John Adams News

Elegant themes and opulent variations by a wide range of Baroque composers set the tone for the holidays as the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra (LACO) features critically acclaimed virtuoso John Schneiderman playing lute and Baroque guitar in the first of five "Baroque Conversations" concerts on Thursday, December 5, 2013, 7 pm, at Zipper Hall in downtown Los Angeles. LACO Concertmaster Margaret Batjer, who hosts and curates the concert, is joined by LACO's Tereza Stanislav, violin, Armen Ksajikian, cello, Nico Abondolo, bass, and Patricia Mabee, keyboard. The program opens with Passacaglia in D major by Sylvius Leopold Weiss and also includes Karl Kohaut's Lute Concerto in F major (No. 1); Tarquinio Merula's Ciaccona; three sonatas by Domenico Scarlatti; the Ciaconna from Mauricio Cazzati's Varii e Diversi Capricci, Op. 50; and Arcangelo Corelli's "La Follia," Op. 5, No. 12, among other works. Critics have called Schneiderman "dazzling' and "expressive," noting that, "Schneiderman's tone… turns delicate textures into sparkling jewels."

Los Angeles Children's Chorus, acclaimed for its pure, agile, bel canto sound that has made it one of the most in-demand children's choirs in the county, spotlights the music of Benjamin Britten and the English choral tradition and also performs a compelling array of music from around the globe at its popular annual Winter Concert on Saturday, December 7, 7 PM, and Sunday, December 8, 2013, 7:30 PM, at Pasadena Presbyterian Church. The repertoire includes Benjamin Britten's Ceremony of Carols, Friday Afternoons and selections from his extensive collection of folksong settings, as well as a selection of English carols and cathedral anthems from Sir David Willc*cks, John Rutter and others.

English conductor Jane Glover will make her Met debut on December 16 leading the company's holiday presentation, an abridged, English-language production of Mozart's The Magic Flute, directed by Julie Taymor. The 100-minute version of Taymor's popular staging of the opera will star Alek Shrader as the brave prince Tamino; Heidi Stober as Pamina, the princess he must rescue; Eric Owens as the mysterious Sarastro; Shenyang as the Speaker; and Nathan Gunn as the hapless bird-catcher Papageno. Albina Shagimuratova and Kathryn Lewek will alternate in the role of Pamina's vindictive mother, the Queen of the Night. The Magic Flute launched the recent Met tradition of presenting a family-oriented production each holiday season, with sharply discounted tickets and two special weekday matinee performances. Scroll down for a sneak peek at the production!

The Metropolitan Opera and The Juilliard School present an evening of opera featuring Act I of Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail; Stravinsky's rarely-performed one-act comedy Mavra; Act I, scene 1 of Berlioz's Benvenuto Cellini; and Act I, part 2 of Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore in the fourth collaboration between the two institutions on Tuesday, February 11 and Friday, February 14, 2014 at 8 PM and Sunday, February 16, 2014 at 2 PM in Juilliard's Peter Jay Sharp Theater. Met Music Director James Levine conducts the Juilliard Orchestra and singers from the Met's Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, as well as singers from the Ellen and James S. Marcus Institute for Vocal Arts at Juilliard. Director Edward Berkeley will stage the program in a semi-staged concert version.

On Saturday, December 14, at 7:30 p.m. in Zankel Hall, celebrated conductor David Robertson, music director of the St. Louis Symphony, leads Ensemble ACJW in a performance of Luciano Berio's Folk Songs featuring guest soprano Dawn Upshaw, who last performed the piece at Carnegie Hall in March 2004. ACJW's inventive program also includes Steve Reich's City Life, the composer's homage to his hometown of New York City, and Bartok's Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta.

The New York Philharmonic Young People's Concerts (YPCs) continue with a focus on Mozart's Symphony No. 41, Jupiter, led by Philharmonic Assistant Conductor Case Scaglione, Saturday, December 7, 2013, at 2:00 p.m. This is the second program in this season's series, Points of Entry, in which each concert explores facets of music and the orchestra itself through an influential score. The concert will also feature selections from Mozart's Symphonies Nos. 1 and 33 and his Missa Brevis in F; Pachelbel's Canon; and Arvo Part's Cantus in Memoriam Benjamin Britten.

The world-renowned Miro Quartet and The University of Texas Symphony Orchestra present a program featuring the world premiere of a piece written for string quartet and chamber orchestra by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Kevin Puts. Puts, a former Butler School of Music faculty member and long-time colleague of the Miro Quartet, composed the work as part of a year-long celebration of the centennial of The University of Texas School of Music which begins with this December 2013 concert. 'We are so excited to kick off the year-long celebration of 100 years of music at The University of Texas with this concert featuring our world-class orchestra and the world premiere of a work composed by former faculty member Kevin Puts,' says Interim Director of the Butler School of Music and Professor Glenn Richter.

CHICAGO (November 12, 2013) – The Joffrey Ballet celebrates the 26th annual presentation of Robert Joffrey's The Nutcracker, Chicago's most popular holiday tradition and America's #1 Nutcracker, in a 23-performance engagement at the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University, 50 E. Congress Parkway, December 6 – 28, 2013.

Dmitri Hvorostovsky sings his first Met performances of the title role in Verdi's Rigoletto beginning today, November 11, in the first revival of Michael Mayer's hit production, set in the decadent world of 1960s Las Vegas.

Two distinguished American pianists-Ursula Oppens and Robert Levin-will team up to perform selections of piano works by the celebrated British-American composer Bernard Rands on Thursday evening, December 5th at 7:30 p.m. at the Leonard Nimoy Thalia at Symphony Space, 2537 Broadway, New York, NY.

The December broadcasts of The New York Philharmonic This Week - the weekly radio series of concerts and recordings by the New York Philharmonic, hosted by Alec Baldwin - begin with Bernard Labadie returning to the Philharmonic to conduct Mozart's Requiem; J.S. Bach's Cantata No. 51, Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen!; and Handel's 'Let the Bright Seraphim' from Samson. The program's soloists will include soprano Miah Persson, mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe, tenor Fre?de?ric Antoun, bass Andrew Foster-Williams, and Associate Principal Trumpet Matthew Muckey, joined by the New York Choral Artists directed by Joseph Flummerfelt. The following week Music Director Alan Gilbert conducts the New York Premiere of The Marie- Jose?e Kravis Composer-in-Residence Christopher Rouse's Oboe Concerto featuring Principal Oboe Liang Wang, and Richard Strauss's Also sprach Zarathustra and Don Juan, both featuring Concertmaster Glenn Dicterow in the concertmaster solos.

Miller Theatre at Columbia University School of the Arts continues the 2013-14 Composer Portraits series with electronic music innovator RAND STEIGER, featuring: PETER EVANS, trumpet; MILLER PUCKETTE and RAND STEIGER, electronics; INTERNATIONAL CONTEMPORARY ENSEMBLE; and STEVEN SCHICK, conductor.

Bernard Labadie will return to the New York Philharmonic to conduct Mozart's Requiem; J.S. Bach's Cantata No. 51, Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen!; and Handel's 'Let the Bright Seraphim' from Samson. The program's soloists will include soprano Miah Persson, mezzo- soprano Stephanie Blythe, tenor Frederic Antoun in his Philharmonic debut, bass Andrew Foster- Williams, Philharmonic Principal Trumpet Philip Smith, and the New York Choral Artists directed by Joseph Flummerfelt. The concerts will take place tonight, November 7, 2013, at 7:30 p.m.; Friday, November 8 at 8:00 p.m.; and Saturday, November 9 at 8:00 p.m.

This winter The 5th Avenue Theatre presents a singing and dancing spectacular not to be missed: Lionel Bart's beloved classic, Oliver!, the holiday treat that will have audiences saying "Please sir, I want some more." The iconic musical returns to the celebrated 5th Avenue stage for the first time in 20 years, and will feature stunning costumes, dazzling sets, and a massive local cast of 66 (including 36 youngsters), singing and dancing their way through the streets and alleys of Victorian London. Based on the classic Charles Dickens novel, Oliver! is filled with memorable tunes including "Who Will Buy?", "I'd Do Anything," and "As Long As He Needs Me." Oliver! features direction by David Armstrong and will starDavid Pichette as Fagin, Grayson Smith as the Artful Dodger, Hans Altwies as Bill Sikes, and Merideth Kaye Clark as Nancy. Oliver Twist will be played by Jack Fleischmann and Mark Jeffrey James Weber at alternating performances.

Created by David Simon (HBO's 'The Wire,' 'Generation Kill' and 'The Corner') and Eric Overmyer ('St. Elsewhere,' 'Homicide: Life on the Street' and HBO's 'The Wire'), the Peabody Award-winning drama series TREME returns for its five-episode conclusion SUNDAY, DEC. 1

The University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music's (CCM) Chamber Choir and Philharmonia Chamber Orchestra join forces to perform a unique staged production of Johann Sebastian Bach's visceral rendering of the St. John Passion as the next installment in CCM's 2013-14 Prestige Concert Series. The monumental work will be presented at 5 p.m. today, Nov. 3, at Christ Church Cathedral under the direction of Earl Rivers, staged by Omer Ben-Seadia, and in conjunction with the Constella Festival of Music and Fine Arts.

Oakland Youth Orchestra will open its 50th anniversary season this weekend, November 2 and 3 with a concert featuring two young soloists who are the winners of the Youth Orchestra's annual Concerto Competition, Artistic Director and Conductor Michael Morgan has announced.

A new teaser trailer for the highly anticipated fourth season of Downton Abbey has been released. In the sneak peek, Lady Mary Crawley still deals with the tragic death of her beloved husband Matthew. The new season premieres January 5th on PBS. Check it out below!

Composer-conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen will return to the New York Philharmonic to lead the New York Concert Premiere of his Violin Concerto, featuring Leila Josefowicz as soloist in her Philharmonic subscription debut; Ravel's Mother Goose Suite; and Sibelius's Symphony No. 5, tonight, October 30, 2013, at 7:30 p.m.; Thursday, October 31 at 7:30 p.m.; Friday, November 1 at 11:00 a.m.; Saturday, November 2 at 8:00 p.m.; and Tuesday, November 5 at 7:30 p.m.

MILWAUKEE, WIS. 10/29/2013 –The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra presents Schubert's Sixth on November 22-24, 2013 at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts. Led by guest conductor Hans Graf, the performances feature the Milwaukee Symphony Chorus, Lee Erickson, director, in Schubert's Mass No. 6 in E-flat major, D. 950 and Mozart's Symphony No. 39 in E-flat major, K. 543. Featured soloists