This week, the spring concert season roars to life after a brief holiday hiatus. From operatic classics to “extroverted mandolinists,” this week’s Fanfare offers an expansive menu with something for everyone.
Spotlight: Yuja Wang Plays Rautavaara — Saturday, Marian Anderson Hall
“It is my belief,” wrote Einojuhani Rautavaara, “that music is great if, at some moment, the listener catches a glimpse of eternity through the window of time.” From the thudding chord clusters that jump-start its opening cadenza, the Finnish composer’s Piano Concerto No. 1 — which enjoys a rare performance in the final concert of the Curtis Symphony Orchestra’s ‘24-’25 season — affirms his conviction with ample opportunity for metaphysical reckoning. Especially exciting is the chance to see it played by Curtis alumna Yuja Wang, perhaps the most prominent pianist ever to champion this 1969 work. Her scintillating technique and deep rapport with conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin promises a brief, but spellbinding journey into the sonic beyond.
Rautavaara, a master orchestrator, gleaned a great deal from the sweeping scores of the French impressionist style; the program complements his Concerto with three of its finest examples — Lili Boulanger’s D’un Matin de Printemps, Ravel’s Shéhérazade (featuring Curtis soprano Judy Zhuo), and Debussy’s La Mer.
April 26 at 3 p.m., Marian Anderson Hall, Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, 300 South Broad Street, tickets currently limited, but may become available here.
Michelle Cann & Imani Winds — Wednesday, Field Concert Hall
For lighter fare offered by equally gifted Curtis musicians, look no further than this Wednesday evening concert from pianist Michelle Cann, Curtis’ Eleanor Sokoloff Chair in Piano Studies, and the Imani Winds. Centered around two exquisitely crafted, but bitingly sarcastic works by Francis Poulenc — his Trio for Piano, Oboe and Bassoon and his Sextet for Piano and Winds — this program also features pieces by Paquito d’Rivera, Viet Cuong, and Imani’s founding flutist Valerie Coleman. This performance is currently sold out, but tickets may become available via the event’s waitlist.
April 23 at 7:30 p.m., Field Concert Hall, Curtis Institute of Music, 1726 Locust Street, tickets currently limited, but may become available here.
Chris Thile: ATTENTION! —- Wednesday, Marian Anderson Hall
At a cultural moment where each of us must weather a daily barrage of dings, alarms, and notifications, our collective attention is at a premium. Few musicians working today can immediately command it with the authority of Chris Thile, the exceptionally talented mandolinist, composer, radio host, and raconteur. ATTENTION!, his self-described “narrative song cycle for extroverted mandolinist and orchestra,” highlights this evening of virtuosity and storytelling with The Philadelphia Orchestra.
April 23 at 7:30 p.m., Marian Anderson Hall, Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, 300 South Broad Street, $35-$108; tickets and information.
All Beethoven —- Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, Marian Anderson Hall
The Philadelphia Orchestra’s bounty of Beethoven — this season has already featured his Second Piano Concerto, Violin Concerto, and Eroica Symphony, with the Ninth Symphony still to come in late May — reaches its peak with this all-encompassing program. Lovers of Ludwig will delight in experiencing him at his most grandiose in the Emperor Concerto, starring the venerable pianist Garrick Ohlsson, and jovial in the Fourth Symphony, led by guest conductor Tugan Sokhiev.
April 25 and 27 at 2 p.m., April 26 at 8 p.m., Marian Anderson Hall, Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, 300 South Broad Street, $25-$166; tickets and information.
Mozart’s Don Giovanni —- Friday, Sunday, May 2 and May 4, Academy of Music
Earlier this month, Opera Philadelphia announced its upcoming 50th anniversary season, which, notably, features only one non-contemporary opera. Premiered in 1787, Mozart’s Don Giovanni is decidedly non-contemporary; yet today its ambitious, ambiguous, and edgy allegory resonates as loudly as ever. On one hand, this production — conducted by Corrado Rovaris, directed by Alison Moritz, and starring Timothy Murray as Don Giovanni, Nicholas Newton as Leporello, Olivia Smith and Elizabeth Reider as Donna Anna and Donna Elvira, Amanda Sheriff as Zerlina, and Khanyiso Gwenxane as Don Ottavio — represents the company’s final nod (at least for the foreseeable future) to repertoire stalwarts. On the other, it is a fitting prelude to a thought-provoking era of re-invention.
April 25 and May 2 at 8 p.m., April 27 and May 4 at 2 p.m., Academy of Music, 240 South Broad Street, tickets currently limited, but rush tickets will be available at the Academy of Music box office for two hours before each performance; tickets and information.
Mascagni’s L’Amico Fritz — Beginning Saturday, Various Locations
Pietro Mascgani composed L’amico Fritz on the heels of his greatest success, the one-act Cavalleria rusticana. Unlike the latter, a tragic melodrama, Fritz is a frothy love story, but Mascagni’s music and melodies are no less captivating. In the final performance of its ‘24-’25 season, the Academy of Vocal Arts presents this tale of a wealthy and curmudgeonly businessman who falls for the young farm girl Suzel at the instigation of his friend, Rabbi David.
April 26, April 29, and May 1 at 7:30 p.m., Helen Corning Warden Theater, Academy of Vocal Arts, 1920 Spruce Street, $70-$105;
May 3 at 5 p.m., Delaware Valley University Life Sciences Building, 700 East Butler Avenue, Doylestown, $55-$150;
May 6 at 7:30 p.m., Centennial Hall, The Haverford School, 450 Lancaster Avenue, Haverford $25-$250; tickets and information.
Cheryl Beth Silverman Memorial Concert — Saturday, Reform Congregation Keneseth Israel
Conducted by Don Liuzzi, the longtime principal timpanist of The Philadelphia Orchestra, the Wayne-based Main Line Symphony Orchestra, caps its 79th season with a Sibelius Spectacular. The 16-year old violinist Kai Freeman, the 2025 winner of the MLSO’s James Deitz Memorial Young Artist Competition, begins the program with the opening movement of Sibelius’ Violin Concerto, setting the stage for Sibelius’ majestic Symphony No. 2 in its second half. Richard Woodhams, the former principal oboist of The Philadelphia Orchestra, also joins the ensemble for Haydn’s Oboe Concerto in C major.
April 26 at 2 p.m., Reform Congregation Keneseth Israel, 8339 Old York Road, Elkins Park, $30; tickets and information.
Tempesta di Mare: Nelly’s Songs — Saturday, Woodmere Art Museum
Eleanor “Nelly” Parke Custis Lewis was the step-granddaughter of George Washington and one of colonial America’s most important amateur musicians. A skilled singer and harpsichordist — she took music lessons from the Philadelphia-based composer Alexander Reinagle — Custis exemplified the enterprising spirit of the new country in her musical exploits. Conceptualized and narrated by soprano Julianne Baird, Nelly’s Songs frames the Revolutionary period through Nelly’s eyes and ears, with a variety of readings, songs, and even vocal exercises performed by soprano Sarah Fleiss and harpsichordist Joyce Lindorff.
April 26 at 5 p.m., Woodmere Art Museum, 9201 Germantown Avenue, $18-$28, tickets and information.
