See more of the story

Thursday-Saturday: This week's Minnesota Orchestra concerts feature the Russian-born violinist Viktoria Mullova in a rare performance of Igor Stravinsky's Violin Concerto. The neoclassical composition combines both jazz influences and lyrical echoes of the Baroque. The concerts open with Benjamin Britten's "Sinfonia da Requiem," an antiwar statement written at the outbreak of WWII. The program also features the season's only performance of a Beethoven symphony -- the sunny No. 8. Osmo Vänskä conducts. (7:30 Thu., 8 p.m. Fri.-Sat. $26-$84. Orchestra Hall, 11th St. and Nicollet Mall, Mpls. 612-371-5656, or www.minnesotaorchestra.org.) WILLIAM RANDALL BEARD