For classical music lovers, August — not dreary February — can feel like the longest month of the year. It’s midway between the end of the 2023-24 performing season and the beginning of the next one. Temperatures are soaring and performance calendars are depressingly blank.
What’s a Maryland-based fan of Bach, Beethoven, Berlioz, Brahms or Bruckner to do? Don’t worry. The Baltimore Sun has identified a handful of in-person classical concerts you can attend without crossing state lines or venturing into Washington or Philadelphia. It might take a willingness to travel and a flexible attitude about the definition of “classical music”, but it can be done.
Best of all, some of these offerings are low-cost or free. Lesser music organizations might close up shop for summer vacation, but charming, eclectic An Die Musik never shuts its doors. “During the summer, I like to program music that is very light-hearted,” the venue’s owner, Henry Wong, said.
“And I like to have music that is not the run-of-the-mill music you will find at the festivals, but that is still approachable.” On Aug. 4, the Virginia-based group Quintango will breeze into town to perform what they describe as “the heartbeat of classical Argentinian tango” with two violins, one bass, one piano and a bandoneon, which resembles a small, handheld accordion.
According to the group’s website, the quintet performs “chamber tango” pieces written specifically for them that combine classical t.