April's Best Classical Concerts

April begins with the first performance of Washington National Opera's revival of Donizetti's "L'Elisir d'Amore," but you probably won't want to catch it opening night, for there are two other events taking place on April 1 that may take precedence.

The first is a recital by the young Chinese pianist Yundi Li out at the Music Center at Strathmore. It's quite a challenging program --- Mozart's Sonata No. 10 in C (K. 330), Schumann's "Carnaval" and Liszt's Sonata in B minor --- and Li's playing combines virtuosity, intelligence and sensitivity.

Also on April 1, at that other new-ish Maryland venue, the Clarice Smith Center, the University of Maryland Symphony Orchestra will be playing Michael Haydn's Concerto for Horn and Alto Trombone (Greg Miller and Mark Hetzler) under the direction of James Ross, followed by (drumroll, please) the complete Symphony No. 9 by Gustav Mahler! The Mahler is one of the most challenging pieces in the repertory but Maryland must think it can pull it off --- and, to judge from by the orchestra's similarly improbable performance of Verdi's Requiem last year, they may well be right.

Back to Washington National Opera, now in the midst of its spring season. When "L'Elisir d'Amore" last rolled into town a little less than a decade ago, it was a true pleasure --- lively, funny and filled with potent melodies. You can see and hear it seven times this month at the Kennedy Center. And don't forget Wagner's "Das Rheingold," the company's first installment of a new "Ring" cycle, which opened in March and continues through April.

Starting April 3, Catholic University is presenting an ambitious tribute to America's greatest composer, the late Aaron Copland. There will be several performances, as well as panels and discussions. The series is entitled "Aaron Copland's America" and will include a performance of the composer's only full-length opera, "The Tender Land," on April 7 and 8 at the university's Edward J. Pryzbyla Center. Not to be missed.

Meanwhile, over at the Library of Congress, the American Federation of Violin and Bow Makers (with support from the Violin Society of America) will be presenting a series of concerts celebrating historical and modern American violin making. A performance by the Turtle Island String Quartet --- a group that combines folk, bluegrass, swing, rock, hip-hop and world music --- starts off the festivities on April 6, with further concerts by the Juilliard String Quartet and the violinist Elmar Oliveira, among others.

Conductor Ruben Vartanyan is back with the Arlington Philharmonic. On April 9, at Arlington's Kenmore Middle School, Vartanyan will lead a program that combines the celebrated and popular (Mozart's "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik," Tchaikovsky's "Serenade for Strings" and a concerto from Vivaldi's "Four Seasons") as well as Charles Wakefield Cadman's "American Suite" and Ernest K. Emurian's "Arlington Song."

There are few more thoroughly solemn pieces in existence than Bach's "St. Matthew Passion" --- and yet I almost always leave the concert hall feeling exhilarated after hearing it. The National Symphony Orchestra welcomes the German baroque specialist Helmuth Rilling for a performance of Bach's grandest choral work on April 13. I'm especially attracted to the Friday afternoon concert at the Kennedy Center, which will permit absorption of the music's power and mystery at an early hour.

A visit to the Phillips Collection permits a spectator to take in both visual and musical art. On April 16, pianist and composer Haskell Small will present the world premiere of his "Renoir's Feast," in celebration of the return of "Luncheon of the Boating Party," one of Renoir's most celebrated paintings (and perhaps the most famous single item in the Phillips Collection).

We associate Wolf Trap with leisurely summer evenings on the lawn, but the Vienna spot hosts concerts all year. On April 21, Trio Solisti will play the Pulitzer Prize-winning "Tempest Fantasy" by Paul Moravec, among other works, at the Barns at Wolf Trap.

Michael Tilson Thomas has made the San Francisco Symphony one of the most exciting ensembles in the nation since he took over the music directorship there in 1995. On April 22, the Washington Performing Arts Society will present the SFS in a varied and interesting program at the Kennedy Center that includes Debussy's "Jeux," Alban Berg's "Lulu Suite," the Adagio from Mahler's Symphony No. 10 (the only movement the composer completed) and "Siegfried's Rhine Journey" from Wagner's "Gotterdammerung."

Might as well check into the Kennedy Center for the weekend. On April 23, the Master Chorale of Washington, under the direction of Donald McCullough, will lead the world premiere of a new work by the gifted contemporary American composer Adolphus Hailstork, "Whitman's Journey." Rounding out the program will be Aaron Copland's "Old American Songs."

I wish the National Gallery of Art had better acoustics: nevertheless, one listens to pianist Piotr Andrszewski where one can find him. On the evening of April 23, Andrszewski plays works by Bach, Mozart and the Polish composer Karol Szymanowski in the Gallery's West Garden Court. Come early --- these events tend to fill up quickly.

Finally, the NSO welcomes back its music director emeritus, Mstislav Rostropovich, for a program of music by Leonard Bernstein, Benjamin Britten, Henri Dutilleux and Antonin Dvorak at the Kennedy Center, running from April 27-29. I'm especially looking forward to hearing the American soprano Dawn Upshaw in Dutilleux's "Correspondances" (CQ) -- an relatively new work (it was composed in 2003) by a composer who turned 90 in January and continues to produce important music.