It can come on brash and it can come on sensuous. In the orchestra, it steps forward in “Peter and the Wolf” and “Rhapsody in Blue”; in opera it’s a-near protagonist in “The Magic Flute,” “La Traviata” and “The Barber of Seville” as composers delineate atmosphere and character motifs. It can sing and it can swing. We are referring of course to the clarinet, which stars in a program that features Bartók’s “Contrasts,” written for clarinet legend Benny Goodman and violinist Joseph Szigeti (with Bartók himself playing the piano at the world premiere!); Beethoven’s Trio in B-flat major, opus 11; Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet, and some down-home Gershwin. The program abounds in Hungarian country fiddling and dance melodies, rich folk fare and jazz, as well as clarinet and violin pyrotechnics. The remarkable clarinetist Alexander Fiterstein will leave us all breathless! He is joined by pianist Michael Chertock, violinist Xiao-Dong Wang and cellist and artistic director Yehuda Hanani.

Tickets on sale in early September.