Soundadvice

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The Philadelphia Chamber Music Society opens another jam-packed season auspiciously, with the gold standard of American string quartet playing, the Emerson Quartet. Theirs is a style smart, slick and sensuous at once; quite a package. Two wonderful Dvorak quartets on tap, as well as the fascinating Ives Quartet No. 1.

—Peter Burwasser

Mon., Oct. 13, 8 p.m., $23, Kimmel Center, 300 S. Broad St., 215-569-8080, pcmsconcerts.org.

Jon Bergmann

The subdued indietronica of the Acher brothers — Markus and Michael — has been the perfect soundtrack to these dark last days of the Bush regime: snatches of sprightly hope buried beneath a bushel basket made of somber electronics and guitar. So what if they're from Germany? The Devil, You and Me (Domino), their long-awaited follow-up to 2002's Neon Golden, is a bit of a down-tempo downer, with themes of subtle defiance, tacit acceptance and wistful escapism. Chin up, guys.

—Brian Howard

Tue., Oct. 14, 8:30 p.m., $14, with Dosh, First Unitarian Church, 2125 Chestnut St., 866-468-7619, r5productions.com.

There's no mistaking Blink.'s Chicago pedigree; the roiling energy and beefy compositional style that brands the city's modern jazz groups is ever-present on "The Epidemic of Ideas," the quartet's debut. But alongside those qualities is a seemingly contradictory sparseness — the calm in the eye of a storm, perhaps, or delicate carvings on a monumental edifice. The Tim Berne influence is evident in the gradual accumulation of elements, overlaid with a sheen of Sonic Youth's hazy electronic textures.

—Shaun Brady

Thu., Oct. 9, 7 p.m., $5, with The Burrs and Special What?, Green Line Café, 4426 Locust St., myspace.com/greenlinecafeshows.

In the crazy, confusing blur of new music that was created in the last half of the 20th century, there will be losers and winners, as far as posterity is concerned. It is a good guess that the music of Krzysztof Penderecki, who is 75 this year, will be a survivor. A solid dose of his tough, beautifully crafted and emotionally accessible music is on the Philadelphia Orchestra schedule this fall, including this chamber music recital with six works.

—Peter Burwasser

Sun., Oct. 12, 3 p.m., $19.25-$29.25, Kimmel Center, 300 S. Broad St., 215-893-1999, philorch.org.

Before the manic Diplo mash-up and the Cosmo crunch there was copywriter-turned-turntablist Steve "Steinski" Stein melding, cutting, mushing and pasting oddball song combinations and fueling them with rapid-fire hip-hop breaks. That was 1983. James Brown never sounded more furious than through Steinski's slipped-disc mixes. Want proof of his genius? Buy the three-CD What Does It All Mean? 1983-2006 Retrospective and see him at Silk.

—A.D. Amorosi

Mon., Oct. 13, 9 p.m., $6, with King Britt and Dozia, Silk City, 435 Spring Garden St., 215-592-8838.