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Black women are a classical force this spring

Not since the authentic-instrument movement decades ago has classical music experienced an invigoration like the current re-examination of the repertoire.

A portrait of Mary Lou Williams taken sometime between 1938 and 1948.
A portrait of Mary Lou Williams taken sometime between 1938 and 1948.Read moreWilliam P. Gottlieb / Library of Congress

It’s a pretty sure bet that not until now would it have been possible to string together a monthslong concert calendar of compositions by Black women. The stretch between March and the end of the season lands like an accidental mini-festival of discovery.

Race and gender are factors well worth considering. But sometimes lost in the dialogue about whose music is getting performed and why is the news of the art itself. Probably not since the authentic-instrument movement decades ago has classical music experienced an invigoration like the current reexamination of the repertoire.

The infusion of works by all underrepresented groups is already an artistic achievement on par with the reintroduction of gut strings, natural horns, and other revelations of the early music movement. Works of the past are being unearthed, filling in parts of the musical timeline you never knew existed. And a significant slice of the population’s incipient talent suddenly has license and opportunity to develop its voice and forge new aesthetics.

Sometimes the golden age is right in front of you. All you have to do is listen.

‘Who is Florence Price?’

(March 25, Verizon Hall) Students from New York’s Special Music School at Kaufman Music Center are at the core of this collaboration project with the Philadelphia Orchestra. The book they wrote about composer Florence Price comes to life in a Saturday-morning family concert with the orchestra led by conductor Lina Gonzalez-Granados. philorch.org, 215-893-1999

Mary Lou Williams: Zodiac Suite

(April 13, 14, and 16, Verizon Hall) The suite of 12 movements by the pianist, composer, and arranger integrates jazz and classical in a series of nods to musicians and the signs under which they were born — Aquarius for Eartha Kitt, and so on. It’s also a score of great drive and sophistication. Led by Cristian Măcelaru with the Aaron Diehl Trio, and paired with Strauss’ Also sprach Zarathustra. philorch.org, 215-893-1999

Julia Perry: Study for Orchestra

(April 15, Verizon Hall) Some pieces wear out their welcome with repeated listenings. And then there’s Perry’s Study for Orchestra (1952), a work I love more and more every time I hear it. Perry, born in Lexington, Ky., bears a mid-20th-century European aesthetic in the work (she studied with both Nadia Boulanger and Luigi Dallapiccola), but also a distinct American sensibility. She’s depicting something deeply troubling at the start of the short work, and, through brilliant orchestrations and angular melodies, takes the listener on a frightening nocturnal journey. Osmo Vänskä leads the Curtis Symphony Orchestra in a concert that includes Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 and the Robert Schumann Piano Concerto with Amy Yang. kimmelcenter.org, 215-893-1999

Marian’s Song: A Musical Opera Storytime

(April 16 at Settlement Music School in Queen Village and May 20 at the African American Museum in Philadelphia) Opera Philadelphia presents a reading by drag queen Cookie Diorio of When Marian Sang, the children’s book about contralto and civil rights hero Marian Anderson. The reading is embedded with performances of works of Florence Price and Margaret Bond by Diorio, soprano Megnot Toggia, and pianist Jinhyun Park. operaphila.org, 215-732-8400

Nokuthula Ngwenyama: Elegy

(May 12, Perelman Theater) In a co-commission by the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, the violist-composer unveils Elegy, a new piano quartet in response to the killing of George Floyd and other events of spring 2020. pcmsconcerts.org, 215-569-8080

Zenobia Powell Perry: The Hidden Words of Baha’u’llah

(May 17, Perelman Theater) In a program entitled “Castle of our Skins,” this friendly, atmospheric six-song cycle by Perry from 1977 is scored for the unusual combination of soprano, flute, and piano. The program by coloratura soprano Louise Toppin, flutist Brian Dunbar, violist Ashleigh Gordon, and pianist Kyle P. Walker includes the world premiere of Shine by Cleveland Orchestra composer fellow Allison Loggins-Hull. pcmsconcerts.org, 215-569-8080