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Spotlight: Dalia Stasevska and Emanuel Ax — Friday through Sunday, Marian Anderson Hall
The exciting young Finnish conductor Dalia Stasevska made an impressive debut with The Philadelphia Orchestra in 2023 leading Sibelius and Poulenc, and returned last season with equal success in Bartók and Rachmaninoff. For her third visit she presents a rarely heard work of recent vintage, the compact Symphony No. 4 by Polish composer Witold Lutosławski, written in 1992.
Emanuel Ax, always a favorite Philadelphia guest, deploys his stylish and sensitive approach to Mozart with the Piano Concerto No. 17. Maurice Ravel, in the 150th anniversary year of his birth, provides the bookends for this promising program: the delicate Pavane for a Dead Princess to open, and for a rousing close, the colorful, exuberant, and slightly unnerving La Valse.
May 9 and 11 at 2 p.m., May 10 at 8 p.m., Marian Anderson Hall, Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, 300 South Broad Street, $25-$195; tickets and information.
Cynthia Raim and Lydia Artymiw — Tuesday, Perelman Theater
The Philadelphia Chamber Music Society presents an all-Ravel piano recital to celebrate the composer’s 150th birthday year. Cynthia Raim and Lydia Artymiw are admired by regular PCMS attendees, and those who have made the summer pilgrimage to the Marlboro Festival in Vermont. Both are superb collaborative artists, and this program shows off their solo abilities as well. The program highlights Ravel’s interest in influences from his native French heritage as well as foreign cultures from Spain to China. The two pianists team up for Ma mère l’Oye (Mother Goose) and the Rapsodie espagnole, and offer solo turns in Le Tombeau de Couperin, the Valses nobles et sentimentales, and Menuet antique.
May 6 at 7:30 p.m., Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, 300 South Broad Street, $30; tickets and information.
Piffaro – Friday through Sunday, Various Locations, streaming online May 23 – June 5
Piffaro wraps its season with a celebration of spring, titled “Now is the Month of Maying” after Thomas Morley’s well-known Renaissance madrigal. Philadelphia’s energetic yet polished wind band — which also includes a healthy component of plucked strings and percussion — captures the spirit of the season with music from England and across Europe. Those unable to attend the concerts in person can purchase an online stream ticket, which ensures that fans of the Renaissance band will be able to enjoy their final concert of the season from wherever they may be. (The online stream lasts from May 23 to June 5.)
May 9 at 7:30 p.m., Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral, 23 South 38th Street, $25-$49;
May 10 at 7:30 p.m., Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill, 8855 Germantown Avenue, $25-$49;
May 11 at 7:30 p.m., Immanuel Church, Highlands, 2400 West 17th Street, Wilmington, DE, $25-$39; tickets and information.
Streaming online: May 23 through June 5, $18; purchase tickets.
Bowerbird: Pure Lucia – Friday and Saturday, FringeArts
Another anniversary year: the centenary of Lucia Dlugoszewski, a largely forgotten figure of the 20th-century avant-garde. Bowerbird has seized the opportunity to present a full-scale portrait of this intriguing figure, whose music was largely created in collaboration with choreographers and filmmakers. Though these partnerships increased the size of audiences who heard her music, her own contributions were rarely in the spotlight — at least until this mini-festival. Bowerbird’s founder and director, Dustin Hurt, has made a detailed study of Dlugoszewski’s music and legacy, and lectures have been presented online for the last month. Still ahead are two different concerts on successive nights, supplemented by a detailed website.
May 9 and 10 at 7:30 p.m. (two different programs), FringeArts, 140 North Christopher Columbus Boulevard, $15-$35; tickets and information.
Looking Ahead: Network for New Music – May 18, Benjamin Franklin Hall, American Philosophical Society
Bringing new works to life is the bread and butter of Network for New Music, which closes its 40th anniversary season with the premiere of a commission from multiple composers, titled “Songs Without Words Without Borders.” Also on the program is MacArthur Fellow Courtney Bryan’s chamber adaptation of her recent orchestral work, House of Pianos, with the composer as soloist. And there’s more: a premiere by Nathan Lincoln-DeCusatis and a work by longtime Network conductor and eminent Philadelphia composer Jan Krzywicki complete this intriguing concert.
May 18 at 3 p.m., Benjamin Franklin Hall, American Philosophical Society, 427 Chestnut Street, $2.50-$25; tickets and information.
