Ben Folds is playing dates with orchestras, and he’s scheduling performances that will feature him alone onstage with a piano. Those solo dates—like the one scheduled Aug. 7 at the Guild Theatre—showcase just one of the many dimensions of Folds’ artistry.

Ben Folds came to prominence as the pianist, singer and songwriter who introduced the “punk rock for sissies” (his self-effacing term) of Ben Folds Five to alt-rock audiences in the 1990s and beyond. Hits like “The Battle of Who Could Care Less,” “Song for the Dumped,” “Army” and the heart-rending real-life balladry of “Brick” earned his guitar-less band a legion of fans in an era dominated by grunge.

Folds’ subsequent work as a solo artist has elevated his status even further; he has since expanded into scoring for film and television,

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