March
Kodaly, Dvorak and Mendelssohn
March 21-24
Symphony Hall
301 Mass. Ave., Boston
$30-$110, 888-266-1200
The BSO, guest-starring German violinist Frank Peter Zimmermann and Slovakian conductor Juraj Valcuha, presents a mix of Eastern and Western European flavors, beginning with Kodaly’s “Dances of Galanta,” inspired by Hungarian folk dance, continuing with the Violin Concerto of Dvorak — whose work mixed Eastern and Western idioms — and concluding with Mendelssohn’s “Scottish” symphony.
Ladysmith Black Mambazo
March 17, 8 p.m.
Sanders Theatre
45 Quincy St., Cambridge
$28-$40, 617-876-4275
The
beautiful harmonies and inspiring tone of this South African choir
continue to enthrall audiences after nearly a half-century. Their
near-perfect vocal unity and complex-yet-simple call-and-response style
seem to touch the heart that beats at the root of all music, proving, as
the title of one of their songs proudly declares, that “Music Knows No
Boundaries.”
April
Paco de Lucia
April 11, 7:30 p.m.
Boston Opera House
539 Washington St., Boston
$40-$75, 617-876-4275
This guitarist is often cited as one of the greatest players alive. His infusion of new ideas into the traditional nature of flamenco has brought increased attention to the genre. And all this without a single effects pedal! A dancer will accompany him in case he blows your mind so hard you need to briefly focus on something else.
‘The Inspector’
April 20-29
Citi Shubert Theatre
265 Tremont St., Boston
$32-$225, 617-542-6772
John Musto based this 2011 English-language comic opera on Go-gol’s “The Government Inspector.”
‘FELA!’
April 24 through May 6
Cutler Majestic Theatre
219 Tremont St., Boston
$25-$125, 617-824-8000
The late Fela Kuti’s increasingly socially conscious music wasn’t just for partying. Bill T. Jones, who wrote the book for this show, tou-ches on Kuti’s political serious-ness — which challenged both Western cultural imperialism and Nigeria’s military dictatorship.
‘Mahler Triumphant!’
April 26 and 28
Sanders Theatre
45 Quincy St., Cambridge
$15-$70, 617-236-0999
The Boston Philharmonic per-forms Mahler’s 7th Symphony, a challenging work whose shifts from chaos to peace to gloom to love to even crazier chaos evoke the emotional extremes of early 20th-century life.
May
Bovinus Rex
May 24-27
The Zack Box, Boston Conservatory
8 Fenway, Boston
$10-$15, 617-912-9222
Guerilla Opera, true to their name, stages contemporary works that push the boundaries of the opera form. In this work, written and scored by Rudolf Rojahn, a farmer who’s invented a more efficient slaughtering device, faces opposition from his activist daughter.
Emanuel Ax
May 11, 8 p.m.
Jordan Hall
30 Gainsborough St., Boston
$55-$65, 617-482-6661
Emanuel Ax is widely revered as one of the greatest living pianists, both for his skill and his exuberance. Like a rare monk whose words reach the common layman, he has a singular talent for conveying his own excitement and deep immersion in the musical life to people without such experience, making him an ideal ambassador for classical music.
Marcel Khalife
and Al-Mayadine Ensemble
May 5, 8 p.m.
Berklee Performance Center
136 Mass. Ave., Boston
$35-$65, 617-747-2261
Khalife, a native of Lebanon, is a virtuoso on the oud, a lute-like stringed instrument. For this performance, backed by a 12-piece band, he’ll pay tribute to Pales-tinian poet Mahmoud Darwish, who once referred to Khalife as his “heart’s artistic twin,” as well as the Arab Spring his work foresaw, by setting some of his most memorable verse to music.
And Told in Song
May 12, 8 p.m.
First Church in Boston
66 Marlborough St., Boston
$18-$43, 617-427-8200
The Chameleon Arts Ensemble performs biographical works by Schumann, Sirota, Enescu, Weir, and Shostakovich, each of which tell the story of a different person purely through the medium of music. Our favorite is Shostako-vich’s, which tells of a man whose bagpipes are declared dangerous weapons!
