Nine classical music concerts herald a fall of experimentation and risk

The classical season arrives in Philadelphia this fall feeling more improvisatory than usual.

Some groups, like stalwart new music ensemble Orchestra 2001, are still assembling funding and, therefore, their programming.

The city may or may not hear a visiting orchestra this season. After a successful return at the Kimmel last season, no touring orchestras are booked for Marian Anderson Hall at the moment, said a spokesperson for the Philadelphia Orchestra and Kimmel Center Inc.

Opera Philadelphia begins the season with a last-minute rescue of ticket sales. In August, facing the prospect of half-empty houses, the company slashed its ticket price to $11 (with the option to pay more), and now some productions are close to selling out.

The pessimist may see a sector struggling to get its audience back in the wake of the pandemic, and the pessimist would be right. But it’s liberating to see groups listening more closely than ever to audiences and responding nimbly with changes that were probably inevitable anyway. If this translates into a greater tolerance for experimentation and risk, at least the pandemic, for all its misery, will have left behind some good.

What is the meaning of an atmospheric hum that suddenly appears and is audible only to some? The mysterious sound has profound societal consequences in this opera by composer Missy Mazzoli and librettist Royce Vavrek. Financial pressures have forced Opera Philadelphia to trim and rearrange its production schedule, so the U.S. premiere of a new work is a welcome stroke of ambition. Attending Opera Philadelphia this season is suddenly low-risk: a ticket can be had for $11. operaphila.org, 215-732-8400

The Austin, Texas-based choir Conspirare and artistic director Craig Hella Johnson perform Johnson’s Considering Matthew Shepard, an oratorio inspired by the story of the college student whose 1998 murder raised awareness of homophobia and hate crime. They will be joined by an expected chorus of more than 500 from area choirs led by Jay Fluellen and Rollo Dilworth. manncenter.org

Conductors are like hurricanes, exerting tremendous local power but possessing a weak steering current. Muti has mostly stayed away from the city in the more than three decades since he was music director of the Philadelphia Orchestra, so when he returns with Verdi’s big orchestral-vocal storm it will be a meeting of strangers. His fan base is long dispersed, and, with the overwhelming majority of the ensemble new since his time here, a once-razor-sharp rapport will be starting from scratch. It’ll be fascinating to hear. With vocal soloists and Philadelphia Symphonic Choir. philorch.org, 215-893-1999

The probing, energetic pianist has constructed a program with a lot of Schubert (Impromptus, the Sonata in A Major, D. 959) surrounding the Philadelphia premiere of Alvin Singleton’s Bed-Stuy Sonata, a Philadelphia Chamber Music Society co-commission. pcmsconcerts.org, 215-569-8080

Therapeutic postelection perspective is exactly what you will be needing. Praised for its preternatural precision and timbral range, the British a cappella ensemble swings into town with works of 16th and 17th century composers William Byrd, Thomas Tallis, Orlando Gibbons, and Thomas Tomkins. pennlivearts.org, 215-898-3900

The Liverpudlian pianist proved both strong-willed and nuanced with Haydn, Beethoven, Brahms, and Schubert in a 2018 Philadelphia Chamber Music Society recital at the Kimmel. This time it’s all Schubert: the sonatas D. 958, D. 959, and D. 960. pcmsconcerts.org, 215-569-8080

Two siblings from the British musical family perform works familiar (Mendelssohn, Fauré, and Poulenc) and new (a piece by composer/violinist Natalie Klouda). pcmsconcerts.org, 215-569-8080

Most of the program features Curtis grads — TJ Cole, George Walker, and Samuel Barber. But it’s Aaron Copland’s Symphony No. 3 that promises a most exquisitely timed arrival. Regardless of the outcome of the election and political climate, an extended essay on the American spirit — its ambition, optimism, humanity, and the rooting in the common good — can only help to heal an ailing zeitgeist. Also featuring Ray Chen in Barber’s Violin Concerto. Teddy Abrams conducts. curtis.edu, 215-893-7902.

Along with other Studio Ghibli films, Spirited Away is ensconced for many in that powerful time-travel-to-childhood corner of the brain triggered by certain music. The creator of that music, Joe Hisaishi, visits the podium of the Philadelphia Orchestra in his Suite from Spirited Away, Symphony No. 2, and, with soloist Choong-Jin Chang, the Saga for viola and orchestra. No film will be shown with the music, but there’s nothing standing between you and your own imagination. philorch.org, 215-893-1999