Front Row Washington

Mondays at 9:00 pm on Classical WETA 90.9 FM

Tune in on Mondays at 9:00 pm for classical performances by top local musicians and ensembles, recorded at venues throughout the Washington area.

This month we celebrate the National Gallery of Art and their concert series that began in World War 2. Now in their 78th season, they have presented more than 3,000 free concerts featuring some of the most prominent names in classical music in the United States and abroad.

No programs are currently scheduled. Please check back soon.

Recent Broadcasts

Trio Valtorna

Presented by the National Gallery of Art

Monday, June 29, 2020 - 9:00pm

Bringing together the gifts of three internationally recognized artists, Trio Valtorna formed in 2011. After performing together at “Music from Angel Fire” Chamber Music Festival, renowned violinist Ida Kavafian and French horn player extraordinaire David Jolley decided to continue in collaboration, adding the young pianist Gilles Vonsattel to complete the ensemble. Fred Kirshnit, writing in the New York Sun, called Ms. Kavafian’s artistry “meaningful and affecting”, while the New Yorker has praised Mr. Jolley’s “richly melancholy horn solos”, and David Weininger in the Boston Globe observed the “clarity and light touch” of Gilles Vonsattel. The ensemble promises to offer chamber music par excellence to audiences across the United States.

Air Force Strings - The Latin American Spirit

Monday, June 22, 2020 - 9:00pm

The Air Force Strings is the official string ensemble of The United States Air Force. Stationed at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in Washington, D.C., it is one of six musical ensembles that form The U.S. Air Force Band. The Air Force Strings consists of 20 active duty Airmen musicians performing a wide range of musical styles, from classical symphonic selections and Broadway show tunes to classic rock, bluegrass and patriotic compositions. The ensemble often entertains audiences at high-level military and government events in a formation known as the Strolling Strings. Providing a multi-dimensional experience, the instrumentalists surround the audience performing from memory without the aid of a conductor.

As part of The U.S. Air Force Band, the Air Force Strings honors those who have served, inspires American citizens to heightened patriotism and service, and connects with the global community on behalf of the U.S. Air Force and the United States. The excellence demonstrated by these Airmen musicians is a reflection of the excellence displayed by Airmen stationed around the globe. Each member is proud to represent all Airmen, whose selfless service and sacrifices ensure the freedoms we enjoy as citizens of the United States of America.

PUBLIQuartet

Presented by the National Gallery of Art

Monday, June 15, 2020 - 9:00pm

In this concert, PUBLIQuartet presents their composition titled OWN, a tribute to the past, present, and future of America. It's a celebration of diversity and those who came before us and fought for a dream that every American citizen shall be free. The piece is a musical reflection of slavery, assault, voting, and an unjust prison system in America. OWN does this through 4 songs reimagined for string quartet, the jazz song Strange Fruit, a suffragette protest song, Lesley Gore’s You Don’t Own Me, and No More My Lord, a prison holler from 1947.

Applauded by The Washington Post as “a perfect encapsulation of today’s trends in chamber music,” and by The New Yorker as “independent-minded,” PUBLIQuartet’s modern interpretation of chamber music makes them one of the most dynamic artists of their generation. Dedicated to presenting new works for string quartet, PUBLIQuartet rose on the music scene as winner of the 2013 Concert Artists Guild’s New Music/New Places award, and in 2019 garnered Chamber Music America’s prestigious Visionary Award for outstanding and innovative approaches to contemporary classical, jazz, and world chamber music.

PQ’s genre-bending programs range from 20th century masterworks to newly commissioned pieces, alongside re-imaginations of classical works featuring open-form improvisations that expand the techniques and aesthetic of the traditional string quartet.