The Glacier Symphony and Chorale is gearing up for Festival Amadeus, a classical concert series in its ninth season.

The week-long festival, held this year from Aug. 8-14, is centered in Whitefish, but also includes performances in Bigfork. Each night of the festival features guest artists performing in either a chamber or full orchestra show at the Whitefish Performing Arts Center. Three chamber concerts will be held concurrently in Bigfork.

The festival week also includes activities like open rehearsals with the guest artists and special educational events and receptions. Free festival educational events and receptions will be announced closer to the event.

Although Festival Amadeus is focused on the music of Mozart (hence the name), it also offers diverse repertoire performed by a lineup of highly acclaimed guest soloists. Highlights this year include concerti by Mozart and Schumann, symphonies by Haydn, Beethoven and Schubert and an overture by Mozart’s famous rival, Antonio Salieri.

Two of the featured guest artists this year are Belarus clarinetist Maksim Shtrykov and pianist Misuzu Tanaka. This will be the first appearance at Festival Amadeus (and in Montana) for both performers. Shtrykov said the duo is looking forward to the trip, and Tanaka agreed.

“I moved to America in 1999, in high school, and I was just crazy about horses,” Tanaka said. “And that’s still what I think about when I think Montana. So I look forward to seeing what’s there.”

The Shtrykov-Tanaka Duo has toured extensively throughout the United States. The musicians met in December 2012 and “felt a unique artistic connection resulting in an inspiring and creative friendship,” according to their website.

“We do a lot of traveling,” Tanaka said. “We prefer it that way.”

Both artists are graduates of The Juilliard School and have extensive international solo careers that have taken them to Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Germany’s Leipzig Gewandhaus and Japan’s Izumi Hall.

Clarinet and piano duos are somewhat rare on the modern concert stage, despite the immense repertoire. Tanaka said part of what audiences enjoy about the duo’s performances go beyond the instruments.

“Maksim and I talk extensively about the pieces we play [at concerts],” Tanaka said. “We want to make it accessible for everyone.”

“At this performance we are going little bit away from our traditional program,” Shtrykov added.

The pieces to be performed at Festival Amadeus for the Duo include Danzi’s “Sonata for Clarinet and Piano,” Romero’s “Primer Solo de Concierto,” Monasterio’s “Adios a la Alhambra,” Gustavino’s “Sonata for Clarinet and Piano” and Poulenc’s “Sonata for Clarinet and Piano.” Both artists said they were excited to learn and have the opportunity to perform works with a Spanish and Argentinian flavor.

Shtrykov said he was especially looking forward to performing Mozart’s “Clarinet Concerto in A Major” with the Festival Amadeus Orchestra.

“It’s a remarkable piece in many ways,” Shtrykov said. “For many clarinetists it is the holy grail to play.

“It also creates a great challenge, for me and the orchestra, too. But it’s great, I’m looking forward [to it].”

The Shtrykov-Tanaka Duo perform frequently at festival events, and both agreed that classical festivals are important.

“It is important to do it — How else is [the music] going to survive?” Shtrykov said. “I love festival life. It always has its own life and I look forward to it.

“It’s an informal way to become familiar with formal music.”

“We are all humans, and there’s something we can all relate to in all genres,” Tanaka said. “There’s a little bit of something for everyone. There is a universal aspect to this music.”

For more information about the Shtrykov-Tanaka Duo, visit http://misuzutanaka.com/duo.

Glacier Symphony and Chorale produces the Festival under the baton of conductor and music director, John Zoltek. All Whitefish concerts will be performed in the Whitefish Performing Arts Center, located at 600 Second St. E., Whitefish. The Bigfork concert series will be held at Pope John Paul II Catholic Church, located at 195 Coverdell Road, Bigfork. All concerts in both venues begin at 7:30 p.m. (See sidebar for detailed concert information.)

Three types of passes are available for purchase for the festival. A Full Pass includes one reserved seat for each of the concerts during the festival. These tickets are fully transferable, so people are free to purchase the package and share them with visitors or neighbors during the festival. The Pick-4 Pass allows audience members to select the four concerts they would like to attend during the week. These tickets are also fully transferable.

There is also a Bigfork Pass available for access to all three chamber concerts performed in Bigfork at a discounted price.

Single tickets are available for purchase in advance or at the door and are all reserved seating in Whitefish and general admission in Bigfork.

Ticket prices and availability vary.

For more information, pricing and availability, or to purchase tickets and pass packages, visit www.gscmusic.org or call 406-407-7000.

Entertainment editor Stefanie Thompson can be reached at 406-758-4439 or thisweek@dailyinterlake.com.