In many markets, the popularly priced “rush hour” concert—generally featuring just the centerpiece of a longer symphonic program—is a time-honored expedient for attracting segments of the audience short on time or money for a full-length program. But the Oslo Philharmonic seems to have refined the idea further. On December 4, a Thursday, Nathalie Stutzmann conducts a textbook overture-concert-symphony concert featuring Wagner’s Meistersinger Overture, the popular Grieg Piano Concerto with the eloquent soloist Nikolai Lugansky, and Tchaikovsky’s mighty Symphony No. 5. Too much? Okay, how about just the Tchaikovsky, one and done in an hour on Wednesday, December 3? Those two programs begin at seven P.M. But on Friday, December 5, there’s a third, early-bird option: Wagner plus Grieg (who was Norwegian, remember!) at six P.M. Curiously enough, when we checked advance sales, the full program was the most heavily booked of the three. Looks like the samplers might be doing their work. —Matthew Gurewitsch