On Feb. 24 at Chamber Music Pittsburgh, Grammy-nominated vocalist Nicholas Phan and early music ensemble Les Délices weave together Baroque masterpieces with the world premiere of a new work by Vietnamese-American composer Viet Cuong. The program also includes works by Michel Pignolet de Montéclair, Marin Marais, and François Couperin. https://www.chambermusicpittsburgh.org/lesdelices-nicholasphan/
Pianist Yunchan Lam, youngest-ever winner of the Van Cliburn Competition, makes his San Francisco debut on Feb. 25 in a recital on the Chamber Music SF series. He will play Bach’s Goldberg Variations and Webern’s Variations, Op. 27. https://chambermusicsf.org/
Thomas Adès will conduct Kirill Gerstein and the Toronto Symphony in the Canadian premiere of his Piano Concerto on Feb. 26-March 1. The program opens with “Paradiso” from Adès’ Dante and closes with Holst’s The Planets. https://www.tso.ca/concerts-and-events/events/holsts-the-planets/
In its third installment of the Sonic Spectrum series this season, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center will present the world premiere of a new work for flute, piano, and percussion by Philadelphia-based composer Elise Arancio. Other composers on the Feb. 27 bill are Liza Lim, Tonia Ko, Elaine Lillios, and more. https://www.chambermusicsociety.org/our-concerts/at-lincoln-center/events/24-25/sonic-spectrum-iii-2425/
Every work on Third Coast Percussion’s Feb. 27 Carnegie Hall program will be a New York City premiere. These include pieces by Tigran Hamasyan, Jessie Montgomery, and Zakir Hussain; a master on Indian tablas, Hussain will be on hand to solo in his composition. https://www.carnegiehall.org/calendar/2025/02/27/third-coast-percussion-0730pm
Na’Zir McFadden conducts the world premiere of a new work by (and featuring) DSO trumpeter Kris Johnson. The Feb. 28-March 1 program, called Classical Roots, also features two pieces by Jessie Montgomery: Snapshots and Rounds, the latter featuring pianist Awadagin Pratt. https://www.dso.org/events-and-tickets/events/24-25-winter/classical-roots
Italian conductor Valentina Peleggi makes her debut with the Indianapolis Symphony Feb. 28-March 1. Joyce Yang will be the soloist in Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3. Anna Clyne's Masquerade opens the program, which closes with Rimsky-Korsakov’s exotic Scheherazade. https://www.indianapolissymphony.org/event/scheherazade/
Shira Samuels-Shragg makes her debut conducting the Spokan Symphony on March 1-2. Gabrielle Després will be the soloist in Erich Korngold’s Violin Concerto in D major. The program opens with Quinn Mason’s festive Toast of the Town Overture and concludes with Dvořák’s Seventh Symphony, From the New World. https://foxtheaterspokane.org/event/masterworks-6-l-a-stories/
In a March 1 Carnegie Hall program called Noche de Fantasías, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra will give the New York premiere of a new work by Jorge Amado. The Orpheus will also play pieces by Gabriela Ortiz and M. Ponce, and guitarist Pablo Sáinz-Villegas will solo in Rodrigo’s Fantasia para un gentilhombre. https://www.carnegiehall.org/calendar/2025/03/01/orpheus-chamber-orchestra---pablo-sainz-villegas-0700pm
In “Music in (Techni)Color” on March 1-2, New World Symphony and conductor Stéphane Denève will present the East Coast premiere of composer Anna Clyne’s PALETTE, the latest in her and sound designer Jody Elff’s revolutionary interactive sonic experiences for Augmented Orchestra (AO). Also on the program is Ravel’s Mother Goose Suite as well as Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. […]
The 2025 Festival Mahogany at Rutgers University – Camden on March 1 is titled “International Symposium on Classical Musicians of African Descent.” It will feature a panel discussion with conductor Marlon Daniel, cellist Ifetayo Ali, soprano Karen Slack, and composers Tania León and Fred Onoverosuke on the lingering concept of a “glass ceiling” in classical […]
The New England Philharmonic plays two Boston premieres to celebrate composer Yehudi Wyner’s 95th birthday on March 2: Chaya Czernowin’s Once I Blinked Nothing Was the Same and Bobby Ge’s Remember to Have Fun. Wyner’s own Prologue and Narrative is also on the program, along with works by Keeril Makan and Marti Epstein. https://nephilharmonic.org/concerts/new-music-new-england-2025
Philharmonia Baroque will perform a concert version of Handel’s opera Alceste on March 5-8. Conducted by Peter Whelan, the cast inlcudes soprano Lauren Snouffer and tenor Aaron Sheehan. https://philharmonia.org/2024-25-season/handels-alceste/
The Atlanta Symphony is paying tribute to one of the greats in their 2024-25 season with a Beethoven Project featuring all of his symphonies. On March 6-9, music director Nathalie Stutzmann opens with Symphony No. 4, which Hector Berlioz admired for its contrasts between a "lively, alert, and joyful" spirit and a "heavenly gentleness." After […]
For its spring Carnegie Hall appearance on March 6, the American Composers Orchestra will perform four world premieres under the baton of Tito Muñoz. Clarice Assad will sing and play electronics in her Evolution of AI. As part of the EarShot CoLABoratory initiative, Edmar Castañeda will solo as harpist in his new work. Alice Coltrane Turiyasangitananda’s Going […]
On March 6-9, the Dallas Symphony will give the world premiere of a new work by Sophia Jani as well as the U.S. premiere of Arlene Sierra’s Kiskadee. Nelson Goerner plays Rachmaninoff’s Third Piano Concerto, and the program ends with Strauss’ Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks. Fabio Luisi conducts. https://www.dallassymphony.org/productions/rachmaninoffs-piano-concerto-no-3/
Nico Muhly’s new work for violin and orchestra will receive its world premiere on March 6-8 by the New York Philharmonic under Marin Alsop. Renaud Capuçon is the soloist. This inventive concert is bookended by Beethoven’s Leonore Overture No. 3 and Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite, with Brahms’ Variations on a Theme by Haydn included as well. https://www.nyphil.org/concerts-tickets/2425/alsop-muhly/
Pianist Claire Huangci makes her Milwaukee Symphony debut with a rare treat: Beethoven’s reimagining of his Violin Concerto for solo piano and orchestra. This March 7-9 program, conducted by David Danzmayr, concludes with Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 3, Scottish. https://www.mso.org/concerts/mendelssohns-third-symphony/62542/
San Francisco’s Opera Parallèle will present the world premiere of The Pigeon Keeper by David Hanlon and Stephanie Fleischmann. This magical-realism story revolves around a young woman named Orsia, who endeavors to find a new home for a refugee boy. (March 7-9) https://operaparallele.org/24-25/
To mark its 40th season, the Saskatoon Symphony, under the baton of Evan Mitchell, will feature its concertmaster, Michael Swan, as soloist in Wieniawski’s Violin Concerto No. 1. The March 8 concert also includes The Lost Birds, a moving work by Christopher Tin for choir and orchestra, featuring the SSO Chorus. https://saskatoonsymphony.org/event/the-lost-birds/
The Oregon Symphony will present a new bass concerto by artist-in-residence Xavier Foley on March 8-10, with the composer soloing and Hannu Lintu on the podium. The program also includes Copland’s Suite from Appalachian Spring and Sibelius’ Symphony No. 5. https://www.orsymphony.org/concerts-tickets/2425/copland-sibelius-sounds-of-spring/?performanceId=5896
Performing Haydn’s elegant Cello Concerto in D major, Sterling Elliot makes his Des Moines Symphony debut March 8-9. The program, conducted by Joseph Giunta, also includes Coleridge-Taylor’s The Song of Hiawatha and Dvořák’s New World Symphony. https://www.dmsymphony.org/concerts-events/from-the-new-world/
Stéphane Denève will lead the New World Symphony in the world premiere performance of a new orchestrated version of Davóne Tines’ Recital No. 1 MASS. Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 and Michael Abels’ Delights and Dances complete the March 8-9 program. https://www.nws.edu/events-tickets/concerts/2024-2025/deneve-davone-tines-mass/
Lūcija Garūta’s Piano Concerto in F-Sharp Minor with be given its U.S. premiere by Élisabeth Pion and the Toledo Symphony under Alain Trudel, who will also be the piano soloist. This March 8 program includes Grieg’s Peer Gynt Suite No. 1 and Sibelius’ Symphony No. 2. https://www.artstoledo.com/masterworks-24-25
On March 11 the 92nd St. Y plays host to a Met Opera production, the New York premiere of Karen Slack’s African Queen. This multimedia work features new art songs exploring the legacy of seven powerful African queens through history who were revered as rulers but under-celebrated in the western world. Participating composers include Damien […]
Pairing The Four Season with other arias and instrumental movements by Vivaldi, a new opera called The Seasons will receive its world premiere at Boston Lyric Opera on March 12-16. The work, co-conceived by librettist Sarah Ruhl and famed countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo, will be directed by Zack Winokur. https://blo.org/theseasons/
On March 13-15, the Philadelphia Orchestra will play the world premiere of Gabriela Lena Frank’s Picaflor, inspired by a Peruvian myth about a hummingbird. Marin Alsop will also conduct Randall Goosby in the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto, and the program ends with Brahms’ Variations on a Theme of Haydn. https://www.philorch.org/performances/our-season/events-and-tickets/2024-2025-season/verizon-hall/marin-alsop-leads-brahms-mendelssohn-and-frank/
Two works for double bass and orchestra by Xavier Foley—including a world premiere—will be presented by the New Jersey Symphony on March 13-16, with the composer as soloist. Xian Zhang conducts the program, which opens with Debussy’s Clair de lune and closes with Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 2. https://www.njsymphony.org/events/detail/rachmaninoff-symphony-no-2
American pianist Michelle Cann is soloist in Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in her debut with the Phoenix Symphony. Katharina Wincor conducts this March 14-16 program, which also includes Mozart’s 39th Symphony and Strauss’ Der Rosenkavalier Suite, as well as one of the Phoenix Symphony’s patented “Mystery Pieces.” https://tickets.phoenixsymphony.org/Online/default.asp
Lawrence Power will be on hand to solo in the U.S. premiere of Magnus Lindberg’s Viola Concerto with the St. Louis Symphony on March 14. Kaija Saariaho’s atmospheric Ciel d'hiver opens the program, which culminates in Schumann’s Symphony No. 2 in C major. Hannu Lintu conducts. https://shop.slso.org/8098
Inspired by the fantastical inventions of a 12th-century Islamic polymath, K. Al-Zand’s Al-Jazari’s Ingenious Clocks will receive its world premiere by the Houston Symphony on March 14-16. Simone Lamsma will be on hand to play Korngold’s Violin Concerto, and the program concludes with Prokofiev’s Cinderella Suite, with Juraj Valčuha on the podium. https://houstonsymphony.org/tickets/concerts/korngolds-violin-concerto-cinderella/
Pianist Awadagin Pratt makes his debut with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra on March 15, playing Mozart’s Concerto No. 23. The program, conducted by Jeannette Sorrell, also includes Mozart’s Overture to Don Giovanni, selections from Handel’s Water Music, and Haydn’s Eighth Symphony, Le soir. https://www.laco.org/events/mozart-haydn-handel/
Arcis Saxophon Quartett closes the Mobile Chamber Music season with a kaleidoscopic tribute to J.S. Bach. Works on the March 16 concert include excerpts from Nikolai Kapustin’s 24 Preludes and Fugues, Shostakovich’s Preludes and Fugues, and Leonhard Kuhn’s Fugue & Loops. https://www.mobilechambermusic.org/crnt_season.php
On March 16, the Ulysses String Quartet makes its San Francisco debut as part of the Chamber Music SF series. The program includes Haydn’s Op. 33, No. 2, Mozart’s K. 516, and Dvořák’s Op. 105. https://chambermusicsf.org/
Veteran Canadian pianist Janina Fialkowska will perform in the Music Toronto series on March 18. The program opens with Weber’s Invitation to the Dance, continuing with a collection of short works by Grieg and Chopin, plus the Schumann Op. 12 Fanstasiestücke. https://musictorontoconcerts.com/concerts/janina-fialkowska
Angélique Kidjo will sing Philip Glass’s entrancing Ifé, Three Yorùbá Songs on March 19. The Orchestre symphonique de Montréal will be conducted by Elena Schwarz, in a program that also includes Janáček’s, The Cunning Little Vixen Suite and Beethoven’s Sixth Symphony, the Pastoral. https://www.osm.ca/en/concert/angelique-kidjo-sings-glass
The Vancouver Symphony, conducted by music director Otto Tausk, will play the world premiere of Marcus Goddard’s Mountain Visions, described as “a celebration of our natural world.” The March 21-23 program also features Bruch’s Scottish Fantasy and Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9. https://www.vancouversymphony.ca/event/dvoraks-new-world-symphony/
One doesn’t often get to hear the powerful rumble of 8 timpani, but lucky listeners will get that chance March 21-22 when the Grand Rapids Symphony plays the Symphony with Eight Obbligato Timpani by Johann Carl Christian Fischer (featuring timpanist Daniel Karas. Marcelo Lehninger conducts this program, which also includes Villa-Lobos’ Bachianas Brasileiras No. 1 […]
As part of its 60th anniversary season, San Diego Opera will perform Strauss’ Salome, based on the Oscar Wilde play. Marcy Stonikas and Kirsten Chambers share the title role, with Dennis Petersen as Herod and Kyle Albertson as Jochanaan. Yves Abel leads the San Diego Symphony. (March 21-23) https://www.sdopera.org/shows/salome/
On March 21-23, Los Angeles-based music collective Wild Up presents the New York premiere of their acclaimed Darkness Sounding festival. The festival of concerts, conversations, and workshops convening around themes of mindfulness and nature explores how sound and music shape our understanding of the world. Christopher Rountree, artistic director. https://www.92ny.org/event/wild-up-1
On March 21-23, Manfred Honeck will conduct the world premiere of his new arrangement of Strauss’ Suite from Arabella with the Pittsburgh Symphony. Also on the program are Nine Shekhar’s Lumina, Shostakovich’s First Cello Concerto (featuring Sheku Kanneh-Mason), and Strauss’ Don Juan. https://www.pittsburghsymphony.org/production/92959/sheku-kanneh-mason-performs-shostakovich
The world premiere of new works from the Illinois Philharmonic’s two emerging-composer initiatives will open the March 22 program, under the baton of Stilian Kirov. Principat clarinet Trevor O’Riordan will solo in Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto, and the evening culminates in Schubert’s Symphony No. 5. https://ipomusic.org/2024-25-season/
On March 22 the Tulsa Symphony presents the world premiere of Arsentiy Kharitanov’s Violin Concerto, Miroirs, with concertmaster Rossitza Goza as soloist. Guest conductor Daniel Hege leads the orchestra in the Prelude to Wagner’s Die Meistersinger, Barber’s Essay No. 1, Op. 12, and Elgar’s Enigma Variations. https://www.tulsasymphony.org/calendar/v-elgars-enigma-variations
On March 23, the American Symphony orchestra will perform at David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center for the first time. The program focuses on music of composers who came of age in the 1920s, including Edgar Varèse, John Alden Carpenter, Erwin Schulhoff, and William Grant Still. Leon Botstein conducts, and pianist Orion Weiss joins as […]
In its spring edition of the MusicNOW series on March 23, the Chicago Symphony orchestra will provide players to perform works chosen by composer/curator Jimmy López Bellido. These include Boulez’s Domaines, Quinn Mason’s Weapon Wheel, Adam Schoenberg’s Reflecting Light, and two compositions by López Bellido. https://cso.org/performances/24-25/cso-musicnow/inner-dialogues/
Marta Gardolińska will make her podium debut with the Toronto Symphony on March 26-29, conducting Mendelssohn’s Scottish Symphony No. 3. Angela Hewitt solos in Mozart’s dramatic yet charming Piano Concerto No. 21, K. 467. https://www.tso.ca/concerts-and-events/events/angela-hewitt-plays-mozart/
The last of four candidates for Delaware Symphony music director, Michelle De Russo will conduct the Brahms Fourth Symphony on March 28. Janice Carissa joins as soloist in Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3. https://www.delawaresymphony.org/dso_events/di-russo-conducts-brahms-wilmington/
Diana Farrell will direct the Lyric Opera of Orange County’s production of The Mighty Casey, a baseball-themed opera by William Schuman. LOOC hints that their version will be presented “with a twist, for Women’s Month.” (March 28-30) https://lyricoperaoc.org/shows/the-mighty-casey/
Soprano Bryn Holdsworth will make her Pacific Northwest Opera debut in the title role of Dvořák’s Rusalka. Sung in Czech, the production will be directed by Mitchell Kahn and conducted by Jonathan Khuner. (March 28-April 6) https://purchase.mcintyrehall.org/EventAvailability?EventId=5001
Keitaro Harada, former Cincinnati Symphony associate conductor, makes his CSO subscription debut with Rimsky-Korsakov’s Sheherazade. Violinist Anne Akiko Meyers joins the program for Arturo Márquez’s Fandango, a work commissioned by Meyers. The March 28-29 program opens with Yuzo Toyama’s Rhapsody, which centers on folk songs from his native Japan. https://www.cincinnatisymphony.org/tickets-and-events/buy-tickets/cso/2425-cso-season/sheherazade/
On March 29 Music@Menlo will present the world premiere of a new piano quartet by Benjamin Scheer, which the festival commissioned. The program, featuring violinist Chad Hoopes and alumni of the Music@Menlo International Program, also includes piano quartets by Mozart and Dvořák. https://musicatmenlo.org/win/?evt=1789
In honor of Ravel’s 150th birthday, South Coast Chamber Music (in Southeastern Massachusetts) will perform his String Quartet in F Major. Also on the March 29-30 program are works by two living female composers: Victoria Bond’s Dancing on Glass and Betsy Jolas’ Scion. https://nbsymphony.org/chamber-series-2024-2025/
