Bay Area audiences will be able to experience two events featuring three top pianists this weekend in programs covering a wide range of musical eras and styles. Appearances by violinist Hilary Hahn and the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra are also waiting in the wings, and the Young People’s Symphony Orchestra marks a special anniversary.
TWICE A DUO: Pierre-Laurent Aimard and Tamara Stefanovich — who are partners offstage as well as on — come to Berkeley this weekend for an unusual duo recital. The program features works with rare connections, beginning with Olivier Messiaen’s “Visions de l’Amen.” A beautiful piece for two pianos, the French composer wrote it for himself and his wife, pianist Yvonne Loriod – who later became Aimard’s teacher. The program also includes “Keyboard Engine” by British composer Harrison Birtwistle. Subtitled “a construction for two pianos,” the piece, co-commissioned by Cal Performances, was written specifically for Aimard and Stefanovich. Completing the program are Bartók’s “Seven pieces from Mikrokosmos,” and Ravel’s “Sites auriculaires.” Details: 8 p.m. Nov. 1, Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley; $34-$86; 510-642-9988; calperformances.org.
LEVIT GETS ROMANTIC: Igor Levit, who earlier this year won the prestigious Gilmore Award, arrives in San Francisco the same night as Aimard and Stevanovich with a program designed to show the ways the Romantics reinterpreted composers of earlier eras. Included are Busoni’s “Fantasia after J.S. Bach” and transcription of Liszt’s Fantasia and Fugue on the chorale “Ad nos, ad salutarem undam.” Also included are Schumann’s “Ghost Variations” and Liszt’s brilliant solo piano version of Wagner’s “Solemn march to the Holy Grail” from “Parsifal.” Details: 7:30 p.m. Nov. 1, Herbst Theatre, San Francisco; $45-$75; 415-392-2545; www.sfperformances.org.
MORE BACH FROM HAHN: Even as a young artist, Hilary Hahn made the music of J.S. Bach central to her career; the Grammy Award-winning violinist gave thrilling performances of Bach works throughout her teen years. Now in her 30s, Hahn is no longer a prodigy, but she remains one of the world’s finest Bach interpreters. Audiences can hear how her artistry has matured when the San Francisco Symphony hosts her in an all-Bach program for solo violin, including the Sonata No. 1 in G minor, along with the Partitas No. 1 in B minor and No. 2 in D minor. Details: 7:30 p.m. Nov. 4, Davies Hall, San Francisco; $45-$140; 415-864-6000; www.sfsymphony.org.
JUILLIARD GRADS AT PHIL BAROQUE: Nicholas McGegan and the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra return this month in a program celebrating Vivaldi and education. In partnership with the Juilliard School’s Historical Performance Program, “Vivaldi the Teacher” includes concertos the Italian teacher-composer wrote for his gifted students. Select Juilliard alumni will join the Philharmonia players in these performances, which also include works by Corelli and Geminiani, with Philharmonia violinist Elizabeth Blumenstock, cellist Phoebe Carrai and oboist Gonzalo Ruiz playing side-by-side with Juilliard’s Alana Youssefian, Keiran Campbell and David Dickey. Juilliard alum will also appear in a “PBO Sessions” concert, one that reflects Philharmonia’s influence in the historically informed performance (HIP) movement, which has drawn increasingly larger numbers of music students to specialize in the Baroque era. “PBO Sessions: The HIP Revolution” will include works by Handel, Vivaldi and Geminiani; Ben Sosland, director of Juilliard’s Historical Performance graduate program, joins Philharmonia executive director Courtney Beck to discuss recent developments in early music. Details: “Vivaldi the Teacher,” 7:30 p.m. Nov. 7, First Methodist Church, Palo Alto; repeats 8 p.m. Nov. 9, Herbst Theatre, San Francisco; 8 p.m. Nov. 10, and 4 p.m. Nov. 11, First Congregational Church, Berkeley; $32-$120. “PBO Sessions: The HIP Revolution,” 8 p.m. Nov. 8, ODC Theatre, S.F.; $25; 415-392-4400; www.philharmonia.org.
STILL ‘YOUNG’ AT 82: The Young People’s Symphony Orchestra kicks off its fall season this week with a special concert marking two significant dates: The organization turns 82 this year, making it California’s oldest youth orchestra, and music director David Ramadanoff marks his 30th season with the ensemble. Violinist Isabelle Ai Durrenberger, a 2018 Klein Competition winner who studies with Jaime Laredo at the Cleveland Institute, is the soloist for Chausson’s “Poème for Violin and Orchestra.” The program also includes Chabrier’s “España”; Bernstein’s Three Dance Episodes from “Fancy Free”; and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6 in B minor, “Pathétique.” Details: 8 p.m. Nov. 3, First Congregational Church, Berkeley; $15 adults, $10 students/seniors; 510-849-9776; www.ypsomusic.org.
GRAZINYTE-TYLA POSTPONES SYMPHONY DEBUT: Conductor Mirga Grazinyte-Tyla has postponed her January debut performances with the San Francisco Symphony, due to family leave following the birth of her first child. As previously announced, the program for the concerts of January 18-20 will feature pianist Gabriela Montero, who will perform Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1. A substitute conductor will be announced at a later date.
Contact Georgia Rowe at growe@pacbell.net.
