MOSTLY MOZART FESTIVAL: GIANANDREA NOSEDA & PIERRE-LAURENT AIMARD / BUDAPEST FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA / TAK脕CS QUARTET & JEREMY DENK / JOSHUA BELL / 鈥淎 LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC鈥�
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The Festival digs deep into both 鈥淢ostly鈥� and Mozart, commencing with a 鈥淢ostly鈥� evening comprised of Beethoven (Piano Concerto No. 4) and Schubert (鈥淕reat鈥� Symphony No. 9) conducted by National Symphony Orchestra maestro Gianandrea Noseda leading the Festival Orchestra, with the extraordinarily expansive pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard, at Geffen Hall.
Also at Geffen Hall, Handel arias frame Mozart鈥檚 鈥淛upiter鈥� Symphony, performed by the Budapest Festival Orchestra and Music Director Iv谩n Fischer, with soprano Jeanine De Bique handling the Handel.
Violin celeb Joshua Bell and the Festival Orchestra explore aspects of the Austro-Hungarian empire that birthed Mozart, beginning with Mozart鈥檚 鈥淧rague Symphony (No. 38) and concluding with Anton铆n Dvo艡谩k鈥檚 Bohemia-inflected Violin Concerto (A minor), bracketing an orchestral outing on Kod谩ly鈥檚 Dances of Gal谩nta.
At Alice Tully Hall, The Tak谩cs Quartet tackles string quartets by Beethoven (F major) and Mozart (鈥淧russian鈥� in D major鈥�) alongside Hungarian composer Ernst von Dohn谩nyi鈥檚 Piano Quintet No. 1, played by MacArthur genius Jeremy Denk.
The Festival鈥檚 鈥淎 Little Night Music鈥� series of candle-lit, 10:00pm performances in the intimate Kaplan Penthouse embrace the four hands of Dutch brother pianists Lucas and Arthur Jussen on Mozart鈥檚 Sonata for Piano Four Hands, Schubert鈥檚 Fantasie in F minor and Smit鈥檚 Divertimento for Piano Four Hands.
Brooklyn Rider, the iconoclastic string quartet, flit from one movement of Mozart鈥檚 String Quartet in G major (the Andante cantabile), to Philip Glass鈥檚 String Quartet No. 8, with stops to sample work by young Indian-American composer Reena Esmail (Zeher) and something by the group鈥檚 esteemed violinist, Colin Jacobsen (Sherrif鈥檚 Lied, Sheriff鈥檚 Freud).
Finally, pianist Steven Osborne addresses Schubert鈥檚 final piano sonata (B-flat major).
NAUMBERG ORCHESTRAL CONCERTS: ORPHEUS CHAMBER ORCHESTRA
The 114th season of Naumberg Bandshell concerts in Central Park carries on, absent the park and the bandshell, which is being renovated. Transported to Temple Emanu-El on Fifth Avenue, the concerts continue to be free and this month feature the uniquely conductor-less Orpheus Chamber Orchestra in a program of Spanish and South American music that spans the 20th Century, with bandoneon virtuoso JP Jofre.
TAKA KIGAWA: BEETHOVEN PIANO SONATAS
One of NYC鈥檚 more eclectic downtown music venues hosts one of classical music鈥檚 more venturesome pianists in a nightclub setting, playing Beethoven鈥檚 late piano sonatas (Nos. 28-32).
The extraordinarily completist Bard Music Festival in Annandale-on-Hudson re-examines the protean career of composer Erich Wolfgang Korngold, from his childhood as a Vienna prodigy, through his Weimar Berlin cabaret songwriting career, to his expatriate years from Hitler鈥檚 Germany as a Hollywood film-scoring master, including a performance of his most popular opera, Die tote Stadt. A deluxe charter bus from NYC is available for select performances.
METROPOLITAN OPERA: SUMMER HD FESTIVAL
Free screenings of Met Live in HD broadcasts from past seasons, right out front of the opera house; from Aida to Samson et Dalila, plus a special showing of the classic Astaire-Hepburn Hollywood musical Funny Face.
