'Dreams of the Fallen'
Jake Runestad, one of the choral world's hot young composers, set music to the words of Iraq war veteran and poet Brian Turner for this concert by VocalEssence and the Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra that tries to comprehend the incomprehensible experience of the warrior. Turner and Runestad give voice to soldiers who have long left the battlefield yet still feel the moments that marked their lives as distinct. Pianist Jeffrey Biegel and soprano Maria Jette join the chorus and ensemble with Philip Brunelle. William Schrickel, the accomplished bass player from the Minnesota Orchestra, conducts the Metropolitan Symphony in a concert that includes Samuel Barber's "Adagio for Strings" and Vaughan Williams' "Toward the Unknown Region." (4 p.m. Oct. 11, the O'Shaughnessy, 2004 Randolph Av., St. Paul; $20-$40, 651-690-6700 or vocalessence.org)
Vänskä, Strauss and Mahler
The Minnesota Orchestra begins its classical subscription season with music director Osmo Vänskä conducting Gustav Mahler's cinematic and evocative fourth symphony. Soprano Katie Van Kooten joins the ensemble for Richard Strauss' "Four Last Songs," which were the composer's benediction. And concertmaster Erin Keefe, principal flute Adam Kuenzel, oboist John Snow and trumpet player Douglas Carlsen will be featured on Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 2. This concert promises to tap several rich classical veins — the heft of Mahler, the lyrical soprano voice in Strauss and the chamber grouping for the Bach. (11 a.m. Oct. 1, 8 p.m. Oct. 2, 6 p.m. Oct. 3; Orchestra Hall, 1111 Nicollet Mall, Mpls.; $25-$96. 612-371-5656 or minnesotaorchestra.org)
'The Magic Flute'
Give the people what they want. The Minnesota Opera did this Mozart masterwork early in 2014 and has brought it back for another turn. The 2014 production was a wild ride, with bizarre projections that transformed the work from a traditional opera to a form of German expressionism. This remount brings back the concepts from Komische Oper Berlin and the British theater group 1927 in what promises to be a surreal experience dressed as a silent movie. (7:30 p.m. Nov. 14, 17, 19, 21; 2 p.m. Nov. 15, 22; Ordway Music Hall, 345 Washington St., St. Paul; $25-$200, 612-333-6669 or mnopera.org)
Martin Fröst debut
The celebrated Swedish clarinetist begins his St. Paul Chamber Orchestra artistic partnership with the American premiere of his Genesis Project, a musical journey tracing the secular and sacred roots of classical music with Fröst serving as soloist, conductor and host. The program mixes music from different centuries and styles that highlight the intersections of folk, early sacred and classical music. Among the composers whose work will be quoted are Telemann, Bartók, Brahms and Anders Hillborg. The University of Minnesota Women's Chorus joins the SPCO for these concerts. (7:30 p.m. Nov. 11-12, Ordway Center Concert Hall, 345 Washington St., St. Paul; $10-$53, 651-291-1144 or thespco.org)
Joshua Bell
What more is there to say than "Joshua Bell will be playing"? The violinist remains among the hottest performers in the classical realm after many years of notoriety and acclaim. Why? His repertoire leaps from Bach to jazz and his curiosity as a musician has put him in the highest halls of the musical pantheon and the lowest rungs of the subway system, where he famously performed just to see how passing commuters would treat him. He is more than a musician. He is an investigator of the human spirit. This will be a recital with pianist Sam Haywood under the auspices of the Schubert Club. Limited seats are available, so hurry. (3 p.m. Nov. 1, Ordway Music Hall, 345 Washington St., St. Paul; $31-$91, 651-292-3268 or Schubert.org)
AND A FEW MORE
Bach's St. Matthew Passion: The SPCO welcomes back conductor Paul McCreesh to lead a distinctive chamber arrangement of the composer's passionate expression of faith. Singers from the Gabrieli Consort join the effort. (Oct. 9-11, Ordway Concert Hall, thespco.org)