Aaron Copland

Eats SoBo Cafe in Federal Hill has a small menu, but the evolving list includes tried- and-true favorites as well as edgy new fare. page 14 Outside As the weather warms up (or, at least, it's supposed to), check out our list of picnic spots in the Baltimore area. page 32 Art Gallery ID8, a new art space in Fells Point, is owned by Tony and Melinda Walker, who hope to give new artists a place to display their work. page 17 Music In the 1970s, Candi Staton sang to a disco beat, but her songs detailed sadness and abuse in an amazing voice.

Monument Piano Trio The lowdown -- If you haven't discovered the Monument Piano Trio, the resident ensemble at An die Musik and a valuable addition to Baltimore's classical scene, Saturday's program should provide an engaging introduction. In addition to Rachmaninoff's Trio elegiaque, a stirring, infrequently heard work written after the death of Tchaikovsky, trios by Mozart and Brahms will be performed by violinist Igor Yuzefovich, cellist Dariusz Skoraczewski and pianist Michael Sheppard.

The next program from the Concert Artists of Baltimore, planned long before the September tragedy unleashed a fresh wave of patriotism, seems doubly appropriate now. This "American Sampler," conducted by Edward Polochick, offers quite a cross-section of the country's rich reservoir of music. Among the attractions will be Aaron Copland's Clarinet Concerto, with its exquisitely smooth, lyrical fusion of jazz and classical idioms; David Drosinos will be the soloist. And there will be a rare opportunity to hear Darker America, a 1924 symphonic poem by the great African-American composer William Grant Still, whose output has been absurdly neglected.

Violinist Joshua Bell needs no introduction. Although he is not yet 30, he long ago established himself as one of today's great violinists, and his concerto performances with David Zinman and the Baltimore Symphony have made him a favorite with Baltimore audiences. But concerto performances give listeners only a slice of a great musician's artistry; a recital gives them the whole pie. That is what makes Bell's recital at 7:30 p.m. Sunday evening in the Shriver Hall Concert Series one of this season's most anticipated events.

Brass players may not always get the last word, but when there's something monumental to say, they're often the ones chosen to say it. Think of the ebullience with which the baroque trumpets announce the coming of the holy spirit in Bach's "Magnificat." Or the horn, trumpet and trombone fanfares that intone the fateful motif that opens Tchaikovsky's 4th Symphony. Yes, for power and drama, there's nothing like a brass section, which explains why so many area music lovers will find themselves in St. Anne's Episcopal Church in Annapolis on Sunday evening to hear "Lincoln Portrait: American Celebration" presented by the Washington Symphonic Brass, an ensemble of 14 of the area's finest musicians.

When the genie of nationalism escaped from its bottle in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, it immediately began to inspire impassioned, stirring music that would hold the world in its grip and never let go.From the "Marseillaise" to to Smetana's famous river journey down "The Moldau," love of country quickly became synonymous with love of music.It is in this spirit that the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra comes to Anne Arundel for "A Star-Spangled Celebration" from 5: 30 p.m. to 10 p.m. June 29 at Siegert Field on the campus of Anne Arundel Community College.

This was a century with manifest trends in literature, music, painting, sculpture, theater, architecture and the performing arts -- trends by which artists and their works can be classified. Modernism, which overturned traditions in nearly every area of human thought, made the transition from the 19th century and influenced the arts, high and popular, through half of this one. Modernism's giants included writers James Joyce, Eugene O'Neill, painters such as Picasso, and entertainers such as Charlie Chaplin.

SUNDAY DON MCLEAN: As music legend has it, McLean's "Empty Chairs" inspired "Killing Me Softly with His Song." He also provided Madonna with another hit with her dance version of his classic "American Pie" and now he comes to Rams Head On Stage in Annapolis, 33 West St., at 5 and 8 p.m. The early show is all-ages. The late show is 21 and up. Tickets are $55. Go to tickets.ramsheadonstage.com. CINEMA SUNDAYS: "Flame and Citron" is this week's Cinema Sundays selection at the Charles Theatre, 1711 N. Charles St. The drama from Denmark concerns two fighters from the Holger Danske World War II resistance group and is based on actual events.

Exhibit marks anniversary of print and drawing societyThe Baltimore Museum of Art's print and drawing society, the museum's first "friends" group, was founded in 1968 and since then has supported the museum in a number of ways, including programs and educational activities. But its most lasting contribution is the addition of works to the collection, both through funds raised from the society as a whole and through gifts of individual members.To celebrate the group's 25th anniversary, the museum opens an anniversary exhibition consisting of 45 works donated by the society and its members.

The Baltimore Opera has canceled its summer production of Aaron Copland's "The Tender Land," which was to have been given this month at the Gordon Center in Owings Mills.Spokeswoman Paula Martin said the cost of production has risen so dramatically that the company could not give the opera a quality presentation without greatly exceeding its budget.The opera will substitute two shorter productions: a new adaptation of Puccini's one-act comedy "Gianni Schicchi" for Artscape in downtown Baltimore this weekend; and a recital of favorite arias and Broadway songs by three singers at Glenelg Country School in Columbia later this month.