Classical for Washington

Rachmaninoff Celebration on NSO Showcase

Wednesday, April 5 at 9 p.m.

Rachmaninoff’s 150th birthday is April 1, and April’s NSO Showcase celebrates in a big way, with the composer’s towering masterpiece, the Piano Concerto No.3 Host Nicole Lacroix notes, “This performance from November 2018 had Kennedy Center audiences and critics cheering. It was a double NSO debut — for Mexican conductor Carlos Miguel Prieto (Musical America named him Conductor of the Year the following year) and pianist Denis Kozhukhin, winner of the 2010 Queen Elisabeth Competition. Reviewers raved about a superb, breathtaking performance.” As The Washington Post wrote: “What Kozhukhin offers is a 21st-century take on Russian fireworks, dazzling and strong yet emphasizing musicality over circus tricks, even in the astonishing cadenza.”

Schubert’s “Unfinished” Symphony and The Block by Composer-in-Residence Carlos Simon round out the program with Gianandrea Noseda on the podium. Tune in to NSO Showcase on April 5 at 9 p.m. on WETA Classical; the program streams all month on wetaclassical.org

Chiarina Chamber Players on Front Row Washington

Monday, April 10 at 9 p.m.

Front Row Washington host John Banther recommends the program’s April 10 broadcast featuring Chiarina — a local ensemble of chamber players — performing music by contemporary American composers at St. Mark’s Church in Washington, D.C. The group says “In this special program featuring voices of our time, we bring together first- and second-generation American composers and music inspired by common threads: remembrance, longing, and human displacement. These works connect composers, musical subjects, listeners, and their identities, allowing art to communicate experience.” Among the composers whose works are featured are Richard Danielpour, Mary Kouyoumdjian, Polina Nazaykinskaya, Tania León, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Mohammed Fairouz and Bright Sheng. Founded in 2015 by pianist Efi Hackmey and cellist Carrie Bean Stute, Chiarina presents chamber music performances in Capitol Hill. Front Row Washington airs Mondays at 9 p.m. on WETA Classical.

Bach’s St. Matthew Passion on Choral Showcase

Sunday, April 2 at 9 p.m.

This month, Choral Showcase offers a Palm Sunday presentation of the St. Matthew Passion by Johann Sebastian Bach; a dramatic depiction of the passion and death of Jesus, and a profound expression of one man’s faith. “The compositional details, and the great care Bach took with the final score reveal just how special he thought it was,” says program host Bill Bukowski. “It’s considered to be one of the great works of Western art.” The performance by the Chorus and Orchestra of Collegium Vocale Ghent is conducted by Philippe Herreweghe and features tenor Ian Bostridge (Evangelist); bass Franz-Josef Selig (Jesus); and soprano Sibylla Rubens; countertenor Andreas Scholl; and basses Werner Gura and Dietrich Henschel. Choral Showcase airs Sundays at 9 p.m. on WETA Classical.

Also in April on WETA Classical: The series Center Stage from Wolf Trap on Saturday, April 8 at 9 p.m. concludes its season with Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center performing works by Mozart, Chopin, Ravel and Gershwin, including Rhapsody in Blue for piano, four hands. Opera Matinee on Saturday, April 22 at 1 p.m. presents Mozart’s grand “choral opera” Idomeneo, recounting the legend of the King of Crete who faces terrible consequences from his vow to Neptune in return for safe passage. Michael Spyres is featured in the title role.