This autumn, ºüÀêÊÓƵ enjoys an embarrassment of riches in classical music, punctuated by an 80th birthday celebration for Leonard Slatkin, conductor laureate of the ºüÀêÊÓƵ Symphony Orchestra.
Arianna String Quartet
- Where: Touhill Performing Arts Center, 1 Touhill Circle, Bellerive Acres
- How much: $10-$30
- More info:
The ASQ greets late summer (7:30 p.m. September 13) with a program of Haydn, Janácek and Beethoven; while autumn (7:30 p.m. November 1) brings Schönberg, Tower and Brahms.
Bach Society of ºüÀêÊÓƵ
- Where: Cathedral Basilica, 4431 Lindell Boulevard
- How much: $25-$55
- More info:
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Though its namesake remains its core repertory, the Bach Society’s scope extends widely. The group returns to the new Cathedral (7:30 p.m. October 6) to perform the capstone work of the transcendent Russian liturgical tradition, Rachmaninov’s “All-Night Vigil,†which was released in 1915 but soon suppressed by the Soviets’ policies of state atheism. Listen to the basses end the fifth movement, “Nïne otpushchayeshi.†Contralto Emily Marvosh and tenor John Ramseyer solo.
Cathedral Concerts
- Where: Cathedral Basilica
- How much: $25-$55
- More info:
The Cathedral hosts the Sixteen (7:30 p.m. October 17), a choir specializing in polyphonic sacred music, in a program consisting mostly of Thomas Tallis and William Byrd — who recently passed his death quadricentenary — seasoned with Arvo Pärt. The Vienna Boys’ Choir (7:30 p.m. November 15) kicks off the Christmas season early.
Chamber Project ºüÀêÊÓƵ
- Where: Various locations
- How much: $10-$30
- More info:
With “(Re)Discovering the Musical Legacy of Julia Perry,†Chamber Project ºüÀêÊÓƵ celebrates this neglected African American composer’s centennial featuring baritone Thandolwethu Mamba in several art songs, and mezzo-soprano Lucia Bradford in “Stabat Mater,†Perry’s best-circulated work (7:30 p.m. September 28, 560 Music Center, 560 Trinity Avenue, University City). “Reconstructed Fairy Tales†follows, four programmatic works by contemporary composers Dinuk Wijeratne, Missy Mazzoli, Marcel Tournier and Jean Sibelius all based on legends (4 p.m. October 20, Schlafly Tap Room, 2100 Locust Street).
ºüÀêÊÓƵ Symphony Orchestra
- Where: Various locations
- How much: $20-$145
- More info:
The SLSO’s second itinerant season unfolds as Powell Hall undergoes renovation. The season soft-opens with the beloved pops/classical-top-40 concert beside Forest Park’s Grand Basin (6 p.m. September 19, free), with the audience arrayed about Art Hill (1 Fine Arts Drive). Opening weekend at the Stifel Center (1410 Market Street) stars violinist Gil Shaham in Mason Bates’ “Nomad Concerto,†which premiered earlier in 2024. Music Director Stéphane Denève leads Berlioz’s phantasmagoric “Symphony Fantastique†(7:30 p.m. September 28, 3 p.m. September 29).
The classical series offers several can’t-miss concerts. Conrad Tao returns, playing Saint-Saëns’ lovely Piano Concerto No. 2 (7:30 p.m. October 18, 3 p.m. October 19), in Anheuser-Busch Hall’s gorgeous acoustics at the Touhill Performing Arts Center. Mozart’s haunting Requiem rosters a stellar cast at Stifel: soprano Joélle Harvey, mezzo-soprano Kelley O’Connor, tenor Josh Lovell, and bass-baritone Dashon Burton, who adds Brahms’ “Four Serious Songs†(7:30 p.m. November 9, 3 p.m. November 10).
A Sibelius-themed program starts the holidays — his Symphony No. 5 and William Grant Still’s “Threnody: In Memory of Jean Sibelius†— plus Yeol Eum Son essaying Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 2 (10:30 a.m. November 22, 3 p.m. November 24).
But the showcase event is “Slatkin’s Legacy: A Birthday Celebration†in honor of Maestro’s 80th and led by him. The program includes works by his son Daniel; his wife, Cindy McTee; Tchaikovsky; and Scarlatti (10:30 a.m. October 25, 3 p.m. October 27, Touhill).
The orchestra also serves film scores, “E.T. the Extra-terrestrial†(7:30 p.m. September 21 and 2 p.m. September 22, Stifel) and “Coco†(7 p.m. November 2, 2 p.m. November 3, Stifel). Plus, the SLSO Youth Orchestra will host its opener (1 p.m. November 16, Touhill), and there will be a “Spotlight on Strings†at the Sheldon (7 p.m. October 10, 3648 Washington Avenue) curated by dazzling Associate Concertmaster Erin Schreiber.
Union Avenue Opera
- Where: The Barnett on Washington, 3207 Washington Avenue
- How much: $100
- More info:
Union Avenue Opera concludes a wildly successful pearl anniversary season, with a fundraiser gala concert (October 17) announcing its 31st season, emceed by local legend soprano Christine Brewer. Cocktails and dinner included.
Winter Opera ºüÀêÊÓƵ
- Where: Kirkwood Performing Arts Center, 202 East Monroe Avenue, Kirkwood
- How much: $45-$65
- More info:
Winter Opera, which stages pre-1950 operas and operettas in their original languages, opens its 2024-25 with Gilbert and Sullivan’s crowd-pleasing “HMS Pinafore†(7:30 p.m. November 8, 2 p.m. November 10).
More Classical Concerts
American Chamber Chorale and Orchestra, 7:30 p.m. October 5, Salem United Methodist Church, 1200 South Lindbergh, Frontenac, free, .
Chamber Music Society of ºüÀêÊÓƵ, “Open Strings” (7:30 p.m. September 23), anchored by Mendelssohn’s joyous String Octet; “Musica Italiana” (7:30 p.m. October 14), with mezzo-soprano Benedetta Orsi; and “Music of the Night” (7:30 p.m. November 11), 560 Music Center, $42, .
ºüÀêÊÓƵ Chamber Chorus, “The Sound of Silence” 3 p.m. September 29, Chapel of the Sisters of the Most Precious Blood, 204 North Main Street, O’Fallon, $10-$30, .
ºüÀêÊÓƵ Classical Guitar, Park Brothers, 7:30, September 13, Salem United Methodist Church; Andy McKee, 7:30 p.m. October 19, 560 Music Center; Adam del Monte, 7:30 p.m. November 16, Salem United Methodist Church, $20-35, .
ºüÀêÊÓƵ Philharmonic Orchestra, “A Confession of the Soul” with violinist Chen Yun Kim, 7:30 p.m. October 4; and “From Mozart to Moncayo,” 7:30 p.m. November 15, Purser Auditorium, 1851 Schoettler Road, Chesterfield, $10-30, .
ºüÀêÊÓƵ Wind Symphony, “Midwest Composers,” 3 p.m. October 4, 560 Music Center; “Celebrations,” 3 p.m. November 10, Kirkwood High School, 810 West Essex Road, Kirkwood; TBA program, 7 p.m. November 22, ºüÀêÊÓƵ Art Museum, 1 Fine Arts Drive, free, .