Arcadia Players’ opening concert of the season is called “The Rivals: Harpsichord and Pianoforte” for good reason. A “rivalry” between the two instruments — one old, one new — actually arose at the end of the 18th century when they competed in popularity as household-instrument-of-choice among the affluent, with composers such as Mozart and Beethoven composing for both. By the early 19th century, however, the pianoforte had won out with a victory so complete that vast numbers of harpsichords were destroyed across Europe, many to be used as firewood.
For Saturday’s concert at Wesley United Methodist Church in Hadley, harpsichordist Ian Watson will join violinist Asako Takeuchi and flutist Sarah Paysnick for a performance of Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 5, which the composer apparently wrote to celebrate a new harpsichord brought from Berlin. The Arcadia Players will then perform a string-quartet version of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 14, with soloist Monica Jakuc Leverett (pictured) playing an instrument modeled on an 1803 fortepiano. The concert will conclude with a reconciliation between the two rivals in the form of a performance of Carl Philip Emanuel Bach’s Double Concerto in E-flat for harpsichord and fortepiano.
7:30 p.m. Advance tickets: $37.50 general; $10 students. At the door: $40/$10. Wesley Methodist Church is at 98 North Maple St. in Hadley. 586-8742, arcadiaplayers.org