Two -- Brian Irvine talks to Philip Hammond
about his musical life and his Northern Irish roots. Hammond is Creative
Director of the Rediscover Northern Ireland programme - a series of cultural
events in Washington DC, March-July 2007.
May 2007
Friday, May 4 at 8:00pm
AMERICAN
CHAMBER PLAYERS
"Unfailingly coherent and musically discerning"
Originally formed in 1985, the much-admired Washington-based ensemble's core group includes piano, violin, viola, cello, flute, and clarinet. The centerpiece of the program is the rarely-heard Septet in E-flat, op. 20, by Beethoven. Also in the program is Ellen Taaffe Zwillich's Romance for Violin and Piano, a McKim commission.
6:15 pm - Whitall Pavilion (no tickets required)
Pre-Concert Presentation: Catching a Fly
Ball, or... What Goes On in a Performer's Mind During a Performance
-- Miles Hoffman, founder and artistic director, American Chamber Players
Friday, May 11 at 8:00pm
OPUS
21
Richard Adams, Founding Artistic Director
with legendary Motown percussionist Jack Ashford
"A contemporary classical music ensemble with a genre-bending aesthetic."
A multi-genre program of contemporary works influenced by the Motown sound of 1960s Detroit, featuring seven new compositions commissioned by Opus 21, recipient of the 2005-06 First Prize for Adventurous Programming awarded by Chamber Music & ASCAP. The rest of the program includes pieces by Joe Hunter, Fred Hersch, Michael Daugherty, Richard Adams, Eve Beglarian, Tom Knific, and Daniel Bernard Roumain.
Post-Concert Discussion: with members of Opus 21 in the Coolidge Auditorium
Friday, May 18 at 8:00pm
BORROMEO
STRING QUARTET
with Wu Han, piano
Borromeo Quartet "combines every 20th-century virtuoso ensemble
virtue with an old-world sense of color, character, and style."
"Impeccable technique and an incomparably expressive palette"
-- Wu Han
Two violins made from the same wood by Guarneri del Gesù: the "Kreisler,"
given as gift to the Library by its namesake, and the "Baron Vitta-Goldberg,"
are heard, perhaps for the first time together. Last owned by the celebrated
violinist and teacher Szymon Goldberg, the "Baron Vitta" has been
loaned by the Szymon Goldberg Trust to one of Goldberg's former students,
Nicholas Kitchen, Borromeo's first 
violinist.
He and the Quartet's new second violinist, Christopher Tong, will alternate
playing the twin Guarneris.
STRAVINSKY: Concertino for string quartet
BARTÓK: String Quartet no. 5 (Coolidge commission)
SHOSTAKOVICH: Piano Quintet in G minor, op. 57
6:15 pm - Coolidge Auditorium (no tickets required)
Pre-Concert Presentation: Nicholas Kitchen, first violinist of the Borromeo String Quartet, will perform the second movement of Brahms third
violin sonata with Wu Han, alternating between the Goldberg and the
Kreisler, recreating the comparison he made on April 24, 2005 with
Miyoko Yamane Goldberg. Then Borromeo members will perform a movement of a string quartet
with Nicholas playing the Goldberg, Kristopher playing the Kreisler,
Mai playing the Tuscan Strad Viola and Yeesun playing the Castelbarco
Strad Cello.
Please note: The ticket supply for this concert, via Ticketmaster, has been exhausted; however, there are often up to 80 empty seats available for "sold out" concerts at start time. Interested patrons are strongly encouraged to come to the Library by 6:30 p.m. on concert nights to join the standby line for no-show tickets.