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Spotlight: Lenape Chamber Ensemble — Friday, Upper Tinicum Lutheran Church, Upper Black Eddy; Sunday, Delaware Valley University, Doylestown
For 50 years in Bucks County, the Lenape Chamber Ensemble has presented music with a name honoring the indigenous Lenape people (coincidentally, it’s Native American Heritage Month). Listeners have two opportunities to join in the anniversary celebration with a hefty Baroque program, performed by musicians bearing impressive credentials. Lionel Party — formerly of the New York Philharmonic and the ensemble’s harpsichordist — curated the program, and his collaborators are Cyrus Beroukhim and Katie Hyun, violins; William Hakim, viola; Alberto Parrini, cello; and Motomi Igarashi, bass.
And while most of the composers on the menu are well-known — J.S. Bach, Couperin, Telemann, and Vivaldi — in between are two outliers. For almost 25 years, Jacques Aubert (1689-1753) was the first violinist of the Paris Opera, and his 1738 Chaconne for two violins, scarcely seven minutes long, is an elegant bit of 18th-century arcana. And though Pierre Gautier de Marseille, a contemporary of Lully, was mainly known for his operas, none of them has survived. In 1696 Gautier and his brother died during a sea storm, and his Suite in G Minor for Violins, Cello, and Harpsichord was published posthumously in 1707.
Nov. 15 at 8 p.m., Upper Tinicum Lutheran Church, 188 Upper Tinicum Church Road, Upper Black Eddy; Nov. 17 at 3 p.m., Life Sciences Building Auditorium, Delaware Valley University, 700 East Butler Avenue, Doylestown, purchase tickets.
Paul Lewis in Schubert’s Last Three Piano Sonatas — Tuesday, Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts
Written during the last years of his life, Schubert’s final three piano sonatas are considered touchstones of the repertory. Individually, they have been performed by hundreds of notable pianists over the years, and on this occasion, the great British pianist, Paul Lewis, will present all three. The opportunity to hear them live, in order, by one of the world’s most esteemed keyboard artists should make an unforgettable evening. As is sometimes the case with offerings by Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, this concert is sold out, but as usual, ticket returns do happen, so consider joining the waitlist.
Nov. 12 at 7:30 p.m., Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, 300 South Broad Street, sold out, but join the waitlist by contacting boxoffice@pcmsconcerts.org or calling 215-569-8080; more information.
Delaware Symphony Orchestra — Friday at the Grand Opera House in Wilmington, DE; Sunday at Cape Henlopen High School in Lewes, DE
Let’s just say it: Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony has the best-known opening of any classical music piece in the world. But those four notes wouldn’t mean much if the thousands that followed hadn’t created some of the most brilliant, propulsive music ever written. Now the Delaware Symphony Orchestra will give you two chances to hear it live, either in Wilmington’s gorgeous Grand Opera House, or at the auditorium at Cape Henlopen High School in Lewes. Conducted by music director Filippo Ciabatti, the generous program includes Shostakovich’s spine-tingling first Cello Concerto, with Tommy Mesa as the intrepid soloist. As a precursor to the symphony, the evening opens with Fate Now Conquers (2020) by Carlos Simon, whose title references The Iliad, quoted in an 1815 journal entry by Beethoven.
Nov. 15 at 7:30 p.m., Copeland Hall, The Grand Opera House, 818 North Market Street, Wilmington, DE, $30-$90; purchase tickets.
Nov. 17 at 2:30 p.m., Cape Henlopen High School, 1250 Kings Highway, Lewes, DE, $40; purchase tickets.
Gounod’s Faust — Saturday through Dec. 3 at the Academy of Vocal Arts
One hundred and forty-one years after the Metropolitan Opera opened its first season with Faust, by Charles Gounod, the Academy of Vocal Arts will launch its 90th season with the classic tale of a man who sells his soul to the Devil and falls in love — before things go haywire. “Gounod’s Faust is everything an opera should be,” says conductor Steven White. Stage director Chas Rader-Shieber and scenic designer Cameron Anderson, making their AVA debuts, add, “This version of Faust takes advantage of the intimacy of AVA’s theater to reimagine the events that spring from the desperate mind of an aging philosopher.”
At press time, the Nov. 16 opening night gala is almost sold out, and many subsequent performances are going fast. AVA encourages patrons to consider the Dec. 3 performance at The Haverford School’s Centennial Hall, with greater availability.
Nov. 16 at 5 p.m., Nov. 19, 21, and 23 at 7:30 p.m., Academy of Vocal Arts, 1920 Spruce Street; Dec. 3 at 7:30 p.m., Centennial Hall, The Haverford School, 450 Lancaster Avenue, $25-$105, or call 215-735-1685 to join the waitlist for sold out performances; tickets and information.
“Nevertheless, She Sang” — Saturday at Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church, Sunday at The First Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia
“For most of history, Anonymous was a woman.” That quote from Virginia Woolf is but one of the inspirations for these concerts conceived by Lyric Fest, titled “Nevertheless, She Sang,” a nod to the 2017 comment about Sen. Elizabeth Warren: “Nevertheless, she persisted.” Three outstanding singers — Christine Lyons, Caroline R. Olsen, and Laura Strickling — will apply their persistence to an impressive array of songs composed by women, with texts by female poets. The pianist is one of Lyric Fest’s founding artistic directors, Laura Ward.
On Sunday, for a glimpse into the minds of some of the artists, arrive early for a talk at 2:30 with composers Andrea Clearfield, Melissa Dunphy, Lori Laitman, Gilda Lyons, and poet Jeanne Minahan.
Nov. 16 at 5 p.m., Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church, 625 Montgomery Avenue, Bryn Mawr; Nov. 17 at 3 p.m, The First Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, 201 South 21st Street; $30, tickets and information.
