Symphony Digital Review: "Equal Play" features three very different works for string quartet by contemporary women composers

The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra's season may have ended back in June, but the orchestra's digital concert series continues at their web site. The latest addition to the series is "Equal Play," a program honoring women composers that has been an annual SLSO tradition since 2017. It went live on July 29th and will be available through August 28th.

Assembled from a previously released SLSO digital concert and one live concert that has yet to appear on video, "Equal Play" features works by Jessie Montgomery, Caroline Shaw, and Gabriela Lena Frank. I reviewed the original concerts when they were first performed live at Powell Hall last fall as well as when they first came out on video. This article is assembled from what I wrote back then, with some nips and tucks here and there.

L-R: Xiaoxiao Qiang, Andrea Jarrett,
Jennifer Humphreys, Jonathan Chu in "Strum"

The concert begins with "Strum" by Jessie Montgomery, a violinist and composer whose colorful "Starburst" was the first piece to be played on the stage at Powell when it re-opened briefly on October 15th, 2020. Like that earlier work, "Strum" bubbles over with exuberance. It's quick to engage your interest with what the composer calls "a kind of narrative that begins with fleeting nostalgia and transforms into ecstatic celebration."

It achieves that by employing a wide variety of techniques, as the string players pluck, strum, and bow in ways that call to mind everything from Appalachian folk tunes to guitar rock. As performed by violinists Xiaoxiao Qiang and Andrea Jarrett, violist Jonathan Chu, and cellist Jennifer Humphreys, it dances its way merrily and expertly off the stage and into the hearts of the physically distanced audience.

Next is Caroline Shaw's "Ent'racte" (from 2011), which is essentially a virtuoso study in just how much sonic variety a person can get out of a string quartet. There are some eerie harmonics, creative use of pizzicato, an almost-inaudible brushing of the strings with bows and, at one point, something that sounded rather like an amiable conversation among a quartet of cats. It asks a lot from the players, but the quartet of violinists Alison Harney and Angie Smart, violist Christian Tantillo, and cellist Jennifer Humphreys are more than an equal for the challenges of this fascinating twists and turns of this music. It's gets a lot of mileage out of a short theme that, to my ears, calls to mind the work of 16th-century British composer Thomas Tallis. That gives it a kind of timeless quality—both ancient and modern at the same time.

This is, as far as I know, the first time the SLSO performance of the work has appeared on video.

L-R: Jessica Cheng, Asako Kuboki,
Andrew Francois, Alvin McCall in "Leyendas"

The program concludes with three of the six movements of "Leyendas: An Andean Walkabout" by Gabriela Lena Frank, Composer-in-Residence with the Philadelphia Orchestra and a graduate of my alma mater, Rice University. Each movement is a kind of mini tone poem reflecting some aspect of Peruvian history or culture. "Chasqui" represents the titular Incan messenger runners with rapid runs and pizzicati suggesting fleet-footed speed. "Toyos" uses gliding melodic lines interspersed with plucked strings to evoke the Andean panpipe. And "Coqueteos" pays homage to Peruvian troubadours known as "romanceros" with grand, sweeping gestures that suggested the open sensuality of the Argentinian tango. It made me think of the songs of Carlos Gardel or the bandoneón music of Astor Piazzolla, even though neither of them are Peruvian.

This time the quartet consists of violinists Jessica Cheng and Asako Kuboki, violist Andrew Francois, and cellist Alvin McCall. Fine players all, they bring out all of the many moods of this music. I was sorry I couldn't hear them perform the entire piece.

As I have noted in reviews of previous SLSO digital video programs, the format actually improves the concert experience in some ways by providing a sense of intimacy that isn't available in the vastness of Powell Hall. A brief introduction by flutist Jennifer Nitchman adds a personal note to it all.

The video runs around a half hour and is available through August 28th. More information is available at the SLSO web site.

This article originally appeared at 88.1 KDHX, where Chuck Lavazzi is the senior performing arts critic.

Symphony Preview: Star Chamber, Pt. 2

Last week the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra (SLSO) announced a series of six chamber music concerts for late October and early November. Each concert will be offered twice in rotating repertory through November 8. This is the second of three articles on the series since there's far too much music to cram into just one.

Katherine Hoover

Friday, October 30 at 11 am and Thursday, November 5 at 7:30 pm is a program that's mostly French and mostly includes the harp. It opens with the sole outlier, "Reflections" for solo flute by late composer and flutist Katherine Hoover. Composed in 1982, this short piece is described by the composer as "Variations on an ancient Norwegian chant. Written outdoors at Artpark, NY." It certainly has that solitary, "high on a mountain top" feel that I associate with (say) Andean or Native American flute music—haunting, mysterious, and compelling. Listen to Kate Steinbeck's 2002 recording on YouTube.

The harp comes into play for the rest of the program: Debussy's 2015 Sonata for Flute, Viola, and Harp; the delightful 1953 Sonata for Harp by the unjustly neglected Germaine Tailleferre; and Ravel's "Introduction and Allegro" for harp, flute, clarinet, and string quartet from 1907.

Debussy's Sonata comes from a difficult time late in the composer's too-brief life (he died in 1918 at the age of 51 after a long and painful battle with colorectal cancer) when his health, romantic relationships, and professional fortunes were all a bit rocky. Both happy and mournful, the Sonata looks back to Debussy's youthful interest in the pentatonic scale and harmonies derived from Eastern models. The composer himself voiced ambiguous feelings about it in a letter to his friend Robert Godet. "The sound of it is not bad," he modestly wrote, "though it is not for me to speak to you of the music. I could do so, however, without embarrassment for it is the music of a Debussy whom I no longer know. It is frightfully mournful and I don't know whether one should laugh or cry - perhaps both?" Listen to this 1962 recording by noted harpist Osian Ellis and the Melos Ensemble with a synchronized score and see what you think.

Written for the famed Spanish harpist Nicanor Zabaleta, (a name well known to us music lovers d'un certain âge) Tailleferre's Sonata is such a consistently entertaining and appealing work that I'm a bit surprised it's not better known. But then Tailleferre has never achieved quite the recognition she deserved. The only female member of that group of French anti-Romantic composers known as "les six" (the others were Darius Milhaud, Francis Poulenc, Arthur Honegger, Georges Auric, and Louis Durey), Tailleferre was also the most long-lived, shuffling off her mortal coil in 1982 at the age of 91. I don't now whether she played the harp or not, but SLSO harpist Allegra Lilly (quoted in the program notes) feels that the Sonanta "could only have been written by someone with a deep understanding of the sonority of the harp and how one’s hands fit onto the strings." You can hear that in this YouTube video recorded by Woojin Lee in 2018 at the Conservatoire National Supérieur Musique de Paris.

Composed in 1905 on commission from the harp manufacturer Érard, the "Introduction and Allegro" is classic Ravel, with a short languorous introduction that quickly makes way for a lilting waltz theme, which in turn goes through some inventive melodic and harmonic changes without ever leaving the three-quarter time signature. It's the most well-known work on the program, so you've probably heard it before. If not, YouTube has a recording by members of the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields that comes with a synchronized display of the score.
 
Performers for these concerts are harpist Allegra Lilly, flutist Jennifer Nitchman, and clarinetist Ryan Toher, along with violinists Eva Kozma and Rebecca Boyer Hall, violist Christian Tantillo, and cellist Alvin McCall.

Caroline Shaw
Photo: Kait Moreno

Friday, October 30 and Wednesday, November 4 at 7:30 pm there are only two works on the bill: Caroline Shaw's "Ent'racte" (first performed in 2011) and almost all of Schubert's 1824 Octet, first performed in 1827 but not published in its entirety until the 1880s.

The reason we're not hearing all of the Schubert work is that it's a very big, ambitious work in six movements. A full-length performance can take an hour or more (even the composer's titanic Symphony No. 9 isn't quite that long), so the SLSO has opted to drop the seven-minute fifth movement (a minuet) and go straight from the theme and variations of the Andante fourth movement to the lively finale.  If you want to hear the whole thing, there's a performance by Janine Jansen and friends on line that includes a synchronized display of the score. 

Inspired by (and is many ways similar to) Beethoven's popular Op. 20 Septet, it's filled with wonderful melodies and plenty of jollity, but there are darker and more dramatic moments as well possibly reflecting the composer's poor health at the time. " “I feel myself the most unhappy and wretched creature in the world,” he wrote to his friend Leopold Kupelweiser on March 31st, 1824. “Imagine a man whose health will never be right again, and who in sheer despair over this ever makes things worse and worse, instead of better; imagine a man, I say, whose most brilliant hopes have perished, to whom the felicity of love and friendship have nothing to offer but pain, at best, whose enthusiasm for all things beautiful [is gone], and I ask you, is he not a miserable, unhappy being?”

Schubert composed the Octet, as he so often did, at light speed, completing the whole thing in just three weeks. “When visiting him during the day," recalled his friend Moritz von Schwind,  "he gives his greetings, asks how everything is, and when asked how things go with him, he responds ‘fine,’ without interrupting his writing. So one leaves.” Maybe he just didn't want to inflict his mood on his friends.

The Shaw work that opens the concerts has its more serious moments as well, but it's mostly a virtuoso study in just how much sonic variety a person can get out of a string quartet. There are some eerie harmonics, creative use of pizzicato and, at one point, something that sounded rather like an amiable conversation among a quartet of cats. On her publications web site, Shaw says "Ent'racte" "was written in 2011 after hearing the Brentano Quartet play Haydn’s Op. 77 No. 2 — with their spare and soulful shift to the D-flat major trio in the minuet. It is structured like a minuet and trio, riffing on that classical form but taking it a little further." I'd say it takes the idea quite a bit further, and with intriguing results. You can hear it yourself on, of course, YouTube, in a virtuoso performance by the Calidore String Quartet.

Performers for these concerts are violinists Alison Harney and Angie Smart, violist Christian Tantillo,  cellist Jennifer Humphreys, double bassist Ronald Moberly, clarinetist Diana Haskell, bassoonist Andrew Gott, and Victoria Knudtson on horn.

Audience size for all these concerts will be limited to 150 for each performance and tickets can only be purchased by calling the SLSO box office at 314-534-1700. Only two tickets can be purchased per household. Information on the SLSOs COVID-19 safety protocols is available at the orchestra's web site.

St. Louis classical calendar for the week of March 4, 2019

Nathalie Stutzmann returns to conduct a major Brahms choral work at Powell Hall this week and the Chamber Project celebrates women composers.

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The Chamber Music Society at
the Sheldon Ballroom

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The Chamber Music Society of St. Louis presents Brilliance on Monday and Tuesday, March 4 and 5, at 7:30 pm. "Robert and Clara Schumann, Mendelssohn and Brahms comprised one of the most extraordinary circles in music history. Enjoy this collective brilliance, featuring violin, horn, piano and the St. Louis Women's HOPE Chorale." The concert takes place at the Sheldon Ballroom, 3648 Washington in Grand Center. For more information: chambermusicstl.org.

The Chamber Project St. Louis presents #TimesUp, featuring works by women composers, on Saturday, March 9, at 7:30 pm at the Missouri History Museum in Forest Park. For more information: www.chamberprojectstl.org.

Conductor Nathalie Stutzmann

Nathalie Stutzmann conducts the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, along with soprano Siobhan Stagg and baritone Stephen Powell, Saturday at 8 pm and Sunday at 3 pm, March 9 and 10. The program consists of Stravinsky's A Funeral Song and Brahms's A German Requiem. The concerts take place at Powell Symphony Hall, 718 North Grand in Grand Center. For more information: stlsymphony.org.

The Touhill Performing Arts Center presents The Arianna String Quartet in Viva Brazil on Friday, March 8, at 8 p.m. "In an evening inspired by their ongoing work in South America, the ASQ will present the world premiere of the winning composition from the 2019 FEMUSC String Quartet Composition Competition (Festival of Music, Santa Catarina, Brazil). The Arianna Quartet also welcomes Brazilian virtuoso bassoonist Benjamin Coelho to St. Louis for a performance of Miguel del Aguila's rhapsodic “Malambo”, and closes out the evening with Claudio Santoro's electrifying Quartet No.3." The Touhill Center is on the campus of the University of Missouri at St. Louis. For more information: touhill.org.

The Arianna String Quartet

Webster University presents The Webster University Wind Ensemble in Music of War and Peace on Monday, March 4, at 7 pm. The concert includes music John Philip Sousa, William Byrd, Gordon Jacob, David Holsinger, Daniel Bukvich, and more. The performance takes place at the Community Music School of Webster University on the Webster University Campus in Webster Groves, MO. For more information: www.webster.edu.

Webster University presents a bassoon recital by faculty member Dr. Eric Ring on Tuesday, March 5, at 7 pm. The concert includes music by Malcolm Arnold, Antonio Vivaldi, Alan Hovhaness, and Francis Poulenc and takes place at the Thompson Building Recital Hall on the Webster University Campus in Webster Groves, MO. For more information: www.webster.edu.

St. Louis classical calendar for the week of December 17, 2018

It's all ho-ho-holiday music all the time this week on the classical concert scene.

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The St. Louis Low Brass Collective presents a Holiday Low Brass Play Along on Saturday, December 22, at 10 am. "Every year the STLLBC welcomes all low brass musicians to the Missouri Botanical Garden to ring in the holiday season the best way we know how, on low brass instruments. This event is free and open to everyone. There is a rehearsal for all performers starting at 10 and we will perform at noon." The event takes place at Missouri Botanical Garden in the Shaw Neighborhood For more information: www.stllbc.org.

Kevin McBeth and the IN UNISON® Chorus

The St. Louis Symphony presents A Gospel Christmas with the St. Louis Symphony IN UNISON® Chorus conducted by Kevin McBeth, on Thursday, December 20, at 7:30 p.m. "Ten-time Grammy Award-winning a cappella group TAKE 6 joins the SLSO and IN UNISON Chorus led by Kevin McBeth to ring in the holiday season like no other! Hear TAKE 6 perform unforgettable contemporary gospel renditions of favorite holiday classics and more. Heralded by Quincy Jones as the “baddest vocal cats on the planet,” don't miss this soulful celebration sure to warm your heart with holiday cheer." The concert takes place at Powell Symphony Hall, 718 North Grand in Grand Center. The concert is currently sold out, but some standing room tickets are still available. For more information: stlsymphony.org.

Gemma New conducts the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra along with the Holiday Festival Chorus and soloist Camille Zamora in the Mercy Holiday Celebration Friday and Saturday at 2 and 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m., December 21-23. "Glad tidings we bring this holiday season at the fantastically decorated Powell Hall! Join the St. Louis Symphony and Holiday Festival Chorus for a concert full of timeless holiday classics and, of course, a special visit with jolly ol' St. Nick! See why over 11,000 St. Louisans make this their annual holiday tradition." The concerts take place at Powell Symphony Hall, 718 North Grand in Grand Center. For more information: stlsymphony.org.

The 442s

The Washington University Department of Music presents The 442s Holiday Spectacular with special guests Christine Brewer, Peter Martin, Erin Bode, Brian Owens, Montez Coleman, plus other surprise special guests, on Monday and Tuesday, December 17 and 18, at 7:30 pm. "Back by popular demand, The 442s are joined by some of the brightest stars of the local and national music scene in presenting a not-to-be-missed holiday spectacular. Performing traditional and original favorites that break down boundaries between jazz, soul, pop and classical music, this concert will get you in the perfect holiday spirit!" The concert takes place in the Lee Concert Hall at the 560 Music Center at 560 Trinity in University City. For more information, music.wustl.edu or call 314-935-5566.

St. Louis classical calendar for the week of December 3, 2018

Handel's venerable Messiah appears on the list twice this week. The traditional one is at Powell Hall and the sing-along version is in Graham Chapel.

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The American Chamber Chorale and the Salem St.-Louis Chamber Orchestra perform on Saturday, December 8, at 7:30 p.m. Singer Brian Owens will be the guest artist. The concert takes place at Salem United Methodist Churh, 1200 S. Lindbergh. For more information: americanchamberchorale.com.

Jérôme Mouffe

The St. Louis Classical Guitar Society presents a Great Artist Guitar Series concert with Jérôme Mouffe on Saturday, December 8, at 8 pm. "Belgian guitarist Jérôme Mouffe has toured throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Western Europe as a soloist and chamber musician. He was invited to perform at the Agustin Barrios Mangoré Festival in Brussels (2009) sharing the stage with his teacher and mentor Eliot Fisk. He earned his Master of Music degree magna cum laude at age 20 at the Conservatoire Royal de Bruxelles and a Postgraduate Diploma at the Universität Mozarteum Salzburg." The performance takes at the Ethical Society of St. Louis, 9001 Clayton Road. For more information: guitarstlouis.net.

Matthew Halls conducts the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and Chorus Friday and Saturday at 8 pm and Sunday at 3 pm, December 7 - 9 in Handel's Messiah. Performances take place at Powell Hall in Grand Center. For more information: stlsymphony.org.

The Arianna String Quartet

The University of Missouri - St. Louis presents The Science of Beauty on Monday, December 3, at 7:30 pm. "What is the science behind beautiful music making? Join the Arianna String Quartet and UMSL Professor of Biophysics, Sonya Bahar, at UMSL Grand Center on Monday, December 3rd, at 7:30 PM, for a fascinating evening that will illuminate and explore connections between physics and the artistry of musical expression. In this engaging and interactive evening, the ASQ and Professor Bahar will examine principles of friction, inertia, gravity, and kinetic energy, and will demonstrate how these fundamental aspects of physics factor into the interpretive process for a string quartet. Come enjoy an inspiring and informative evening discovering how playing a string instrument requires an individual commitment to the unification of the arts and sciences." The event takes place at UMSL's Grand Center Location. For more information: stlpublicradio.org.

Xiomara Mass

The Washington University Department of Music presents a faculty recital by Xiomara Mass, oboe, with Peter Henderson, piano, on Monday, December 3, at 7:30 p.m. The concert includes music by Loeffler and Saint-Saëns and takes place in the E. Desmond Lee Concert Hall at the 560 Music Center, 560 Trinity in University City. For more information, music.wustl.edu.

The Washington University Department of Music presents a Guitar Gala, featuring students from the music progralm on Thursday, December 6, at 8 pm. The concert includes music by Bach, Poulenc, and Fernando Sor, and takes place in the Graham Chapel on the Washington University campus. For more information, music.wustl.edu.

The Washington University Department of Music presents a Messiah Sing-Along on Sunday, December 9, at 3 pm. The audience is invited to sing along in this performance of Handel's oratorio, which takes place in the Graham Chapel on the Washington University campus. For more information, music.wustl.edu.

St. Louis classical calendar for the week of October 1, 2018

Chanticleer returns to St. Louis this week and the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra presents both a regular series concert and a Muny centennial tribute.

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Chanticleer

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Tuesday, October 2, at 8 p.m. St. Louis Cathedral Concerts presents the a cappella classical vocal ensemble Chanticleer. "The San Francisco based GRAMMY® award-winning ensemble Chanticleer celebrates its 40th Anniversary in 2018. Praised by the San Francisco Chronicle for its “tonal luxuriance and crisply etched clarity,” Chanticleer is known around the world as “an orchestra of voices” for its seamless blend of twelve male voices ranging from soprano to bass and its original interpretations of vocal literature, from Renaissance to jazz and popular genres, as well as contemporary composition." The performance takes place at The Cathedral Basilica on Lindell in the Central West End. For more information: cathedralconcerts.org.

Beth Guterman
Chu

Bramwell Tovey conducts The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and viola soloist Beth Guterman Chu Friday at 10:30 am and Saturday at 8 pm, October 5 and 6. The program consists of Beethoven's Symphony No. 6 ("Pastorale") and Berlioz's Harold in Italy. The concerts take place at Powell Hall in Grand Center. For more information: stlsymphony.org.

Ben Whiteley conducts The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in A Celebration of Muny at 100 on Sunday, October 7, at 3 pm. Vocal soloists Justin Michael Austin, Daniel Berryman, Cree Carrico, and Elizabeth Stanley join the orchestra and chorus in paying tribute to the Muny during their centennial with an afternoon of beautiful songs and music from its first quarter century. The program includes selections from Annie Get Your Gun, Girl Crazy, Show Boat, The Pirates of Penzance, as well as favorites by Cole Porter, George Gershwin, Jerome Kern, Victor Herbert and more. The concert takes place at Powell Hall in Grand Center. For more information: stlsymphony.org.

The Perseid String Quartet

Second Presbyterian Church presents the Perseid String Quartet on Sunday, October 6, at 4 pm. "Formed in 2013, the St. Louis based Perseid String Quartet has already generated acclaim for its polished, energetic performances and engagement with audiences. Members of the quartet serve as faculty members at colleges and community music schools, and their collective performing experience includes positions in regional orchestras and opera productions, historically informed performances on Baroque instruments, and playing in a rock band." The church is at 4501 Westminster Place in the Central West End. For more information: secondchurch.net.

The University of Missouri - St. Louis presents The Arianna String Quartet in a First Mondays concert on Monday, October 1, at 6:30 pm. "This one-of-a kind concert series offers audience members a rare behind the scenes look into the craft and artistry of the string quartet, and an opportunity for informal, direct discussion and interaction with UMSL's renowned Arianna String Quartet, as they examine the dynamic process of interpretation and live performance." The event takes place at UMSL's Grand Center Location. For more information: stlpublicradio.org.

Guitarist Mark Akin

The Washington University Department of Music presents Mark Akin in a faculty guitar recital on Thursday, October 5, at 7:30 pm. The program includes the Violin Sonata No. 10, Op. 96 by Albeniz, Sibelius, and Grieg. The performance takes place at the 560 Music Center, 560 Trinity in University City. For more information, music.wustl.edu.

The Washington University Department of Music presents and all-Vivaldi program featuring Nerea Berraondo, mezzo-soprano, and the Kingsbury Ensemble on Sunday, October 7, at 7 p.m. The concert takes place at the 560 Music Center at 560 Trinity in University City. For more information, music.wustl.edu or call 314-935-5566.

St. Louis classical calendar for the week of September 3, 2018

The fall concert season kicks off with the Arianna String Quartet and the Metropolitan Orchestra.

The Arianna String Quartet

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The Touhill Performing Arts Center presents The Arianna String QuartetVisionaries on Friday, September 7, at 8 p.m. "The Arianna Quartet celebrates the start of their 19th season in St. Louis in style, with an opening concert featuring three of the masterpieces of the classical, romantic, and 20th century repertoire! Beethoven’s irrepressible Quartet in B-flat, Op.18, No.6, kicks off the concert season with an effervescent energy and revolutionary new style that glimpses the winds of change that Beethoven plans to bring to the classical era. The revolution continues with Bela Bartok’s momentous String Quartet No.3. Internationally acclaimed piano virtuoso Alexandre Dossin joins the Arianna Quartet for Robert Schumann’s heroic Piano Quintet, Op,44, one of the essential gems of the chamber music repertoire." The Touhill Center is on the campus of the University of Missouri at St. Louis. For more information: touhill.org.

The Metropolitan Orchestra performs on Sunday, September 9, at 7 p.m. The program includes Arvo Pärt’s Fratres, Johannes Brahms’ Serenade No. 2, and Antonin Dvorak’s Symphony No. 7. The concert takes place at First Presbyterian Church in Kirkwood. For more information: metro-orch.org.

St. Louis classical calendar for the week of October 30, 2017

The Metropolitan Orchestra of St. Louis

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The Metropolitan Orchestra of Saint Louis presents a concert featuring Astor Piazzola's Four Seasons of Buenos Aires, along with music by Chabrier and De Falla, Sunday, November 5, at 7 p.m. The concert takes place at First Presbyterian Church in Kirkwood. For more information: metro-orch.org.

St. Louis Symphony Orchestra Resident Conductor Gemma New leads the orchestra in John William's score for Jurassic Park, accompanying a showing of the film. Performances are Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m., November 3-5, at Powell Hall in Grand Center. For more information: stlsymphony.org.

The Touhill Performing Arts Center presents The Arianna String Quartet: Poetry in Motion on Friday, November 3, at 8 p.m. "In an evening dedicated to irrepressible rhythms and poetry in sound, the Arianna Quartet presents Franz Joseph Haydn's Quartet in F Major, Op.74, No.2, and Robert Schumann's magnificent Quartet in A Major, Op.41, No.3. Highlighting the evening is a performance of Cuban composer Leo Brouwer's Quartet No.3, a riveting work featuring Afro-Cuban lyricism, dance and percussive rhythms." The Touhill Performing Arts Center in on the University of Missouri at St. Louis campus. For more information: touhill.org.

Washngton University's Danforth University Center Chamber Music Series presents a concert by violinists Silvian Iticovici and Eva Kozma, on Sunday, November 5, at 7:30 p.m. The concert includes music by Leclair, Rózsa, and Ysaÿe, and takes place at the Goldberg Formal Lounge in the Danforth University Center on the Washington University Campus. For more information: music.wustl.edu/events.

St. Louis classical calendar for the week of September 4, 2017

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Arts and Faith St. Louis presents its Building Bridges, it's Seventh Annual Interfaith Concert, on Sunday, September 10, at 5:30 p.m. The concert "will feature the outstanding young soprano Julia Bullock, the local ensemble The 442s - including two members of the St. Louis Symphony, and youth ensembles from Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Mormon, Sikh and Hindu faith communities. Adam Maness, a member of The 442s, has been commissioned to write a new work for Julia Bullock and the faith ensembles. A special video titled “Interfaith Journey for Teens” will also be shown." The performance takes place at the Sheldon Concdert Hall in Grand Center. For more information: www.artsfaithstl.org.

The Chamber Project St. Louis

The Chamber Project St. Louis presents Faith on Friday, September 8, at 7:30 p.m. The concert takes place at the Missouri History Museum in Forest Park. "Presented as part of the exhibit “#1 in Civil Rights: The African American Freedom Struggle in St. Louis”, FAITH explores the power faith through the lens of music. Acclaimed baritone Robert McNichols Jr. is featured on this program, which includes a world premiere by Adam Maness inspired by the Dred Scott case. The failure of the case to grant Scott's freedom inspired Frederick Douglass to say “[We must] Walk on Faith, not by Sight”. Adam's moving piece, “The Delmar Wall” rounds out the first half of of the program. A classic by Samuel Barber, Dover Beach, questions faith and a contemporary masterpiece by Christopher Rouse explores practicing faith to complete the program." For more information: www.chamberprojectstl.org.

St. Louis Cathedral Concerts presents a free chamber music concert on Tuesday, September 5, at 7 p.m. Performers Kristin Ahlstrom, violin; Bjorn Ranheim, cello; Tzuying Huang, clarinet; and Matthew Mazzoni, piano will perform works by Beethoven, Khachaturian, and Mendelssohn. The performance takes place in the Doerr Chapel on the Fontbonne University campus at 6800 Wydown. For more information: cathedralconcerts.org.

The Arianna String Quartet

The Touhill Performing Arts Center presents The Arianna String Quartet: Zero to 60 on Friday, September 8, at 8 p.m. "The Arianna String Quartet kicks off their 18th concert season in St. Louis with an unforgettable program featuring three of the most high-octane works in the string quartet repertoire. The ASQ opens with Franz Schubert's scintillating single movement masterpiece, Quartettsatz, followed by Leo_ Janá_ek's impassioned Quartet No.2, Intimate Letters. The ASQ closes the evening with Ludwig van Beethoven's second Razumovsky Quartet, Op.59, No.2, a tour de force that promises to shake the timbers of the Touhill!" The Touhill Performing Arts Center in on the University of Missouri at St. Louis campus. For more information: touhill.org.

St. Louis classical calendar for the week of May 22, 2017

The St. Louis Chamber Chorus

The St. Louis Chamber Chorus presents Concert Six: Return and Rediscovery on Sunday, May 28, at 3 p.m. "Just as Odysseus finds his way back to his beloved Penelope, so too we seek to reclaim our past, as reconstructed works by Sheppard, Fattorini and Stravinsky attest. Their sacred texts compare with ancient poems set by Ned Rorem and Matyas Seiber, and a new Homeric Hymn commissioned from Judith Bingham." The concert takes place at St. Paul's Lutheran Church, 12345 Manchester Road in Des Peres.For more information: www.chamberchorus.org.

The St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra presents the winners of the Annual Concerto Competition performing two of Tchaikovsky's most beloved concerti, a U.S. premiere of a work by a young composer and the imaginative masterpiece, Pictures at an Exhibition on Friday, May 26, at 8 p.m. The performance takes place at Powell Symphony Hall, 718 North Grand. For more information: stlsymphony.org.

Top Notch Violins presents The Perseid String Quartet in a concert of music by Haydn and Ravel on Thursday, October 23, at 7 p.m.. “Written in 1903 when the composer was on 27 years old, Ravel's first and only string quartet has earned a special fondness among chamber music lovers. Full of youthful energy, Ravel uses a rainbow of tone colors to evoke a wide variety of moods. This massive quartet shows the influence of his teacher (and dedicatee) Gabriel Faure, tonal reminiscences of the Javanese Gamelan orchestra he encountered at the Paris Exposition, and vigorous, driving rhythms which bring the piece to a thrilling conclusion. Rounding out the program is Haydn's String Quartet in E-flat Major, “The Joke”.” Top Notch Violins is at 3109 Sutton in Maplewood. For more information: perseidstringquartet.com.

St. Louis classical calendar for the week of September 5, 2016

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The Chamber Project St. Louis presents American Renegades on Friday, September 9, at 8 PM. "Rebels with a cause come together for this all-American program. The program begins with a feisty work by Pulitzer prize-winning composer Jennifer Higdon followed by “Murder Ballades” by Bryce Dessner, who is the lead guitarist for The National and scored the music for the blockbuster film The Revenant. Copland's iconic Appalachian Spring in it's original scoring for 13 musicians finishes up this exciting program." The performance takes place at the 560 Music Center, 560 Trinity in University City. For more information: www.chamberprojectstl.org.

The Arianna String Quartet

The Touhill Performing Arts Center presents The Arianna String Quartet in "Perfect Storm" on Friday, September 9, at 8 PM. "The ASQ embarks on its 25th season with one of their favorites; Felix Mendelssohn's cherished Op.13 string quartet, a work that balances turbulent brilliance with an inner fragility, unique to Mendelssohn, and beloved by audiences." 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.

The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra presents a showing of the film Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone with the John Williams score performed live by the orchestra and chorus conducted by Justin Freer, Friday at 7 p.m. and Saturday at 11 am.m and 7 p.m., and Sunday at 2 p.m., September 9-11. The showings take place at Powell Symphony Hall, 718 North Grand in Grand Center. For more information: stlsymphony.org.

TPTBT (The Place to Be Tonight): Friday, March 22

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Who: The Edison Theatre at Washington University
What: Ethel with Robert Mirabel
Where: The 560 Music Center, 560 Trinity in University City
When: Tonight at 8
Why: "Ethel, acclaimed as America's premier post-classical string quartet and Grammy-winning Native American flutist Robert Mirabal join the string quartet with Native American flutes (Tdoop-Pootse) and drums (Mooloo) to create a cross-cultural contemporary music event inspired by the sun mythology of Native America. The evening includes collaborations on Robert Mirabal's compositions, ancient Native American music and Ethel's complimentary original repertoire along with the works of composers such as Don Byron, John Luther Adams and more. Additional vocals provided by the Washington University Department of Music Chamber Choir." And how can you not like a string quartet named Ethel? For more information: edison.wustl.edu.