1. Caramoor Music Festival
Katonah, N.Y.
Diverse, excellent programming, from vivid works by (and starring) Paquito D’Rivera in the “Sonidos Latinos” series to Verdi’s Il Trovatore in the “Bel Canto at Caramoor” series. The gorgeous gardens they’re set in are a bonus.
2. Bard Music Festival of the Hamptons
Various locations, Long Island
Intimate Hamptons sites host above-average classical offerings; try the American Symphony Orchestra’s concert exploring the origins of Romanticism, in Wainscott, or the Daedalus String Quartet playing virtuosic chamber works at Old Whalers Church in Sag Harbor.
3. Bard SummerScape
Annandale-on-Hudson, N.Y.
The festival will explore Elgar’s music later in the summer. Right now, head for the Fisher Center’s very own Spiegeltent to hear transfixing avant-garde violinist Iva Bittová in a setting just as madcap as her music.