Dancing with strings
Czech composer Erwin Schulhoff loved to go dancing in nightclubs. And dance rhythms enliven his spiky "Five Pieces for String Quartet," to be performed for the Mill City String Quartet's season-closing recital. Also featured are Bartok's String Quartet No. 2 and excerpts from Bach's "The Art of Fugue." (7 p.m. Mon., Baroque Room, St. Paul, free, thebaroqueroom.com)
Lighter, brighter Mahler
Osmo Vänskä's Mahler series is building into something that rivals the Minnesota Orchestra's acclaimed surveys of Beethoven and Sibelius. With the lighter, brighter Fourth Symphony, Vänskä reaches the halfway point in his Mahler journey, bringing the classy soprano Carolyn Sampson onboard as soloist for the child's vision of heaven depicted in the finale. Also included is the world premiere of James Stephenson's "Pillars," a concerto for the novel combination of three trombones and a tuba. (11 a.m. Thu., 8 p.m. Fri. & Sat.; Orchestra Hall, Mpls.; $12-$101, 612-371-5656 or minnesotaorchestra.org)
Queen for Pride
The rock group Queen sports some strong operatic influences — the multi-layered harmonies, the extravagant flights of fancy. The Twin Cities Gay Men's Chorus explores the band's opera-rock interplay for its annual Pride concert. "Bohemian Rhapsody" will definitely be featured along with several other Queen classics. (8 p.m. Fri. & Sat., Ted Mann Concert Hall, Mpls.; $25-$48, 612-624-2345 or tcgmc.org)
'Fellow Travelers'
Opera often grapples with the day's social issues, but it does so more explicitly in Gregory Spears' "Fellow Travelers." Set in 1950s America, this acclaimed 2016 opera examines the "Lavender Scare" of the McCarthy era, when gay men and lesbians were surveilled and fired en masse from government jobs. Theater Latté Da's Peter Rothstein directs this intimate Minnesota Opera staging — the company's first Minneapolis production since 1993 — with conductor Daniela Candillari on the podium. (7:30 p.m. Sat., through June 26; Cowles Center, Mpls.; $29-$89, 612-333-6669 or mnopera.org)
Piano visionaries
Liszt and Messiaen — in the 19th and 20th centuries, respectively — redefined what it is possible to express on a piano. Twin Cities pianist Richard Tostenson plays works by both composers, as well as pieces by Bach, Schoenberg, Greenstein, Chopin and Debussy. (7:30 p.m. Sat., Baroque Room, St. Paul; $15-$20, thebaroqueroom.com)
TERRY BLAIN
