In case you didn’t know, the Twin Cities not only has an outstanding symphony orchestra, but also one of a handful of the world’s great chamber orchestras. While the Minnesota Orchestra takes care of the large-scale stuff, the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra specializes in music of the baroque, classical and contemporary eras.
The SPCO has announced its 2025-26 season, a grand showcase for not only its artistry, but for the orchestra’s five artistic partners, each among the best in the world at what they do. Here are some month-by-month recommendations of the most promising concerts, which you can catch for as little as $5 a month.
September: Artistic partners past and present help launch the season, as one from earlier this century, Thomas Zehetmair, christens the season with Mozart and Brahms (Sept. 12-14). Then cellist Abel Selaocoe will renew one of the SPCO’s most thrilling relationships with a program featuring mostly his own compositions (Sept. 26-28).
October: One of America’s master classical pianists, Richard Goode, is joining the SPCO’s team of artistic partners, debuting in the role with one of those Mozart piano concertos he plays so well and some chamber music by Leoš Janáček (Oct. 17-18). Then baritone Roderick Williams joins another SPCO artistic partner, the always enjoyable conductor Richard Egarr, for works by John Adams and George Butterworth (Oct. 31-Nov. 2).
November: Two SPCO violinists will solo on violin concertos: Eunice Kim on Camille Saint-Saëns (Nov. 7-9) and Kyu-Young Kim playing Sergei Prokofiev (Nov. 28-30).
December: It’s a month given over to annual traditions, including performances of five of J.S. Bach’s six Brandenburg Concertos (Dec. 12-14) and George Frideric Handel’s “Messiah” oratorio, which will feature an Edina-bred soprano who’s finding international stardom, Liv Redpath, and renowned countertenor Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen (Dec. 18-21).
January: Violinist Alina Ibragimova has always impressed on past visits. She’ll solo on a Mozart concerto and an Alfred Schnittke work (Jan. 16-17). The renowned Gabriela Lena Frank is this season’s Sandbox composer-in-residence and will workshop new pieces with the orchestra over the course of the season. She’ll premiere one of their collaborations (Jan. 30-Feb. 1).
February: Over the course of the season, the SPCO will perform all four of J.S. Bach’s Orchestral Suites, concluding with Richard Egarr conducting No. 4 on a program that also features Handel’s “Water Music” and Beethoven’s Fourth Symphony (Feb. 20-22).
