Culture FIX: Sept. 23-29

The equinox is past, the weather has finally cooled a bit, and we’re in that sweet spot with both fall festivals to savor outdoors and arts events to enjoy indoors. Toss in some wise guys, fruit loOps and klezmorim, and you have a fine week for Cincinnati arts & culture.

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Wednesday, Sept. 23

CCM Concert Orchestra, “Grace, Fire and Jupiter” | 7:30 p.m. Corbett Auditorium, College-Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati. 513-556-4183. DETAILS: Make mine Mozart, as they say in many of the finest establishments. CCM’s Concert Orchestra kicks off its season with a free all-Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart affair, with Music Director Aik Khai Pung (who also leads the CCM Chamber Orchestra, Seven Hills Sinfonietta and other ensembles) conducting the Symphony No. 32 in G Major and the great “Jupiter” Symphony No. 41 in C Major, with student soloist Joaquín Chávez, a Peruvian-born clarinetist who has performed on the young-musician showcase “From The Top,” featured in the beautiful Clarinet Concerto in A Major, the composer’s last completed instrumental work. The concerto’s slow movement, you may recall, figured prominently in the 1985 Meryl Streep/Robert Redford film “Out of Africa,” with Redford playing it on a wind-up gramophone out on safari.

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Miro Švolík: “Môj život človeka” (“My Life as a Man”) | 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Iris BookCafé and Gallery, 1331 Main St., Over-the-Rhine. 513-260-8434. DETAILS: The big, region-wide FotoFocus Biennial doesn’t officially start until October, but a couple of local galleries jump the gun with FF-themed exhibits opening today. Iris features a set of collage-like works by the noted Slovak photographer Miro Švolík, curated by William Messer (on view through Jan. 25). Meanwhile, Studio San Giuseppe Art Gallery at Mount St. Joseph University (10 a.m.-5 p.m.) has an exhibit titled “AfterImage: Portraiture as Memory,” through Oct. 28.

Thursday, Sept. 24

Talk Low Music Festival, Horse Lords/Fruit LoOops/Devils Cross Country | 7 p.m. Contemporary Arts Center, 44 E. 6th St., downtown. DETAILS: The four-day experimental music Talk Low Festival opens with performances by three cutting-edge bands – avant-garde rock quartet Horse Lords from Germany, and Cincinnati-based art-punkers Fruit LoOps (not a typo) and indie rock Devils Cross Country. Three festival events are at CAC, with two at Woodward Theater and one at Christ Church Cathedral.

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JBM Promotions, “Let Me Be Frank” | 8 p.m. Memorial Hall, 1225 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine. 513-977-8838. DETAILS: “Let Me Be Frank,” he said earnestly, is a concert tribute to Frank Sinatra by Jack Garrett and the Atomic Wise Guys (Frank woulda loved that name), a Cincinnati-based 11-piece band adept at various musical styles. For this evening, they’ll focus on classic Sinatra hits such as “Fly Me to the Moon,” “My Way,” “One for My Baby,” “Summer Wind” and, of course, “New York, New York.” Guest vocalist Teresa Carey adds hits from Sarah Vaughan, Aretha Franklin and others.

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Xavier Music Series, pianist Rachel Breen | 8 p.m. Gallagher Center Theater, Xavier University. 513-745-3161. DETAILS: Rachel Breen, winner of Belgium’s Queen Elisabeth Competition last year and a top finisher at several other contests, is noted for creating recital programs that combine wildly diverse works into a unified narrative. Her XU program is a spectacular example, juxtaposing works noted for returning from where they started – Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Goldberg Variations,” begun and ended with a simple Aria, and Ludwig van Beethoven’s Sonata No. 30 in E Major, the last movement of which returns to its opening theme. And Breen begins with a collage of short works by various composers framed by a short, recurring piece from Hungarian composer György Kurtág’s massive, 10-volume piano collection “Jatekok” (“Games”).

Friday, Sept. 25

CCM Philharmonia/Musical Theatre, “Brigadoon” In Concert | 8 p.m. Corbett Auditorium, College-Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati. 513-556-4183. DETAILS: CCM academic programs collaborate on a rare concert performance of Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe’s classic 1947 musical “Brigadoon,” about a football team that appears in the playoffs once every 100 years – oh wait, wrong libretto. “Brigadoon” actually tells the story of a mysterious Scottish village that appears for one day every 100 years, with memorable songs such as “The Heather on the Hill” and “Almost Like Being in Love.” Ian Axness conducts, with Eric Byrd as director and Brandon Kelly as choreographer. Also 8 p.m. Sept. 26, but CCM cautions that the UC Bearcats football game on campus at 7 p.m. that day (completely unrelated to “Brigadoon”) could make traffic heavier than normal, and advises concertgoers to reserve parking at CCM in advance.

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Cincinnati Pops, “JMR’s Orchestral Canvas” | 7:30 p.m. Music Hall, 1241 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine. 513-381-3300. DETAILS: What does music look like? Composer Alexander Scriabin thought he had an answer with his synesthetic notation and clavier à lumières (“keyboard of lights” or “color organ”), but the Pops’ John Morris Russell has another solution, pairing well-known pieces of orchestral music with great works of art – Claude Debussy’s “Clair de lune” with Vincent van Gogh’s “Starry Night,” George Gershwin’s “An American in Paris” with Saul Steinberg’s “Mural of Cincinnati” … you get the picture, so to speak. With visual magic by Lightborne Studios, this promises to be a colorful, enveloping experience. Also 7:30 p.m. Sept. 26 and 2 p.m. Sept. 27.

Saturday, Sept. 26

Pyramid Hill, Art Fair | 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park & Museum, 1763 Hamilton-Cleves Road, Hamilton. 513-868-8336. DETAILS: Pyramid Hill kicks off a weekend of area fall festivals with its annual Art Fair, featuring displays by an array of artists, art demonstrations, food trucks, live music and a Family Fun Zone. Also 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sept. 27.

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Clifton Cultural Arts Center, CliftonFest | noon-11 p.m., Clifton Gaslight District, Ludlow Avenue, Clifton. 513-497-2860. DETAILS: The Clifton neighborhood’s annual free street festival offers 20 local musical acts, more that 45 arts and crafts vendors, a couple dozen chalk artists on the streets and, of course, plenty of food and drink. It’s a true community celebration. Also taking place this day on Fountain Square downtown: The Cincinnati Moon Festival 2-7 p.m., celebrating Asian culture, food and performing arts.

Sunday, Sept. 27

Findlay Market, Fall Food Fest | 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Findlay Market, 1801 Race St, Over-the-Rhine. 513-665-4839. DETAILS: Continuing this weekend of festival, Findlay Market hosts its annual Fall Food Fest, a major tasting event with more than 30 local merchants, outdoor vendors and Findlay Kitchen members serving food inspired by the season. Also: live music and family-friendly activities. Attendance is free, but tickets (eight for $25, 18 for $45) are required for food tastings.

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Chamber Music Network, ChamberPalooza 2026 | Noon-4 p.m. Cincinnati Art Museum, Eden Park. 513-721-2787. DETAILS: This year’s whirlwind afternoon of chamber music at CAM features the world premiere of a piano quartet by conductor, composer and Cedarville University profesor Austin Jacquith, commissioned by the Chamber Music Network. The four-hour event features a bevy of local chamber musicians and groups such as Moyen Age, Cincinnati Flute Society, Heri et Hodie and the Queen City Klezmorim. As always, the event features an Instrumental Petting Zoo, where concertgoers can try playing various instruments.

Monday, Sept. 28

Jazz at the Park, Paul Hawthorne | 6-9 p.m. Washington Park, 1230 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine. DETAILS: Vibraphonist-vocalist Paul Hawthorne, who’s been a mainstay at area jazz venues and music series since the late 1970s, performs at the Sherwin-Williams Porch – with its array of beverage for sale – on Washington Park’s Monday-evening outdoor jazz series, which continues through Oct. 26.

Tuesday, Sept. 29

Chamber Music Cincinnati, Kronos Quartet | 7:30 p.m. Memorial Hall, 1225 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine. 513-342-6870. DETAILS: When I first heard the Kronos Quartet perform in the early 1980s in Aspen (see photo, below), it was viewed as a brash, upstart ensemble with unconventional ideas on what a string quartet should play. Decades later, it pretty much still is – and that’s a tribute to the musicians’ constant quest to explore and push musical boundaries. More than 1,200 musical works have been commissioned by or in behalf of the Kronos Quartet. Think about that. Founded in 1973 by San Francisco violinist David Harrington, the ensemble’s only remaining original member, Kronos now has a local connection: Cellist-composer Paul Wiancko and violist Ayane Kozasa lived in Cincinnati while Kozasa was on the CCM faculty. Boston-based violinist Gabriela Díaz is the quartet’s other member. Their program for CMC could include just about anything, so expect the unexpected.