Ewa Podles (above right; here with Georgia Jarman) makes her local stage debut next month in Opera Boston’s performance of Rossini’s “Tancredi.’’ Russell Sherman (below left) inaugurates the new Steinway at the New England Conservatory on Sept. 24. Richard Pittman leads Boston Musica Viva, his new-music group, on Sept. 25.
(The New York Times/File 2006 (Above); Suzanne Kreiter/Globe Staff (Below Right))
Critic's Picks: Classical Music
Ewa Podles (above right; here with Georgia Jarman) makes her local stage debut next month in Opera Boston’s performance of Rossini’s “Tancredi.’’ Russell Sherman (below left) inaugurates the new Steinway at the New England Conservatory on Sept. 24. Richard Pittman leads Boston Musica Viva, his new-music group, on Sept. 25.
(The New York Times/File 2006 (Above); Suzanne Kreiter/Globe Staff (Below Right))
GARDNER MUSEUM Fall concerts at the Gardner kick off today with Paula Robison (flute), Yeesun Kim (cello), and Bruce Brubaker (piano) playing works by Saint-Saens, Messiaen, Chopin, Debussy, and George Crumb. Sept. 13. 617-278-5156, www.gardnermuseum.org
LONGY SCHOOL OF MUSIC This year’s “SeptemberFest’’ focuses on Haydn and those he influenced. Sept. 18-19, 25-26. Longy School. 617-876-0956, www.longy.edu
BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Opening night on Sept. 23 will feature music by Berlioz, Chopin (with pianist Evgeny Kissin), and Debussy, and the premiere of a work by John Williams written as a tribute to Ann Hobson Pilot, who just retired as the orchestra’s principal harpist. James Levine conducts that evening, and embarks on a cycle of Beethoven symphonies Oct. 22. Symphony Hall. 617-266-1200, www.bso.org
BOSTON CLASSICAL ORCHESTRA Steven Lipsitt leads music by Mendelssohn, Schumann, and Beethoven. Sept. 26-27. Faneuil Hall. 617-423-3883, www.bostonclassicalorchestra.org
NEW ENGLAND CONSERVATORY Pianist Russell Sherman inaugurates the school’s new Steinway with a recital exclusively of preludes (by Debussy and Chopin) on Sept. 24. Conductor Hugh Wolff leads NEC’s first free orchestral program on Sept. 30, and the First Monday series of free chamber programs begins Oct. 5. 617-585-1260, www.necmusic.edu
BOSTON MUSICA VIVA Richard Pittman’s new-music band plays works by Michael Gandolfi, Elliott Carter, John Harbison, and a new piece by Richard Cornell. Sept. 25. Tsai Performance Center. 617-354-6910, www.bmv.org
BOSTON PHILHARMONIC Benjamin Zander conducts Dvorak’s Seventh Symphony and Brahms’s Violin Concerto, with soloist Feng Ning. Oct. 8, 10-11. 617-236-0999, www.bostonphil.org
QUARTET CYCLES The Muir Quartet and the Chiara Quartet are both performing complete Beethoven Quartet cycles this fall, the former at Boston University’s Tsai Performance Center (next program Oct. 7) and the latter at Harvard’s Paine Concert Hall (beginning Dec. 2). The Borromeo Quartet surveys the complete Bartok Quartets (starting Oct. 11) at the Gardner Museum. www.muirstringquartet.org; www.chiaraquartet.net; www.borromeoquartet.org
HANDEL AND HAYDN SOCIETY The Society spotlights the countertenor Andreas Scholl in works by Handel and Vivaldi. Jean-Christophe Spinosi conducts. Oct. 9 and 11 in Symphony Hall. 617-266-3605, www.handelandhaydn.org
BOSTON BAROQUE Martin Pearlman opens his ensemble’s season with Handel’s opera “Amadigi di Gaula,’’ directed by Paul Peers. Oct. 16-17. Jordan Hall. 617-484-9200, www.bostonbaroque.org
BOSTON CHAMBER MUSIC SOCIETY It’s Schubert, Brahms, and Harbison in the season opener. Oct. 18. Sanders Theatre. 617-349-0086, www.bostonchambermusic.org
OPERA BOSTON The Polish contralto Ewa Podles makes her local stage debut in Rossini’s “Tancredi,’’ directed by Kristine McIntyre and conducted by Gil Rose. Oct. 23, 25, and 27. Cutler Majestic Theatre. 617-451-3388, www.operaboston.org
EMMANUEL MUSIC A season-long survey of music by Haydn and Schoenberg gets underway with a chamber program that includes Schoenberg’s Serenade. Oct. 25. Emmanuel Church. 617-536-3356, www.emmanuelmusic.org
BOSTON LYRIC OPERA Nicholas Muni directs a new production of Bizet’s “Carmen’’ to open the season. Keith Lockhart conducts. Nov. 6-17. Shubert Theatre. 617-542-4912, www.blo.org
CANTATA SINGERS The chorus under David Hoose begins its Heinrich Schütz-themed season by performing the composer’s “Musikalische Exequien.’’ Nov. 6. Jordan Hall. 617-868-5885, www.cantatasingers.org
BOSTON EARLY MUSIC FESTIVAL For its annual chamber opera, BEMF sets its period sights on Handel’s “Acis and Galatea,’’ directed by Gilbert Blin. Nov. 28. Jordan Hall. 617-661-1812, www.bemf.org
JEREMY EICHLER 
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