Musical Vienna evenings in Philly with Franz and friends

Franz Schubert’s early death may have robbed the world of some great music, but it had a benign effect on his image. Schubert never became an imposing elder, with a portrait that advised future generations he was a patriarch comparable to Moses or the president of a major university. He remains, for all eternity, a portly, slightly dreamy fellow with glasses. Put him in blue jeans and a Calvin Klein shirt, and he could fit into any group of contemporary urbanites chatting about current fads while they consume pizzas and hamburgers.

For its 2014-15 season, the 1807 & Friends chamber series will present six programs that recreate the atmosphere of the musical parties called “Schubertiads” that Schubert and his companions held in their homes. The programs are titled “Evenings in Vienna,” and they’re a natural theme for a series that helped pioneer the blossoming of sociable chamber music concerts. The musicians in the group always mingle with the audience during the receptions that follow the concerts, and the current venue retains some of the ambience of its original use as a ballroom for a private home.

The series will capture the spirit of the Schubertiads, but it won’t be limited to early 19th-century Viennese music. The composers will include later figures like Debussy and Brahms, and outliers like Luigi Boccherini. The guest musicians include three of the top names in Philadelphia’s roster of distinguished chamber pianists — Marcantonio Barone, Cynthia Raim, and Natalie Zhu. The other guests will be harpist Anne Sullivan, guitarist Alan Krantz, and Philadelphia Orchestra flutist David Cramer.

1807 & Friends takes its name from 1807 Sansom Street, an address where the first members of the group played for their own pleasure in the early 1970s. Its current core group is one of Philadelphia’s most active chamber ensembles, the Wister Quartet. The Wisters are all Philadelphia Orchestra veterans who’ve been playing together for over 25 years, and they’ve steadily added polish to their work without losing the enthusiasm orchestra musicians bring to chamber music stints.

The 1807 & Friends “Evenings in Vienna” series takes place on six Monday evenings at 7:30pm at the Helen Corning Warden Theater at the Academy of Vocal Arts, 1920 Spruce Street, Philadelphia. Tickets are $70 for a six-ticket subscription, $55 for any four concerts, and $17 for single tickets. For tickets and information, email [email protected], call 215-438-4027, or visit www.1807friends.org.