Baroque. Physics. Play.

A smorgasbord of musical offerings, from Finland to Algiers.

Send classical listings two weeks in advance to classical@seattleweekly.com

Concerts & Events

Seattle Weekly PickSeattle Symphony SEE RELATED ARTICLE, PAGE 67. Pinchas Zukerman conducts all-Mozart evenings Thursday and Saturday, including the vernal, slightly bittersweet Symphony No. 39, and Beethoven on Friday, the Violin Concerto and the Second Symphony. Benaroya Hall, Third Avenue and Union Street, 206-215-4747, www.seattlesymphony.org. $15-$76. 7:30 p.m. Thurs. Oct. 12, 8 p.m. Fri. Oct. 13-Sat. Oct. 14.

Sparks of Glory Music of Remembrance’s free chamber music lecture series opens with instrumental and vocal music composed in the Terezin concentration camp. Frye Art Museum, 704 Terry Ave., 206-365-7770, www.musicofremembrance.org. Free. 2:30 p.m. Sat. Oct. 14.

Seattle Weekly PickIshquoh A site-specific performance piece/ceremony by Byron AuYong, more sensitive to natural sounds and the spiritual resonances of a place than perhaps any other local composer. Cellist Amos Yang and a choir of kids join him at the Train tracks, Dogwood and Front Street, Issaquah, 206-296-7580, www.4culture.org. Free. 5 p.m. Sat. Oct. 14.

Seattle Weekly PickAuburn Symphony To open their 10th season, Stewart Kershaw conducts Wagner, Mendelssohn (the Violin Concerto with Seattle native Caitlin Kelley), and Mahler’s blow-your-hair-back Symphony No. 5. Auburn Performing Arts Center, 700 E. Main, Auburn, 253-931-3043, www.auburnsymphony.org. $15-$20. 7:30 p.m. Sat. Oct. 14, 2:30 p.m. Sun. Oct. 15.

Seattle Weekly PickThe Esoterics Shostakovich’s choral music is a little-known branch of his output, but since it comprises film music, folksong arrangements, and settings of Socialist-Realist verse, it’s also one of the most intriguing branches—his most direct confrontation with the propagandistic demands of the Soviet system, a prime battleground for his whole tormented, compromised relationship with the regime. To celebrate the composer’s centennial (Sept. 25 was the exact date), Eric Banks conducts his complete a cappella repertory. St. Joseph’s Church, 732 18th Ave. E., 8 p.m. Sat. Oct. 14; Holy Rosary Catholic Church, 4139 42nd Ave. S.W., 3 p.m. Sun. Oct. 15. $10-$20. 206-935-7779, www.theesoterics.org.

Seattle Weekly PickSeattle Baroque The Iranian tar, a sort of lute with two hollow wooden bowls as a body, sustains sounds by repeated, tremulant plucking: a vibrant sound, sometimes gutsy, sometimes silvery and ethereal. The opulent sound of modern Western string instruments might overpower it, but the slenderer, more brilliant tone of Baroque strings would complement it perfectly—providing “veils” of sounds, as Seattle Baroque violinist Ingrid Matthews puts it, that beguilingly surround and enhance the solo instrument. She’s talking about Looking East, a seven-movement dance suite by Vancouver tar virtuoso Amir Koushkani, who’ll play it himself with SB this weekend, alongside music by Vivaldi, Scarlatti, Zelenka, and others. Benaroya Hall, Third Avenue and Union Street, 800-838-3006, www.seattlebaroque.org. $15-$34. 8 p.m. Sat. Oct. 14, 3 p.m. Sun. Oct. 15.

Philharmonia Northwest Roupen Shakarian conducts Haydn, Beethoven (two Romances, with violinist Victoria Parker), and Mozart’s slender, introspective Symphony No. 29. St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, 4805 N.E. 45th St., 206-675-9727, www.philharmonianw.org. $12-$18. 2:30 p.m. Sun. Oct. 15.

Seattle Weekly PickOrchestra Seattle Mark Salman’s traversal of Beethoven’s five piano concertos concludes with the stormy Third, a sly smile under a furrowed brow; the Apollonian (but still show-offy) Fourth; and the lovely if impractical Choral Fantasy.First Free Methodist Church, 3200 Third Ave. W., 800-838-3006, www.osscs.org, www.brownpapertickets.com. $10-$20 (kids 7-17 free w/adult). 3 p.m. Sun. Oct. 15.

tango infusions Violinist Tom Swafford and pianist Amy Rubin collaborate on originals, improv, and a bit of Piazzolla. Gallery 1412, 1412 18th Ave., 206-322-1533, www.gallery1412.org. $5-$15. 8 p.m. Mon. Oct. 16.

KIROV ORCHESTRA SEE SWTW, PAGE 41.

Seattle Weekly PickTrio Con Brio Copenhagen Piano trios by Haydn, Ravel, and Shostakovich—his searing, lamenting Trio No. 2 from 1944, a response to the slaughter of the Terror. Meany Hall, UW campus, 206-543-4880, www.uwworldseries.org. $32. 8 p.m. Tues. Oct. 17.

Opera

Seattle Weekly PickSeattle Opera SEE ARTSBUZZ, PAGE 41. Rossini’s The Italian Girl in Algiers. Stephanie Blythe and Helene Schneiderman share the title role; Chris Alexander, who made a lavish, witty feast out of The Tales of Hoffmann, directs. In Italian with English captions. McCaw Hall, Seattle Center, 206-389-7676, www. seattleopera.org. $41-$135. Opens 7:30 p.m. Sat. Oct. 14. Various dates and times. Ends Sat. Oct. 28.