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Classical Music Preview
Friday, January 12, 2001 By Andrew Druckenbrod Post-Gazette Classical Music Writer
Headlining the classical scene this winter and spring season are again some outstanding imported artists. Conductor Kristjan Jarvi (son of Neeme and brother of Paavo) brings his Absolute Ensemble into the intimate Club Cafe for a concert to play music from Renaissance to rock. The always snazzy-looking and snappy-playing Ahn Trio visits the Byham Theater. Pitt's Music on the Edge series invites the New York New Music Ensemble to town.
Also, pianist Peter Schickele of P.D.Q. Bach fame brings his deft humor and unique approach to the Y Music Society, which also sports another excellent pianist, Stephen Hough. The Juilliard String Quartet comes to the Pittsburgh Chamber Music Society. Finally, the dearth of Renaissance singing in the city will temporarily be alleviated when Pomerium comes, in care of Music in a Great Space.
There's good stuff from the locally based scene, as well. Chatham Baroque unveils "Dublin in the Rare Olde Times" and then celebrates its 10-year anniversary (already!) with a greatest hits concert. Opera Theater of Pittsburgh tries to shake things up with a "mechanical opera" created by poet, composer, sculptor and woodcut artist Jay Bolotin called "Limbus." And the Pittsburgh Opera will offer a dynamic production of Puccini's "Turandot."
I haven't forgotten about the Pittsburgh Symphony, but you can see from the list below that the PSO has its usual plethora of great visiting performers, including pianists Radu Lupu and Leif Ove Andsnes and percussionist Evelyn Glennie. Also, the excellent principal clarinetist of the orchestra, Michael Rusinek, will be highlighted in a concert.
ABSOLUTE ENSEMBLE: Club Cafe, South Side. Kristjan Jarvi, conductor (Feb. 20). 412-431-4950.
BACH CHOIR OF PITTSBURGH: Various venues. Bach's "Mass in B Minor" (April 8-13). 412-394-3353.
BLESSED SACRAMENT CATHEDRAL: Greensburg. True North Brass (Feb. 23); Notre Dame Folk Choir (May 22). 724-834-3710.
CHATHAM BAROQUE: Various venues. "Dublin in the Rare Olde Times" (March 16-18); "Best of Chatham Baroque" (May 11-13). 412-365-1867.
EDGEWOOD SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA: CCAC Boyce Campus, Monroeville, works by Mozart, Prokofiev and Wagner (Feb. 26); Woodland Hills West Junior High School, works by Brahms, Mozart and Tchaikovsky (April 29). 724-444-6694.
JCC ORCHESTRA: Katz Auditorium, Jewish Community Center, Squirrel Hill. "A Night at the Opera" (March 11); Berlioz's "Roman Carnival Overture," Mozart's "Concerto for Oboe and Orchestra" with Erin Lutz, oboe; Dvorak's "Symphony No. 6" (May 20). 412-521-8010, Ext. 850.
LIVE ON STAGE: Byham Theater. The Ahn Trio (April 22). 412-456-6666.
MCKEESPORT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA: McKeesport High School. "Land of the Midnight Sun," works by Grieg and Sibelius (Feb. 24); "Spring Serenade," works by Vivaldi and Tchaikovsky (March 24); "Strauss' Greatest Hits" (May 19). 412-672-1168.
MENDELSSOHN CHOIR: East Liberty Presbyterian Church. "Always a River ... Songs of the Ohio," with the Junior Mendelssohn Choir and Children's Festival Chorus (Feb. 23). 412-823-4188.
MUSIC ON THE EDGE: Frick Fine Arts Auditorium and Bellefield Hall Auditorium, Oakland. Katie Lansdale, violin (Feb. 6); New York New Music Ensemble (Feb. 17); Judith Weir (April 3). 412-624-4125.
MUSIC IN A GREAT SPACE: Shadyside Presbyterian Church. William Bolcom, piano, and Joan Morris, vocalist (Jan. 19); Gospel Music Festival (Feb. 25); Pomerium (March 25); Shadyside Choral Society and Orchestra (April 29); Martin Baker, organ (May 20). 412-682-4300.
MUSIC FOR MT. LEBANON: Mt. Lebanon High School. River City Brass Band (Jan. 20); Cab Calloway's Legacy of Swing (March 3). 412-531-8588.
NORTH PITTSBURGH PHILHARMONIC: Various venues. "The Ochestral Experience," with guests North Hills High School Orchestra, Beaver Area High School Orchestra and Pittsburgh's PHOENIX Youth Festival Orchestra (Feb. 11); "The Irish Tradition" with Cahal Dunne (April 27); "The Greatest Music: A Tribute to the World War II Generation" (June 1). 724-935-0813.
OPERA THEATER OF PITTSBURGH: Hazlett Theater, North Side, Hoffstot Mansion, Oakland and Chosky Theater, Oakland. Janacek's "Cunning Little Vixen" (Jan. 24-27). Pergolesi's "La Serva Padrona" (Feb. 24-25). Jay Bolotin's "Limbus" (March 27-31). 412-624-3500.
ORGAN ARTISTS SERIES: Calvary Episcopal Church, Shadyside. Peter Sykes and Victoria Wagner (March 18); Margaret Kemper (April 22). 412-231-2970.
PITTSBURGH CAMERATA: Various venues. "Maiden Interrupted" with Patricia Halverson, viola da gamba, and Scott Pauley, theorbo and baroque guitar (March 30-April 7). 412-421-5884.
PITTSBURGH CHAMBER MUSIC PROJECT: The Andy Warhol Museum. Works by Stravinsky (March 13). 412-237-8300.
PITTSBURGH CHAMBER MUSIC SOCIETY: Carnegie Music Hall, Oakland. Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center (Feb. 26); "An evening of chamber music in memory of David Golub" (March 19); Juilliard String Quartet (April 30). 412-624-4129.
PITTSBURGH CIVIC ORCHESTRA: Upper St. Clair High School. Young Artists Concert (Feb. 17); Works by Mozart, Brahms and Liszt (April 7); With Michael Sakash, saxophone, and Rhoda Wang Jeng, piano (May 19). 412-278-2326.
PITTSBURGH CONCERT CHORALE: Ingomar United Methodist Church, Franklin Park, Beethoven's "Mass in C" (March 11); Orchard Hill Church, Wexford, "The Incredible Irving Berlin" with Al Dowe and Etta Cox (May 11). 412-394-3353 and 412-635-7654, Ext. 6.
PITTSBURGH CONCERT SOCIETY: Duquesne University PNC Bank Recital Hall, Uptown. Young Artists Competition (Jan. 28 and Feb. 18); Sherry Kloss, violin, Mark Carver, piano, and guitar duo Jim Ferla and John Marcinizyn (May 20). 412-279-2970.
PITTSBURGH NEW MUSIC ENSEMBLE: Katz Auditorium, Jewish Community Center, Squirrel Hill. Olivier Messiaen's "Vingt Regards sur L'Enfant Jesu" (Jan. 27), Kieren MacMillan's "Furious Overfall (The Last Voyage of Henry Hudson)" (March 13), Jeffrey Nytch's "Vox Humana" (April 1). 412-394-3353.
PITTSBURGH OPERA: Benedum Center, Downtown. "Verdi's "Falstaff" (March 24-April 1); Puccini's "Turandot" (April 28-May 6). 412-456-6666.
PITTSBURGH OPERA CENTER: Various venues. Donizetti's "Don Pasquale" (Jan. 24-28); Dominick Argento's "Postcard from Morocco" (Feb. 21-March 3) 412-281-3480, Ext. 300.
PITTSBURGH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA: Heinz Hall, Downtown. Andre Previn conducts his "Streetcar Named Desire" with Sheryl Woods as Blanche, Peggy Kriha Dye as Stella, David Okerlund as Stanley and Anthony Dean Griffey as Mitch (Jan. 12-16); Pinchas Zukerman, conductor and violin, with Gretchen van Hoesen, harp (Jan. 26-28); Zukerman with Michael Rusinek, clarinet (Feb. 2-4); conductor Mariss Jansons with Radu Lupu, piano (Feb. 9-11); conductor Mariss Jansons, works by Gabrieli, Bartok, Strauss, Stravinsky and Ravel (Feb. 16-18); conductor Mariss Jansons with Thomas Quasthoff, bass-baritone (Feb. 23-25); conductor David Zinman with Vladimir Feltsman, piano (March 9-10); conductor Mariss Jansons with Leif Ove Andsnes, piano (March 16-17); Ingo Metzmacher, conductor, with Evelyn Glennie, percussion, and the Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh (April 6-8); Andre Previn conducts Mahler (April 20-22); conductor Hans Graf with Frank Peter Zimmermann, violin (May 4-6); conductor Mariss Jansons with Luana DeVol, soprano, Michelle DeYoung, mezzo soprano, Jon Fredric West, tenor, John Relyea, bass, and the Mendelssohn Choir, performing Schoenberg's "A Survivor From Warsaw" (May 11-13). 412-392-4900.
PITTSBURGH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA OUTREACH CONCERT SERIES: Upper St. Clair High School. Edward Cumming, conductor (Jan. 31). 412-392-4900.
PITTSBURGH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA SOUNDBYTES SERIES: Heinz Hall, Downtown. American Beauties," works by American composers, with host David Conrad (Jan. 27). 412-392-4900.
PITTSBURGH SYMPHONY POPS: Heinz Hall, Downtown. Conductor Marvin Hamlisch, "Search for a Star II," featuring talented Pittsburghers (Jan. 18-21); "A Little Night Music," Sondheim tribute (March 1-4); "The Best of John Williams" (March 29-April 1); "Fall in Love with Linda Eder" (May 31-June 3). 412-392-4900.
PITTSBURGH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA NUANCE SERIES: Various venues. Chamber group of PSO players performing Tchaikovsky's "Souvenir" (Jan. 17-18). 412-392-4900.
PITTSBURGH THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY: East Liberty. Alan Grishman, violin, Lauren Mallory, cello, and Yee-Ha Chiu, piano (Jan. 27); Anne Martindale Williams, cello, and Luz Manriquez, piano (March 11); Elizabeth Weigle, soprano, and S.G. Otto, piano (May 12). 412-362-5610, Ext. 2197.
RENAISSANCE & BAROQUE SOCIETY: Frick Fine Arts Auditorium, Oakland and Synod Hall, Oakland. Fortune's Wheel (Jan. 20); Evelyn Tubb & Anthony Rooley (Feb. 10); Amsterdam Loeki Stardust Quartet (March 3); A Musical Narration with Catharina Meints (April 1); Apollo's Fire (April 28). 412-682-7262.
RENAISSANCE CITY CHOIRS: Kelly-Strayhorn Theater, East Liberty. Men's Choir concert (April 28); Women's Choir concert (June 2). 412-362-9484.
RENAISSANCE CITY WINDS: Frick Fine Arts Auditorium, Oakland and various venues. "The Baroque Virtuoso," works by Bach, Telemann, Vivaldi and Handel (Jan. 13-14); "Prokofiev!" (April 1-7). 412-394-3353.
RIVER CITY BRASS BAND: Various venues. "Cabaret" (March 3-11); "Sentimental Journey" (March 30-April 8); "By Popular Demand II (May 4-13); "Concerts for the Whole Family Series" (March 11, April 1, May 6). 1-800-292-7222.
STEINWAY SOCIETY: Alumni Hall, CMU College of Fine Arts, Patricia Phillips, soprano, and Mark Carver, piano (Jan. 21); Trombino Piano Gallerie, Downtown, Young Artist Performances (Feb. 11 and April 8), Jennie Song (March 11), Phyllis Kiser/ Rachael Mertz and Faye D'Ippolito/Nancy Happel piano duos (May 6). 412-765-0600.
TIFFANY CONCERT SERIES: Presented by Allegheny Historic Preservation Society at Calvary United Methodist Church, North Side. Duquesne University Chamber Singers (March 25); Ann Labounsky, organ (April 29); Maureen Budway (May 20). 412-323-1070.
TUESDAY MUSICAL CLUB: The Frick Art and Historical Center, Point Breeze. Jon Regen Jazz Trio (Jan. 21); Karina Gauvin, soprano (Feb. 11); Sergio Tiempi, piano (March 18); Amabile Piano Quartet (April 8); Helen Clay Frick Scholarship Winner's Recital (May 6). 412-371-0600.
WESTMORELAND SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA: Palace Theatre, Greensburg. "A Courtly Affair," works by Beethoven, Shostakovich and Britten, with Julie Albers, cello (Jan. 20); "Music to Warm Your Heart," Valentine's Day celebration (Feb. 17-18); "Salute to the Future" with Piotr Kwasny, violin (March 17); "Majestic Masterpieces," works by Barber, Mozart and Brahms, with Niel Immelman, piano (April 21-22). 724-837-1850.
Y MUSIC SOCIETY: Carnegie Music Hall, Oakland. Peter Schickele, piano (Feb. 15); Stephen Hough, piano (March 27); Horacio Gutierrez, piano. (April 12). 412-421-6771.
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