This March, Seattle’s classical music scene is bursting with fresh programming and creative concert formats, inviting audiences to explore live music in a different way, with multimedia performances and presentations. This month, our concert picks lean toward the unique and unusual, with works that were composed hundreds of years ago…or hundreds of days ago.
March 7 — Hailing from Canada, acclaimed baroque orchestra Tafelmusik pays a visit to Seattle with a UW World Series performance. Their multimedia concert, “House of Dreams”, pairs works by Handel, Vivaldi, Purcell, and J.S. Bach with images of period architecture and painting.
March 15 – 24 — Pacific Northwest Ballet‘s “Modern Masterpieces” brings together several shorter pieces created by legends of modern choreography, including George Balanchine, Twyla Tharp, and Ulysses Dove. The production’s musical selections are an appealing blend of old and new, featuring works by J.S. Bach, Mozart, Philip Glass, and Arvo Pärt.
March 15 – 24 — Experience chamber music from the late 16th and early 17th centuries at the Salish Sea Early Music Festival. The festival brings early music concerts to communities around Puget Sound, including Seattle, Tacoma, Vashon Island, Bellingham, and the San Juan Islands. This year’s program highlights repertoire for renaissance transverse flute, baroque violin, baroque viola, and harpsichord.
March 17 — Dive deeper into classical music’s greatest hits with Seattle Symphony’s Beyond the Score. This concert series spotlights key works in the classical canon, combining a live performance with a brief presentation on the piece’s history and background. This month’s Beyond the Score concert features Elgar’s Enigma Variations.
March 17 — Local composers Nat Evans and John Teske scored a hit at January’s ONN/OF Festival with Space Weather Listening Booth, a sound installation inspired by the aurora borealis. The pair has re-created the work as a performance piece, which will premiere as part of Hollow Earth Radio‘s Magma Festival.
March 21-23 — Sing along with the infamous theme from Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. This month, the Seattle Symphony revisits the classics with a program of favorites by Mozart, Beethoven, and Britten. Cellist Gautier Capuçon is the featured soloist in Britten’s Cello Symphony.
March 29 — Head to Kirkland Performance Center for an intimate recital by pianist and composer Hauschka, whose music for prepared piano blends acoustic and electronic sounds. The German-born artist draws upon the traditions of Erik Satie, John Cage, and Philip Glass, creating a fresh sonic palette that brings the prepared piano into the 21st century.
