Critic’s Choice

Tue Apr 10, 2018 at 1:05 pm

Louis Lortie and Hélène Mercier. Photo: Ambiance Studio

If the busy SHIFT Festival is too contemporary and symphonic for you, this week also offers more intimate chamber concerts of excellent quality. One can hardly get more conversational than the repertoire for piano duo on display from Canadian pianists Louis Lortie and Hélène Mercier. Their program includes Rachmaninoff’s Suite No. 1 and Symphonic Dances, as well as Arensky’s Suite No. 1, Ravel’s Rapsodie espagnole, and Medtner’s Russian Round Dance (A Tale) 8 p.m. Wednesday at the Library of Congress. Admission is free with a reserved ticket. loc.gov

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This weekend the outstanding viol consort Fretwork performs an arrangement of Bach’s The Art of Fugue, which the group recorded several years ago. Their revised transcription includes a new completion of the piece’s final contrapunctus movement by the group’s director, Richard Boothby. Admission is also free, no ticket required, 3.30 p.m. Sunday in the West Building of the National Gallery of Art. nga.gov


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