Our Arthopologist columnist Nancy Wozny recently wrote about her experiences as a classical music newbie. She's found lots of additional opportunities for neophytes who want to follow in her footsteps this month.
- Patrick Summers will be leading the Houston Grand Opera orchestra in its first Wagner adventure in "Lohengrin" through Sunday, while across town, Opera in the Heights gets their Massenet on with "Manon" tonight.
- Houston Symphony tackles Rachmaninoff this weekend and Mahler on November 19-22, two giants of centuries past.
- Da Camera highlights living composers in "Modern Virtuosos" on November 17 at the Menil.
- Musiqa has a free show on November 19th at the Contemporary Arts Museum in conjunction with the “Immeasurable Distance” show,
- Houston's dreamy man of early music Antoine Plante of Mercury Baroque plans a bash for Henry Purcell's 350th birthday on November 20 at the Wortham Center.
- Foundation for Modern Music presents "Saludo a España!" on November 22.
- "River Oaks Chamber Orchestra in Recital" goes down at The Recital Room at Dowling Music on November 22.
- For genre benders, Society for the Performing Arts presents Leif Ove Andsnes on November 22, riffing on Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition" with South African artist Robin Rhode.
- On Wozny's suggested reading list: The Rest is Noise: Listening to the 20th Century by Alex Ross. "I crashed through it this summer, so go ahead and ask me about Sibelius' drinking problem and Shostakovitch's Stalin problem," she said, speaking like someone who is no longer a newbie.