PORTLAND – The Portland Symphony Orchestra will open its Tuesday classical series with the music of Wagner, Mozart and Rimsky-Korsakov at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 19, in Merrill Auditorium.

Before the concert, Music Director Toshiyuki Shimada, who is conducting his final full season with the PSO, will lead a free concert conversation at 6:15 p.m.

Conductor and pianist Ignat Solzhenitsyn will play Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 25.

Solzhenitsyn is the recently appointed music director of the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia where he has served as principal conductor for the last six years.

In recent seasons, his extensive touring schedule in the United States and Europe has included concerto performances with major orchestras, including those in Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Seattle, Washington, London, Paris, Naples, St. Petersburg, Israel, and Sydney.

He has collaborated with conductors such as André Previn, Herbert Blomstedt, Yuri Temirkanov, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Mstislav Rostropovich, Gerard Schwarz, Charles Dutoit, James DePreist, Krzysztof Penderecki, David Zinman, Jerzy Semkov, James Conlon, Lawrence Foster and Maxim Shostakovich.

He has also given numerous recitals in Europe and the Far East in such major musical centers as London, Milan, Zurich, Moscow, Tokyo and Sydney.

Tuesday’s program consists of the overture to Wagner’s “The Flying Dutchman,” Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 25 and Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Scheherazade.” The Tuesday classical series will continue Nov. 9 with an organ symphony.

The Portland Symphony Pops performs Gershwin’s greatest hits Oct. 23 and 24; the Sunday classical series opens Sunday, Oct. 31, with a Halloween-inspired program.

Tickets can be purchased through PortTix, 842-0800, or at the PortTix box office at 20 Myrtle St., between noon and 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

Tickets range in price from $15 to $53 for adults, with some discounts available for students, seniors, children and groups.

The orchestra has introduced a new “create-your-own subscription,” allowing ticket purchasers to select the concerts they want to attend.

For more information, people may call 773-6128; or go online to www. portlandsymphony.com.