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Classical Music Explained: What Makes it Great? with NPR's Rob Kapilow

Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History (10th Street and Constitution Ave., NW Washington, DC 20560)
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$15.00 - $30.00
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4.9 by 11 members
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Conductor Rob Kapilow presents famous classical works and provides insight into the music in the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History's Baird Auditorium. Accompanied by acclaimed musicians, Kapilow takes listeners inside the music, unraveling, slowing down, and recomposing key passages to let the audience hear why a piece is so extraordinary. See the full event description for information on this season's program and upcoming performances.

* Additional fees apply.

All offers for What Makes it Great? have expired.

The last date listed for What Makes it Great? was Sunday October 17, 2010 / 6:00pm (Mozart's Clarinet Concerto).

Currently at Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History:

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Full Price:
$25.00
Our Price:
$12.50

The Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra pays tribute to one of the greatest jazz guitarists ever with Wes Montgomery's Incredible Jazz Guitar. Widely acknowledged as one of the greatest jazz guitarists ever, Wes performed with Lionel Hampton's band before forging his own career as a bandleader, pioneering a generation of bebop and post-bop guitar styles. The SJMO small group honors Montgomery's legacy with performances of some of his greatest tunes, including "Four on Six," "Unit 7," and "West Coast Blues." Learn More

10th Street and Constitution Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20560
202-633-1000
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Goldstar Member Tips

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    Mostly business casual, with some folks a little more dressed up
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    Close to metro
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    Plenty of options a few blocks north of the museum
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Goldstar Member Reviews

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Rob is so engaging and enthusiastic - what a great teacher he would make! His section-by-section description of the Beethoven piece made it come alive and was so informative about its place in musical history. Then to hear it played so beautifully, all the way through, was a real treat. I would attend another of his sessions again, happily.
Written on Jan 13 2010

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There were 2 parts to this event. Rob Kapilow went over Beethoven's Sonata #21 theme-by-theme, nuance-by-nuance as the pianist played the pertinent measures. Rob also gave good historical background info to really set the stage for this sonata. After a brief intermission, the pianist played the entire piece - beautifully. Rob's enthusiasm for his subject is catching - I found myself sitting on the edge of my seat at times.
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Wonderful event. Rare opportunity to hear and see a piece of music broken down to simple pieces and then hear the piece in its' entirety. Suitable for beginners as well as experienced listeners.
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Rob Kapilow did a superb job of explaining the intricacies and greatness of Stravinsky's "The Soldier's Tale," and the Peabody Chamber Players, led by young Ilyich Rivas, did a phenomenal job of performing the demanding piece. Kapilow's lecture/demonstration went on for significantly longer than an hour, but the time just flew by, and I learned so much about Stravinsky and his music. Kudos to all!
Written on Apr 29 2010

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More Information About What Makes it Great?

Website

http://www.wpas.org/

Quotes & Highlights

  • Visit Rob Kapilow's web site for more information on the show's host and conductor.
  • “You’ve never heard a classical music concert like this before. Kapilow’s exuberance transported the audience back into the mind of the composer and his contemporaries.”  —San Diego Union-Tribune

Description

Sunday, October 17, 2010 at 6:00pm
Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto in A Major, K. 622, Performed by Gleb Kanasevich, Clarinet, and the Peabody Chamber Players

The popular musicologist and lecturer Rob Kapilow returns to Washington this fall with a new series of What Makes It Great?© programs, this time
exploring the genius of Mozart.

The first program of the season takes place October 17 in Baird Auditorium at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History.
Kapilow will discuss Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto in A Major, K. 622, which will be performed by Gleb Kanasevich, clarinet, and the Peabody Chamber Players. Popularized by its appearance on the soundtrack of the Academy Award-winning film Out of Africa, the concerto was Mozart’s last work for a solo instrument.

Rob Kapilow is characterized by his unique ability to create an “aha” moment for his audiences and collaborators, whatever their level of musical sophistication or naiveté. He gives, said the New York Times, “the kind of enlightening musical seminar in which you hang on to every word and note.”

"It’s like watching baseball,’ said one La Jolla resident. ‘If you don’t know the rules of the game, it’s not that much fun. But if you have an expert sitting there next to you, explaining what’s going on and the history of the players, it brings a whole new level of appreciation.’”

Kapilow is a distinguished musician and composer who graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Yale and studied in France with the legendary Nadia Boulanger and at the Eastman School of Music. He was an assistant professor at Yale for six years and was a featured composer on Chicago Public Radio’s Composers in America series. He is a recipient of an Exxon “Meet-the-Composer” grant and numerous ASCAP awards. His recent book, All You Have to Do Is Listen: Music from the Inside Out, received a PROSE Award for Professional and Scholarly Excellence from The Professional and Scholarly Publishing (PSP) Division of the Association of American Publishers (AAP). The book won the highest honor in the category of Music and the Performing Arts.

The Peabody Chamber Players are based at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. They are mentored by distinguished artists on the Peabody Conservatory faculty and made up of élite undergraduate and graduate students who audition by invitation. Belarus-born clarinetist Gleb Kanasevich is the 2010 Winner of The Yale Gordon Competition at The Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University. Having come to the United States in 2001, Kanasevich is the winner of several other prestigious awards and competitions.






About the Ticket Supplier: Washington Performing Arts Society

For 40 years Washington Performing Arts Society has created profound opportunities by connecting the community to artists, in both education and performance. Through live events in venues that criss-cross the landscape of the D.C. metropolitan area, WPAS invites all to share lifelong opportunities to deepen their cultural knowledge, enrich their lives, and expand their understanding of the world through the universal language of the performing arts.

Established in 1965 by impresario Patrick Hayes, the organization flourished under Douglas Wheeler from 1982 to 2002. Now with the inspired leadership of President Neale Perl, Washington Performing Arts Society continues to be widely recognized as one of the leading presenters of the performing arts in the nation.