In and around Philadelphia this week: Tempesta di Mare marks a major anniversary, The Philadelphia Orchestra performs a symphony dear to Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the city will play host to several premieres.
Spotlight: Yannick Conducts Mahler’s Symphony No. 5 — Thursday through Saturday, Marian Anderson Hall
Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 5 holds a special place in Yannick Nézet-Séguin’s heart: it was part of the first concert he conducted as music director designate of The Philadelphia Orchestra. He will be leading the orchestra’s performances of it again this Thursday through Saturday, the beginning of a season-long exploration that will also include performances of Mahler’s First, Third and Seventh Symphonies.
Alongside the Fifth Symphony, the orchestra will also be performing Anton Webern’s Im Sommerwind — which it premiered in 1962 — and Liberty Bell, a new work it co-commissioned from Pennsylvania native Julia Wolfe that is unabashedly raucous, full of chimes and pitched bell plates. Mahler’s Fifth Symphony is deeply personal yet universal. According to lore, he said to Sibelius: “The symphony must be like the world, it must embrace everything.” Treat yourself to a performance and surrender into its embrace.
Oct. 1 at 7:30 p.m., Oct. 2 at 2 p.m. and Oct. 3 at 8 p.m., Marian Anderson Hall, 300 South Broad Street, $29-$232; tickets and more information.
Giargiari Bel Canto Competition — Saturday, Perelman Theater
The Academy of Vocal Arts' annual Giargiari Bel Canto Competition has been a Philadelphia institution for more than 45 years, showcasing opera singers on the cusp of stardom. Audiences are also invited to participate by voting for their favorite performer of the evening, who will receive the Audience Choice Award.
Oct. 3 at 7:30 p.m., Perelman Theater, 300 South Broad Street, $66-$106; tickets and more information.
New Thread Quartet — Saturday, University Lutheran Church
New Thread Quartet, an ensemble of saxophonists specializing in new music, returns for the ninth edition of their Explorations series. The program will feature the four winners of their 2026 Call for Scores competition, which received over 150 entries, as well as the world premiere of Fire and Air by LJ White.
Oct. 3 at 8 p.m., University Lutheran Church, 3637 Chestnut Street, $15-$25; tickets and more information.
Brilliance & Endurance: Music for Tempesta di Mare's Silver Jubilee — Saturday and Oct. 4, multiple venues
Come celebrate the 25th anniversary of Tempesta di Mare, Philadelphia's leading baroque orchestra. The concert features French court composer Jean-Féry Rebel’s tone-poem The Elements, complete with an opening movement in which Rebel conjures the chaos of creation — a work of clashing dissonance that remains startlingly avant-garde nearly 300 years later.
Oct. 3 at 7 p.m., Trinity @ 22nd, 2212 Spruce Street, $35-$45 (free for students), Oct. 4 at 4 p.m., Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill, 8855 Germantown Avenue, $35-$45 (free for students); tickets and more information.
Crossfade: Philadelphia/Network Re-Sounding — Oct. 4, Settlement Music School — Germantown Branch
The Network for New Music presents five world premieres, including three commissions. On the bill: works by local composers Thomas Schuttenhelm (who also serves as the Network's artistic director), Steven Crino and Eli Wynn (who is studying composition at Temple University). Philadelphia Orchestra English hornist Elizabeth Masoudnia will also be featured.
Oct. 4 at 2 p.m., Settlement Music School - Peter A. Benoliel Germantown Branch, 6128 Germantown Avenue, $2.99-$26.50; tickets and more information.
