Listen to article \u2022\u00a00:00 min<\/p>\n
Classical music has long sought a friendlier mien, and this fall the genre seems to have redoubled its efforts. New books and author chats are in abundance, aiming to demystify the art form and make personal connections. Films with live orchestra have become not a special event, but a regular feature. Concert formats continue to get rejiggered in an effort to make the tent bigger.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s a danger, of course, that in its quest for relevance, classical will no longer be the main event. Some of the Philadelphia Orchestra\u2019s appearances with pop artists, for instance, are hard to justify artistically. The balance bears watching. <\/p>\n
But in a season that offers rare Bach and Mozart, the continuation of a chamber music series second to none, and a generous pipeline of new works, it\u2019s hard to feel anything but fortunate as the curtain raises on a new season in one of the nation\u2019s classical music hot spots.<\/p>\n
Orchestra After 5<\/p>\n
Oct. 8, Marian Anderson Hall<\/p>\n
The Philadelphia Orchestra sometimes launches an initiative only to let it quietly fade, but the Orchestra After 5<\/a> series has had remarkable staying power. Now in its fourth season, it\u2019s designed to be a friendly on-ramp for newbies, though one suspects that it\u2019s also luring experienced listeners with its earlier start time, conviviality, and brevity. <\/p>\n The first of three such concerts this season features the orchestra and popular guest conductor Dalia Stasevska in Respighi\u2019s Pines of Rome and, with Gil Shaham, Saint-Sa\u00ebns\u2019 Violin Concerto No. 3. It starts with a 5 p.m. happy hour in the Kimmel plaza, and the hourlong concert is followed by an artist chat. philorch.ensembleartsphilly.org<\/a>, 215-893-1999.<\/p>\n Philadelphia Orchestra Children\u2019s Halloween Spectacular<\/p>\n Oct. 10, Marian Anderson Hall<\/p>\n With excerpts from Elmer Bernstein\u2019s Ghostbusters Suite, Bach\u2019s Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, and Grieg\u2019s \u201cIn the Hall of the Mountain King\u201d from Peer Gynt, the Saturday morning family concert promises to be a fright. But within bounds. This first of five full-orchestra offerings in the coming season aimed at young listeners is sensory-friendly, with house lights kept at mid-level, a cool-down space for stimulated guests, and other accommodations. The aim for all is an introduction with impact to the world of the symphony orchestra, which this ensemble never fails to deliver. Austin Chanu conducts. philorch.ensembleartsphilly.org<\/a>, 215-893-1999.<\/p>\n Anthony Roth Costanzo\u2019s \u2018Countertenor\u2019<\/p>\n Oct. 27, Free Library of Philadelphia Parkway Central Library<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you are nervous about going onstage, they say you\u2019re supposed to picture the audience naked. But what happens when you\u2019re nervous about actually being naked onstage in front of three thousand fully \u2014\u00ad and mostly very nicely \u2014 dressed people?\u201d<\/p>\n Costanzo<\/a>, who has maintained a busy performing schedule as a countertenor while running Opera Philadelphia, recounts the unusual experience of performing naked at the Metropolitan Opera in his forthcoming book<\/a>. What is a countertenor? Costanzo explains his unusual voice type in this mix of autobiography and opera history, which he\u2019ll discuss at the Free Library\u2019s author series.<\/p>\n There is, of course, a companion recording, which comes out a few days before his talk. Tracks include not just works of Osvaldo Golijov, Philip Glass, and Mozart, but also, intriguingly, the Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons tune \u201cWalk Like a Man.\u201d freelibraryfoundation.org\/events<\/a>.<\/p>\n Lara Downes with Rhiannon Giddens<\/p>\n Oct. 30, Rowan University Pfleeger Concert Hall<\/p>\n In a \u201cmusical conversation\u201d called Sounds Like America, pianist Downes<\/a> and singer-cultural historian Giddens explore the \u201croots and routes\u201d of American music, with stops at \u201cAmazing Grace\u201d and Paul Simon\u2019s \u201cAmerican Tune\u201d along the way. go.rowan.edu\/america<\/a>. <\/p>\n Anthony Tommasini, author of \u2018Voice of a Century: The Life and Artistry of Marian Anderson,\u2019 in conversation with Anthony McGill<\/p>\n Nov. 12, Free Library of Philadelphia Parkway Central Library<\/p>\n The former chief classical music critic of the New York Times chats with Anthony McGill, principal clarinetist of the New York Philharmonic, about Tommasini\u2019s new biography<\/a> of the Philadelphia contralto and civil rights leader<\/a>. freelibraryfoundation.org\/events<\/a>. <\/p>\n Philly Pops \u2018La La Land\u2019 in Concert<\/p>\n Nov. 28, The Met Philadelphia<\/p>\n Can it really be a decade since La La Land was released? I never quite got the film, at least not in the way many others did. But this presentation puts a live orchestra and jazz band behind it, which promises to up the daffy appeal and vibe in the room a few notches. Conducted by Esin Aydingoz. phillypops.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n Philadelphia Bach Collective in \u2018Nun komm, der heiden Heiland, BWV 62\u2032<\/p>\n Dec. 1, St. Mark\u2019s Church<\/p>\n So seemingly endless is Bach\u2019s genius that even the experienced listener will keep finding gems previously unknown. This is the promise of the Philadelphia Bach Collective<\/a>, a series of short, pay-as-you-wish afternoon concerts featuring Bach cantatas and other works. To mark the start of Advent, the skilled instrumental and vocal forces take up Nun komm, der heiden Heiland, BWV 62. It\u2019s a concise cantata whose opening chorus based on a Lutheran hymn announcing the coming of the Savior is a beautiful paradox: in a minor key, yet so joyous it can barely contain itself.<\/p>\n \u201cThe idea is that Advent is a time of joyful but active anticipation. It\u2019s essentially a call to arms,\u201d says Heather Miller Lardin, one of the collective\u2019s co-artistic directors.<\/p>\n Organist John Walthausen<\/a> will also perform two other settings of Nun komm, der heiden Heiland (BWV 659 and 661) on the main organ at St. Mark\u2019s. philadelphiabachcollective.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n Yo-Yo Ma and Emanuel Ax<\/p>\n Dec. 6, Marian Anderson Hall<\/p>\n Beethoven? Brahms? Rachmaninoff? The program remained unannounced at press time, but it\u2019s a pretty sure bet that the only thing most ticket buyers really need to know are the names of the cellist<\/a> and pianist who have both entered the increasingly rarified realm of the legendary. ensembleartsphilly.org<\/a>, 215-893-1999.<\/p>\n Bach\u2019s \u2018Christmas Oratorio\u2019 with the Philadelphia Orchestra<\/p>\n Dec. 12 and 13, Marian Anderson Hall<\/p>\n Bach\u2019s packaging of six cantatas into one vast canvas encompassing the Christmas story offers an astonishing variety of orchestral combinations and colors, not to mention emotional realms. The Philadelphia Orchestra, which has never before performed the work in its entirety, is led here by its music and artistic director, Yannick N\u00e9zet-S\u00e9guin. <\/p>\n The program, by the way, is in addition to (and not instead of) the orchestra\u2019s traditional Messiah<\/a>, which will be performed Dec. 4 and 5 with conductor Bernard Labadie. philorch.ensembleartsphilly.org<\/a>, 215-893-1999.<\/p>\n Brentano Quartet<\/p>\n Dec. 13, Perelman Theater<\/p>\n The fugue in classical music is like the golden mean in nature or classical columns in architecture. Once you know it\u2019s there, you start seeing it everywhere. Put simply, it is where a melodic theme is introduced and then repeated in another key while the first one continues. It\u2019s more complicated than this, but basically it\u2019s an almost mathematical tool for creating a dense overlap of competing (though complementary) voices. <\/p>\n Is there a greater meaning to the fugue \u2014 say, a philosophical one? The Brentano Quartet<\/a>, in residence at Yale University, explores that question in works of Beethoven, Shostakovich, and, of course, the fugue\u2019s unsurpassed innovator, Bach. pcmsconcerts.org<\/a>, 215-569-8080.<\/p>\n Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, Bach Brandenburg Concerti<\/p>\n Dec. 19 and 20, Bryn Mawr College\u2019s Goodhart Hall and Philadelphia Film Society Center<\/p>\n Philadelphia\u2019s long-running chamber orchestra has adopted a format of concerts running more or less an hourlong in venues around town. That includes this holiday-time one with Bach\u2019s Brandenburg Concerto Nos. 1, 3, and 4. They are joined by Christopher Theofanidis\u2019s Muse, which was inspired by the third Brandenburg concerto. David Hayes<\/a> conducts. chamberorchestra.org<\/a>, 215-545-1739.<\/p>\n Simon Rattle and the Philadelphia Orchestra<\/p>\n Jan. 28, 29, and 30, Marian Anderson Hall; Feb. 2 at Carnegie Hall<\/p>\n Even if he didn\u2019t end up being music director, Rattle still visits the Philadelphia Orchestra\u2019s podium from time to time. His current absence from the orchestra has been a painfully long one \u2014 a decade \u2014 and he returns with a program of works that seems bound by nothing other than their potential for virtuosity from the ensemble and interpretive depth from the podium: John Adams\u2019 Harmonielehre, Debussy\u2019s La Mer, and the second suite from Ravel\u2019s Daphnis et Chlo\u00e9. That works just fine for us. philorch.ensembleartsphilly.org<\/a>, 215-893-1999.<\/p>\n The Gershwins\u2019 \u2018Let \u2018Em Eat Cake\u2019<\/p>\n Jan. 29, 30, and 31, the Academy of Music<\/p>\n Who knew this is where we\u2019d end up as a country? George and Ira Gershwin did, in an opera with a book by George S. Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind. The piece depicts an election denier who renovates the White House and establishes a dictatorship. \u201cYou couldn\u2019t write a better farce about what\u2019s going on in the world than this,\u201d said Costanzo<\/a>, who is bringing the work from 1933 to Opera Philadelphia for the first time. Conducted by Corrado Rovaris and directed by Zack Winokur. operaphila.org<\/a>, 215-732-8400.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Listen to article \u2022\u00a00:00 min Classical music has long sought a friendlier mien, and this fall the genre…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":294428,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[69,71,70,121860],"class_list":["post-294427","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-philadelphia","tag-philadelphia","tag-philadelphia-headlines","tag-philadelphia-news","tag-philadelphia-orchestra-classical-concerts-fall"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/294427","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=294427"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/294427\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/294428"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=294427"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=294427"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=294427"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}