Performer: Sheryl Staples

In a subscription performance supposed to yield no surprises, Igor Levit makes his own mark in Shostakovich. 

Emanuel Ax joins members of the New York Philharmonic for an afternoon of chamber music at the 92nd Street Y. 

Absolute Jest sounds like perfect fare for an April Fool's Day concert. John Adams quotes Beethoven in many guises in his jolly work for string quartet and orchestra. 

The New York Philharmonic, under the baton of Jaap van Zweden, served an appetizing pairing: Mozart’s Sinfonia concertante was the hors d’oeuvre, and Shostakovich’s triumphant Symphony no. 8 was the entrée.