Now that we’ve given you our Classical Fall Preview, we can get into what Fanfare is really about: weekly classical listings. Since the fall season is just starting up, this week will be lighter than most – but as more shows appear on the horizon, we’ll keep you in the loop. Just make sure that you're signed up to receive this newsletter in your inbox every Sunday!
Spotlight: The Philadelphia Orchestra Opening Night – Thursday, Marian Anderson Hall
The opening night of The Philadelphia Orchestra’s season is always a fun occasion with fizzy, celebratory energy, whether or not there is anything newsmaking on offer. You can depend on there being at least one crowd-pleasing warhorse on the program, and this year there are two: Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture and Bruch’s ever-popular Violin Concerto No. 1. I’m eager to hear the supremely gifted young Spanish violinist Maria Dueñas in the latter. But I’m also happy to note that the remaining work on the program is a newsmaker: a concert suite from Terence Blanchard’s ground-breaking opera Fire Shut Up In My Bones, which Yannick Nézet-Séguin introduced at the Metropolitan Opera a couple of seasons ago.
Sept. 26 at 7 p.m., Marian Anderson Hall, Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, 300 South Broad Street, $89-$99; tickets and information.
The Philadelphia Orchestra – Friday through Sunday, Marian Anderson Hall
Yannick and the Orchestra spring immediately from opening night into the new subscription season, with a nod to the Anton Bruckner bicentennial. The Austrian master’s magnificent Seventh Symphony, written in memory of Richard Wagner, is a cathedral in sound whose premiere finally earned Bruckner his first immediate success with the public. Beethoven’s Second Piano Concerto provides a fitting introduction, featuring the brilliant young pianist Seong-Jin Cho.
Sept. 27 and 29 at 2 p.m., Sept. 28 at 8 p.m., Marian Anderson Hall, Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, 300 South Broad Street, $66-$195; tickets and information.
LyricFest – Saturday at the Academy of Vocal Arts, Sunday at Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church
America’s greatest era of song sprang from Tin Pan Alley in lower Manhattan in the early 20th century, fueled by a golden age of music theater ranging in genres from from burlesque and vaudeville to operetta, and giving rise to the Broadway musical. The composers and lyricists at the heart of the Great American Songbook got their start plugging songs in Tin Pan Alley: Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, Dorothy Fields, George and Ira Gershwin, Lorenz Hart, and Richard Rodgers, just for starters. It’s not often you hear a “classical” vocal recital devoted to these masters, but LyricFest specializes in unique recital programs featuring astutely chosen singers. Jennifer Aylmer, Suzanne DuPlantis, and Randall Scarlata (pictured) do the honors here, joined by pianist Laura Ward.
Sept. 28 at 3 p.m. at the Academy of Vocal Arts, 1920 Spruce Street, $30; Sept. 29 at 3 p.m. at Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church, 625 Montgomery Avenue, Bryn Mawr, $30; tickets and information.
Looking Ahead: Philadelphia Orchestra Winds – Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, Oct. 7, Perelman Theater
Here’s another “you won’t hear this often” recommendation. I’m getting a little ahead of myself, but I can’t resist the prospect of hearing two marvelous wind serenades in concert. Assembling enough superb wind players (plus cello and double bass) to mount Dvorak’s delicious Serenade in D Minor plus Mozart’s transcendent “Gran Partita” is a rare achievement. In between, there’s the tantalizing prospect of a world premiere from the very gifted young Philadelphia composer Nick DiBerardino. Kudos to PCMS for the inspired idea of inviting the Philadelphia Orchestra’s wind sections to treat us all.
Oct. 7 at 7:30 p.m., Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, 300 South Broad Street, sold out, but call 215-569-8080 or email boxoffice@pcmsconcerts.org to join the waiting list; tickets and information.
