Select Classical Concerts, April 29-May 4

Tonight, April 29

• The St. Petersburg Ballet Theatre presents Giselle, 7:30 at Columbus's RiverCenter.
• The Magellan String Quartet, in residence at Georgia Southern University, presents a creatively themed lecture-concert on themes and variations, 6:30 at GSU's Assembly Hall, Continuing Education Building, Statesboro.
  

Multiple days this week

• April 29 and May 2 and 4, the Atlanta Opera presents Mozart's Marriage of Figaro at Atlanta's Cobb Energy Center. Times vary.
• May 1-3 the Atlanta Symphony and Chorus, led by Donald Runnicles, perform Berlioz's Requiem, plus Janacek's brassy Sinfonietta, 8 p.m. at Atlanta's Symphony Hall.
• May 2-4 the Augusta Players present The Wizard of Oz in Augusta.

Saturday, May 3

• The Macon Symphony Orchestra, with conductor Adrian Gnam and pianist Enrique Graf, perform Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 21 and Bruckner's Fourth Symphony, "Romantic," 7:30 at Macon's Grand Opera House.
• Guitarist Manuel Barrueco and Cuarteto Latinoamericano play at Spivey Hall, Morrow. Program includes music of Latin America and Michael Daugherty's Bay of Pigs.
• Deborah Voigt, "opera's preeminent dramatic soprano," gives a recital at Emory University's Schwartz Center in Atlanta. Rescheduled from January; new tickets required.

Sunday, May 4

• The Augusta Collegium gives its spring concert, 4 p.m. at Sacred Heart Cultural Center, Augusta.
• The Masters of Percussion perform with featured guest artist Zakir Hussain, 8 p.m. at the Rialto Center in downtown Atlanta.
• The Macon Symphony gives its annual Symphony in the Park concert, Central City Park, Macon.
• Young Van Cliburn competition silver medalist Joyce Yang plays piano music by Bach, Schumann and Brahms, 3 p.m. at Spivey Hall, Morrow.
• The Atlanta Chamber Players do Debussy, Martinu and Schoenberg at Atlanta's Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia, 7:30 p.m. Bring pillows for "intimate floor seating."

Playlist for Tuesday, April 29

Are you a bargain hunter like me? Here's a tip. You can get a lot musical bang for the buck from Brilliant Classics. The British label puts put out appealing boxes jam-packed with perfectly decent performances on multiple CDs, and they don't charge much. Today, sampling two new Brilliant boxes, we hear Moncayo's Huapango from the eight-disc Musica Mexicana and, in what has to be a GPB premiere, the obscure Festive Symphony by Smetana, from a three-CD set of his Ma Vlast & Complete Orchestral Works.

NOTE: For details on this week's Atlanta Symphony broadcast, with conductor Donald Runnicles and 20-year-old pianist Adam Golka, please see that program's very own blog, theasoongpb.blogspot.com (where "theasoongpb" means The ASO on GPB), and then join me for Adams, Ravel and Berlioz, Thursday, May 1 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, May 4 at 10 p.m. on GPB.

11 AM

• Glazunov: Serenade No. 1. Moscow Sym, Ziva. Naxos 9.555048.
• Haydn: "Sunrise" Quartet (String Quartet in B-flat, Op. 76/4). Jerusalem Quartet. BBC Music Mag 95.
• Vine, Carl: Piano Sonata No. 1: Mvt 2. Joyce Yang. Harmonia Mundi 907405.
• Moncayo: Huapango. State of Mexico Sym, Batiz. Brilliant Classics 8771.
• Adam: Giselle: Magic scene from Act 2. Orch of Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Bonynge. London 417 505.

12 N

• Vaughan Williams: The Wasps, Overture. English Sym, Boughton. Nimbus 5450/3.
  
• Barrios: Cueca, Chilean Dance. Manuel Barrueco. EMI 56578.
  
• Mancini, Francesco (not to be confused with Henry): Sonata No. 11 (1724). Rubato Appassionato. MA Recordings M075A.
  
• Berlioz: Requiem: Rex Tremendae; Sanctus. Atlanta Sym Orch & Chorus, Spano. Telarc 80627.
  
• Bruckner: "Romantic" Symphony No. 4: Scherzo. San Francisco Sym, Blomstedt. London 443 327.
  

1 PM

• Smetana: Festive Symphony in E major, Op. 6. Janacek Phil Orch, Kuchar. Brilliant Classics 93634.
• Swain: Song at Evening. Helen Callus, Phillip Bush. ASV 1184.

Playlist for Monday, April 28

This new CD grabbed my attention: Euro-Ottomania. It showcases music by Central European musicians working in the Ottoman Empire in the mid 1800s. Apparently there was quite a stream of these westerners flowing into Istanbul.

The liner notes explain: "Euro-Ottomania mirrors that time in the 19th century when the Ottoman zeal for European music was in the ascendant; when Europeans reciprocated the compliment; when Italians ran the sultan's military bands and court orchestras; when Liszt played at the imperial residence by the Bosphorus; when importing pianos became serious business," etc.

Today we hear the funeral march written by Bartolomeo Pisani, an Italian in Turkish employ, on the death of Sultan Abdulmecid, or Abdul-Medjid. Possibly of more historical than musical interest, but there you have it. I'm looking forward to checking out rest of the disc, including the symphony "On the Banks of the Bosphorus" by August Ritter von Adelburg, in the near future.

Concerts mentioned on air: The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus perform Berlioz's Requiem plus Janacek's Sinfonietta, May 1-3. Guitarist Manuel Barrueco appears at Spivey Hall, Morrow, Saturday, May 3. The Macon Symphony performs Bruckner's Fourth Symphony and Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 21 with Enrique Graf, Saturday, May 3. And the St. Petersburg Ballet Theatre presents Giselle at Columbus's RiverCenter, tomorrow, April 29. I'll post a fuller weekly concert list Tuesday.

11 AM

• Chedeville: Sonata IV (1737). Rubato Appassionato. MA Recordings M075A.
  
• Pisani: A Tear at the Tomb of Sultan Abdul-Medjid, Funeral March in F minor (1861). Prague Orch, Araci. Brilliant 93613.
  
• Scriabin: Piano Sonata No. 4 in F-sharp. Wu Han. Artist Led 10701.
  
• Janacek: Sinfonietta. Czech State Phil, Serebrier. Reference 65.
  

12 N

• Barrios: La Catedral. Manuel Barrueco. EMI 56578.
  
• Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major, K. 467. Maria Joao Pires, Chamber Orch of Europe, Abbado. DG 439 941.
  
• Mendelssohn: Violin Sonata in F minor, Op. 4. Nomos Duo. Naxos 8.554725.
  

1 PM

• Adam: Giselle: Start of Act I. Orch of Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Bonynge. London 417 505.
  
• Kuhnau: The Battle between David and Goliath. Avatar Brass Ens, Graham. Klavier 11112.
  

Playlist for Tuesday, April 22

Stage director and South Carolina native Trevore Ross joins us in the noon hour to walk us through half an hour of musical and emotional highlights from The Marriage of Figaro.

The Atlanta Opera's run of Mozart's Marriage of Figaro begins April 26. Performances continue April 29, May 2 and May 4 at the Cobb Energy Centre, just off I-75 northwest of downtown Atlanta. Trevore Ross directs and Kenneth Montgomery conducts. The cast includes Tommi Hakala and Twyla Robinson as the Count and Countess, Stephen Morscheck and Alyson Cambridge as newlywed-wannabes Figaro and Susanna, and Sandra Piques Eddy as the adolescent page Cherubino.

On Midday Music, I pair Trevore's pointers with extensive selections from the Grammy-winning recording of the opera with Rene Jacobs conducting.

For links to the Atlanta Opera's production and other classical performances in Georgia over the next couple of days - live artists! in real time! hopefully in a venue near you! - please see our current concert list.

Note: Alan Cooke hosts Midday Music the rest of this week.

11 AM

• Rachmaninoff: Symphony No. 2. Cincinnati Sym Orch, Jarvi. Telarc 80670.

12 N

• Smetana: The Moldau. Janacek Phil, Kuchar. Brilliant 93634.
• Mozart: The Marriage of Figaro (Le nozze di Figaro), highlights. Simon Keenlyside, Count; Veronique Gens, Countess; Patrizia Ciofi, soprano; Lorenzo Regazzo, Figaro; Angelika Kirschlager, Cherubino; Collegium Vocale Gent; Concerto Koln; Rene Jacobs. Harmonia Mundi 901818.20.
• Bizet: Carmen, Suite No. 2: Danse Boheme. Montreal Sym, Dutoit. London 417 839.
  

1 PM

• Vivaldi: Four Seasons: Spring, arr. five recorders. Marion Verbruggen, Flanders Recorder Quartet.
• Turina: Rapsodia Sinfonica. Angela Cheng, Calgary Phil, Hans Graf. CBC 5195.
• Brahms: Variations on a Theme of Paganini. Alexander Kobrin. Harmonia Mundi 907404.
• Bizet: L'Arlesienne, Suite No. 2: Farandole. Montreal Sym, Dutoit. London 417 839.

Select Classical Concerts, April 24-27

Busy week in Georgia, with several international performers coming through.

• Wednesday, April 23 the University of West Georgia's Jazz Percussion Group (with other percussionists) offers a free "Night of Percussion" at the Townsend Center in Carrollton, before performing in Bologna in July.

• Thursday, April 24 the Meridies String Quartet from Italy performs at Wesleyan College in Macon.

• Also Thursday, the Choral Society of Middle Georgia presents music of American composer Daniel Gawthorp in Warner Robins. Then on Friday, they do it again at Mercer University's Fickling Hall in Macon.

• April 24, 26 and 27: The Atlanta Symphony, with prize-winning Argentinian pianist Ingrid Fliter (right) and conductor Hans Graf, perform a Beethoven concerto in Atlanta. Also on the program: Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff.

• Friday, April 25: The Atlanta Symphony gives a free outdoor concert at Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain. "Fun, recognizable music as well as a special tribute to our armed forces." 8 p.m.; bring a blanket.

• April 25 and 27: Georgia State University presents Leonard Bernstein's Candide at the Rialto Center, Atlanta.

• Also Friday the 25th, Russian-born pianist and Van Cliburn Competition gold medalist Alexander Kobrin (right) plays Beethoven and Chopin at the UGA Performing Arts Center in Athens.

Saturday, April 26, is one of these concerts near you?

• Augusta: Russian-Israeli violinist Vadim Gluzman (right) joins the Augusta Symphony for Beethoven's Violin Concerto. Also on the program, Rachmaninoff's Second Symphony. Donald Portnoy conducts.

• Hawkinsville: The Ocmulgee Symphony ends their successful first season with Smetana, J.C. Bach (with Lisa Lombardo, bassoon), Bizet and Beethoven at the Old Opera House. Charles Quinn conducts.

• Valdosta: Irish pianist John O'Conor (right) performs Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 3 with the Valdosta Symphony. Also on the program: Handel and Tchaikovsky. Robert Bode conducts.

• Atlanta: The Atlanta Opera's run of Mozart's Marriage of Figaro begins April 26 at the Cobb Energy Centre. Performances continue April 29, May 2 and May 4.

• Atlanta: The "Dutch master of the recorder," Marion Verbruggen (right), plays virtuoso concertos, suites and sonatas with New Trinity Baroque at St. Bartholomew's Church, Atlanta.

Playlist for Monday, April 21

I'm pleased to present today the GPB (and radio?) premiere of music inspired by a trip to theMiddle East. It's the Sinai Symphony by Georgia's own Doug Hooker, as performed February 5 by the LaGrange Symphony. Listen in the noon hour.

Just about everything else on Midday Music is a concert tie-in. Pianist Alexander Kobrin, violinist Vadim Gluzman, recorder player Marion Verbruggen and pianist John O'Conor all perform in Georgia this week (in Athens, Augusta, Atlanta and Valdosta, respectively). Mozart's Marriage of Figaro and Bernstein's Candide are both on stage in Atlanta. See concert list with links, above.

11 AM

• Mozart: The Marriage of Figaro, Overture. Lausanne Chamber Orch, Menuhin. Virgin 363284.
• Franck: Symphony in D minor. Orchestra of Paris, Bychkov. Philips 432 096.
• Chopin: Nocturne No. 3 in B major, Op. 93. Alexander Kobrin. Harmonia Mundi 907414.

12 N

• Tchaikovsky: The Voyevoda, Overture. National Sym Orch of Ukraine, Kuchar. Naxos 8.554845.
• Hooker, Doug: Sinai Symphony. LaGrange Sym Orch, Patricio Cobos. Performance February 5, 2008. Not commercially available.
• Glazunov: Violin Concerto in A minor. Vadim Gluzman, Bergen Phil, Litton. BIS 1432.

1 PM

• Bernstein: Candide Overture. New York Phil, Bernstein. Sony 63085.
• Vivaldi: Concerto in G minor, RV 105. Marion Verbruggen et al. Harmonia Mundi 3957046.
• Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat. John O'Conor, London Sym, Delfs. Telarc 80675.

Playlist for Thursday, April 17

Three stories about north Georgia colleges just came to my attention:

Spelman College concert celebrates all-Steinway status. To mark its joining a prestigious group of institutions designated as All-Steinway Schools, Atlanta's Spelman College presented Leon Bates in concert (on a Steinway piano) April 16. More about Spelman's "all-Steinway status."

University of West Georgia's Jazz Percussion Group selected to play Italy. UWG students will perform at the International Society of Music Educators Conference in Bologna in July. April 23 they provide a sneak peek in Carrollton of the program they'll take overseas. Concert details here.

Emory University forces present Emory composer's Stabat Mater. Love and loss are the themes at the heart of the Pulitzer-nominated Stabat Mater by Emory's Richard Prior. Thursday and Friday, April 17-18, Emory's student orchestra and chorus, plus guest artists, present the work's local premiere. Read more here and here.

For other classical happenings around the state, please see ye olde concert list.

And now, today's playlist, featuring violinist Hilary Hahn's new recording of the Sibelius concerto. Friday Alan Cooke hosts Midday Music requests.

11 AM

• Chopin: Four Mazurkas, Op. 17. Leif Ove Andsnes. Virgin 61317.
• Sibelius: Violin Concerto in D minor. Hilary Hahn, Swedish Radio Sym, Salonen. DG 10858.
• Grieg: Two Melodies, Op. 53. Antonio Pompa-Baldi. Centaur 2726.

12 N

• Gimenez: Intermezzo from La Boda de Luis Alonso. Burning River Brass. Dorian 90316.
• Tarrega: Capricho Arabe; Memories of the Alhambra. David Russell. Telarc 80576.
• Still: "Afro-American" Symphony (Symphony No. 1). Chicago Sinfonietta, Freeman. Cedille 055.
• Joplin: The Chrysanthemum. Benjamin Loeb. Naxos 8.559277.
• Handel: Concerto Grosso, Op. 3/1 in B-flat. Academy of Ancient Music, Egarr. Harmonia Mundi 907415.

1 PM

• Dvorak: Symphony No. 5 in F major. Czech Phil, Belohlavek. Brilliant 93635 (new box set of complete Dvorak symphonies).
• Traditional/Jennings: Amazing Grace. Yvette Flunder, Chanticleer. Warner 60309 9"How Sweet the Sound").
  

Playlist for Wednesday, April 16

The final hour of Midday Music focuses on the Columbus Symphony Orchestra's upcoming concert, "Fabulous Fifths." Piano soloist Antonio Pompa-Baldi starts the hour, on disc. Then music director George Del Gobbo describes the fare on the concert, from the opening "palate-cleanser" by Boyce to meatier works by Beethoven and Prokofiev into which the orchestra can really "sink their teeth." (He thinks gastronomically!) And we finish up with Prokofiev's Fifth Symphony itself. The concert is Saturday 7:30 at Columbus's RiverCenter.

See a list of concerts around the state below.

11 AM

• Collins: Hibernia, Irish Rhapsody. Scottish National Orch, Alsop. Albany 630.
• Hummel: Piano Trio No. 4, Op. 65. Staier, Sepec, Queyras. Harmonia Mundi 901955.
• Elgar: Severn Suite, transcribed for wind ensemble. Senzoku Gakuen Symphonic Wind Orch, Reed. Klavier 11140.

12 N

• Goldberg: Sonata in C for Two Violins and Continuo. Musica Alta Ripa. MDG 309 0709.
• Holst: St. Paul's Suite. English Sinfonia, Griffiths. Naxos 9.570339.
• Grieg: Piano Concerto in A minor. Leif Ove Andsnes, Berlin Phil, Jansons.

1 PM

• Grieg. short piano work tba. Antonio Pompa-Baldi. Centaur 2726.
• Prokofiev: Symphony No. 5.

Select Classical Concerts, April 15-24

• Thursday, April 17 in Augusta's Bell Auditorium, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy headlines an Augusta Symphony pops concert.
• April 17 and 18 at Emory University in Atlanta, student ensembles and guest soloists present the local premiere of a Pulitzer-nominated work by an Emory composer, Richard Prior's Stabat Mater.
  
• Friday, April 18, the Grammy-winning male chorus Chanticleer sings at UGA's Performing Arts Center in Athens.
• The evenings of April 18 and 19 the Savannah Sinfonietta plays English music and Dvorak's String Serenade at two Savannah-area locations (at the Landings on Skidaway Island and at Trinity United Methodist Church). Also, the Savannah Sinfonietta plus the Savannah Choral Society present Verdi's La Traviata, Saturday evening at the Lucas Theater. Performing two places at once? That's what the website claims!
• Saturday, April 19 is a big day for piano. The Columbus Symphony Orchestra and conductor George Del Gobbo welcome Van Cliburn Competition silver medalist Antonio Pompa-Baldi for Beethoven's "Emperor" Concerto at Columbus's RiverCenter. Meanwhile, Norwegian piano superstar Leif Ove Andsnes plays Bach, Beethoven and Debussy at Emory's Schwartz Center in Atlanta. Also, young guitarist Pablo Sainz Villegas (gold medalist at the inaugural Christopher Parkening International Guitar Competition) makes his Spivey Hall debut in Morrow.
• April 19 and 20 the Cobb Symphony pairs Beethoven's Ninth Symphony and William Grant Still's "Afro-American" Symphony in Kennesaw.

Playlist for Tuesday, April 15

Let it be noted that performers from today's Midday Music are in concert in these parts:

• Pianist Leif Ove Andsnes is at Emory University in Atlanta this Saturday, April 19.
• Pianist Antonio Pompa-Baldi does Beethoven with the Columbus Symphony, also Saturday.
• The absurdly versatile men of Chanticleer sing at UGA in Athens on Friday.

Fuller concert list to follow in a subsequent posting, with additional events in Carrollton, LaGrange, Augusta, Savannah, Morrow, Kennesaw, Warner Robins and Macon.


11 AM

• Vivaldi: Concerto Grosso in F major, RV 574. Academy of Ancient Music Berlin, Kallweit. Harmonia Mundi 901975.
• Schubert: Piano Sonata No. 19 in C minor, D. 958. Leif Ove Andsnes. EMI 84321.
  
• Various: Credidi; Jefferson; Soar Away. Chanticleer. Teldec 48556.
  

12 N

• Grieg: Improvisata on Two Norwegian Popular Melodies: No. 1. Antonio Pompa-Baldi. Centaur 2726.
  
• Beethoven: "Emperor" Concerto (Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat). John O'Conor, London Sym, Delfs. Telarc 80675.
  
• Mozart/Heidenreich: The Magic Flute, selections for winds. Budapest Wind Ensemble, Berkes. Quintana 903008.

1 PM

• Handel: Concerto Grosso in G major, Op. 3/3. Academy of Ancient Music, Egarr. Harmonia Mundi 907415.
• Glazunov: Quartet for Four Saxophones, Op. 109: selections. Washington Saxophone Quartet. Americus 19981007.
• Strauss: From Italy (Aus Italien): Rome's Ruins; On the Beach at Sorrento; Neapolitan Folk Life. Scottish National Orch, Jarvi. Chandos 10218.

Playlist for Monday, April 14

On Tuesday the 15th, Patricio Cobos leads the LaGrange Symphony in a performance of the Symphony No. 2 by Johannes Brahms. After we listen to Brahms' Second on Midday Music, Patricio Cobos recalls his mind-blowing first encounter with the piece as a teenager in Santiago, Chile, watching Leonard Bernstein conduct the New York Philharmonic in a basketball stadium. (Pictured: me and Patricio Cobos at an orchestra event last week in LaGrange.)

11 AM

• Boyce: Symphony No. 5. Aradia Ensemble, Mallon. Naxos 8.557278.
• Brahms: Symphony No. 2. Scottish Chamber Orch, Mackerras. Telarc 80450.

12 N

• Vargas & Fuentes: Las Alazanas. Cuarteto de Clarinetes de Caracas. Cacao 008.
• Bonis: Piano Quartet No. 1. Mozart Piano Quartet. MDG 643 1424.
• Mozart: String Quartet No. 19 in C, K. 465, "Dissonant." Prazak Quartet. Praga 250 242.

1 PM

• Smetana: Furiant from The Bartered Bride. Janacek Phil, Kuchar. Brilliant 93634.
• Britten: Simple Symphony. Norwegian Chamber Orch, Brown. Virgin 45121.
• Chopin: Piano Sonata No. 1 in C minor, Op. 4. Leif Ove Andsnes. Virgin 365466.

Playlist for Thursday, April 10

Join me tonight as well for The ASO on GPB. (Details are here.) Tomorrow, April 11, Eric Nauert again hosts Midday Music from member station WSVH Savannah. (WSVH playlists are here.) Alan Cooke's requests program returns April 18. Hope you enjoy the spring weekend. If you've got time to take in a concert, see our select concert listings here.

11 AM

• Strauss: An Alpine Symphony. Cleveland Orch, Ashkenazy. London 425 112.
• Couperin: Les Barricades Mysterieuses. David Russell. Telarc 80693.

12 N

• Sammartini: Quintet No. 5 in E major. Brilliant 93610.
  
• Dvorak: Romance in F minor. Gil Shaham, Orpheus Chamber Orch. DG 449 923.
  
• Gliere: Pieces, Op. 35: Song; Andante. Ivan Paisov, Natalia Shcherbakova.
• Mozart: Concerto for Two Pianos in E-flat, K. 365. Murray Perahia, Radu Lupu, English Chamber Orch. Sony 44915.
  

1 PM

• Mozart: The Magic Flute, Overture. Orchestra of St. John's, Lubbock. Resonance 3072.
  
• Dvorak: Sextet in A major, Op. 48. Academy of St. Martin in the Fields Chamber Ensemble. Chandos 8771.
  
• Lasso: Lagrime di San Pietro: Nos. 5 and 9. Capella Ducale Venetia, Picotti. CPO 999 862.
  

The ASO on GPB, April 10 & 13

Tonight on GPB Radio, meet conductor Kwame Ryan. He was born while his Trinidadian parents were visiting Toronto. They moved to Africa when he was an infant and eventually fled Idi Amin's Uganda. Kwame grew up back in Trinidad. He knew from age 6 that he wanted to be a conductor, however, and since Trinidad didn't offer enough opportunities, he left at 14 for boarding school in England.

Now Kwame Ryan has built a conducting career in Europe - he's in his first season leading orchestra in Bordeaux, France - and he's starting to guest conduct in America too. In November, he first led the Atlanta Symphony and we hear that concert tonight.

As Kwame Ryan explains, Robert Schumann was recovering from a mental breakdown when he wrote his Symphony No. 2, and the piece itself reflects struggle back to health and hope. That's the first half of the program.

In the second half, violinist Leila Josefowicz joins the Atlanta Symphony for Beethoven's Violin Concerto. Leila is a gutsy player and a down-to-earth person. She explains what makes the piece so challenging for the soloist, and why she wrote timpani accents into the new cadenzas she composed for it, and she talks about how thrilled her son was to learn that another great composer, Mozart, was a potty-mouth.

The ASO is on GPB Thursday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 10 p.m.

Playlist for Wednesday, April 9

11 AM

• Saint-Saens: Violin Sonata No. 1: Finale, arr. saxophone and piano.
• Brahms: Piano Quintet in F minor, Op. 34. Lilya Zilberstein et al. at the Lugano Festival 2005. EMI 58472.
  
• Debussy: Petite Suite: mvts 1 & 3. Philharmonia Orch, Simon. Cala 1025.
  

12 N

• Handel: Solomon: Overture; Chorus "From the censer." Monteverdi Choir, English Baroque Soloists, Gardiner. Philips 412 612.
  
• Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 2 in G major. Mikhail Pletnev, The Philharmonia, Fedoseyev. Virgin 91202.
  
• Ungar: Solstice Hymn. Jay Ungar, Molly Mason, Nashville Chamber Orch, Gambill. Angel 56720.
  

1 PM

• Revelo: Fantasia in 6/8. Caracas Clarinet Quartet. Cacao 008.
  
• Haydn: "Rider" Quartet in G minor, Op. 74/3. Endellion String Quartet. Virgin 91097.
  
• Poulenc: Aubade, Choreographic Concerto for Piano and 18 Instruments. Pascale Roge, French National Orch, Dutoit. London 452 937.
  

Select Classical Concerts, April 8-15

The University of West Georgia welcomes Jay Ungar and Molly Mason - the fiddler and guitarist who play the beautiful theme in Ken Burns' Civil War series on PBS - for two distinct concerts in Carrollton. Friday the 11th the program is a "Fiddler’s Holiday: A Musical Travelog of Appalachian, Cajun, Irish and ScottishTunes," and Saturday the 11th it's "Ashokan Farewell: The Civil War and Beyond." Both begin at 7:30 at UWG's Townsend Center. Tickets: (678) 839-4722.

Also appearing twice in Georgia this week are mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke (Texas native and winner of the first UGA Performing Arts Center Prize at the 2006-7 Young Concert Artists International Auditions in New York) and pianist Pei-Yao Wang (the youngest pianist ever to win the Taiwan National Piano Competition). They perform tonight, April 8 at ABAC Howard Auditorium, Tifton, 7:30, and Friday, April 11 at 8:00 at UGA's Performing Arts Center, Athens, 8:00, including songs by Barber, Debussy, Falla and Schumann.

Several south Georgia choruses (the Albany Chorale and groups from area colleges) team up with members of the Albany Symphony for Handel's oratorio Solomon. There are two FREE performances: Friday, April 11 in Albany (First United Methodist Church, 8 p.m.) and Saturday, April 12 in Americus (Rylander Theater, 7:30 p.m.).

Saturday, April 12, in addition to the above: The Cultural Arts Council of Douglasville/Douglas County presents pianist Joe Chapman, 7 p.m., at Douglasville's Cultural Arts Center. Tickets: 770-949-ARTS. . . . . The chamber group Concertante gives a free performance at UGA's Performing Arts Center in Athens, 8 p.m. . . . Organists of the Curtis Institute of Music (Phila.) perform at Spivey Hall, Morrow, Saturday, 3 p.m. . . . The Atlanta Opera holds its annual Family Day, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at Emerson Hall, Oglethorpe University, Atlanta. . . . And I'd especially like to point out the Second Annual Prism Concert by Columbus State's Schwob School of Music - 225 music majors in a 70-minute, "full-spectrum" performance, with music ranging from "classical to jazz, from theatrical to intimate, from silly to refined" - Saturday 7:30 at Columbus's RiverCenter, (706) 256-3612.

As for Sunday, April 13, the big-name group is the Takacs String Quartet, playing Haydn, Brahms and Beethoven in Morrow at (where else?) Spivey Hall. . . . The Warner Robins Community Concert Association presents tenor Jeremy Hunt at the First United Methodist Church in Warner Robins. . . . And the Asheville Opera Company brings Rossini's comic Barber of Seville to the Grand Opera House in Macon.

Looking ahead to Tuesday, April 15, the LaGrange Symphony gives its season finale in a program featuring LaGrange native Callie Hammond in Bruch's Violin Concerto No. 1. Patricio Cobos also conducts Mozart and Brahms; 7:30, Callaway Auditorium, LaGrange College. . . . . And the University of West Georgia Department of Music presents saxophones galore: the Globe Saxophone Quartet (featuring a UWG faculty member and other players from around the country) and UWG's own student saxophone ensemble. 8:15, Kathy Cashen Recital Hall, Carrollton, free.

Playlist for Tuesday, April 8

11 AM

• Byrd: Suite. Denver Brass. Centaur 2261.
• Bach: Partita No. 4 in D major. Murray Perahia. Sony 22697.
• Rossini: The Barber of Seville, Overture. Denver Brass. Centaur 2261.

12 N

• Ungar: Ashokan Farewell. Jay Ungar, Molly Mason. Angel 56720.
• Rota: The Godfather, Suite. La Scala Phil, Muti. Sony 63359.
• Lecuona/Montilla. Danza negra. Caracas Clarinet Quartet. Cacao 008.
• Bruch: Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor. Maxim Vengerov, Gewandhaus Orch Leipzig, Masur. Teldec 90875.

1 PM

• Lasso: Lagrime di San Pietro: Beginning. Capella Ducale Venetia, Picotti. CPO 999 862.
  
• Brahms: String Quartet No. 1 in C minor, Op. 51/1. Takacs String Quartet. London 425 526.
  
• 
  

Playlist for Monday, April 7

11 AM

• Handel: Solomon: Arrival of the Queen of Sheba. Tafelmusik, Lamon. Reference 2101. (Several south Georgia choruses, plus soloists and members of the Albany Symphony, perform Handel's oratorio Solomon twice this weekend: April 11 in Albany and April 12 in Americus. Free admission.)
  
• Rosetti: Bassoon Concerto in B-flat, M. C69. Eckhardt Huber, German Chamber Academy. CPO 999 936.
• Brahms: String Quartet No. 2 in A minor, Op. 51/2. Takacs String Quartet. (Based formerly in Budapest and now in Boulder, they perform Brahms, Haydn and Beethoven this Sunday, April 13 at Georgia's Spivey Hall). London 425 526.

12 N

• Rachmaninoff: Prelude in G minor, Op. 23/5. Denis Matsuev. RCA 88697155912.
• Anonymous: Sonata No. 10 from Book 2 of Prothimia Suavissima Sive Sonatarum Selectissimarum (1672). Chatham Baroque. Dorian 90706.
• Rachmaninoff: Suite for Orchestra in D minor, version for piano. Denis Matsuev. RCA 88697155912 (world premiere recording).
• Weill: Little Threepenny Music. London Sym members, Thomas. CBS 44529.

1 PM

• Reger: A Ballet Suite, Op. 130. Norrkoping Sym, Segerstam. BIS 601.
• Beethoven: Twelve Variations on "Ein Mädchen oder Weibchen" from Mozart's Magic Flute. Anne Gastinel, Francois-Frederic Guy. Naive 4995.
• Saint-Saens: The Assassination of the Duke of Guise, Op. 128. Musique Oblique Ensemble. Harmonia Mundi 901472.

Playlist for Thursday, April 3

11 AM

• Sammartini, G.B.: Sinfonia in A major. Accademia d'Arcadia, Lurig. Brilliant 93610.
• Beethoven: String Quartet in F major, Op. 59/1. Cleveland Quartet. Telarc 80229.
• Baaren: Piano Concertino: finale. Kuyken, Netherlands Radio Chamber Orch, Spanjaard. NM Classics 92044.

12 N

• Cordero: Eight Miniatures: Danzonette. Chicago Sinfonietta, Freeman. Cedille 061.
• Bonis, Mel: Soir, Matin. Mozart Piano Quartet. MDG 643 1424.
• Vivaldi: Concerto in D minor for tow oboes, RV 535. Academy for Ancient Music Berlin. Harmonia Mundi 901975.
• Glinka: Waltz-Fantasy. Detroit Sym, Jarvi. Chandos 9227.
• Liszt: Piano Sonata in B minor. Martha Argerich. DG 447 430.

1 PM

• Bertali: Chaconne. Holloway, Assenbaum, Mortensen. ECM 1668.
• Weber: Clarinet Concertino in E-flat. Emma Johnson, English Chamber Orch, Groves. ASV 4001.
• Baermann: Adagio in D-flat. Emma Johnson, English Chamber Orch, Groves. ASV 4001.
• Mozart: Symphony No. 29 in A major, K. 201. Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Marriner. Philips 412 954.
  

The ASO on GPB, April 3 & 6

In week 5 of our 24-week Atlanta Symphony broadcast series, ASO principal guest conductor Donald Runnicles talks about being the podium's most notorious southpaw. He also reveals his pet peeve - background music in elevators and at the mall. Donald Runnicles' star, which was already plenty high, continues to rise with appointments to soon head both the BBC Scottish Symphony and the German Opera Berlin.

Taiwanese-American violinist Cho-Liang Lin says it's especially important that a soloist and an orchestra have the same style in mind when they're playing Mozart. And then he and the Atlanta Symphony set out to do just that.

Join us to hear Runnicles, Lin and the ASO in Mozart's Third Violin Concerto. Also on the program, Beethoven's Fourth Symphony. And the concert concludes with Donald Runnicles conducting music by Richard Strauss: Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks. The piece depicts the satirical misdeeds (and eventual hanging!) of irreverent folk hero Till Eulenspiegel. There's an old German saying, "One sees one’s own faults as little as an owl recognizes his ugliness by looking into a mirror." Till's last name, "Eulenspiegel," means "Owl-Mirror."

The ASO is on GPB tonight at 8, repeating Sunday night at 10. Sarah Zaslaw hosts.

(Next week: violinist Leila Josefowicz and Canadian-Trinidadian conductor Kwame Ryan, with Beethoven's Violin Concerto and Schumann's Second Symphony.)

Playlist for Wednesday, April 2

11 AM

• Martinu: Piano Trio No. 3 in C major, "Grand Trio." Czech Trio. Arco Diva.
• Ciardi: Gran Concerto in D for flute and orchestra. Roberto Fabbriciani, Friuli Venezia Giulia Sym, Fraas. Naxos 8.557857.
• Falla: Fantasia Baetica. Fabio Bidini. Encore 9816.

12 N

• Bernstein: Candide, Overture. Boston Pops, Williams. Philips 2606.
• Saint-Luc: Suite in D major, "La Prise de Gaeta." David Russell. Telarc 80693.
• Schubert: Piano Trio No. 1 in B-flat, Op. 99. Beaux Arts Trio. Philips 412 620.

1 PM

• Bach: Concerto for Oboe and Violin in D minor, BWV 1060. Academy of Ancient Music Berlin. Harmonia Mundi 901876.
• Tchaikovsky: Souvenir d'un lieu cher. Vadim Gluzman, Bergen Phil, Litton. BIS 1432.

Select Classical Concerts, April 1-8

The Savannah Music Festival continues through April 5. The final classical offerings are:

• the famed Beaux Arts Trio, on their farewell tour after 50 years , playing Schubert's two big piano trios (Wednesday, April 2, Lucas Theatre, 6 p.m.), and
• pianist Yu Kosuge playing assorted fantasies and Liszt's B-flat sonata (Telfair Academy, Friday, April 4).

The Czech Trio is traversing our state all week:

• April 1 in Macon. Presented by the Macon Concert Association. Wesleyan College's Burden Parlor, Tuesday, 8 p.m. (478) 743-6940. Beethoven, Smetana, Dvorak.
• April 2 in Morrow. Spivey Hall, Clayton State University, Wednesday, 7:30 p.m. Martinu, Smetana, Dvorak. Free.
  
• April 3 in Americus. Rachmaninoff, Mendelsson, Smetana. Georgia Southwestern State's Jackson Performance Hall, Thursday, 7:30 p.m.
• April 4 in Augusta. Presented by the Harry Jacobs Chamber Music Society. Smetana, Dvorak, Friday, 8 p.m. (See article.)
• April 5 in Hawkinsville. Presented by the Ocmulgee Symphony. Hawkinsville Opera House, Saturday, 7:30 p.m. Beethoven, Rachmaninoff, Smetana.
• April 6 in Demorest. Beethoven, Rachmaninoff, Smetana. Piedmont College Chapel, Sunday, 3 p.m.
• April 7-8 in Spartanburg and Greenville, South Carolina.

April 1 in Tifton there's "A Night of Solo Piano and Ensembles" (Gina Lawhon, piano; Sheri Wyles Grabowski and The Mannheim Musicians). 7 p.m. ABAC Chapel. Free admission. Article.

April 3-6 in Macon, Mercer University Opera, directed by Martha Mallone, presents Egisto by Francesco Cavalli. Fickling Hall, Mercer's Townsend School of Music. Read article for details on this and other central Georgia events.

Saturday, April 5 take your pick:

• In Atlanta, the Carl Rosa Company performs Gilbert and Sullivan's ever-popular operetta The Mikado at Georgia Tech's Ferst Center. It's "a recreation of the original 1885 operetta, using Gilbert’s own prompt book for the direction, staging, and choreography."
• In Morrow, Swiss-born pianist Gilles Vonsattel (whom you may have heard in recent years on on Performance Today) makes his Spivey Hall debut playing Bach, Bartok and Ravel.
• In Albany, the Albany Concert Association presents theJupiter String Quartet, a prize-winning young string quartet currently in residence with Lincoln Center’s Chamber Music Society, Albany Municipal Auditorium.
• In Athens, Hesperus offers a "roots" program of American music from the arrival of the Pilgrims through the early 19th century.

Sunday, April 6 the terrific Academy for Ancient Music Berlin makes its Spivey Hall debut at 3 p.m. with concertos by Vivaldi, Marcello, Graun, Erlebach and Bach.

And looking ahead, mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke - who won the first UGA Performing Arts Center Prize at the 2006-7 Young Concert Artists International Auditions in New York - performs here twice next week:

• Tuesday, April 8 at ABAC's Howard Auditorium, Tifton, 7 p.m.
• Friday, April 11 at UGA's Performing Arts Center in Athens.

Playlist for Tuesday, April 1

The Academy of Ancient Music Berlin, the Jupiter String Quartet and the Czech Trio all perform in Georgia this week, and we hear them all on GPB's Midday Music.

Another highlight of today's show is Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto - played on the very Stradivarius instrument that almost premiered the piece in the first place. Back in the 1870s, this violin belonged to the great Leopold Auer, whom Tchaikovsky had in mind for the first performance of his new concerto. But when Auer took a look at the piece, he deemed it unplayable and passed. Vadim Gluzman, however, can handle the piece, and handles Leopold Auer's 1690 Strad as well, in this fantastic new recording. Note: Vadim Gluzman appears April 25 with the Augusta Symphony! ... And we've got the latest Bach from pianist Murray Perahia: Bach.

11 AM

• Moeran: Sinfonietta: finale. Bournemouth Sym, Litton. Naxos 8.555837.
• Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35. Vadim Gluzman, Bergen Phil, Litton. BIS 1432.
• Suk: Elegie, under the impression of Zeyer's Vysehrad. Czech Trio. Arco Diva 810723.
• Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 3 in F major: Allegretto. Jupiter String Quartet. Marquis 81371.

12 N

• Vivaldi: Concerto Grosso in F, RV 574. Academy of Ancient Music Berlin. harmonia Mundi 901975.
• Bach: Keyboard Partita No. 3 in A minor. Murray Perahia, piano. Sony/RCA 22697.
• Piazzolla: Ave Maria (Tanti Anni Prima). Quartetto Gelato. Linus 70068.
  
• Siegmeister: Clarinet Concerto. Robert Alemany,
  

1 PM

• Dvorak: Piano Trio in F minor, Op. 65. Czech Trio. Arco Diva 810723.
• Vivaldi: Concerto in G minor for two cellos, RV 531. Academy of Ancient Music Berlin. Garmonia Mundi 901975.