Weekly Classical Music Agenda

Happy birthday Bach! Well, it's a little early (3/21/1685 was his actual birthday), but Philly likes to kick things off a little early. We've included a bit of the Bach fun below, but you can find a full list of the Bach Festival of Philadelphia events here.

Tuesday
The Juilliard Quartet comes to town, sponsored by the PCMS, to play a program of Mozart and Bartok.
Perelman Theater (Kimmel Center); 8 PM; $22

Thursday
Leonidas Kavakos, violin, and Pèter Nagy, piano, play a passionate program of violin sonatas by Ravel, Stravinsky, and Beethoven.
Perelman Theater (Kimmel Center); 8 PM; $22

The Network for New Music presents another of its popular music and dance collaborations. This performance presents George Crumb's haunting Quest, in conjunction with Philadelphia's innovative dance group Group Motion. We know we’re intrigued.
ArtsBank (601 S. Broad St); 8 PM (Friday as well); $20

Friday
The opening night of the Bach Festival of Philadelphia features the NY Collegium, an outstanding choir with period instruments, and several of Bach's most famous cantatas.
Church of the Holy Trinity (Rittenhouse Square); 8 PM; $20-$60

Saturday
Orchestra 2001 is “Going to Extremes” with works by Philadelphia composers Maneval and Nelson, along with Ligeti’s Mysteries of the Macabre, involving true feats of coloratura strength.
Trinity Center for Urban Life (22nd and Spruce); 8 PM; $30

Sunday
The Bach Festival of Philadelphia continues with the young and talented German pianist Markus Pawlik. He will present Bach and all that has stemmed from Bach in a colorful program juxtaposing Bach's Chromatic Fantasy & Fugue with works by Reger, Liszt, and Busoni inspired by Bach.
Harold Prince Theater (University of Pennsylvania); 3 PM; $25

Celebrate Bach's birthday in style at Vox Amadeus' 10th Annual Bach Birthday Gala. This celebration boasts Bach's best known Preludes and Fugues, selections from the Passions, and other famous works for keyboard, oboe, and voice. There will also be "live commentary," which we can only hope means interesting introductions to each set.
Gladwyne Presbyterian Church (1321 Beaumont Drive, Gladwyne, PA); 5 PM; $20

Image via flickr.com user Stefan Schlautmann