The Crypt Sessions: Fall 2023 Season is here!

My fellow Crypt-Keepers,

As we emerge from our summer slumber, I’m happy to declare Death of Classical’s triumphant return to our sacred subterranean home - the Fall Crypt Season is upon us! Prepare yourselves for six incomparable performances by indescribably talented artists...

‍September 5, international superstar Adam Tendler returns to the Crypt to perform John Cage’s prepared piano masterpiece Sonatas and Interludes. The timing is no accident, as Tendler will grace us with his unparalleled performance on this peculiarly prescient piece’s 75th anniversary on the day of Cage’s eleventy-first (that's 111th for non-Hobbits) birthday.

‍October 3 & 4, you’ll have the opportunity to immerse yourself in a soulful serenade from the inimitable bass-baritone Joseph Parrish. October 10 & 11, just a week later (I know, how lucky we are!) the Crypt will be brimming with Halloween spirits as Maxim Lando performs the US premiere of Lowell Liebermann’s Frankenstein Suite for piano - based on the composer’s ballet and Mary Shelley’s enduring epic about the beauty of creation and the dangers of fearing of that we don’t understand. October 24, trail-blazing Hanzhi Wang performs Bach’s sweepingly epic Goldberg Variations, in her staggering arrangement for solo accordion. Weird Al, who?

‍November 28-30, string quintet Sybarite5 hosts a three-night Crypt Lab residency, where this post-genre powerhouse ensemble will perform a perfect blend of premiere pieces in innumerable musical traditions, with a guest performance by vocalist Blythe Gaissert.

Wrapping up our fall season on December 8, 11, & 12, vocal group Ekmeles delivers a divine yet deeply human performance of David Lang’s Pulitzer-winning The Little Match Girl Passion, a heart-rendingly beautiful winter work that finds hope amidst the most profound suffering.

Your friendly urban spelunker,
– Andrew Ousley