For Immediate Release—August 24, 2026—Vivo Performing Arts presents an extraordinary lineup of classical music performances featuring internationally celebrated artists, acclaimed chamber ensembles, rising stars, and free community concerts across Greater Boston this fall.
Beginning in October, the season includes recital debuts by pianist Avery Gagliano and violinist Geneva Lewis; appearances by internationally renowned artists Bruce Liu, Igor Levit, and Jeremy Denk; performances by the Brentano String Quartet and Dover Quartet; and the U.S. debut of violinist Nemanja Radulović and his Double Sens ensemble.
Free Neighborhood Arts performances throughout the season, including programs by Castle of our Skins, the Borromeo Quartet with Boston String Academy, and a 48-cello celebration honoring legendary cellist Pablo Casals, continue Vivo Performing Arts' commitment to bringing exceptional live music to communities across Greater Boston.
"This fall's classical concerts reflect the breadth of today's musical landscape, from beloved masterpieces to compelling contemporary compositions," said Thor Steingraber, President and CEO of Vivo Performing Arts. "Whether returning to Jordan Hall or Symphony Hall, or discovering music at a Neighborhood Arts performance, audiences will experience artistry at the highest level and artists of all generations."
Presented in venues including NEC's Jordan Hall, Longy's Pickman Hall, Groton Hill Music Center, Symphony Hall, and community gathering spaces throughout Greater Boston, the season reflects Vivo Performing Arts' commitment to presenting world-class artistry while expanding access through free performances and community partnerships.
Events and ticketing information listed below. Audience members 35 or younger can also access $40 tickets on the Vivo Performing Arts app.
The full season calendar may be found at vivoperformingarts.org.
EVENT LISTINGS
Avery Gagliano, piano, Vivo Performing Arts Debut
Debut Series at Longy's Edward M. Pickman Hall | Thursday, October 8, 7:30pm
Tickets: $24 - $94 (Ticket fees included; all prices and availability subject to change)
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Pianist Avery Gagliano makes her Vivo Performing Arts debut with a program that demonstrates her command of mood and structure. From the luminous to the relentless, from the gauzy to the percussive, Gagliano offers a program that announces her as an artist of assured command.
Program:
Schumann | Novelette, Op. 21, No. 8
Fauré | Ballade in F-sharp Major, Op. 19
Rzewski | "Winnsboro Cotton Mill Blues" from Four North American Ballads
Kirchner | Interlude II
Schumann | Symphonic Études, Op. 13
This performance is an Aaron Richmond Recital, named in honor of Vivo Performing Arts' founder, and endowed by his daughter Nancy Richmond Winsten and her late husband Dr. Joseph Winsten.
Roxbury Concert Series: Hemenway Strings with Lynn Chang
Vivaldi's The Four Seasons
Shaw-Roxbury Branch, Boston Public Library | Saturday, October 10, 12pm
Tickets: Free with RSVP
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Led by violinist Lynn Chang, Hemenway Strings is the premier student chamber ensemble at Boston Conservatory at Berklee College. They bring Vivaldi's The Four Seasons to life with brilliance, energy, and vivid storytelling, from the sparkling joys of spring to winter's icy chill.
Presented by Roxbury Concert Series in partnership with Neighborhood Arts.
Brentano String Quartet, "Flights of Fugue"
NEC's Jordan Hall | Friday, October 16, 8pm
Tickets: $44 - $94 (Ticket fees included; all prices and availability subject to change)
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The Brentano Quartet brings "Flights of Fugue," a program that exposes the unflinching late quartets by Shostakovich and Beethoven. Paired arrangements of piano works that mirror each other across the centuries set a deceptively orderly tonal roadmap for the flights of passion and intensity that follow.
Program:
Shostakovich | Selections from 24 Preludes and Fugues, Op. 87
Shostakovich | Quartet No. 15 in E-flat minor, Op. 144
Bach | Fugue in C-sharp minor, BWV 849
Beethoven | String Quartet No. 14 in C-sharp minor, Op. 131
Castle of our Skins, "Sacred Transcendence"
Twelfth Baptist Church | Saturday, October 17, 3pm
Tickets are free with RSVP as part of Neighborhood Arts
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Exploring faith and spirituality through music, Castle of our Skins presents an afternoon of African American spirituals, from classics to those reimagined. Blending voice, strings, and piano, foundational spirituals published by H.T. Burleigh, James Weldon Johnson, and R. Nathaniel Dett will be woven through reimagined contemporary works by such composers as Shawn Okphebelo, Adolphus Hailstork, and Jessie Montgomery.
Bruce Liu, piano
Concert Hall at Groton Hill Music Center | Sunday, October 18, 3pm
Tickets: $44 - $144 (Ticket fees included; all prices and availability subject to change)
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Bruce Liu's program weaves fiery brilliance and nocturnal hush. From Beethoven's "Moonlight" sonata and Chopin's Nocturnes to Bach's Baroque clarity, the atmospherics of Debussy and Mompou, and dazzling Liszt, the evening is a showcase of contrast and Liu's formidable range.
Program:
Ligeti | Études, Book I (1985) — No. 4 “Fanfares”
Beethoven | Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor, Op. 27, No. 2 “Moonlight”
Chopin | Nocturne in C-sharp minor, Op. 27, No. 1
Chopin | Nocturne in D-flat Major, Op. 27, No. 2
Albéniz | “El Puerto” from Iberia
Bach | French Suite No. 5 in G Major, BWV 816
Debussy | Rêverie
Ravel | Alborada del gracioso
Mompou | Glossa sobre “Au clair de lune”
Liszt | Rhapsodie espagnole, S. 254, R. 90
This performance is generously supported by Michael & Adrianne Canning and Sally S. Seaver, PhD. Additional support for this performance is provided by the Délégation du Québec à Boston.
Geneva Lewis, violin, Vivo Performing Arts Debut
Meadow Hall at Groton Hill Music Center | Sunday, October 25, 3pm
Tickets: $54 - $84 (Ticket fees included; all prices and availability subject to change)
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Geneva Lewis makes her Vivo Performing Arts debut with a program of emotional range and intention. Praised for her lustrous tone and ability to unite passion with precision, Lewis moves from Mozart's nocturnal G-Major Sonata into the tender longing of Silvestrov's miniatures, the somber weight of Weinberg's survival-haunted sonata, and the electric intensity of Webern. With Strauss' early violin sonata, Lewis brings this distinguished debut to a spirited close. Joshua Mhoon collaborates on piano.
Program:
Mozart | Violin Sonata in G Major, K.379
Silvestrov | Two pieces for violin and piano (2020)
Weinberg | Sonata No. 5 for violin and piano
Webern | Four Pieces for violin and piano
Strauss | Violin Sonata in E-flat Major, Op. 18
Stringfest: Borromeo Quartet featuring Boston String Academy
Multicultural Arts Center | Sunday, October 25, 3pm
Tickets are free with RSVP as part of Neighborhood Arts
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Stringfest programs give string students the opportunity to learn from and perform alongside acclaimed professional musicians. The featured artists perform, then the young players join them for unforgettable side-by-side selections for the whole group. This fall, the internationally renowned Borromeo Quartet returns to Stringfest to lead an all-Beethoven program, mentoring young players from Boston String Academy.
Igor Levit, piano | All-Beethoven Program
Symphony Hall | Sunday, November 8, 3pm
Tickets: $44 - $124 (Ticket fees included; all prices and availability subject to change)
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Pianist Igor Levit makes his Symphony Hall recital debut with an all-Beethoven program. It's a fitting stage, beneath the plaque that bears the composer's name, for a pianist whose sound has been compared to a full orchestra. For the bicentennial of Beethoven's death, Levit reveals an icon's humanity—his early-career swagger and hunger, his despair at losing his hearing, a moment of joy—before arriving at the "Waldstein" sonata.
Program:
Beethoven | Sonata No. 1 in F minor, Op. 2, No. 1
Beethoven | Sonata No. 17 in D minor, Op. 31, No. 2 "The Tempest"
Beethoven | Sonata No. 25 in G Major, Op. 79
Beethoven | Sonata No. 21 in C Major, Op. 53 "Waldstein"
This performance is generously supported by a gift made in memory of Ulla M. Hansen.
Pablo Casals 150th Birthday Celebration All-Cello Orchestra
Roxbury Community College Media Arts Center | Sunday, November 8, 3pm
Tickets are free with RSVP as part of Neighborhood Arts
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Conducted by Eugene Friesen, the 48-cello orchestra honors the 150th birthday of cellist and humanitarian Pablo Casals with arrangements of works by Casals, Villa-Lobos, and other beloved favorites.
Additional support for this performance is provided by the Richard K. Lubin Family Foundation.
Nemanja Radulović & Double Sens, "The Four Seasons", Vivo Performing Arts debut
NEC's Jordan Hall | Friday, November 13, 8pm
Tickets: $64 - $94 (Ticket fees included; all prices and availability subject to change)
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Serbian-born, Paris-based violinist Nemanja Radulović founded Double Sens as an artistic reflection of his dual identity—the creative dialogue between two cultures that shape his voice. He brought together a circle of trusted Serbian and French musicians, united by friendship and a shared desire to inspire one another toward their highest artistry. Making its U.S. debut in 2026 with Vivaldi's "The Four Seasons," Double Sens radiates warmth, authenticity, and a palpable sense of freedom that captivates audiences from the very first note.
Dover Quartet
NEC's Jordan Hall | Sunday, November 15, 3pm
Tickets: $44 - $94 (Ticket fees included; all prices and availability subject to change)
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In their return to Vivo Performing Arts, Dover Quartet's program features Brahms' final string quartet, Dvořák's nod to Viennese compositional trends while asserting his Czech roots, and a new orchestration of Indigenous singer-songwriter Pura Fé's "Rattle Songs" by Chickasaw composer Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate.
Program:
Brahms | Quartet No. 3 in B-flat Major, Op. 67
Pura Fé | Rattle Songs
Dvořák | Quartet No. 11 in C Major, Op. 61
This performance is generously supported by Stephen C. Perry & Oliver Radford.
This performance is an Aaron Richmond Recital, named in honor of Vivo Performing Arts' founder, and endowed by his daughter Nancy Richmond Winsten and her late husband Dr. Joseph Winsten.
What Makes It Great? with Rob Kapilow
Mozart's Clarinet Concerto, with A Far Cry featuring Romie de Guise-Langlois, clarinet
NEC's Jordan Hall | Sunday, November 22, 3pm
Tickets: $54 - $104 (Ticket fees included; all prices and availability subject to change)
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Host Rob Kapilow, Boston's A Far Cry chamber orchestra, and clarinetist Romie de Guise-Langlois unlock the secrets of the most celebrated clarinet concerto ever written. Composed just weeks before Mozart's death at age 35, this masterpiece helped establish the clarinet as a solo voice in the orchestra. Blending in-depth analysis with storytelling, fun facts, and humor, Kapilow will put this treasure in a new light and forever change how you listen to Mozart.
This performance is generously supported by Amy & Joshua Boger.
Jeremy Denk, piano
NEC's Jordan Hall | Friday, December 11, 8pm
Tickets: $54 - $98 (Ticket fees included; all prices and availability subject to change)
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Pianist Jeremy Denk joins Vivo Performing Arts for two performances this season. Denk's first program offers Beethoven's last two piano sonatas, heard in conversation with Bach, Unsuk Chin, and the long-neglected Hélène de Montgeroult.
Program:
Bach | Prelude and Fugue in B Major, BWV 892
Unsuk Chin | Six Études
Beethoven | Piano Sonata No. 31 in A-flat Major, Op. 110
Hélène de Montgeroult | Études
Beethoven | Piano Sonata No. 32 in C minor, Op. 111
This performance is generously supported by Dorothy Altman Weber, in memory of Stephen Weber.
ABOUT VIVO PERFORMING ARTS
Vivo Performing Arts (formerly Celebrity Series of Boston) was founded in 1938 and, for generations, has welcomed Boston audiences to an array of outstanding performances. Vivo Performing Arts offers national and international talent in orchestral and chamber music, vocal and piano artistry, dance, and jazz in the city’s major concert venues as well as excellent Boston-based and -affiliated artists in its free Neighborhood Arts series and public performance projects. Guided by its values of equity, integrity, and collaboration, and its belief in the performing arts as a source of curiosity and joy, Vivo Performing Arts partners with artists, audiences, and neighborhoods to create experiences that strengthen connection and invite discovery. Through all of its ticketed and free offerings, the organization builds a Greater Boston where the performing arts are a valued, lifelong, and shared experience—on stages, on streets, and in neighborhoods throughout the region.
Vivo Performing Arts is grateful to 2026/27 Season Sponsors Crescendo Donor Advised Fund and The Thonis Family, and to the many individuals, corporations, foundations, and government agencies whose support helps fulfill our mission to enrich and inspire our community through exceptional live performances. Individual and institutional supporters include Jill & David Altshuler, Leslie & Howard Appleby, the Barr Foundation, Amy & Joshua Boger, Crescendo Donor Advised Fund, Google, Yvetter & Lawrence Hochberg, Barbara & Amos Hostetter, Klarman Family Foundation, Lizbeth & George Krupp, Liberty Mutual Foundation, Nancy & Richard Lubin, Richard K. Lubin Family Foundation, Susanne Marcus Collins Foundation, Mass Cultural Council, Eleanor & Frank Pao, Stephen C. Perry & Oliver Radford, Rabb Family Foundations, Reuben Reynolds, Royal Little Family Foundation, Schraff Charitable Trust, Sally S. Seaver, PhD, Jeremy Silverman & Mary Sutherland, The Estate of Marylen Sternweiler, Belinda Termeer, The Thonis Family, Dorothy Altman Weber, in memory of Stephen Weber, Nancy Richmond Winsten, Anonymous (4), and many others.
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