Classical Beat: NSO


Posted at 11:10 AM ET, 03/05/2013

Kennedy Center focuses on American vocalism in 2013-14
By Anne Midgette
Festivals of American song and choral music are interspersed with a lot of opera on the classical calendar.

By Anne Midgette  |  11:10 AM ET, 03/05/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Kennedy Center, WNO, NSO

Posted at 08:41 AM ET, 02/13/2013

Eyewitness: NSO reigns in Germany
By Anne Midgette
A long-time NSO observer appraises the orchestra’s European tour.

By Anne Midgette  |  08:41 AM ET, 02/13/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  NSO

Posted at 11:54 AM ET, 01/25/2013

Link: NSO offers dress rehearsal for European tour
By Anne Midgette
On the eve of a European tour, the orchestra and Eschenbach seemed to be in dress rehearsal mode.

By Anne Midgette  |  11:54 AM ET, 01/25/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  NSO, Eschenbach

Posted at 04:22 AM ET, 01/18/2013

The return of the links
By Anne Midgette
Taking stock of 2013 and DC’s classical-music renaissance. Plus: links to the month’s reviews to date.

By Anne Midgette  |  04:22 AM ET, 01/18/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  NSO, Cathedral, orchestras, Vocal Arts DC

Posted at 05:13 PM ET, 11/12/2012

Weekend roundup: Lang Lang and more
By Anne Midgette

By Anne Midgette  |  05:13 PM ET, 11/12/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  NSO, Eschenbach, Lang Lang, Joan Reinthaler, Grace Jean, Stephen Brookes

Posted at 12:46 PM ET, 11/06/2012

Review digest: of Lang Lang, Midori, Josh Bell, and more
By Anne Midgette
The last two weeks saw recitals by Andrey Baranov, Paul Huang, Alexandre Tharaud, and I Musici di Roma.

By Anne Midgette  |  12:46 PM ET, 11/06/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  NSO, Lang Lang, Eschenbach, Battey, Reinthaler, Brookes, Downey, Porter, Jean

Posted at 07:49 AM ET, 10/12/2012

Link: NSO disappoints in promising program
By Anne Midgette
Weak soloist Nathalie Stutzmann dims luster of beautiful Henze arrangement of Wagner’s Wesendonck Lieder.

By Anne Midgette  |  07:49 AM ET, 10/12/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  NSO

Posted at 03:24 PM ET, 10/05/2012

NSO starts its season with two contrasting performances
By Anne Midgette
On Sunday, Christoph Eschenbach conducted the NSO in a standard-issue gala; on Thursday, it was all about love, all the time.

By Anne Midgette  |  03:24 PM ET, 10/05/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  NSO

Posted at 09:32 AM ET, 06/27/2012

Oman, o man: Scheppelmann to Muscat
By Anne Midgette and Sarah Kaufman
The Royal Opera House Muscat in Oman has announced a 2012-13 season that includes performances by the National Symphony Orchestra, the Farrell Ballet, Castleton — and WNO’s Christina Scheppelmann’s instatement as new head.

By Anne Midgette and Sarah Kaufman  |  09:32 AM ET, 06/27/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  NSO, WNO

Posted at 04:21 PM ET, 06/23/2012

NSO tour: Christoph Eschenbach
By Anne Midgette
As the NSO heads into the final week of its South America tour, I examine the orchestra’s relationship with its music director of the last two seasons, Christoph Eschenbach.

By Anne Midgette  |  04:21 PM ET, 06/23/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  NSO South America tour

Posted at 05:00 PM ET, 06/20/2012

NSO tour: two symphonies in Rosario
By Anne Midgette
The NSO will play the Beethoven 7th and the Tchaikovsky 5th symphonies over and over in South America. Some players, and Maestro Eschenbach, share their thoughts on this very familiar music.

By Anne Midgette  |  05:00 PM ET, 06/20/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  NSO South America tour

Posted at 03:30 PM ET, 06/20/2012

NSO tour: review roundup

By Anne Midgette
In Mexico and Trinidad, reviews of the National Symphony Orchestra tour are enthusiastic.

By Anne Midgette  |  03:30 PM ET, 06/20/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  NSO South America tour

Posted at 06:35 PM ET, 06/15/2012

NSO tour: From Mexico to Trinidad & Tobago
By Anne Midgette
As reviews of Wednesday’s Mexico City concert appear, the National Symphony Orchestra arrives in Trinidad and Tobago to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the country’s independence.

By Anne Midgette  |  06:35 PM ET, 06/15/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  NSO South America tour

Posted at 04:54 PM ET, 06/14/2012

NSO tour: First concert done
By Anne Midgette
The NSO kicked off its South America tour on June 13 with a concert in Mexico City.

By Anne Midgette  |  04:54 PM ET, 06/14/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  NSO South America tour

Posted at 11:42 AM ET, 06/08/2012

Links: a season ends, a festival opens
By Anne Midgette
Links to reviews of the NSO’s last concert of the season; the beginning of the Washington Early Music Festival; and Christoph Eschenbach with the Kennedy Center Chamber Players.

By Anne Midgette  |  11:42 AM ET, 06/08/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  NSO, WEMF, Robert Battey, Joe Banno, Charles T. Downey

Posted at 11:03 AM ET, 06/05/2012

NSO announces European tour in 2013
By Anne Midgette
An eleven-day jaunt through Spain, Germany and France will be the National Symphony Orchestra’s second tour with Christoph Eschenbach in 8 months.

By Anne Midgette  |  11:03 AM ET, 06/05/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  NSO

Posted at 10:43 AM ET, 04/24/2012

The weekend in review: Concerto Köln, Verge Ensemble, A Far Cry, and Fred Lerdahl
By Anne Midgette
Concert reviews of the crack early-music group Concerto Köln, the complete quartets of Pulitzer finalist Fred Lerdahl, the Verge Ensemble playing Morton Subotnick, and more.

By Anne Midgette  |  10:43 AM ET, 04/24/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Charles T. Downey, Joan Reinthaler, Tom Huizenga, Stephen Brookes, NSO

Posted at 10:36 AM ET, 04/16/2012

Links: Josh Bell as music director; two local opera companies make good(ish); and other weekend highlights.
By Anne Midgette
The violinist Joshua Bell led the Academy of St-Martin-in-the-Fields; other notable concerts this weekend included two world premieres, one of an opera about 1950s self-help manuals (by Urban Arias) and one of an affirming orchestral piece with Sweet Honey in the Rock (by the NSO).

By Anne Midgette  |  10:36 AM ET, 04/16/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Joe Banno, Robert Battey, Stephen Brookes, NSO

Posted at 11:37 AM ET, 04/03/2012

NSO to tour “Americas” in June
By Anne Midgette
The orchestra’s first international tour under Christoph Eschenbach will take it to Mexico, Trinidad & Tobago, Uruguay, Argentina, and Brazil for a total of eight concerts.

By Anne Midgette  |  11:37 AM ET, 04/03/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  NSO

Posted at 12:02 PM ET, 03/16/2012

NSO’s “Fidelio”: the morning after
By Anne Midgette
A link to today’s review of the NSO’s “Fidelio” in the Washington Post, plus a few other observations on a pretty terrific performance.

By Anne Midgette  |  12:02 PM ET, 03/16/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  NSO, Eschenbach

Posted at 11:09 AM ET, 02/10/2012

Links: NSO with Salerno-Sonnenberg; the piano beat
By Charles T. Downey
Charles T. Downey’s take on three significant Washington concerts this week, including Eschenbach and the NSO last night in Shostakovich and Bruckner. In a Web-only addendum, he confirms that the principal oboeist had to leave the stage with stomach flu in the middle of the performance.

By Charles T. Downey  |  11:09 AM ET, 02/10/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  NSO, Charles T. Downey

Posted at 03:04 PM ET, 02/06/2012

Old-fashioned interruption at the NSO
By Anne Midgette
Who needs a cell phone? At the National Symphony Orchestra on Friday night, a patron was able to create a disruption without any electronic enhancement at all. Ah, tradition.

By Anne Midgette  |  03:04 PM ET, 02/06/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  NSO