Best classical concerts of the week: John Adams reimagines 'Scheherazade," Bach Ensemble season-opener

Scheherazade, spinner of alluring tales to a homicidal king in the Arabian Nights, is well known to classical audiences through the sumptuous orchestral piece she inspired by Rimsky-Korsakov. American composer John Adams has recently flipped the fable in "Scheherazade. 2," where he examines the dark elements of male domination and religious zealotry in the story. Adams wrote the piece for dazzling violinist Leila Josefowicz, the "empowered woman" of his revised narrative. Josefowicz joins the Minnesota Orchestra for the Twin Cities premiere, where works by Berlioz and Ravel are also featured. (11 a.m. Thu., 8 p.m. Fri.; Orchestra Hall, Mpls.; $25-$69, 612-371-5656 or minnesotaorchestra.org)

Once upon a time baroque music meant Bach, Handel, Vivaldi and little else. No longer — the excavation of the period continues, throwing reams of previously unfamiliar music into the laps of curious concertgoers. The St. Paul-based Ladyslipper Ensemble is a specialist in this area. Its latest program examines the notion of cultural cross-fertilization during the baroque period, as the German and Italian styles interacted, and gradually seeped across the English Channel. Eccles, Blow, De Visée, Keiser, Marini and Kapsberger are some of the composers represented. (7:30 p.m. Sat., the Baroque Room, St. Paul; $10-$20, thebaroqueroom.com)

Exuberance and vocal intricacy are the order of the day as the Singers open their 2016-17 season with Bach's joyful motet "Singet dem Herrn ein Neues Lied." Works by Handel — "Dixit Dominus" and "Nisi Dominus" — complete the program. And the 40-member choir is accompanied by the Singers' Baroque Sinfonia. (7:30 p.m. Sat., House of Hope Presbyterian Church, St. Paul; 3 p.m. Sun., Wayzata Community Church, Wayzata; $21-$33, singersmca.org)

Unusual combinations of instruments are explored in a concert by the chamber music collective called the Musical Offering. Saint-Saëns' Caprice for Flute, Oboe, Clarinet and Piano is hitched to Prokofiev's Quintet for Oboe, Clarinet, Violin, Viola and Bass. Debussy's String Quartet restores some normalcy to the intriguing recital. (3 p.m. Sun., Sundin Music Hall, Hamline University, St. Paul; $10-$25, musicaloffering.org)

The Minnesota Bach Ensemble tips its season-opening hat to Johann Sebastian with a pair of his church cantatas (Nos. 84 and 88). The concert includes a suite by Bach's excellent (if less appreciated) contemporary, Telemann. Also featured is Haydn's "Evening' Symphony," one of his finest early works in the format. (7:30 p.m. Sat., 3 p.m. Sun.; MacPhail Center for Music, Mpls.; $10-$25, mnbach.org)

TERRY BLAIN