Coming up in Philly music: International star Caterina Lichtenberg plays Vivaldi, Gaudioso, and more

Vivaldi produced some of his most exuberant music when he wrote concertos for plucked instruments. At the next Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia concert, the centerpiece will be a Vivaldi concerto for mandolin and orchestra with international mandolin star Caterina Lichtenberg as the soloist. Lichtenberg’s contributions will include the Vivaldi concerto, an interlude for unaccompanied mandolin, and a concerto by an 18th-century Nepalese mandolin composer, Domenico Gaudioso.

The rest of the program will feature Baroque works played without a conductor, as they were played in their own day.

This is the third concert in a season the Chamber Orchestra is devoting to Migrations. The previous programs covered Africa and Asia. While this concert may seem like an anomaly because Europe is the fountainhead of the Western classical tradition, it can be justified on the grounds that European classical music has migrated all over the globe and absorbed the influence of all the cultures that have welcomed it.

Caterina Lichtenberg is a prime example of its contemporary cosmopolitanism. She was born in Germany and educated at the University of Cologne, where she now holds a professorship in mandolin and lute. She’ll be playing Italian music, on an instrument unshakably associated with Italy. She performs all over the world and lives part time in Germany and California.

The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia will present “Europe: Bach, Vivaldi, and Corelli” on Sunday, February 24, at 2:30pm, and Monday, February 25, at 7:30pm, at the Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts (300 South Broad Street). Tickets are available at www.chamberorchestra.org and at the door.