Leap into the past
As the male stranglehold on the classical repertoire loosens, hitherto neglected women composers continue to surface. Marianna Martines is one of these. Vienna-born and a contemporary of Mozart, she produced a small but important body of work. Her cantata "Berenice, ah che fai" is performed by soprano Andrea Leap in "A Hapsburg House Party," a program accompanied by the seven instrumentalists of the Leap Ensemble. Vocal works by Handel, Pinottini and Mozart are also featured, and Tami Morse plays a Harpsichord Sonata by Scarlatti. (Noon Wed., Thelma Hunter Recital Room, Landmark Center, St. Paul, requested donation $10; 7 p.m. Thu., Minneapolis Institute of Art, Mpls., free; 8 p.m. Sat., James J. Hill House, St. Paul, $15-$20; 3 p.m. Sun., Trinity Lutheran Church, Owatonna, Minn., requested donation, $10)
Visions of Schumann
American pianist Jeremy Denk thinks of Schumann as "not so much a composer of pieces as he is of visions, visions breaking through obscurity." That deeply poetic side of Schumann's nature is evident in the many beautiful pages of his Piano Concerto, alongside passages of exuberant technical difficulty. Denk's interpretation of the concerto opens the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra's new season, with Denk leading the orchestra from the keyboard. Rossini's scuttling overture "The Silken Ladder" and a trademark conductorless performance of Schubert's Second Symphony are also featured. (8 p.m. Fri. & Sat., 2 p.m. Sun.; Ordway Concert Hall, St. Paul; $12-$50, 651-291-1144 or thespco.org)
Artaria's opener
Intensity and introspection are the common ingredients in the Artaria String Quartet's season-opening concert, where Schubert's "Rosamunde" Quartet is paired with the Fifth Quartet of Dmitri Shostakovich, a work written the year before Stalin's death and premiered soon after that. (3 p.m. Sun., Sundin Music Hall, Hamline University, St. Paul; $20, artariaquartet.com)
Preseason shows
The Minnesota Orchestra plays a brace of warmup gigs for the 2019-20 season this week. The first is a free hourlong program of orchestral favorites at Lake Harriet Band Shell, while the second at Orchestra Hall offers a cut-price opportunity to sample key works from the forthcoming season. (7 p.m. Fri., Lake Harriet, Mpls., free; 8 p.m. Sat., Orchestra Hall, Mpls., $25. minnesotaorchestra.org)
Sing out
Do you fancy indulging in some favorite operatic arias? If so, check out "Prepare, Polish, Perform, Pledge," a program presented by Opera Reading Project, an organization that helps Minnesota singers prepare for professional engagements. Amy Wolf, Christina Christensen, Joshua Diaz and Joel Mathias are the soloists, with pianist Eric McEnaney accompanying. (7.30 p.m. Sat., Baroque Room, St. Paul; $25, facebook.com/OperaReadingProject)
TERRY BLAIN
