The end of the 2024-25 season isn’t quite here yet, and there’s still plenty of great and interesting music coming up. Here’s what’s on tap for this week.
Spotlight: The Tire Swing / I Paint Dreams — Saturday and Sunday, Christ Church Neighborhood House
It’s always nice when a new work gets repeat performances; the first piece on this double bill was premiered by FringeArts last fall. The Circus Opera Company once again presents The Tire Swing, which combines opera with modern circus arts, featuring music by Temple faculty member Steven Crino and a libretto by Laurel Anderson. The 30-minute, one-act piece depicts a woman (Nicole Renna) returning to her childhood backyard. There she meets her younger self (Casie Girvin), and the two go on an adventure. The audience is invited to write notes to their own eight-year-old selves before the opera begins.
The second performance is I Paint Dreams, a piece by circus artist Chi Akano informed by the trauma of the Nigerian Civil War, in which her father fought and survived. Akano uses pole and trapeze to bring the stories of those who suffered, especially the Igbo people, to life, accompanied by video projections and traditional Igbo instruments.
May 24 at 6 p.m., May 25 at 7:30 p.m., Christ Church Neighborhood House, 20 North American Street $2-$25; tickets and information.
Ich bin ein Berliner — Wednesday, Powel House
Philadelphia chamber ensemble Night Music presents a concert named after John F. Kennedy’s famous German flub, complete with a concert graphic featuring Bach’s famous Haussmann portrait holding, in lieu of a score, the titular Berliner (a jelly donut). The evening is centered around music from Bach’s Musical Offering, commissioned by King Frederick II of Prussia in Potsdam, just outside Berlin, and will also feature music from Berlin composers of the time.
May 21 at 6:30 p.m., Powel House, 244 South 3rd Street, suggested $25 donation; tickets and information.
More Ravel at 150 — Thursday, Benjamin Franklin Hall
The Philadelphia Chamber Music Society put on a performance celebrating Maurice Ravel’s 150th birthday earlier this month, and they’ve got a second one coming up this Thursday. Pianist Cynthia Raim returns, this time joined by cellist Peter Stumpf and violinist Hye-Jin Kim (pictured). As one might hope from such an ensemble, they’ll perform the Piano Trio in A minor, along with five other works featuring assorted combinations of the three instruments.
May 22 at 7:30 p.m., Benjamin Franklin Hall, American Philosophical Society, 427 Chestnut Street, $25; tickets and information.
Ode to Joy: Beethoven’s Ninth — Friday, Saturday, and next Thursday, Marian Anderson Hall
The Philadelphia Orchestra is winding down for the season, but it certainly has great programs as the end looms. This week begins a run of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 (the No. 1 pick of WRTI listeners, per last year’s Spirit of 76 poll) featuring the Philadelphia Symphonic Choir and four stellar soloists. As if that weren’t enough, pianist and broadcaster Lara Downes will be in town to perform Florence Price’s Piano Concerto in One Movement. If you can’t make it this weekend, the third performance is on Thursday of next week, so you’ve got some extra time.
May 23 at 2 p.m., May 24 at 7 p.m., May 29 at 7:30 p.m., Marian Anderson Hall, Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, 300 South Broad Street, $99.68-$262.08; tickets and information.
Looking ahead:
Wagner’s Tristan and Isolde — June 1 and 8, Marian Anderson Hall
PRISM Quartet’s Guitar Heroes — June 4, Solar Myth
Fang Man’s Earth — June 12, Trinity at 22nd
The Sisters — June 13 and 15, Christ Church Neighborhood House
The Crossing: What Should I Do? — June 14, Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill
