With tickets for Italian maestro Riccardo Muti's concerts sold out, Russian conductor Andrey Boreyko's concert with Russian pianist and former International Tchaikovsky Competition gold medalist Boris Berezovsky is a good and by-no-means lesser alternative. In fact, it probably has the more interesting program. Most people will be there for the much-vaunted pyrotechnics of Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No. 3, but for those who have heard the concerto once too often, there are the lesser-known gems of Liadov's "Enchanted Lake," "Kikimora" and Scriabin's maniacally decadent "La Poeme de L'Extase." The orchestra is the Pacific Music Festival Orchestra, launched by the late, great Leonard Bernstein, bringing together young talent from around the world.

Also check out: Swiss conductor Philippe Jordan conducts Stravinsky's explosive "Rite of Spring," as well as a clarinet concerto by the festival's Austrian composer-in-residence Herbert Willi, called "ego emi."

The setting: Although the festival centers around Sapporo, where there will also be open-air performances, concerts will be held around the country, including in Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka.

When/where: Boreyko and Berezovsky perform July 28 at Sapporo Concert Hall, Kitara; July 31 at Aichi Prefectural Arts Theater Concert Hall, Nagoya; and Aug. 1 at Symphony Hall, Osaka. Jordan performs July 21 at Asahikawashimin Bunka Kaikan; and July 22 at Sapporo Art Park Outdoor Stage. For more information, visit www.pmf.or.jp/en/attend/pmf_concert/index.html

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