From Bach in Bethlehem to music shaped by revolution, empire and enduring favorites, May opens with a rich variety of performances across the region. This week’s highlights include musician-curated programming from The Philadelphia Orchestra, music from colonial Mexico, Revolutionary-era soundscapes, and the 118th Bethlehem Bach Festival, the oldest Bach festival in the United States. The Festival runs May 7-10 and celebrates the music of Johann Sebastian Bach alongside the Moravian musical heritage that helped shape the Bach Choir, with Bach’s monumental Mass in B Minor as its centerpiece. I’m delighted to be returning to the Festival as a soloist again this year, and look forward to sharing this music with you if you are able to attend.
Spotlight: The Philadelphia Orchestra: Musicians’ Choice — Thursday through Sunday, Marian Anderson Hall
Members of The Philadelphia Orchestra take the lead in this Musicians’ Choice program, where the repertoire is curated by the performers themselves, reflecting their current artistic interests and where they find their joy. The program is led by Assistant Conductor Naomi Woo, and features Principal Bass Joseph Conyers as soloist in a Philadelphia Orchestra premiere of Tan Dun’s Contrabass Concerto: Wolf Totem.
Other works include Mozart’s Overture to Così fan tutte, Caroline Shaw’s Entr’acte, Béla Bartók’s Romanian Folk Dances, and Paul Hindemith’s Symphonic Metamorphosis of Themes by Carl Maria von Weber — a personal favorite that is rarely heard in the concert hall these days. Musicians will also speak from the stage, offering audiences insight into their artistic choices from the performers’ perspective.
May 7 at 7:30 p.m.; May 8 at 2 p.m.; May 9 at 8 p.m., Marian Anderson Hall, Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, 300 South Broad Street, Philadelphia; $29-$230; tickets and information.
Philadelphia Bach Collective — Tuesday, St. Mark’s Church
The Philadelphia Bach Collective concludes its inaugural season with Bach’s Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott, BWV 80, alongside a recently discovered aria Bach composed for his employer, Duke Wilhelm Ernst of Saxe-Weimar, for the Duke’s birthday in 1713. The aria, “Alles mit Gott und nichts ohn’ ihn,” BWV 1127, reflects the Duke’s personal motto, “Do all things with God, and nothing without Him.” This program offers a rare opportunity to hear a work lost to history for nearly 300 years alongside one of Bach’s most celebrated cantatas, inspired by Martin Luther’s iconic hymn of the same name.
May 5 at 1p.m., St. Mark’s Church, 1625 Locust Street, Philadelphia; tickets and information.
Piffaro, The Renaissance Band — May 8-10, Various Locations
Piffaro, The Renaissance Band presents Eagle and Empire: Music of Colonial Mexico, exploring the musical world of colonial Mexico where Indigenous and European traditions intersected to form new sacred and secular styles. Performed on Renaissance winds with vocalists, plucked strings, and percussion, the program highlights this complex musical landscape and includes a collaboration with the Aztec dance troupe Ollin Yoliztli Calmecac at Friday’s performance at the Esperanza Arts Center.
May 8 at 7:30 p.m., Teatro at Esperanza Arts Center, Philadelphia; May 9 at 7:30 p.m., Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia; May 10 at 3 p.m., Westminster Presbyterian, Wilmington, DE; Streaming May 22–June 4; $12-$25; tickets and information.
Soundtrack: Revolution Tunes — Saturday at Woodmere Art Museum, May 12 at Christ Church Neighborhood House
As part of its Soundtrack of Independence festival, Tempesta di Mare presents early keyboardist John Walthausen in music from the songbook of Francis Hopkinson. These keyboard works were once considered the “top hits” of the Revolutionary era around the time of the Declaration of Independence. Throughout the performance, hear the stories behind these popular tunes and the world that shaped them.
May 9 at 5 p.m., Woodmere Art Museum, 9201 Germantown Avenue; May 12 at 7 p.m., Christ Church Neighborhood House, 20 N American Street, $30; tickets and information
Soundtrack: Strike Up the Band! — May 10, Race Street Pier
Tempesta di Mare presents Strike Up the Band!, part of its Soundtrack of Independence festival marking the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. The program evokes the musical life of Revolutionary-era Philadelphia, highlighting the marches, dances, and ceremonial works played by wind bands between 1775 and 1783. A cultural melting pot of German, French, English and colonial military bands, this should be a fascinating insight into Philadelphia’s early musical soundscape.
May 10 at 3pm, Race Street Pier, Philadelphia; tickets are free but registration is required; tickets and information.
Brentano Quartet with Hsin-Yun Huang (sold out) — May 10, American Philosophical Society
In this special two-part concert, the always brilliant Brentano Quartet joins violist and Curtis professor Hsin-Yun Huang to perform the complete string quintets of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Across these six works, listeners can trace a remarkable arc from the youthful energy and emerging brilliance of the earliest quintet to the depth and expressive power of his late masterpieces. This concert is sold out, but it is always worth signing up for the waitlist in case tickets become available.
May 10 at 3pm; American Philosophical Society, Benjamin Franklin Hall, 427 Chestnut Street; tickets and information.
