Dukas

Concert Roundup Has Beef Jerky

I know this is a lot to get through. If you get hungry later, I have beef jerky.*

• Oh! Oh oh oh! Yes! Good! The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra is performing Saint-Saens‘ organ symphony this week! I love that piece, especially the bit where it’s in Epcot! Plus an organ concerto by Poulenc and the famous Dukas Sorcerer’s Apprentice. March 14 & 17 at the Meyerhoff. [ See it! ]
• Or! If you’d rather just the Saint-Saens‘ organ symphony, the BSO presents another one of their Off the Cuff concerts, wherein conductor Marin Alsop and the organist, Felix Hall, go in depth on the history and musicality of this super-amazing piece. March 15 at Strathmore; March 16 at the Meyerhoff. [ See it! ]
• If you’re in the market for something lighter and more holiday-themed, the National Symphony Orchestra busts out the NSO Pops this week for a concert with The Chieftains, who I am assured are Irish so it all fits thematically for the weekend. “The Wearing O’ the Green” is part of the program so I believe it. March 14 – 16. [ See it! ]
• This week at Strathmore: Jazz singer Integriti Reeves; Bach Choir of Bethlehem performing Mendelssohn‘s Elijah, cutting-edge classical ensemble NOW Ensemble; choral music by the Eric Whitacre Singers. [ See the calendar! ]

If you’d like your concert included in next week’s roundup, leave a comment or drop me a line.

* This is an inside joke with my IRL friends and you can feel free to ignore it. And/or wish you knew me IRL so that you, too, could enjoy off-handed comments about dried beef.

Concert Roundup: Scarypants Edition

Happy Halloween! You know what’s really scary? Not having your concert attendance for the week all planned out. Here ya go:

• Oh boy. The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra proves that it is positively MAGICAL with a program entitled “Wizards and Wands: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Apprentice,” a title which I will look upon dubiously forevermore. Still, aside from the admittedly catchy Williams Potter music, and you can never really go wrong with the Dukas. November 3 at the Meyerhoff. [ See it! ]
• The National Symphony Orchestra makes up for their lack of a concert a couple weeks ago by offering no less than three different programs this week. The first features Beethoven‘s Missa Solemnis, November 1 – 3. The second, on November 2, is a chamber music performance of all-Beethoven, proving that this Eschenbach fellow has great taste. And finally, on November 4, Lang-Lang plays nothing but Mozart and Chopin. Of course. [ See the Missa! ] [ See the chamber Beethoven! ] [ See Lang-Lang! ]
• This week at Strathmore: Joshua Bell, delta bluesman Keb’ Mo’, latin dance. [ See the calendar! ]

If you’d like your concert included in next week’s roundup, leave a comment or drop me a line.

All the Concert Roundup You Want

• This week’s Baltimore Symphony Orchestra concert is deeply romantic when it isn’t being kinda classical. Brahms‘ Double Concerto for Cello and Violin, Mozart‘s fifth symphony aka the “Haffner,” and something called Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks by Strauss, Richard. October 26 & 28 at the Meyerhoff; October 27 at Strathmore. [ See it! ]
• Not a concert, but interesting nonetheless while on the subject: the BSO just introduced their “Passport” which, for $75, enables you to attend as many concerts as you like for what as far as I can tell looks like the rest of the season. Caveat: 40 and under. If you qualify, might be worth investigating. [ Learn more! ]
• Meanwhile, back at the National Symphony Orchestra, the Pops take over with a series of concerts featuring Roberta Flack. Looks like she’ll be interpreting the Beatles. October 25 – 27. [ See it! ]
• Are you plagued by an extremely short person who seems to need things from you constantly? If so, this might be your child. If you suspect you may have a child, you should probably bring it to an NSO children’s concert, just to be safe – don’t want the little bugger to grow up to be some kinda philistine. Luckily there’s a Halloween-themed performance on October 28, including logical stuff like Berlioz and Dukas. [ See it! ]
• This week at Strathmore: impressive looping fiddler Casey Driessen and two performances by the Dali Quartet. [ See the calendar! ]

If you’d like your concert included in next week’s roundup, leave a comment or drop me a line.

The 2011 Ain’t Baroque Trick-or-Treat Soundtrack

Last year I posted a spooky playlist for your Halloween pleasure, suitable for trick-or-treating, costume parties, and general pursuits of fright. It went over pretty well, so here it is again — only BETTER, because it’s augmented with additional suggestions. Let me know if you have any to add yourself!

1. Toccata and Fugue in d minor, by J. S. Bach (natch)
2. Carnival of the Animals, VII “Aquarium,” by Camille Saint-Saens
3. Funeral March of a Marionette, by Charles Gounod
4. “The Ghost’s High Noon” from Ruddigore, by Sir Arthur Sullivan (I’m partial to the King’s Singers version)
5. The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, by Paul Dukas
6. I. “Gnomus,” from Pictures at an Exhibition, by Modest Mussourgsky
7. “Grim Grinning Ghosts” as performed by the Swingtips
8. Night on Bald Mountain, by Modest Mussourgsky (suggested by Ed Blonski)
9. Le Sacre du Printemps, by Igor Stravinsky
10. Danse Macabre, by Camille Saint-Saens
11. “March to the Scaffold” and “Witches’ Sabbath” from Symphonie Fantastique, by Hector Berlioz (suggested by Helikonios)
12. “In The Hall of the Mountain King” from Peer Gynt, by Edvard Grieg

Image from http://www.doitmyself.org/labels/pumpkin.html

When the night wind howls and the chimney growls

Standard theremin-heavy creepy music is boring. This Halloween, add atmosphere with a classical playlist instead! Well, I mean, you can use horror movie soundtracks if you want, but keep in mind this will make you exactly like ALL your neighbors. Consider these instead.

1. Toccata and Fugue in d minor, by J. S. Bach (which goes without saying, but dude, did you know that Bach’s authorship has been challenged?)
2. Carnival of the Animals, VII “Aquarium,” by Camille Saint-Saens (weird Tim Burtonesque quality is fitting as he used it to open The Nightmare Before Christmas)
3. Funeral March of a Marionette, by Charles Gounod (if Hitchcock used it…)
4. “The Ghost’s High Noon” from Ruddigore, by Sir Arthur Sullivan (I’m partial to the King’s Singers version)
5. The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, by Paul Dukas (can’t tell me the opening measures aren’t foreboding)
6. I. “Gnomus,” from Pictures at an Exhibition, by Modest Mussourgsky
7. “Grim Grinning Ghosts” as performed by the Swingtips BECAUSE I CAN THE HAUNTED MANSION IS LIKE A RIDE-ON MUSICAL SHUT UP

There. That should terrify the local five year olds well enough. Any other suggestions?

Updated to add:

• Ed Blonski suggests Mussourgky’s Night on Bald Mountain. To which I say: shoulda thought of that one myself.
• I DID think of this one myself: Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring. Your favorite movements or all of them — seriously haunting stuff.
• I thought of another DUH one: Danse Macabre by Saint-Saens. Duh.