A busy month in New England, with at least two classical music traditions kicking off the season in Boston: Longy School of Music’s free SeptemberFest and Fenwick Smith’s 35th annual flute recital at Jordan Hall (September 4th at 3 p.m.).
By Susan Miron.
Wednesday Concert Series offers free classical music each Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. at the Church of St. John Evangelist, 35 Bowdoin Street, Boston, MA.
September 7: Linda Kernohan (piano) will perform “A Book of Hours,” an original cycle of pieces based on the writings of Thomas Merton.
September 14: Camila Parias (soprano), Claire Raphaelson (soprano) and Matthew Wright (lute) will perform “Raddolcite Mie Pane,” an Italian varia featuring works by Caccini, Monteverdi, Strozzi, and Tromoncino.
September 21: Rachele Schmiege (soprano) and Christina English (mezzo-soprano) will perform “Songs and Arias of Love and Loss.”
September 28: Joshua Lawton (organ) will perform works by Alain, Buxtehude, Distler, and Vierne.
Longy School of Music’s annual SeptemberFest. At Edward M. Pickman Concert Hall, Cambridge, MA, September 9, 10, 14, 23, and 24, all concerts are at 8 p.m. All of these concerts will offer pre-concert lectures and are free.
September 9: The program, entitled “Invention and Innovation,” will include instrumental pieces by Domenico Gabrielli, Christian Lauba”s “Jungle” for Saxophone, and two pieces by John Cage.
September 10: “The Changing Muse” features several pieces by Debussy (including three songs sung by A’Anna Fortunato) and “vocal music of the era,” with several notable singers and pianists.
September 14: The program will showcase an array of laments, including examples by the form’s most celebrated composer, John Dowland.
September 24: The program’s theme is “Years of Change 1911-1923.” Featured are works—all worth hearing—by Debussy, Schoenberg, Stravinsky (the beloved L’Histoire du Soldat), and Hindemith.
The Lexington Symphony. At Cary Hall, 1605 Mass. Ave. Lexington, MA, September 17, 8 p.m. The Lexington Symphony plays an ambitious program, Debussy’s beautiful Nocturnes and Holst’s The Planets, the latter featuring The New World Chorale. Music Director Jonathan McPhee will present a pre-concert talk at 7 p.m.
Guitarists Eliot Fisk an Zaira Meneses. Presented by The Concord Chamber Music Society. At the Concord Academy Performing Arts Center, Concord, MA, September 18, 3 p.m. Works to be performed include Grand Sonata in A Major for Guitar and Violin (featuring Wendy Putnam, on violin) by Niccolo Paganini, Chaconne in D Minor, BMV 1004 by Johann Sebastian Bach, and Waltzes for Two Guitars by Frederic Chopin (arr. Fisk).
A Far Cry. At Jordan Hall, New England Conservatory Boston, MA, September 23, 8 p.m. The terrific, young, conductorless orchestra, A Far Cry, performs Part’s Fratres, R. Vaughan Williams’s Tallis Fantasia, Reich’s Triple Quartet, Bach’s Contrapunctus XIV, and Beethoven’s Grosse Fugue.
Mozart in Vienna. Presented by the Handel and Haydn Society. At Symphony Hall, Boston, MA, September 23 at 8 p.m. and 25 at 3 p.m. The Handel and Haydn Society presents “Mozart in Vienna,” a program that features Early Music superstar Kristian Bezeudenhout on fortepiano.
Emmanuel Music. At the Emmanuel Church of Boston, Newbury Street, Boston, MA, September 24, 8 p.m. Emmanuel Music presents the magnificent Bach B Minor Mass.
The Sounding Board. At 19 Vancouver Street, Boston, MA, September 24, 8 p.m. The Sounding Board, a new Boston-based arts organization that addresses social issues through music, presents its public launch at Yes Oui Si, a multi-sensory exhibition space.
Rhonda Rider. At the Boston Conservatory, Boston, MA, September 24, 8 p.m. Cellist Rhonda Rider (a celebrated chamber music player) presents works for solo cello she commissioned from 11 composers. The inspiration for the music is the Grand Canyon, where in 2010–2011 Rider was an artist-in-residence. “Rider brings this encore performance to The Boston Conservatory in anticipation of a recording and the Grand Canyon National Park premiere in October.” She will perform compositions by Yu-Hui Chang, Marti Epstein, Howard Frazin, Laura Kaminsky, John Kennedy, Emma Lively, Jeffrey Mumford, David Rakowski, Jan Swafford, Andy Vores, and Dalit Warshaw.
Mahler’s Symphony 1. Presented by the NEC Philharmonia. At Jordan Hall, New England Conservatory, Boston, MA, September 26, 8 p.m. New England Conservatory’s Hugh Wolff conducts the NEC Philharmonia in the original version of Mahler’s Symphony 1. The work is paired with Richard Strauss’ tone poem Don Juan, which had its premiere the same year as the Mahler in 1889.
Anne-Sophie Mutter. At Symphony Hall, Boston, MA, September 30, 6 p.m. The Boston Symphony Orchestra opens its season with Anne-Sophie Mutter conducting and playing the violin (Mozart Concerti #3 and 5) in an All-Mozart program. This will be Mutter’s first BSO appearances doubling as both soloist and conductor.
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