Orchestral
Bellevue Philharmonic Orchestra—This season's theme is "Ring of Fire," spotlighting music and musicians from the Pacific Rim—like Australian composer Ross Edward's Violin Concerto (10/14-15), heard with Barber's School for Scandal overture and Sibelius' Symphony no. 2. For their next concert (11/11-12), it's Mozart, Rachmaninoff, and Verdi—wait a minute—oh, I get it, it's the soloist who's Asian, Korean pianist Hae-Sun Paik. There are also family concerts for Halloween (10/30) and Christmas (12/9). 425-455-4171.
Cascade Symphony—Gregory Sullivan Isaacs leads an all-American season—and he doesn't just mean a token overture on each concert and Tchaikovsky after intermission, he means all American composers: Copland, Gershwin, Samuel Jones, George McKay (10/24-25). Sunday afternoon concerts at Puget Sound Christian College in Edmonds; Monday evenings at Town Hall, 9th & Seneca. 425-778-4688.
Northwest Chamber Orchestra—Pianist Anton Nel joins conductor Adam Stern and the NWCO for the first of seven orchestral concerts; they'll play Beethoven's Concerto no.1, plus works by Chopin, Mozart, and Tchaikovsky (9/11-12). Later season highlights include Mozart's Symphony no. 40 (10/9-10), Stravinsky's Apollo (11/20-21). 343-0445.
Orchestra Seattle/Seattle Chamber Singers—Mark Salman is the guest pianist for their opening gala, playing Beethoven's "Emperor" Concerto; George Shangrow will also conduct Vaughan-Williams' Serenade to Music, Randall Thompson's Symphony no 2, and a suite from John Williams' score for The Phantom Menace. Later they'll premiere a concerto by William Wilde Zeitler (11/19). Choral performances include Monteverdi's Vespers (12/5) and Messiah (12/18-19). 682-5208.
Philharmonia Northwest—They're moving into Town Hall this season—their test-drive concert there last May revealed brilliant acoustics and an intimate atmosphere. Under director Roupen Shakarian, the PN handles chamber orchestra and full-orchestra repertory equally comfortably: for example, symphonies by J.C. Bach and Mozart (no. 41, the "Jupiter") on their season opener (10/24) vs. works by Brahms, the Double Concerto (12/5) and the Symphony no. 2 (4/2). Shakarian's also a friend to new music, and will premiere works by William O. Smith (2/13) and this writer (4/2). 675-9727.
Sammamish Symphony—To open the season, R. Joseph Scott's chosen Berlioz' Roman Carnival Overture and Borodin's echt-Russian Symphony no. 2 (10/31). 425-392-3624.
Seattle Baroque—They dropped the "orchestra" in their name, because they also do chamber music and concert opera—like Purcell's Dido and Aeneas, arguably the greatest opera in English ever, because of its combination of emotional intimacy and earthy color (10/29-30). In January (14-16), it's an all-orchestral concert (Campra, Fischer, Lully, Telemann); in March (24-26) it's Italian concertos; in April (28-29) Bach cantatas. Plus, concertmaster Ingrid Matthews and keyboardist Byron Schenkman plan an all-Bach recital (2/12). Friday concerts are at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, Saturdays are at Benaroya, and Sunday performances are across the water at the Kirkland Performance Center. 322-3118.
Seattle Creative Orchestra—Not just your average contemporary-music specialists, SCO's mission is to redefine the orchestra by including non-standard instruments (from the accordion to the synthesizer) and instruments from other cultures. First up, though (in November, date TBA), is a concert of chamber music from fin-de-si飬e Vienna—both last si飬e and this one. Next spring's their first international tour: they're booked for the prestigious Vancouver New Music Festival (5/28, with a Seattle preview concert 5/27). 789-3628.
Seattle Symphony—The Benaroya party continues with the second annual black-tie gala (9/18). Marilyn Horne, queen of mezzo-soprani, joins the orchestra for music by Copland, Saint-Sa뮳, and Thomas.
The first regular-season concert (9/23-26) brings pianist Horacio Guti鲲ez for Beethoven's "Emperor" Concerto, plus Shostakovich's October and Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra.
On the Distinguished Artists Series will be guitarist John Williams (10/26) and clarinetist Richard Stoltzman (11/23). The Mainly Mozart series is built around three of Wolfgang's piano concertos from 1786, nos. 23-25 (10/28, 1/13, 3/2). There are three concerts in their Basically Baroque series (10/15-16, 1/28-29, and 5/12-13). There will be two Light Classics concerts (10/21, 1/27), and the SSO's Messiah descends 12/15-17.
The SSO invites in the competition in the Visiting Orchestras series: the National Symphony (Leonard Slatkin leads an all-American program, 10/23), the Royal Philharmonic (Daniele Gatti leads Brahms and Wagner, 1/15), and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra (with a new work by Michael Daugherty, 3/4). We'll also hear Gavin Bryars' Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet (10/22) and Copland to celebrate his centennial. 215-4747.
Seattle Youth Symphony—The kids get a workout from the decidedly adult repertory conductor Jonathan Shames selects for them, and they rise thrillingly to the occasion. Their season opener's a Halloween concert with five showpieces: Bach's Toccata & Fugue in D minor, Dukas' Sorcerer's Apprentice, Mussorgsky's Night on Bald Mountain, Sarasate's Carmen Fantasy (10/31), and this writer's Gjallarhorn. 362-2300.
Opera
Seattle Opera—It's an interesting season, which opened last month with the rare and welcome Der Freischtz. Mozart's Magic Flute is up next, in a production designed by edgy caricaturist Gerald Scarfe (10/16-30). 389-7676.
Chamber
ArtsWest—A broad and eclectic lineup of the area's finest musicians marks this West Seattle chamber music series. First up, wind music from Mozart to Piazzolla (9/26); then contemporary vocal works with Seattle Pro Musica (11/21). 938-0339.
Beethoven at the Frye—A special eight-concert series (9/11-12, 18-19, 25-26, 10/2-3) with Canadian Robert Silverman tackling the pianist's Everest, Beethoven's 32 sonatas. 622-9250.
