Now that we've all felt more of a nip in the air, this weekend's program from the Concert Artists of Baltimore seems all the more fitting -- a musical taste of Scandinavia.

The most familiar item on the bill is Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg's Piano Concerto, with its famous opening outbursts from the keyboard and its alternately bracing, tender and craggy melodies. Mark Clinton will be the soloist.

To complement the concerto, conductor Edward Polochick has chosen infrequently encountered works by two other eminent composers from Scandinavia. Denmark's Carl Nielsen, whose symphonies, concertos and operas are among the most intriguing and colorful pieces in the repertoire, will be represented by his first successful composition, the lyrical Little Suite for Strings.

And from Finland, there will be the Symphony No. 3 by Jean Sibelius, who signaled a move toward a more concise style with this score, a style that would produce some of the 20th century's most gripping orchestral music.

The concert takes place at 8 p.m. Saturday at the new home base of the Concert Artists, the acoustically inviting Gordon Center for Performing Arts, 3506 Gwynnbrook Ave., Owings Mills. Tickets are $20 to $25; $18 to $23 for seniors; $8 for students; $5 for children ages 8 to 18. Call 410-625-3525.

-- Tim Smith