Rilling does Brahms

With age, they say, comes wisdom. That is often true of classical musicians, and it certainly applies to the German conductor Helmuth Rilling. Now in his 80s, Rilling is a choral practitioner of unparalleled experience, and brings the accumulated insight of decades to Brahms' masterpiece "A German Requiem," in three performances this weekend with the Minnesota Orchestra and Chorale. As a curtain-raiser, Rilling leads a lecture-demonstration on Brahms' working methods in the Requiem, and the reasons why he wrote it. If you follow choral music, this is an essential date for your diary. (8 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 2 p.m. Sun., Orchestra Hall, Mpls. $25-$79. mnorch.org or 612-371-5656)

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Terry Blain