It’s a new season of classical music, and there’s already been plenty of live music to hear (most notably Opera Philadelphia’s Il viaggio a Reims, which went up on Friday). Here’s the first of what will be many great weekly slates on Fanfare this year — are you subscribed yet?
Spotlight: Opening Weekend with The Philadelphia Orchestra — Thursday, then Friday through Sunday, Marian Anderson Hall
For its Opening Night festivities, The Philadelphia Orchestra has Yannick Nézet-Séguin on the podium and Yuja Wang in town to celebrate with Maurice Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G, a true crossover work showcasing the composer’s love for jazz. The concert opens with a piece that has been called the second Mexican national anthem, Arturo Marquez’s Danzon No. 2, and closes with another living composer, Julia Wolfe, whose Pretty is a 2023 co-commission by the Orchestra. Wolfe notes that while the word “pretty” has come to signify inoffensive beauty, she takes the older definition, referring to cunning or craftiness, for what she describes as “a raucous celebration” surely befitting our Orchestra’s new season.
The rest of the weekend is for kids and nostalgic millennials, as conductor Justin Freer will lead the Orchestra in a live scoring of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, which, despite composer John Williams’ recently revealed opinions on the genre, still ranks as one of the classic film scores.
Opening Night: Sep. 25 at 7 p.m., $29 to $362.04, tickets and information;
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets: Sep. 26 at 7 p.m., Sep. 27 and 28 at 2 p.m., $66.36 to $167.16, tickets and information; Marian Anderson Hall, Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, 300 South Broad Street.
New Artist Recital — Friday, The Church of the Holy Trinity
Each year, the Academy of Vocal Arts welcomes a new crop of some of the world’s best developing singers, and their first concert every season is their introduction to Philadelphia in the Academy’s New Artist Recital. The latest additions to their roster are sopranos Jasmine Ismail and Anna Thompson, mezzos Dawson Franzino and Maiya Williams, tenors Sergio Mandujano and Matthew Sink, and bass Ryan Wornall. Some of them have already sung in opera houses all over, some are fresh from some of the best music schools around, and they all, of course, represent the future of opera.
Sep. 26 at 7:30 p.m., The Church of the Holy Trinity, 1904 Walnut Street, $10-$25, free to subscribers; tickets and information.
Leo Brouwer Composer Portrait — Friday, Teatro Esperanza
A guitarist friend once told me that whenever the Afro-Cuban guitarist and composer Leo Brouwer shows up at a convention, the proceedings are delayed for several minutes by raucous applause. Now, he won’t be at this event, but there’s a reason for this reception — you get reminders of it every now and then on WRTI, and you’ll hear it firsthand at this performance by Philadelphia’s Network for New Music. There are works for guitar as well as multiple other instruments on the program, which also includes two newly commissioned works inspired by Latin American Indigenous traditions.
Sep. 26 at 7 p.m., Esperanza Arts Center, 4261 North 5th Street, $15, free for students and seniors 60+; tickets and information.
Mark Morris Dance Group — Friday and Saturday, Zellerbach Theatre
Critically acclaimed choreographer Mark Morris brings his dance troupe to the Zellerbach Theatre at Penn’s Annenberg Center for a program focusing on American music. Two new works are on the program, set to music by James P. Johnson and Louis Moreau Gottschalk, joining two other numbers set to George Gershwin. There’s also much more than the performances going on; the Friday night show is followed by a conversation with the choreographer and dancers, moderated by Penn Live Arts Executive & Artistic Director Christopher Gruits, and on Saturday there is not only a doubleheader of performances, but a masterclass at 9 a.m. for intermediate to advanced dancers led by the group’s rehearsal director, Elisa Clark.
Sep. 26 at 7:30 p.m., Sep. 27 at 2 and 7:30 p.m. (free masterclass at 9 a.m.), Zellerbach Theater, Annenberg Center, 3680 Walnut Street, $59-119; tickets and information.
Epitaphs from a Forgotten Cemetery — Saturday, Mount Vernon Cemetery
Philadelphia’s chapter of Opera on Tap has long expanded its performance venues beyond where there are beverages on tap, and one of their regular types of venues are disused cemeteries. This concert will be in the Mount Vernon Cemetery, right across Ridge Avenue from Laurel Hill Cemetery, and it will be framed by a tour of the cemetery, with singers performing from various locations and headstones. As the property is still under conservatorship (they’re working on that), attendees will have to sign an access waiver, and the performers recommend you bring your own flashlight.
Sep. 27 at 5:30 p.m., Mount Vernon Cemetery, 3499 West Lehigh Avenue, $17.85 ($28.52 for two); tickets and information.
Fringe Fest’s final week — Through Sept. 28, various locations
The Philadelphia Fringe Festival has had plenty of classical and classical-adjacent music to offer (here’s a pre-filtered search link for easy browsing in case you’d like to keep up with anyone who has performed), and their final week is no exception. Two shows have already premiered, but have performances this week: opera-focused Liberty City Arts’s Creative Dialogues has one performance left on Monday at The Perch (hurry up!) and Iranian classical ensemble Shiraz has a performance on Wednesday at Icebox Project Space Gallery. There are also two one-off events on Saturday: Aurora Classical present Dystopia, Gilbert and Sullivan style. at 4 PM at First Unitarian Church (full disclosure: I’m a soloist on the program) and Urban Movement Arts and Free Range will team up for a performance called Extended Techniques, Abbreviated, which will stretch the idea of how to play an instrument and what music even is.
Looking ahead:
Stardew Valley: Symphony of Seasons — October 2, Marian Anderson Hall
Sphinx Virtuosi & Sterling Elliott — October 3, Zoellner Arts Center, October 16, Perelman Theater
Giargiari Bel Canto Competition — October 4, Perelman Theater
TwoSet Violin — October 7, Marian Anderson Hall
Chris Thile — October 18, McCarter Theatre Center
Nina Shekhar’s Tic-Talk — October 18-19, Chestnut Hill and Germantown
