St. Louis classical calendar for the week of October 31, 2016

Darwyn Apple

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African Musical Arts presents African Descent Composers for Strings on Sunday, November 6, at 3 p.m. "African-Descent Composers for Strings, featuring IMI Chamber Players, with guest violinist, Darwyn Apple, highlighting music by African-American composers Jean Rudy Perrault, Joseph Bologne (Chevalier, Saint-Georges), Perkinson-Taylor, George Walker, and Fred Onovwerosuoke, as as well as selected works by Clara Schumann, Webern and Ludwig van Beethoven." The concert takes place at Trinity Presbyterian Church, 6800 Washington in University City. For more information: africarts.org.

The Chamber Music Society of St. Louis presents Fall Classics…Music…Not Baseball on Monday, October 31 at 7:30 p.m. "Part of the St. Louis Arts Experience. Amid the battle in the baseball world for supremacy in the Fall Classic, we offer some classics from the world of music. Enjoy classic favorites by Mozart, Chopin, Haydn, and Schubert. Concerts performed cabaret-style in the Sheldon Ballroom at 3648 Washington. For more information: chambermusicstl.org.

The Metropolitan Orchestra of St. Louis

First Presbyterian Church of Kirkwood presents a concert by The Metropolitan Orchestra of St. Louis on Sunday, November 6, at 7 p.m. "MOSL presents its second concert of the season. Music Director Wendy Lea leads the orchestra in works by Wagner, Haydn, and Beethoven. Soloists in the Haydn are: Marilyn Park Ellington, Catherine Lehr Ramos, Ann Homann-Mottl, and Donita Bauer. Beethoven's 8th symphony is one of his most joyous and full of musical humor. Here we find the composer in a playful mood. Beethoven described it as “aufgeknöpft,” or “unbuttoned”. It well characterizes his cheerful nature heard in the 8th symphony. Wagner's Siegfried Idyll was written as a gift to his wife. It shows a side of the composer rarely seen in his other works. Siegried is gentle song of contentment in his married life." First Presbyterian Church is at 100 East Adams in Kirkwood. For more information: metro-orch.org.

The St. Louis Art Museum presents Made in America, a concert by the Confluence Chamber Orchestra on Sunday, November 6, at 1:30 p.m. "The Confluence Chamber Orchestra returns to the Saint Louis Art Museum's Family Sunday with two mini concerts of American music. Featured works are Leonard Bernstein's “America” from West Side Story, Jerome Kern's “Ol' Man River,” and “The Cascades,” Scott Joplin's musical description of the waterfalls on Art Hill during the 1904 World's Fair. Before each performance, children and adults are invited to a string instrument petting zoo. Admission is free." The concert takes place at Art Museum in Forest Park. For more information: confluencechamberorchestra.org.

The St. Louis Chamber Chorus at St. Alphonsus Church

The St. Louis Chamber Chorus presents Concert Two: Reflection and Rememberance on Sunday, November 6, at 3 p.m. "A program both reflective and celebratory features Hebrew motets by Salamone Rossi and Paul Schoenfield, a secular Requiem by Peter Cornelius, and elegies from William Walton & Sasha Johnson Manning. Respite is offered in a delightful song cycle by Felix Mendelssohn, 'to be sung outdoors', and we conclude with 'swan songs' by Schutz, Arcadelt, and Orlando Gibbons, and a new commission from Bob Chilcott." The concert takes place at New Mt. Sinai Cemetery, 8430 Gravois. For more information: www.chamberchorus.org.

The St. Louis Civic Orchestra presents Ballet and Beethoven on Saturday and Sunday, November 5 and 6, at 7 p.m. "Alexandra Ballet is pleased to announce its collaboration with the St. Louis Civic Orchestra! Come and enjoy as they work together to present a delightful indulgence for the eyes and ears! Together, they will perform excerpts from the Swan Lake Suite by Tchaikovsky: Black Swan, Dance of the Four Cygnets, Neapolitan, and Spanish." The concert takes place at the Purser Center at Logan University, 1851 Schoettler Rd in Chesterfield, MO. For more information: stlco.org.

Nan-Ha Chang
Photo: Sheila Rock

Han-Na Chang conducts the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra with violin soloist Jan Mrácek in Glinka's Ruslan and Lyudmila Overture, Prokofiev's Violin Concerto No. 1, and Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony. Performances are Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., November 4 and 5, at Powell Hall in Grand Center. For more information: stlsymphony.org.

The Touhill Performing Arts Center presents The Arianna String Quartet in Russian Melodiya on Friday, November 4, at 8 PM. "The Arianna Quartet opens their second concert with Prokofiev's revolutionary style, in his Quartet No.2, a mid-20th century masterpiece that is fueled by Russian folk music and instrumental traditions, and a gem of the quartet repertoire. Also on the program: Tchaikovsky's String Quarete No.2 and Nikolai Medtner's Piano Quintet in C Major, Op. posth. with pianist Alla Voskoboynikova. The program also includes music by Philip Glass and Beethoven. The Touhill Performing Arts Center in on the University of Missouri at St. Louis campus. For more information: touhill.org.