Across the Universe: The Little Prince by the Washington National Opera, 12/12/25

So it has happened: I forgot to post a review. Better later than never, here’s a review of the Washington National Opera’s production of The Little Prince, which was performed the weekend of December 12, 2025. Here are some notes:

  • I never saw so many kids at an opera performance, which makes me believe that it would be possible to attract more kids to opera performances by such expedients as “use subject matter they enjoy” and “have kids perform.” Easy!
  • In related news, the candy line at intermission has never been so long. The Kennedy Center (so named at the time) is selling branded chocolates now, but the kids wanted Snickers and M&Ms.
  • It was nice to see the kids performing well. Just a big good feeling.

Ain’t That America: Sasha Cooke and Myra Huang at Vocal Arts DC, 11/4/25

Hoo boy! That was fun! Please read this review of Sasha Cooke and Myra Huang delivering the world premiere of Jasmine Arielle Barnes’ American Lament plus a bunch of other American music, and then come back for some other things:

  • This was the rare situation in which there was actually a lot more good stuff happening in the concert than I could fit into the review without making it unconscionably long. (It is already much longer than I usually write, but when you get a substantial world premiere that’s really good, you want to record as much as you reasonably can about it.) For example, that thing where Sasha Cooke precisely delivers a note in her lower register and it feels like a screw turning into hard wood? It happened several times, not just during the Barnes, and it was super affecting every time. I could have written more about how lambent Huang’s playing was in the Barber song. And pointed up more the thematic links within and among the groups of songs. And some other stuff. 
  • Barnes has a bunch of other performances of her work up on her website. Hoping American Lament will be up there at some point. 
  • The Vocal Arts DC program had all the texts and (where necessary) translations in nice large font, and the texts were also projected on a small screen above the stage. Now that’s how you make sure that people are attuned to the details of text-setting in art songs (ahem, Wolf Trap).
  • Cooke began the program by thanking the workers of the Kennedy Center for making sure that the concert could be held. With all the news about the KC recently, it was good to have a reminder that real people make their livelihoods there presenting worthwhile performances for people to enjoy, ponder, and discuss.  

Bachie and the Jets: Carole Cerasi at the French Embassy, 10/30/25

Please behold at the link my review of Carole Cerasi’s concert at the French Embassy last night, given as part of Capriccio Baroque’s Festival Capriccio. This review actually includes a lot of the stuff that would normally be marginal, since there was so much of it and it seemed to push the concert slightly off the rails. But I nevertheless have additional thoughts, below:

  • There was a lengthy ground stop at DCA earlier in the day, which may have increased the plane traffic over the embassy as they worked to clear out the backlog. I can’t imagine they would have had the concert in the ballroom if they had known how loud the aviation-related noise would be.
  • It was interesting watching the various audience reactions. At the end, some people yelled “Brava!” On the other hand, the guy sitting to my left had his head in his hands for the last few works on the program, didn’t clap at the end, and appeared visibly annoyed that he hadn’t been able to leave before the encore.
  • Cerasi talked before each piece, and she said some interesting stuff. She is renowned as an educator, and you could see why.
  • It’s always hard to know how negative to be when a concert doesn’t go well. Sometimes, the enterprise is clearly calculated to appeal to the maximum possible crowd, and then it is important to note as much as possible of what went wrong so that it will be in the public record. Here is an example of that. By contrast, the opportunity to hear an entire concert of Bach harpsichord works is a gift, and while the critic should note what could have been improved upon, I do think it’s appropriate to accentuate the positive where possible.

It’s Late (Schubert): Anne Sofie von Otter and Kristian Bezuidenhout at the Barns at Wolf Trap, 10/9/25

Here’s my latest review, of one of the great mezzo-sopranos of our time teaming up with one of the most imaginative young pianists to take on Schubert’s last songs. And below are some things that didn’t make it into the review, plus the ever-popular traffic discussion:

  • I used this website for my texts and translations since Wolf Trap didn’t help anyone out at all: https://oxfordsong.org/song/schwanengesang Fortunately, I did do some homework beforehand, being a music critic and all.
  • This review was already long enough, but I thought about putting in how much more powerful the settings of poems by Heinrich Heine are than those by Ludwig Rellstab — it tracks closely to the quality of the poems themselves. Schubert is so gifted a composer that he could elevate Rellstab’s cheesy emotings, but Heine’s concise, beautiful utterances seem to spark a deeper engagement. 
  • A shorter concert can have a highly concentrated power – you deeply engage your concentration to the limit and then relax, without having to regather yourself after an intermission. The best example of this I have attended was a lunchtime concert by Yuja Wang at the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival – just about an hour of increasingly intense music, then a CD signing. This concert had some of that concentration, but also the audience seemed to want to get antsy at times.
  • It took longer for me to drive to this concert (1 hour 10 minutes) than for von Otter and Bezuidenhout to perform it (1 hour 8 minutes), because of construction on the Virginia side of the American Legion Bridge. Going back was easier, but for some reason Virginia has neglected to provide any merge area from the Dulles Toll Road going onto 495 North in the middle of a construction zone. There wasn’t much traffic so the merge was uneventful, thankfully. If there had been any cars, I would have had to trust that Virginians would recognize the situation and move out of the way, which is basically synonymous with “totaling your car.” My review of Virginia’s part of the Beltway is that it sucks. 

A Lotta Scarlatti: Jory Vinikour at Live! at 10th and G with Capriccio Baroque, 6/28/25

Behold a review of Capriccio Baroque’s final concert of the 2024-25 season, with Jory Vinikour playing 20 of Domenico Scarlatti’s sonatas. Marginal notes:

  • The concert was delayed slightly, with Capriccio Baroque executive director Carolyn Winter attributing late arrivals to Red Line delays. I think this is the first time I have heard public transit mentioned as a reason for beginnning late at a classical concert. I embrace it.
  • Right before the concert began, a couple in back of me was discussing how there were no program notes. The male of the couple was sure Vinikour would talk from the stage. I hope they didn’t get too lost. Sometimes I had to count out the B section repeats to make sure that was the finale of that sonata and not the beginning of the next sonata.
  • This concert made me think of Van Magazine’s article ranking all the Scarlatti sonatas, which I commend to your attention.

Just Hook These Verdi Heroines Up to My Veins: The Apollo Orchestra featuring Leah Hawkins, 6/1/25

I got to see Leah Hawkins, who I now know is an amazing dramatic soprano, sing three Verdi arias and an encore in a small room, and I wrote all about it. Now for the extra stuff!

  • As at the last Apollo performance I attended, clarinetist Shawn Buck wrote the program notes, which were great. I particularly enjoyed his description of the Tchaik third movement, where he says “the specter of the fate motif subtly reappears, cloaked in disguise.” Keep ’em coming, Shawn!
  • The hall was packed, which was good, because they all got to hear the Verdi.
  • I can walk to the Montgomery College Cultural Arts Center, and I did on Sunday. It’s great! They should hold more classical concerts within walking distance of my house. At least my next concert is Metro-accessible.
  • The hall at MCCAC is very nice for classical performances — the acoustic is live without being too echo-y, and every seat is a good seat as best I can tell. They should put on more shows there (so I can walk to them).

Le Sacre du Harpsichord: Anna Kiskachi, 5/10/25

I realize this is very late posting-wise, but I reviewed Anna Kiskachi playing two harpsichords, sometimes at once, in a concert presented by Capriccio Baroque at Live! At 10th and G last Saturday. Here are some marginal notes:

  • One of the two harpsichords was owned by John Lewis, of the Modern Jazz Quartet. This means I have heard it in recordings a lot. It seemed appropriate for Kiskachi to be playing the instrument of another performer who liked to play around with genres.
  • I’ve seen two Kiskachi concerts (the other one) and she has played two harpsichords at once in both of them. How could she ever up the ante? It’s a pretty great trick.

In conclusion, having Mother’s Day directly after a concert is not conducive to posting a blog in a timely manner. I blame society.

Five Instrumentalists, Four Sonatas: Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center at Wolf Trap, 4/4/25

The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center came to Wolf Trap on Friday and I was there to review it. I am a big Fauré violin sonata enthusiast and will remember that one for a long time. Notes:

  • If I had been writing this review for this blog, I would have definitely have worked in a Wu-Tang Clan reference of some kind. 36 Chambers of Music Society! Bring the ruckus! It is also important to remember that, when attending a concert at Wolf Trap, you can ask the person you are attending it with to “Meet me in the trap, it’s going down,” in the manner of Yung Joc. Please recall that I am a very serious classical music critic person.
  • The Barns chamber music concerts routinely feature a post-intermission Q&A with Rich Kleinfeldt. Having a Q&A after intermission but before the rest of the music is bad, in that attendance is non-consensual, but at least Kleinfeldt filters out the dumber questions and keeps things moving. 
    Anyway, during this Q&A, cellist Jonathan Swensen was asked if he had ever wanted to play another instrument, to which he responded, “I don’t know…maybe a bigger cello?” That is maybe the funniest thing I have ever heard during a classical concert Q&A. Well, in written format it doesn’t seem funny, but he said it in an extremely amusing way. Anyway, I tried to work this into the review for a while and then told myself, “Andrew, give it up.”
  • They had a dessert reception after the concert, which is 100% good for the audience, although I don’t know how the musicians feel about having to interact with us. Anyway, as an impartial critic guy, I skipped interaction and went straight to dessert. Quick reviews:
    • Butter cookie with Oreo chunks: Good
    • Lemon tart: Bad, soggy bottom
    • Carrot cake: Decent, overly sweet frosting
    • Sprinkle cake: Overly sweet frosting worked well in this context
    • Brownie: Fine
    • Caramel truffle: Mediocre
    • Price: Excellent (in that it was all free)

It’s All Latin to Me: The Thirteen at Immanuel Chapel, 3/28/25

Please go read the review I wrote of the Thirteen’s latest program, featuring two of Bach’s Latin Masses, and then come on back for some additional thoughts below:

  • This program also featured interludes during which some of the performers talked. I did not include this in the review because it didn’t really make a difference in the quality of the concert one way or the other, but for the record:
    • Tenor Oliver Mercer was excellent in talking about how to sing Bach
    • Adriane Post was good in talking about her violin and how it differed from a modern one (but I would have appreciated more info for a direct contrast, were I unschooled in this realm)
    • Brad Tatum had an entertaining discussion of the natural horn, but somehow it felt too short
  • I have been to a lot of concerts in a lot of churches, and the Immanuel Chapel’s chairs were some of the most uncomfortable I have ever sat in. On the plus side, they had a water bottle refilling station and non-gendered one-seater bathrooms. The acoustic was bass-heavy, which probably contributed to some of the balance issues, but the Thirteen performs in the chapel all the time and should have been correcting for that. 
  • This was my first time seeing Seminary Road after its very controversial road diet. I did not observe any traffic delays, but I did use the pedestrian sidepath. 

Pärt vs MacMillan — The Final Smackdown: Emmanuel Choir at Emmanuel Episcopal Church, 3/14/2025

Here’s my latest review of an ambitious and rewarding concert from the Emmanuel Choir at Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Baltimore. And here are some notes:

  • This doesn’t have anything to do with the concert, but I want to share some details of how I got there. I parked at work so I could drive straight there, because I no longer have telework. I used a garage I had never been to before, and the door to the hotel lobby above the garage locked behind me when I got out, so I was sure I would have trouble getting back in. I got directions from the hotel desk on how to get to the garage, went down there, and proceeded to look around increasingly desperately for my car, which was nowhere to be found. It turned out the hotel had sent me to another garage, immediately adjacent to the one my car was in, with identical signage, a fact I only learned when I burst into the attendant’s office in a panic. Then I went on the very circuitous journey to find my actual car. So I left late. Then it took 1 hour 45 minutes to drive from DC to Baltimore, leaving me with 15 minutes between my arrival time and the concert. Fortunately I had brought snacks that I ate in the car, and at intermission I ran (semi-literally) to a nearby CVS and housed a Kind bar so I wouldn’t spend the rest of the concert only thinking about how starving I was. I made it back right at the first note of the second half of the program. And they say critics don’t actually do anything. Sometimes we lose our cars and sit in traffic!
  • In a source of irritation to me, those wishing to follow along with the words had to scan a QR code to get to a webpage with the texts and hope their phone wasn’t too obtrusive to their fellow concertgoers; the webpage itself also omitted the text to one Pärt piece on the program, “Cantate Domino canticum novum,” drawn from Psalm 95.
  • There are some fun-looking concerts in that series. French baroque? Nordic art song? Intriguiing. But as a Maryland booster, I am hoping I can convince my editors to let me cover the “Made in Maryland” concert happening on May 24. Who needs a program? Just pour the Old Bay into my veins.