BSR Classical Interludes, more in October 2025

Piffaro: Tools of the Trade
Friday, October 10, 7:30pm
Church of the Holy Trinity/Rittenhouse, 1904 Walnut Street

Saturday, October 11, 7:30pm
Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill, 8855 Germantown Avenue

Sunday, October 12, 3pm
Christ Church Christiana Hundred, 505 East Buck Road, Wilmington

To open their season, the musicians of Piffaro invite audiences to explore their large and unique “instrumentarium”. The concert—focused on the wide-ranging arsenal of Renaissance instruments—will be an inside look at the sounds that shaped that era, highlighting a number of the composers who wrote for these rich and popular wind bands. The concert also streams from October 24-November 6.

Timeless Resonance Music Chamber Concert
Friday, October 10, 7pm
Philadelphia Ethical Society, 1906 Rittenhouse Square

This concert features intriguing works: Anthony Passante Contaldi (piano), Gabe Preston (flute) and Emilyrose Ristine (vibraphone) in piano compositions by Satie, Ravel, and Liszt, and works for flute by Friedrich Kuhlau, Arthur Honegger, and Lowell Liebermann. The program also features the premiere of Contaldi’s Concerto for Vibraphone No. 1, with the composer (on piano) joining vibraphonist Ristine.

Curtis Symphony Opening Concert
Saturday, October 11, 3pm
Kimmel Center/Marian Anderson Hall, 300 South Broad Street

Curtis opens their orchestral season with an interesting program conducted by Christoph Eschenbach. It features the Overture to The School for Scandal by 1934 Curtis alum Samuel Barber, Bruckner’s monumental Symphony No. 3, and a work that’s very seldom heard—Penderecki’s Concerto Grosso for Three Cellos, featuring alumni Nicholas Canellakis, Yumi Kendall (Assistant Principal of the Philadelphia Orchestra), and Christine Jeonghyoun Lee.

Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia: Mendelssohn Piano Concerto
Saturday, October 11, 7:30pm
Goodhart Hall/Bryn Mawr College, 150 North Merion Avenue, Bryn Mawr

Sunday, October 12, 2:30pm
Church of the Holy Trinity/Rittenhouse, 1904 Walnut Street, Philadelphia

Conductor and artistic director David Hayes opens the season featuring virtuoso pianist Henry Kramer in Mendelssohn’s Piano Concerto No. 1. The program also includes Hailstork’s Lachrymosa: 1919 and concludes with another Mendelssohn, his Symphony No. 1 in C minor, written when he was fifteen years old. Note: This excellent orchestra has left the Kimmel’s Perelman Auditorium. While they ready a new (unnamed) venue for 2026-27, they’ll be in a variety of Center City locales, so be sure to check their website for locations!

Main Line Early Music: Il Colibri
Sunday, October 12, 3pm
Main Line Unitarian Church, 816 South Valley Forge Road, Devon

This excellent chamber music series has a new home, in Devon, and their first concert this season features four local players who are also members of the Bach Society of Minnesota. Margaret Humphrey (violin), Dan Elyar (violin and viola), Matthias Maute (recorder, flute and violin), and cellist Rebecca Humphrey will play works (old and new) from Vivaldi to Gyrowetz, Graupner, and Maute.

Market Street Music: Pyxis Piano Trio
Saturday, October 18, 3pm
First & Central Presbyterian Church, 1101 North Market Street (Rodney Square), Wilmington

This virtuosic trio—Luigi Mazzocchi (violin), Jennifer Jie Jin (cello) and Hiroko Yamazaki (piano)—is an ensemble in residence at the presenter’s Festival Concerts series. This concert features two piano trios: Joaquin Turnia’s Piano Trio No. 1 and Robert Schumann’s Piano Trio No. 3. The concert also includes 19th century works by Ernesto Nazareth and Ángel Villoldo.