Charlottesville Chamber Music Festival at The Paramount Theater Sept. 8-13

The 25th annual Charlottesville Chamber Music Festival will include four concerts at The Paramount Theater on the Downtown Mall.

Three ticketed concerts will be held on Sunday, Sept. 8, at 3 p.m.; Monday, Sept. 9 at 7:30 p.m.; and Thursday, Sept. 12 at 7:30 p.m.

A free lunchtime concert will be held on Friday, Sept. 13, at 12:30 p.m.

Performances will explore three centuries of influence of one of the composers who launched the chamber music tradition, Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), reimagining his work, connecting it to a wide range of other works, and looking into the future.

Bach’s genius and inventiveness are a guiding spirit of this year’s festival. That theme of “invention” is especially on display in the first two concerts at The Paramount on Sept. 8-9.

Two classical music masterpieces for strings appear on Sept. 12th’s program: Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 3, an exhilarating conversation among violins, violas and cellos, with string bass and keyboard support; and Mendelssohn’s brilliant String Octet, a piece written by the precocious 16-year-old composer in 1825 that can stand alongside any mature work in the entire repertoire.

In Sept. 13th’s free concert, the festival’s musicians perform the “best parts” of Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 3, an exhilarating conversation among violins, violas and cellos; and Mendelssohn’s magical String Octet, a piece written by the precocious 16-year-old composer in 1825. Also on the program are several mesmerizing pieces by Renaissance and modern composers.

Tickets range from $6 to $30 each.

Tickets are available online at www.theparamount.net, or by phone at (434) 979-1333.

More information on the festival

Additional shows will be offered at Old Cabell Hall at UVA, Vault Virginia and King Family Vineyards.

More information on the festival is available at www.cvillechambermusic.org.