National Symphony tickets on sale for $13

Storm Large will sing The Seven Deadly Sins with the National Symphony Orchestra April 28 and 29, 2016/National Symphony Orchestra

You must buy a minimum of three tickets (total = $39 @ $13 each) to get the National Symphony seats at this whoppingly discounted price.  Although the sales price has gone up a little ($2 each) over recent years, it's still a grand deal! 

And there are no handling charges.

Alban Gerhardt will play Elgar's Cellist Concerto in a program with Sir James MacMillan conducting interludes from his opera, The Sacrifice, with the National Symphony Orchestra May 12 and 13, 2016/National Symphony Orchestra

No Saturday night seats are available for $13, but there are Thursday nights, some Fridays, and two Friday "coffee concerts" at 11:30 a.m.

The offer ends Feb. 26 and may be withdrawn at any time.

Leila Josefowicz will play Salonen's Violin Concerto with the National Symphony Orchestra June 2 and 3, 2016/National Symphony Orchestra

For more dollars ($23 or $33 per ticket) you may purchase "prime orchestra" and "premium orchestra" seats.

What a deal! 

All seats are on the orchestra level, and here's the skinny:

Go to nationalsymphony.org/triple play (I've never been able to get it to work) and buy a minimum of three seats and check out, or call 202-416-8500 Monday - Friday, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Be sure to mention the "Triple Play" deal.

The sales dates and guest artists are:

Mar. 3 and Mar. 4 (Thursday and Friday eves): Christoph Eschenbach conducting Bruch and two Prokofiev symphonies, with violinist Ray Chen and harpist Adriana Horne.

Mar. 10 and 11 (Thursday eve and Friday morning): Eschenbach conducts works by Brahms and Picker with pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet who plays Liszt.
 

Mar. 17 and 18 (great way to celebrate St. Paddy's Day; wear green!) (Thursday and Friday eves), however, all $13 seats for both performances are sold out.  Pricier tickets remain. Osmo Vänskä conducts Beethoven's Symphony No. 6 with pianist Nikolai Lugansky playing Brahms.

Mar. 31 and April 1 (Thursday and Friday morning): Cristian Macelaru conducting works by Fauré, Jalbert, and Debussy. Violinist Nikolaj Znaider plays Brahms. 

April 7 only (Thursday eve): Nikolaj Znaider conducting Mahler's Symphony No. 1, and pianist Benjamin Grosvenor playing Mozart.

 

April 14 and 15 (Thursday and Friday eves): Hugh Wolff, conducting works by Barber and Ives with violinist Anne Akiko Meyers who will play Bates. The Friday night performance will start at 9 p.m. and feature an abbreviated show and "party" of sorts called DECLASSIFIED: The B-Sides with Mason Bates and "a sampling of his most innovative hits."

 

April 28 and 29 (Thursday and Friday eves): James Gaffigan conducting works by Rodgers, Dvorák, and Ravel, with Storm Large singing Weill's The Seven Deadly Sins. Another Friday night "party" with abbreviated show starting at 9 p.m.:  DECLASSIFIED: Cabaret of Sin with Large and Hudson Shad performing tunes of "a sweet and sultry mix."

 

May 5 and 6 (Thursday and Friday eves): Andrew Litton conducting Shostakovich's Symphony No. 11, and violinist Vadim Gluzman playing Tchaikovsky.

May 12 and 13 (Thursday and Friday eves): Sir James MacMillan conducting Vaughan Williams, three Interludes from MacMillan's own The Sacrifice, and cellist Alban Gerhardt playing Elgar.

 

June 2 and 3 (Thursday and Friday eves): Eschenbach conducting works by Haydn and Schumann, and violinist Leila Josefowicz who will play Salonen.

 

June 9 and 10 (Thursday and Friday eves): Eschenbach conducting Bruckner's Symphony No. 4, and Nathalie Stutzmann singing Mahler. 

What: The National Symphony Orchestra in concert

Where: The Kennedy Center, 2700 F Street, NW Washington, D.C. 20566

How much: Minimum $39 for three tickets (or $66 or $99). No handling charge.

 

Metro station: Foggy Bottom. You may ride one of the free burgundy shuttles from Foggy Bottom to KenCen or walk it (10 minutes). The shuttles are at the top of the escalators.


For more information: 202-416-8500


patricialesli@gmail.com

 

 

 

 

 

A 2013 chat with Justice Antonin Scalia

Justice Antonin Scalia/Wikimedia

Please see my post of Valentine's Day 2013.

'Frank Sinatra' in free concert at St. John's, Lafayette Square Feb. 3

Photo from @FrankSinatra/Wikipedia

Just past his 100th birthday celebration (Dec. 12, 2015), the crooner is back!  In the form of singer Bob McDonald well known for his Sinatra songs and delivery who will perform with his jazz band in the free First Wednesday Concert at 12:10 p.m. February 3 at St. John's Episcopal Church, Lafayette Square.

Bob McDonald

Mr. McDonald has performed his Sinatra show at the Kennedy Center, Signature Theatre, Arena Stage, Folger Theatre, and Strathmore.

On Wednesday he will sing:

"Come Fly with Me"

"Fly Me to the Moon"

"Send in the Clowns"

"The Lady is a Tramp"

"It Was a Very Good Year"

"The Coffee Song"

"My Way"

St. John's Episcopal Church, Lafayette Square, Washington, D.C./Photo by Patricia Leslie

St. John's known to many Washington residents as the yellow church at Lafayette Square, is often called the “Church of the Presidents” since beginning with James Madison who was president from 1809 to 1817, every president has been a member of St. John's or has attended services at the church. A plaque at the rear of the church designates the pew where President Abraham Lincoln often sat when he stopped by St. John's during the Civil War.

This year the church celebrates its bicentennial, and its history and stained-glass windows are described in books and booklets available at St. John's.

First Wednesday concerts begin at 12:10 p.m. and last about 35 minutes. Food trucks are located two blocks away at Farragut Square.

Who: 'Frank Sinatra' via Bob McDonald and his jazz band

What: First Wednesday Concerts

When: 12:10 p.m., February 3, 2016

Where: St. John’s, Lafayette Square, 1525 H Street, NW, at the corner of 16th, Washington, D.C. 20005

How much: No charge

Duration: About 35 minutes

Wheelchair accessible

Metro stations: McPherson Square (White House exit), Farragut North, or Farragut West

For more information: Contact Michael Lodico at 202-270-6265.

Future dates and artists of the First Wednesday Concerts are:

March 2: The Lafayette Square Duo with Rebecca Smith on harp and Michael Lodico on organ will play a composition by Peter Mathews.

April 6: Soloists from St. John's Choir will sing.

May 4: The U.S. Air Force Strings Chamber Orchestra with harpsichordist Brandon Straub will play Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 5.

June 1: Concert organist Roderick Demmings, Jr., will play works by Bach, Wammes, and Widor.


patricialesli@gmail.com

Fisk Jubilee Singers at the National Gallery of Art

The Fisk Jubilee Singers at the National Gallery of Art, Jan. 17, 2016/Photo by Patricia Leslie

 Hundreds came on Sunday to hear the Fisk Jubilee Singers from Fisk University in Nashville perform in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day at the National Gallery of Art. 

 Paul T. Kwami, the Jubilee Singers' musical director, at the National Gallery of Art, Jan. 17, 2016/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The Jubilee Singers' musical director, Paul T. Kwami, presented a brief history of the chorus which began in 1871 to raise money for the college founded in 1866.  The group toured the U.S. and Europe, "introducing Negro spirituals to the world," Mr. Kwami said, performing for, most notably, Queen Victoria who commissioned a gift from England to the university, a portrait of the Singers which still stands in Jubilee Hall on the Fisk campus, 

When Mr. Kwami asked Fisk alumni who were present Sunday to stand, about 20 were recognized and applauded by the audience.   
 
The Fisk Jubilee Singers in 1882/Photo, Deep Roots Magazine/Wikipedia

 The Fisk Jubilee Singers at the National Gallery of Art, Jan. 17, 2016/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Based on applause, crowd favorites on Sunday were "Daniel! Daniel!  Servant of the Lord" with Lyante Savala, tenor, and Kylen C. Parker, bass, "There is a Balm in Gilead" with Joi-Anissa Taylor, soprano, and "Old Time Religion" with Domine B. Ezechukwu, alto.  

Also on the program: "'Way Over in Egypt Land," "Run, Mourner, Run," "Poor Man Laz'rus," "Let the Church Roll On," "Jubilee!  Jubilee!" "My Lord is So High," "There's a Meeting Here Tonight," "Do Lord Remember Me," "Rise, Shine for Thy Light is A-Comin'," and "There's a Great Camp Meeting."  

Mr. Kwami said "Mr. Banjo" was not a traditional African-American song, but they were going to sing it anyway for the crowd's pleasure. Dwayne P. Mitchell sang tenor.

They also sang "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot," the 1909 version which the Library of Congress added to the U.S. National Recording Registry in 2002.   

Other singers on Sunday's program were Kierra Pryor, Brianna Barbour, Torin Brown, and Allen Christian.

No sounds were too loud or harsh, but slow and even, memorably connecting their beauty of a century and a half ago to today's harmonies, demonstrating their music's ageless allure and peace. 

In 2008 the Singers won the National Medal of Arts. 

 The Fisk Jubilee Singers at the National Gallery of Art, Jan. 17, 2016/Photo by Patricia Leslie

 

 The positions the Fisk Jubilee Singers took while colleagues presented individual biographical sketches of original Jubilee Singers at the National Gallery of Art, Jan. 17, 2016/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The a cappella group usually has 11 members, however, one member fell ill and only participated Sunday in the individual verbal biographies each 2016 Singer delivered about original Jubilee members.

One of the original Jubilee singers from Lebanon, Tennessee and born on February 29, 1853, was only 12 years old on January 9, 1866 when he started at Fisk which had 300 students enrolled at the time.  Another original Singer was born in Whiteville, Virginia and later became a cook for the Union army and taught school in Nashville.  Several were born into slavery.

  The Fisk Jubilee Singers (in the distance) at the National Gallery of Art, Jan. 17, 2016/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Throughout the approximately hour-long program, throngs  continued to arrive, admitted between numbers.  Since every seat was taken, some attendees sat on the floor while others stood.  At the end of the performance, the crowd gave the Jubilee Singers a standing ovation.

In the galleries, Sunday was no different from other weekend days at the National Gallery of Art, filled with thousands who love and are intrigued by art, whether it is painted, sculpted, played, or sung.


What:  Free concerts at the National Gallery of Art

When: Check here for dates and times.

Where: Usually in the West Building, West Garden Court, National Gallery of Art, between Third and Seventh streets at Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. On the Mall. 

Admission is always free at the National Gallery of Art.
 
Metro stations: Smithsonian, Federal Triangle, Navy Memorial-Archives, or L'Enfant Plaza

For more information: 202-842-6941

patricialesli@gmail.com

Free dance lessons at the Kennedy Center

In the nightly sky above the roof line at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, it's not the moon or a star or a plane from nearby National Airport, it's a street light/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Estela Velez de Paradez led a flamenco dance lesson at the Millennium Stage at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts/Photo by Patricia Leslie

First, you put your hands in the air/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Then, you wave them all about/Photo by Patricia Leslie

 Flamenco dancing is good for the middle/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Instructor Estela Velez de Paradez invited audience members up on the Millennium Stage for a flamenco dance lesson at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Can you do it? A one-on-one exchange, and the little girl dressed for the occasion/Photo by Patricia Leslie

A star is born at the Millennium Stage/Photo by Patricia Leslie

I could have danced all night

I could have danced all night

And still have begged for more.

I could have spread my wings 

And done a thousand things...

Wait!

Dancing was not why I was there!

Dancing was not on my menu, but rather...

Music, music, music!

I went to the Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage to hear free music, music, music, and drink Happy Hour beer and eat pretzels.

But, but, but...no music, music, music to be found... or heard.

How about a flamenco dance lesson instead?

Estela Velez de Paradez of Joy of Motion Dance Center led the class, and she stomped.  

Her new students stomped.

She raised her hands.  

The students raised their hands.

She shouted "olé!"  

The students shouted "olé."  

She shouted "olé!" again and demanded a louder "olé!" response, and she got it.

Ms. Velez de Paradez gave a brief history of flamenco dancing (created by Gypsies "to express their emotions") and compared the dance to vino:  "It's like wine; it gets better the older you get" (!)), and she urged everyone present to practice attitude and posture, both critically important to successful flamenco dancing.  

"Stand up straight!  Hold your stomach in!" 

      You put your right foot in,

You take your right foot out,

You put your right foot in,

And you shake it all about

You do the hokey pokey

and you turn yourself around

That's what it's all about

Hold it!  That was not what Estela was leading, and there was no music.

Horrors!  If music ever started, was it to be taped a la Warner's and the Nutcracker?  No musicians nor instruments were seen.

After 30 minutes of stomping and hand wavin' and "ole's" and no signs of music making, I left at 6:30 p.m. and drifted home.  Sad.  

Whoever thought of looking at the schedule?

Coming up!  Another free dance lesson on January 31, 6 p.m., Millennium Stage, Beginner Contemporary Jazz with Jocelyn Isaac. "Please wear clothing you can move in" the Kennedy Center suggests.

When:  Free Millennium Stage performances seven days a week at 6 p.m. which last generally under an hour

Where: The Kennedy Center, 2700 F Street, NW Washington, D.C. 20566

How much: Admission is always free at the Millennium Stage.

Metro station: Foggy Bottom. Ride a free red shuttle bus (every 10 minutes) at the top of the escalators at Foggy Bottom to KenCen or walk it (10 minutes).

For more information:  800-444-1324 or 202-467-4600

patricialesli@gmail.com

Last weekend to see 'Gauguin to Picasso' at the Phillips

Emil Nolde (1867-1956) Gentleman and a Lady (Lady with a Fur), 1918, Im Obersteg Foundation, permanent loan to the Kunstmuseum Basel

Sunday will be the last day at the Phillips Collection to see 61 works hanging together for the first time in the U.S. 

The art comes from the Kunstmuseum Basel in Switzerland and the private collections of Karl Im Obersteg (1883-1969) and Rudolf Staechelin (1881-1946) who acquired stunning impressionist, post-impressionist, and modern paintings (1870-1939) early on by artists of Russian, Swiss, French, German, and Dutch heritages. 

Dorothy Kosinski, the director of the Phillips, is a Swiss citizen whose friendship with those in Switzerland was key to bringing the masterpieces to Washington.  

Im Obersteg and Staechelin were contemporary collectors of Duncan Phillips (1886-1966), the founder of the Phillips, all of whom saw talent and treasure in the pieces of post-war and modern translations.

 Paul Gauguin (1848-1903) NAFEA faaipoipo (When Will You Marry Me?), 1892, The Rudolph Staechelin Collection 

Who but Picasso painted this nude below?  An abstraction of a model fondles a pillow.  It's one of four Picassos in the exhibition.

Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) Sleeping Nude, 1934, Im Obersteg Foundation, permanent loan to the Kunstmuseum Basel

Below is a self portrait done by the Russian expressionist, Alexej von Jawlensky who was influenced by the mysticism of the Eastern Orthodox Church and his belief that "art is a longing for God." During World War I he joined other avant-garde artists in Switzerland where he met Im Obersteg, and the two became lifelong friends.

Alexej von Jawlensky (1864-1941) Self-Portrait, 1911, Im Obersteg Foundation, permanent loan to the Kunstmuseum Basel

Alexej von Jawlensky  (1864-1941) Still Life, 1915, Im Obersteg Foundation, permanent loan to the Kunstmuseum Basel

Ferdinand Hodler rendered more than 100 works devoted to his companion, Valentine Godel-Darel, as she coped with illness.  He called her "a Byzantine Empress in the mosaics at Ravenna," and destroyed many he made of her because they did not "represent what I have seen."   

Ferdinand Hodler (1853-1918) The Patient, November, 1914, The Rudolph Staechelin Collection

Marc Chagall's three 1914 "monumental" rabbi paintings are in the show, including the one below.  The label copy notes his works show the influences of his Jewish Russian heritage and his training in Paris. (Who can deny their past?) The outbreak of World War I prolonged a trip Chagall made to his homeland (of what is now Belarus), giving him opportunities to meet rabbis and beggars invited into his family's home.  Here Chagall combined them into one personality. A self-portrait he made, also in 1914, is pictured further below.

Marc Chagall (1887-1985) Jew in Black and White, 1914, Im Obersteg Foundation, permanent loan to the Kunstmuseum Basel

Vincent van Gogh (1853-90) The Garden of Daubigny July, 1890, The Rudolph Staechelin Collection

Paul Gauguin (1848-1903) Red Roof by the Water, 1885, The Rudolph Staechelin Collection

Ferdinand Hodler (1853-1918) Portrait of Regina Morgeron, 1911, Im Obersteg Foundation, permanent loan to the Kunstmuseum Basel

In the self-portrait below, the label copy says Marc Chagall combined Cubism and Orphism to paint himself (in 1914 at the outbreak of World War) as though looking in a mirror. Years later after the Nazis called his work "degenerate," the artist fled to New York in 1941 where he met a dealer who sold one of Chagall's works to Duncan Phillips, the host of one of the first Chagall shows in the U.S.

Marc Chagall (1887-1985) Self-Portrait, 1914, Im Obersteg Foundation, permanent loan to the Kunstmuseum Basel

Also on the walls at the Phillips are works by Camille Pissarro, Cuno Amiet, Paul Cezanne, Andre Derain, Wassily Kandinsky, Edouard Manet, and Amedeo Modigliani.

And Claude Monet, Odilon Redon, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Georges Rouault, Chaim Soutine, Maurice Utrillo, Suzanne Valadon (Utrillo's mother), and Maurice de Vlaminck.

For more enjoyment of the show, a catalogue and audio cellphone tour are available.

The paintings pictured above are the ones which had the most impact on me, whether it was subject, colors, perspectives, mood, emotions, or eye contact (!), but the names of the artists had no bearing on my choices.  How do they strike you?  Go and see, and please write soon. 

What: Gauguin to Picasso:  Masterworks from Switzerland -  The Staechelin and Im Obersteg Collections

When: Now through January 10, 2016, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., and Sunday, 12 - 7 p.m.


Where: The Phillips Collection, 1600 21st St., N.W. at Q St., Washington, D.C. 20009

Tickets: $12, $10 for students and those over 62, free for members and for children 18 and under.

Metro Station: Dupont Circle (Q Street exit. Turn left and walk one block.)

For more information: 202-387-2151

Patricialesli@gmail.com

Free organ concert Jan. 6 at St. John's, Lafayette Square

Janet Yieh

It will be Epiphany and the star will shine on St. John's Episcopal Church on Lafayette Square when concert organist Janet Yieh plays  "What a Friend We Have in Jesus" by William Bolcom (b. 1938) and works by Brahms, Widor and Locklair.

The concert is part of the church's First Wednesday Concert Series and will begin at 12:10 p.m.

Ms. Yieh, a native of Alexandria, Virginia and a recent graduate of the Julliard School, is former assistant organist at Trinity Church, Wall Street, New York.  A first-place winner in several competitions, she has performed at venues throughout the U.S. and Asia, including Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, and Carnegie Hall.

She is working on her master's degree at Yale University's Institute of Sacred Music and School of Music and is the organist scholar at Trinity Church on the Green in New Haven.

In addition to "What a Friend We Have in Jesus," Ms. Yieh will play:

   Prelude and Fugue in G Minor  by Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) 

  Rubrics: IV. The Peace may be exchanged  by Dan Locklair (b. 1949)

Symphonie V I. Allegro Vivace  by C.M Widor (1844-1937)

 St. John's Episcopal Church, Lafayette Square, Washington, D.C./Photo by Patricia Leslie

St. John's known to many Washington residents as the yellow church at Lafayette Square, is often called the “Church of the Presidents” since beginning with James Madison who was president from 1809 to 1817, every president has been a member of St. John's or has attended services there. A plaque at the rear of the church designates the pew where President Abraham Lincoln often sat when he stopped by St. John's during the Civil War.  

This year the church celebrates its bicentennial, and its history and stained-glass windows are described in books and booklets available at St. John's.

First Wednesday concerts begin at 12:10 p.m. and last about 35 minutes. Food trucks are located two blocks away at Farragut Square.

Who:  Organist Janet Yieh

   
What:  First Wednesday Concerts

When: 12:10 p.m., January 6, 2016

Where: St. John’s, Lafayette Square, 1525 H Street, NW, at the corner of 16^th, Washington, D.C. 20005

How much: No charge

Duration: About 35 minutes

Wheelchair accessible

Metro stations: McPherson Square (White House exit), Farragut North, or Farragut West 

For more information: Contact Michael Lodico at 202-270-6265.

Future dates and artists of the First Wednesday Concerts are:

February 3: Bob McDonald and Friends will sing to celebrate the crooner's centennial in "Sinatra Turns 100."
 
March 2: The Lafayette Square Duo with Rebecca Smith on harp and Michael Lodico on organ will play a composition by Peter Mathews. 

April 6: Soloists from St. John's Choir will sing.

May 4: The U.S. Air Force Strings Chamber Orchestra with harpsichordist Brandon Straub will play Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 5.

June 1: Concert organist Roderick Demmings, Jr., will play works by Bach, Wammes, and Widor.

patricialesli@gmail.com