For Japan (2)

Alfred Schnittke's 1957 Nagsaki Symphony -- not his best work, but worth a listen. The orchestras of Berlin have embraced the spirit of charity in the face of the Japanese devastation. Bernard Haitink paid tribute to the victims of the earthquake recently in a stirring performance of Lutoslawski's Funeral Music, and the Berlin Philharmonic and Staatskapelle Orchestras, under their directors, will be performing a can't-miss double-bill of Tchaikovsky's Sixth and Brahms' Fourth on Tuesday. Alas, I will be in Paris, but you can watch live on their Digital Concert Hall (all proceeds from the concert and webcast go to UNICEF). Already planned was the joint Staatskapelle/Philharmonic April 22nd concert commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster, which will now also be dedicated to the sufferings in Japan; with the Pathetique again as well as Takemitsu's Requiem, Shostakovich's Chamber Symphony, and Ukrainian and Russian Choruses, it should prove to be just as powerful (and will also stream online).

Also, I would be remiss not to mention two upcoming Chicago-area earthquake relief events: a fundraiser at the Chicago Cultural Center on April 1 and a concert organized by students and faculty at the Northwestern School of Music on April 6. They're both Facebook-only, so hopefully you can view the pages.