California Symphony: Rhythm and Rapture
California Symphony's 20th anniversary concert (see review) matches Beethoven's Seventh Symphony with a pair of American works. Leonard Bernstein's Age of Anxiety, a symphony for piano and orchestra after Auden's poem of the same name, features pianist Norman Krieger. Conductor Barry Jekowsky appears as the percussion soloist in Michael Torke's Rapture, a concerto for percussion. (Oddly, only one movement is being performed.) Jan. 30, 7:30 p.m.; Dean Lesher Regional Center for the Arts, Walnut Creek, (925) 943-SHOW, www.californiasymphony.org. (L.H.)

Marin Symphony
In its third concert set of the year, the Marin Symphony highlights Mozart, Rachmaninoff, and a world premiere by Peteris Vasks, a Latvian composer who uses sounds to "express the spirit." The Magnum Opus comissioned Sala (Symphonic Elegy for Orchestra) is joined by Mozart's Symphony No. 35, which the composer himself called "Haffner" after the man who comissioned it. The final work on the program, Rachmaninoff's monumentally difficult Piano Concerto No. 3, will be tackled by guest pianist Orion Weiss. Jan. 30, 7:30 p.m., Veterans Memorial Auditorium, San Rafael, $27-$65 (415) 479-8100, www.marinsymphony.org. (C.G.)

San Francisco Chamber Orchestra
San Francisco Chamber Orchestra, our local, free classical music institution, presents a zesty concert of Vivaldi and Piazzola. The pairing might not seem obvious, but Piazzolla's Four Seasons of Buenos Aires, featuring bandoneon player Coco Trivisonno, is likely to make a swooning and romantic contrast with Vivaldi's famous violin concertos. Feb. 1, 5:30 p.m., Old St. Mary's Cathedral, San Francisco; Feb. 2, 8 p.m., Herbst Theatre, San Francisco; Feb. 3, 8 p.m., St. Mark's Episcopal Church, Palo Alto; Feb. 4, 3 p.m., First Congregational Church, Berkeley; (415) 248-1640, www.sfchamberorchestra.org (L.H.)

Challenge for Brahms Fans
What could have been the umpteenth all-Brahms concert will instead be tempered with the world premiere of Robin Holloway’s Fourth Concerto for Orchestra. The British composer, professor of music history, and self-declared polystylist with a French predilection for captivating sounds will be fulfilling his third San Francisco Symphony commission. The third B’s Violin Concerto will round out the program. Christian Tetzlaff is soloist; MTT conducts. Feb. 1, 2, and 3, 8 p.m, Davies Hall, San Francisco, $25-$114, (415) 864-6000, www.sfsymphony.org. (J.D.)

Redwood Symphony
Among the nonprofessional orchestras in the South Bay, the Redwood Symphony often has the most interesting programming. It's bringing together two surprisingly well-matched symphonies written in 1945 by two Russians located on opposite sides of the Atlantic: Shostakovich’s Ninth Symphony and Stravinsky’s Symphony in Three Movements, along with songs by another composer very much of the spirit of the time, Kurt Weill. Feb. 4, 3 p.m., Notre Dame de Namur University Theatre, Belmont, $10-$20, (650) 366-6872, www.redwoodsymphony.org. (D.B.)

French Feast for the Ears
Lovers of orchestration should be delighted with this all-French concert, which includes Debussy’s Nocturnes and Dukas’ forever Fantasia-wedded L'apprenti sorcier. I’m looking forward even more, however, to mezzo Susan Graham’s interpretation of Berlioz's Les Nuits d'été. Best of all is the first San Francisco Symphony performance of any work by one of the best of all orchestrators, Charles Koechlin (1867-1950). His “Monkey Scherzo” (Les Bandar-log) makes fun of twelve-tone-ism and Bachian counterpoint while suffusing its sound world with exquisite evocations of the jungle. MTT conducts. Feb. 7, 8, and 10, 8 p.m., Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco, $25-$114, (415) 864-6000, www.sfsymphony.org (J.D.)

The American Piano
Author and music historian Joseph Horowitz has devised a performance and lecture series at Stanford that spans the life of the American piano repertoire and is sure to spark some discussions. “Classical music in the United States has focused disproportionately on European masterworks, to the neglect of native repertoire,” says Horowitz in the statement accompanying the program. “And no native repertoire has been more unfairly neglected than the concert keyboard literature Americans have produced in quantity for a century and a half. It is a neutral and democratic instrument, amenable to Joplin as to Beethoven, as comfortable in the nightclub as in the concert hall.” "The Piano in the 21st Century," Feb. 1, 4 p.m., Campbell Recital Hall, Stanford University, free; "Where Does Creativity Lie?" Feb. 2, 2:15 p.m., Dinkelspiel Auditorium, free; "The Black Virtuoso Tradition" with Steven Mayer and "American Mavericks" with Anthony de Mare, Feb. 3, 8 p.m., with a keynote by Horowitz titled "The History of the American Piano" starting at 6:45 p.m., Dinkelspiel Auditorium, Stanford University, $18-$40; (650) 725-2787 or (650) 723-1762, www.livelyarts.stanford.edu. (M.B.)

Beethoven in the Morning
"You have to get up early in the morning" to hear the Alexander String Quartet's complete cycle of Beethoven quartets, but you're certain to be well rewarded for the effort. These Saturday morning events also include Robert Greenberg's entertaining and insightful comments, as the music is introduced and sampled before the performances. Feb. 3, March 3, April 14, and May 5, 10 a.m., Herbst Theatre, San Francisco, $22-$34, (415) 398-6449, www.performances.org. (J.G.)

Beethoven in the Evening
After a promising start in December (see review), the Left Coast Chamber Ensemble extends its "Beethoven and His Legacy" series to a third concert in Berkeley. A quartet from the Ensemble plays Beethoven's Op. 131, and compares and contrasts it with new works by Yu-Hui Chang, Sam Nichols, and Bill Beck. Feb. 6, 8 p.m., Berkeley City Club, Berkeley, $20, (510) 525-5211, www.berkeleychamberperform.org. (M.B.)

Emerson String Quartet
Be prepared to hold your breath for a long but enthralling evening. The Emerson Quartet is playing all three of Beethoven’s Rasumovsky Quartets in one concert. Normally, just one of those is the major work on any concert. If there are performers who can bring precise eloquence to all three in one swoop, these are the ones. Follow up that concert with a different all-Beethoven program in Mill Valley the following evening. Feb. 10, 8 p.m., Dinkelspiel Auditorium, Stanford, $23-$50, (650) 725-2787; Feb. 11, 5 p.m., Mt. Tamalpais Methodist Church, Mill Valley, $20, (415) 381-4453, www.livelyarts.stanford.edu, www.chambermusicmillvalley.org. (D.B.)

martha & monica
Martha & monica present a diverse program of Russian composers that paints a picture of the post-Prokofiev and Shostakovich generation. There's medieval chant, Baroque and Classical forms, as well as jazz in the music from five composers who lived under the repressive former Soviet regime: Alfred Schnittke, Galina Ustvolskaya, Sofia Gubaidulina, Edison Denisov, and Arvo Pärt. Feb. 10, 8 p.m., Trinity Chapel, Berkeley, $8-$12, (510) 549-3864, www.trinitychamberconcerts.com. (J.G.)

The Merry Widow
Continuing its tradition of upholding light opera and music theater, the Lamplighters perform Franz Lehár's romantic The Merry Widow. With a rotating cast and performances at three Bay Area venues, everyone has a chance to catch the opera named after a corset that Lana Turner, who starred in the original film of the same name, famously noted: "I am telling you, The Merry Widow was designed by a man. A woman would never do that to another woman." Feb. 1-4, times vary, Dean Lesher Center for the Arts, Walnut Creek, $41-$64, (925) 943-7469; Feb. 10, 8 p.m., Feb. 11, 2 p.m., Napa Valley Opera House, $35-$40, (707) 226-7372, www.lamplighters.org. (C.G.)

Martha at the Pocket Opera
Continuing in its tradtion of adventurous programming, the Pocket Opera, now in its 30th season, will perform Friedrich von Flotow's Martha. Pocket Opera has made an impact far beyond its size by introducing a long line of young singers and musicians (of the Pocket Philharmonic) to Bay Area audiences. Floto's Martha, which tells the story of a woman whose money brings her melancholy and her adventures into servitude bring her smiles, will be perfomed at several Bay Area locations. Feb. 4, 9, 11, 24, times vary, Florence Gould Theater, San Francisco; Feb. 18, 2 p.m., Napa Valley Opera House, (707) 226-7372; March 11, 2 p.m., Osher-Marin Jewish Community Center, (415) 444-8000, $18-$35, www.pocketopera.org. (C.G.)

La traviata at Opera San José
Verdi's La traviata comes to Opera San José for eight performances over two weeks. In terms of singing and acting, Verdi asks a lot of the principal character Violetta, who will be played first by Talise Trevigne and later by Rochelle Bard. In addition to a powerful libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, La traviata, based on Dumas' La Dame aux Camélias, includes some of the most unforgettable music in all of opera. Feb. 10-25, times vary, California Theatre, San Jose, $65-$85, (408) 437-4450, www.operasj.org. (C.G.)

Magnificat: Stradella's La Susanna
Warren Stewart's imaginative programming brings Alessandro Stradella's oratorio La Susanna to the Bay Area. The group's last venture into Stradella won raves in this publication. Laura Heimes, Paul Elliott, and Peter Becker take the vocal parts. Feb. 2, 8 p.m., First Lutheran Church, Palo Alto; Feb. 3, 8 p.m., St. Mark's Episcopal Church, Berkeley; Feb. 4, 4 p.m., St. Gregory of Nyssa, San Francisco; $12-25, (415) 979-4500, www.magnificatbaroque.org (L.H.)

Philharmonia Baroque
Philharmonia's February set, with Weber's Second Symphony and Haydn's "London," is a sure winner. Is there something else on the program? Why, yes, there is. Viktoria Mullova, in her recent "period" guise, is playing the Beethoven Violin Concerto, and that will indeed be something to hear. But it's the Haydn, and in particular the rarely heard but marvelous Weber, that make this a must-not-miss. Feb. 8, 8 p.m., Herbst Theatre, San Francisco; Feb. 9, 8 p.m., First United Methodist Church, Palo Alto; Feb. 10, 8 p.m., and Feb. 11, 7:30 p.m., First Congregational Church, Berkeley; $29-$67, (415) 252-1288, www.philharmonia.org. (M.D.T.)

Jack Van Geem in Recital
Jack Van Geem, the sensational principal percussionist of the San Francisco Symphony, is also on the faculty of the Conservatory of Music. He gets to strut his stuff in a solo recital that includes works by Piazzolla, Ginastera, and Vinao. Feb. 4, 2 p.m., Conservatory of Music, San Francisco, $10-$15, (415) 864-7326, www.sfcm.edu (L.H.)

Dawn Upshaw
Three-time Grammy winner Dawn Upshaw returns to Berkeley. The soprano, equally at home with the music of Mozart and Gershwin, will sing a whopper of a program with works by 12 different composers. Some highlights: Osvaldo Golijov's Lúa descolorida, three works by Stephen Foster that open the concert, several by Musgorsky, and a few from William Bolcom's Cabaret Songs. She is joined by Molly Morkoski on piano. Feb. 11, 3 p.m., Hertz Hall, UC Berkeley, $34-$68, (510) 642-9988, www.calperfs.berkeley.edy. (C.G.)

Temirzhan Yerzhanov
Temirzhan Yerzhanov, who now lives in the area, has won a number of competition gold medals — not the least of which was at the International Schumann Competition in the composer’s home city of Zwickau. This concert ranges from evocations of a rustic Russian idyll in Tchaikovsky's Dumka to Balakirev's Islamey, Oriental Fantasy, a dazzling piano showcase. Feb. 2, 8 p.m., Old First Church, San Francisco, $12-$15, (415) 474-1608, www.oldfirstconcerts.org. (C.G.)

Gwendolyn Mok and Joseph Frank
The centerpiece of this program is Maurice Ravel, whose compositions will be performed by one of the world’s most distinguished interpreters of his piano music: Gwendolyn Mok. Two special guests join her. There's a special guest to Old First Concerts — an 1875 Erard piano, like the one owned by Ravel himself, and tenor Joseph Frank, who will accompany Mok in a program that includes Ravel's Le tombeau de Couperin and Miroirs for Solo Piano, Poulenc's Tel jour, telle nuit for Voice and Piano, as well as selected songs by Duparc. Feb. 10, 8 p.m., Old First Church, San Francisco, $12-$15, (415) 474-1608, www.oldfirstconcerts.org. (C.G.)