Classical Music: Guitar Virtuoso Ignites Philadelphia's Chamber Scene
Sold-out performances of Raphaël Feuillâtre and other ensembles highlight a dense week of cultural events across the region.
By Lorenzo Patterson ·
Classical guitar virtuoso Raphaël Feuillâtre performs a sold-out solo recital at Benjamin Franklin Hall in Philadelphia on Wednesday. The concert is part of the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society season. Feuillâtre uses a luthier-crafted instrument made by Greg Smallman of Australia. The program includes works by Albéniz, Piazzolla, Villa-Lobos, Leo Brouwer, and Antonio Lauro. The evening concludes with Roland Dyens’s “Fuoco.”
The Philadelphia Chamber Music Society streams the performance free or for a suggested donation. The broadcast remains available for 72 hours after the live show. The venue is the American Philosophical Society at 427 Chestnut Street. The event takes place at 7:30 p.m. Patrons may join the waitlist by calling 215-569-8080 or emailing boxoffice@pcmsconcert.org.
The Calidore Quartet performs at the University of Delaware in Newark on Monday. The ensemble presents a program featuring contemporary and classical works. Mark-Anthony Turnage’s “Arietta: Variations on an Arietta by Beethoven” opens the show. The group plays Caroline Shaw’s “Blueprint” and “And So.” Samuel Adams’s “String Quartet No. 3” closes the performance. The event is at 5:30 p.m. in Gore Recital Hall. Tickets cost $17.
Dutch violinist Karen Dekker and harpsichordist Gabriel Benton perform a Baroque repertoire in Delaware and Philadelphia. Tempesta di Mare presents the same concert in three different venues. The first performance is free at Old Town Hall in Wilmington on Thursday. The group plays pieces by J.S. Bach and Jean-Marie Leclair. The concert begins at 12:30 p.m. at 512 North Market Street.
The series continues at the Chestnut Hill Friends Meeting House in Philadelphia on Saturday. The performance starts at 5 p.m. The final date is November 15 at Trinity at 22nd in Philadelphia. That show begins at 3 p.m. Tickets for the later dates cost $30. Students with identification enter for free.
OperaDelaware stages the zarzuela “Luisa Fernanda” in Wilmington on Friday and Sunday. The work was adapted for chamber orchestra by Jorge Parodi. Julian Grabarek conducts the orchestra. Malena Dayen directs the production. The libretto describes a romantic triangle involving the title character. The performances are at The OperaDelaware Studio in the Ethel L. Sayre Recital Hall. Tickets range from $35 to $65.
Wilmington Concert Opera presents Bizet’s “Carmen” in Wilmington on Friday and Sunday. The production is part of the company’s tenth anniversary season titled Strong Women. The cast includes more than 20 singers. Kirsten C. Kunkle sings the title role. Kevin Patrick directs the semi-staged production. Connor Fluharty conducts. The event is free with a $20 suggested donation. It takes place at Covenant Community Services on Duncan Road.
Additional performances of “Carmen” are scheduled for November 20 and 22 at St. Alban’s in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania. Ticket details for those dates will be announced later.
The Princeton Symphony Orchestra performs at Princeton University on Saturday and Sunday. Violinist Simone Porter plays the soloist in Mozart’s fifth violin concerto. Conductor Rossen Milanov leads the orchestra. The program also includes Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel’s Overture in C Major and Haydn’s Symphony No. 88. The venue is Richardson Auditorium. Tickets range from $12 to $117.
