Coming up in Philly music: Summer in Bohemia

Summer in Philadelphia has its humid, sweaty downside, as all Philadelphians know. Why not escape to Bohemia? Tempesta di Mare will end its season playing Vivaldi’s summer concerto from The Four Seasons, accompanied by music from the Central European region known in Vivaldi’s day as Bohemia (now part of the Czech Republic). This season, Tempesta has been presenting programs combining a concerto from Vivaldi’s best-known opus with relevant music by other Baroque composers. Vivaldi dedicated The Four Seasons to a Bohemian count. Rigorous logic leads to the irrefutable conclusion that his summer concerto must therefore be surrounded by Czech and Polish rhythms and melodies. What's summer without a polka?

The Tempesta di Mare Chamber Players will present Summer: A Bohemian Rhapsody on Saturday, May 20, at 8pm at the American Philosophical Society (427 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia) and on Sunday, May 21, at 4pm at the Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill (8855 Germantown Avenue). Tickets are $25 to $39 (free for youth and full-time students), and they’re available online and at the door.