Rachmaninoff, With Tusks

The Bach Society Orchestra makes its first appearance of the season this Saturday evening, as usual not playing anything by Bach. That's fine with me, because Bach Soc and student conductor Peter Lurye have assembled one of the best programs I've seen in a couple of years, one which will amply show off this group's talent and excitement.

The highlight is a performance of Schumann's Piano Concerto in A minor by expert pianist Roy Kogan. Finished in 1845 and premiered by the composer's wife (one of the best pianists of her day), this concerto is at once exciting and poignant. It is also a sample of Schumann's style of piano composition at its finest. Rounding out the concert are Respighi's "Ancient Airs and Dances" Suite No. 1 and Mozart's Symphony No. 38, "Prague." The concert is in Sanders Theatre at 8:30 p.m. and tickets are available at Holyoke Center Ticket Office or at the door. Call 495-2663 for more information.

One event which should not be missed--if only because the group is not in the area very often--is the Yale Russian Chorus concert this Saturday afternoon. Some of the most somber, powerful and beautiful music for voices was written in Russia, and live performances of such works are much harder to come by than the many records of Russian songs and choral music. Why Harvard's choral groups don't explore this literature occasionally is beyond me. In any event, the Yale Russian Chorus will be at Rabb Lecture Hall, Boston Public Library, Copley Square, at 3 p.m. The concert is free.

Rachmaninoff reputedly said of his Third Piano Concerto that he "wrote it for elephants." You may agree or disagree after hearing the Boston University Symphony Orchestra's performance Friday night at Symphony Hall, Boston. Joseph Silverstein conducts and Anthony di Bonaventura is at the keyboard for this work, which Rachmaninoff completed before his first American tour in 1909, and which Mahler conducted in New York. The concert, including other works, is at 8 p.m. Tickets are $2.50 and information can be had at 353-3345.

Also on the B.U. calendar, the Boston Symphony Orchestra Woodwind Quintet plays works by Michael Haydn, Poulenc, Beethoven and Francaix on Monday at 8 at B.U. School for the Arts, 855 Comm. Ave., but you might find a faculty recital of works for piano four-hands by Schubert, Hindemith, Mozart, Dvorak and Schumann even more intriguing. Warren Wilson and Shann Jacobsen-Wood will be the performers on Wednesday at 8, also at B.U. School for the Arts.

Cambridge Society for Early Music features "Unknown Bach" on Monday, as Joshua Rifkin conducts an oboe concerto, violin concerto and the first "modern" performance of Bach's reorchestration of Pergolesi's "Stabat Mater." Go to Sanders Theatre at 8:30 p.m. to find out whether or not there was a reason that these pieces remained unknown for so long. Dial 247-1465 or 723-7328 for more info.

Also in Cambridge, at the Longy School, 1 Follen St., three members of the Longy faculty will give a free recital on Monday at 8:30 p.m. of works for two violins and piano. The program includes compositions by Haydn and Mozart as well as a premiere of a piece by Babadjianian. Call 876-0956. On Tuesday, Longy offers a Recital of Twentieth Century Flute Music, including the work of Boulez, Klebe, Varese, Jolivet and Schumann. Andrea Mason and Michael DeWart perform at 8:30 p.m.; for further information on the free concert, call 646-0170.

Back at Harvard, the Thursday Noon Recital Series at the Busch-Reisinger Museum continues this afternoon. This is an excellent and accessible series of weekly concerts, usually for organ, in a very congenial atmosphere. Max Muller plays works for organ today at 12:15; information is at 495-2317. And on Sunday, Lowell House Music Society presents pianist John Nichols and flautist Cathy Hodgeman in works of Bach and Handel. That's at Lowell House JCR at 4:30 p.m.