Best classical music for the week: Minnesota Orchestra remembers Sir Neville Marriner, Accordo does silent movies

Until his passing last October at age 92, English conductor Sir Neville Marriner was still actively pursuing a professional career. It's been 30 years since Marriner left the Minnesota Orchestra, where he was music director for seven seasons. The two concerts he was scheduled to give at Orchestra Hall this week now become tributes to his memory. Led by the orchestra's former associate conductor Courtney Lewis, the concerts include symphonies by Beethoven and Dvorak as well as Mendelssohn's Hebrides Overture. (11 a.m. Thu., 8 p.m. Fri.; Orchestra Hall, Mpls.; $25-$79, 612-371-5656 or minnesotaorchestra.org)

This year marks the 250th anniversary of the death of Georg Philipp Telemann, a hugely gifted composer whose music has been almost entirely eclipsed by that of his friend Johann Sebastian Bach. The Lyra Baroque Orchestra continues its crusade to right the balance with a program of Telemann's orchestral pieces. The evening includes a Flute Concerto with Mankato native David Ross as soloist. Emphasizing the Bach family connection, there's also a Harpsichord Concerto by J.S. Bach's son — and Telemann's godson — Carl Phillip Emanuel Bach. (7:30 p.m. Fri., Zumbro Lutheran Church, Rochester; 7:30 p.m. Sat., Sundin Hall, Hamline University, St. Paul; $10-$25, lyrabaroque.org)

Not long after his marriage, Mozart completed a Grand Mass in C Minor. His wife, Constanze, was the soprano soloist at the premiere. Now the mass is performed by Sonomento, a 40-voice adult choir from MacPhail Center for Music, with a full complement of soloists and orchestral players. (4 p.m. Sun., Masonic Heritage Center Auditorium, Bloomington; $20-$25, macphail.org)

Accordo, one of the Twin Cities' finest chamber ensembles, presents "Silent Movie Night" at the Ordway. The evening features original music by Los Angeles composer Stephen Prutsman alongside screenings of various early-20th-century films, including two Charlie Chaplin shorts. (7:30 p.m. Tue., Ordway Concert Hall, St. Paul; $21-$32.50, 651-292-3268 or schubert.org)

A soldier, fencer, violinist, conductor — and a contemporary of Mozart's — the Chevalier de Saint-Georges was also the first classical composer of African descent. The St. Paul Chamber Orchestra gives a rare performance of his First Symphony. The program also features works by Dvorak, Mozart and Wynton Marsalis. (11 a.m. & 8 p.m. Fri., Wooddale Church, Eden Prairie; 8 p.m. Sat., Ordway Concert Hall, St. Paul; 2 p.m. Sun., Ted Mann Concert Hall, Mpls.; $13-$53, 651-291-1144 or thespco.org)

TERRY BLAIN