Oct. 16 at 7:30 p.m., Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, 300 South Broad Street, $32; tickets and information<\/a>.<\/p>\n Pianist Heather O’Donnell.<\/p>\n Bowerbird: Two “Variations” \u2014 Friday, at University Lutheran; Saturday, at Trinity at 22nd<\/p>\n Did Bowerbird<\/a> plan this confluence of variations, or did it just happen? The exploration-minded presenting organization offers us a Baroque monument in J.S. Bach\u2019s Goldberg Variations on the harpsichord one night. The following evening, in a head-spinning contrast, they present Frederic Rzewski<\/a>\u2019s landmark 1975 piano variations on a Chilean protest song, The People United Will Never Be Defeated! <\/p>\n I\u2019d like to think the juxtaposition was not an accident, and that some curious concertgoers will try to fit both of these in and enjoy the compare-and-contrast opportunity. John Walthausen<\/a>, active in Philadelphia\u2019s early music scene, is the harpsichordist for Bach\u2019s Goldbergs, and Heather O\u2019Donnell<\/a>, a pianist specializing in contemporary literature, offers the Rzewski \u2014 a work originally commissioned for America\u2019s bicentennial in an age that seems almost as removed from our own as Bach\u2019s 18th century.<\/p>\n Oct. 16 at 8 p.m., University Lutheran, 3637 Chestnut Street, $15-$25; tickets and information<\/a>.<\/p>\n Oct. 17 at 7 p.m., Trinity at 22nd, 2212 Spruce Street, $15-$25; tickets and information<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Philadelphia Orchestra: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban \u2014 Friday through Oct. 18, Marian Anderson Hall<\/p>\n You know you want to, Harry Potter fans. Just give in.<\/p>\n Oct. 16\u201318, various times, Marian Anderson Hall, Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, 300 South Broad Street, $56-$151; tickets and information<\/a>.<\/p>\n Mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke (left) and guitarist Jason Vieaux (right).<\/p>\n Music at Bunker Hill: Sasha Cooke and Jason Vieaux \u2014 Sunday, Bunker Hill Presbyterian Church, Sewell, NJ<\/p>\n New Jerseyans, here\u2019s a promising recital pairing in your backyard. Pennsylvanians, be assured it\u2019s a good reason to cross the bridge. Locals will know mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke<\/a> from concert appearances with the Philadelphia Orchestra (most recently in Messiah a couple of seasons back) and from her many searching interpretations of diverse roles in Metropolitan Opera<\/a> broadcasts. Guitarist Jason Vieaux<\/a> teaches at the Curtis Institute of Music<\/a> and is a busy recording artist, recitalist, and concerto soloist. Their fascinating program features a Spanish set with songs by Granados, Albeniz, and Rodrigo; American music from Bernstein, Sondheim, and Copland; and Hawaiian folk tunes. Vieaux also offers an excerpt from his recently released and highly regarded album of original compositions.<\/p>\n Oct. 18 at 3 p.m., Bunker Hill Presbyterian Church, 330 Greentree Road, Sewell, NJ, $30; tickets and information<\/a>.<\/p>\n Choral Arts Philadelphia: I Hear America Singing \u2014 Saturday, St. Mark\u2019s Church<\/p>\n America\u2019s 250th birthday year remains alive and well as the fall season opens. Choral Arts<\/a> conductor Donald Meineke<\/a> has assembled a worthy sampling of all-American choral music in one compact program, ranging from William Billings to Leonard Bernstein. Of course a single program can\u2019t begin to capture the breadth of American choral music, but this one hits some very appealing highlights, with spirituals and Southern Harmony hymns represented alongside Bernstein\u2019s always-welcome Chichester Psalms.\u00a0![\"Pianist](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1791720608_234_.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\n![\"Mezzo-soprano](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1791720608_442_.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\n
Oct. 18, St. Mark\u2019s Church at 4 p.m., 1625 Locust Street, $43 ($17 for students); tickets and information<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The fall season is in full swing, and there\u2019s more to highlight than we have hours in this…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":304407,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[69,71,70],"class_list":["post-304406","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-philadelphia","tag-philadelphia","tag-philadelphia-headlines","tag-philadelphia-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/304406","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=304406"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/304406\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/304407"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=304406"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=304406"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=304406"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}