Classical stars of the North
Alexandria Festival of the Lakes continues its 25th-anniversary season with a marvelously varied recital of chamber and instrumental music. The ever vibrant Twin Cities soprano Maria Jette plays a major part, singing J.S. Bach's secular cantata "Weichet nur, betrübte Schatten" and Dominick Argento's "Six Elizabethan Songs." Minnesota Orchestra associate principal oboe John Snow plays Britten's fascinating "Six Metamorphoses after Ovid." And orchestra principal flute Adam Kuenzel weighs in with a concerto by Telemann, plus Robert Starer's "Yizkor and Anima Aeterna." (7 p.m. Thu., Alexandria United Methodist Church, Alexandria. $15, 1-320-763-9400, alexfest.org)
Classics in the park
The Bakken Trio embarks upon its second season of "Sunshine Concerts" in Minneapolis parks, combining open-air relaxation with movements from string quartets by Haydn, Dvorák, Beethoven and Shostakovich. The atmosphere is family-friendly, with an emphasis on introducing children to the classics. (10 a.m. Mon., Kenwood Park; 11:30 a.m. Mon., Webber Park; 10 a.m. Tue., Brackett Park; 11:15 a.m. Tue., McRae Park; 1 p.m. Tue., Pershing Park; 10 a.m. Wed., Matthews Park; 11:30 a.m. Wed., Powderhorn Park; 10 a.m. Thu., Audubon Park; 11:30 a.m. Thu., Hiawatha School Park. Free, bakkentrio.org)
'Drama Kings of the Baroque'
Twin Cities Early Music Festival brings a packed Saturday of concerts, with two particular standouts: In "Drama Kings of the Baroque," soprano Andrea Leap sings arias by Purcell and Handel, plus Vivaldi's fiery motet "In furore iustissimae irae." Later that evening, "Love and Death" combines the five voices of the excellent Mirandola Ensemble with guitarist Ben Kunkel for a program with a British bent. The concert features madrigals and part songs by Weelkes, Morley and Dowland alongside the moving "Funeral Sentences" of Thomas Tompkins. (5 p.m. Sat., the Baroque Room, St. Paul. 7:30 p.m. Sat., St. Mary's Episcopal Church, St. Paul; $20, tcearlymusic.org)
Bartók in Brainerd
Lakes Area Music Festival lowers the curtain on its 2017 season with Béla Bartók's storming Concerto for Orchestra, with conductor Christian Reif from the San Francisco Symphony on the podium. Also featured is Dvorák's ever-popular Cello Concerto, with the Toronto Symphony's Joseph Johnson as soloist. (7 p.m. Sat., 2 p.m. Sun.; Tornstrom Auditorium, Brainerd. Free, lakesareamusic.org)
Bach and Vivaldi
Lyra Baroque opens its 33rd season with a concert pairing two of J.S. Bach's cantatas — "Ich habe genug" and "Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen" — with a couple of bassoon concertos by Vivaldi. Joseph Jones is the bassoonist, while baritone Thomas Meglioranza solos in the Bach pieces. (7:30 p.m. Fri., Sundin Hall, St. Paul; 4 p.m. Sun., Mount Olive Lutheran Church, Rochester. $20-$25, lyrabaroque.org)
TERRY BLAIN
