San Francisco Classical Voice

Arabian Nights and Russian Tales
Michael Morgan conducts a program that unites one Argentine composer with two Russians. Clarinetist Todd Palmer is soloist in the new orchestral arrangement of Osvaldo Golijov's Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind, a work influenced by Jewish tradition and klezmer music that can be tied to the meteoric rise of the composer. Also on the program: Rimsky-Korsakov's bright, melodic Scheherazade, which recreates the tales of The Arabian Nights told by the clever young Scheherazade to her husband (the sultan), and Shostakovich's Ballet Suite No. 1 for Orchestra. March 23, 8 p.m., Paramount Theater, Oakland, $25-$62, (510) 444-0801, www.oebs.org. (C.G.)

Osmo Vänskä Leads the Symphony
The Symphony's Web site bills this concert as "Emmanual Ax Plays Mozart," and while that great pianist is always a welcome soloist, conductor Osmo Vänskä is an equal draw. He has brought enormous energy and change to the Minnesota Symphony and is in the process of recording an exciting set of the Beethoven symphonies. His specialities include the music of Sibelius, whose Symphony No. 1 is on this program, as well as Kalevi Aho's Louhi and, of course, Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 23. March 29, 30, and 31, 8 p.m., Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco, $25-$114, (415) 864-6000, www.sfsymphony.org (L.H.)

Josquin Singers
The Josquin Singers perform a fascinating concert of Lenten music from the Eastern Orthodox tradition, featuring early Byzantine and Slavic chant and polyphony. March 22, 7:30 p.m., Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Ascension, Oakland, (510) 868-0695, free, www.bayareabach.org/. (M.B.)

American Bach Soloists
The American Bach Soloists have spent the last several years performing music increasingly far from its original terrain, which was the unbelievably rich and unfamiliar world of the several-score Bach cantatas that aren't routinely performed. I, for one, am thrilled to see director Jeffrey Thomas following up his January return to the Bach cantatas with a second all-cantata concert, revisiting three pieces of which the ensemble has made memorable recordings (BWV 12, 18, and 106), and adding another two that it has never performed before (BWV 132 and 196). March 23, 8 p.m., St. Stephen's Church, Belvedere; March 24, 8 p.m., First Congregational Church, Berkeley; March 25, 7 p.m., St. Mark's Lutheran Church, San Francisco; March 26, 8 p.m., Davis Community Church, Davis; $10-$42, (415) 621-7900, www.americanbach.org. (M.D.T.)

Pacific Mozart Ensemble
Pacific Mozart Ensemble welcomes spring with a concert that will include music by Richard Strauss, J.C.F. Bach, Ives, Kay, and Mendelssohn. Of special interest are Strauss's Deutsche Motette, for four soloists and 16-part chorus, and the premiere of Ken Malucelli's Fellow Traveler. March 24, 7:30 p.m., Green Room, Veterans Memorial Building, San Francisco; March 25, 5 p.m., St. Mark's Episcopal Church, Berkeley, $15-$25,(510) 848-8022, www.pacificmozart.org. (L.H.)

Pacific Collegium
Pacific Collegium provides music at Grace Cathedral for the Solemn Evensong for the Feast of the Annunciation. Monteverdi's Vespers will not be sung, as originally announced. Instead, other Renaissance choral works will be incorporated into the service, including the Magnificat and Nunc Dimitis from William Byrd's Great Service. March 25, 3 p.m., Grace Cathedral, San Francisco, free, (415) 749-6300, www.gracecathedral.org. (L.H.)

Trio Mediæval
The marvelous Norwegian a cappella trio is back with a typical program: part 13th-century music, part new music written for the ensemble, taking advantage of its incredible control and clarity. March 25, 7 p.m., Herbst Theatre, San Francisco, $27-$44, (415) 392-2545, www.performances.org. (M.D.T.)

Chora Nova
Paul Flight leads the new chamber chorus Chora Nova in a concert of Brahms' Neue Liebeslieder Waltzes, Bading's Chansons Bretonnes, and works by Elgar, Jenner, Rheinberger, Finzi, and Vaughn Williams. March 25, 7:30 p.m., First Congregational Church, Berkeley, $10-$15, www.choranova.org. (M.B.)

Creative Voices
These first-rate singers feature the choral works of Francis Poulenc, including the stirring La Figure Humaine. April 1, 4 p.m., Holy Cross Church, Santa Cruz; (415) 861-3680, www.creativevoices.org. (M.B.)

Alexandros Kapelis: Greek Myth and the Piano
Alexandros Kapelis makes his Bay Area debut with a piano recital inspired by Greece and Greek mythology. Clementi's Sonata in G Minor, Didone Abbandonata, starts off the program, followed by rarely performed gems that range from Baroque to contemporary by Kalomiris, Debussy, Rameau, and Kostantinidis. Rachmaninov's monstrous Études-Tableaux, Op. 33 (complete), which is not for the faint of heart, rounds out the recital. March 20, 8 p.m., Herbst Theatre, San Francisco, $35-$100, (415) 392-4400, www.cityboxoffice.com. (C.G.)

Martin Fröst and Roland Pöntinen
Swedish clarinetist Martin Fröst and pianist Roland Pöntinen perform two works by Schumann including his Fantasiestücke Op. 73, Ravel's Oiseaux tristes from Miroirs, as well as works by Messiaen and Hillborg. A special highlight will be a new piece for clarinet composed by Fröst. March 22, 8 p.m., Herbst Theatre, San Francisco, $27-$39, (415) 398-6449, www.performances.org. (C.G.)

Laquita Mitchell
San Francisco Opera Center continues the 24th season of the Schwabacher Debut Recital Series with soprano Laquita Mitchell, a Merola alumna. She is accompanied by Jeremy Frank, also a Merola alumnus, in a program of John Carter's Cantata, an arrangement of four spirituals, as well as works by Carlisle Floyd, Joseph Marx, Ned Rorem, and Joaquin Turina. March 25, 5:30 p.m., Temple Emanu-El, San Francisco, $10-$20, (415) 864-3330, www.sfopera.com. (C.G.)

Richard Goode
Pianist Richard Goode, a student of Rudolf Serkin who fosters the great Austrian traditions of classicism without making a fad of it, plays a wide repertory — Bach, Mozart, Brahms, and Chopin. I’ve not heard him as anything other than Mr. Reliable. March 26, 8 p.m., Davies Hall, San Francisco, $19-$65, (415) 392-2545, www.performances.org. (H.T.)

Péter Tóth
The young Hungarian pianist Péter Tóth, already well-received in Europe and Korea, is making his debut here at the Liszt Festival, cosponsored by the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and the Bay Area chapter of the American Liszt Society. Tóth, who won a coveted International Grand Prix du Disque Award from the Franz Liszt Society last year, will give a recital of music by Liszt and Schubert at Old First. On the program: Funérailles, Waldesrauchen, Sinistre-Unstern!, Nauges gris, Csárdás macabre, Fantasy and Fugue on B-A-C-H by Liszt, and Sonata in B-flat, D. 960 by Schubert. March 30, 8 p.m., Old First Church, San Francisco, $15, (415) 474-1608, www.oldfirstconcerts.org. (C.G.)

Basically British X: Across the English Channel
Tony Award winning baritone Eugen Brancoveanu, tenor Elza van den Heever, and tenor Matthew O'Neill (from the Minneapolis Opera) join one of the Bay Area's best, John Parr, on piano. The concert, titled "Across the English Channel," is the 10th in Old First's Basically British series. The songs performed are by Britain’s three definitive 20th-century composers — Britten, Finzi, and Vaughan Williams — as well as selections by Vaughan Williams' teacher, Ravel. March 31, 8 p.m., Old First Church, San Francisco, $15, (415) 474-1608, www.oldfirstconcerts.org. (C.G.)

Measha Brueggergosman in Recital
Measha Brueggergosman has made two sensational appearances at the San Francisco Symphony, overwhelming audiences with her gorgeous voice and striking looks. She soared in Mahler's Fourth Symphony and Janácek's Glagolitic Mass; the charm and intimacy she brought to Schoenberg's early cabaret songs suggest that she'll be a terrific recitalist. The Cal Performances Web site doesn't list the program for this concert yet, but it hints at an enticing blend of the familiar and unfamiliar. April 1, 3 p.m., Hertz Hall, UC Berkeley, $42, (510) 642-9988, www.calperfs.berkeley.edu. (L.H.)

Jewish Music Festival
The 22nd Jewish Music Festival brings performers from around the world to the Bay Area for concerts in the widest possible array of styles: A poetry slam and Jewish music of the Italian Renaissance (see review), music from the Terezin concentration camp and Argentinian klezmer, disapora blues, and contemporary Israeli music on the mandolin. The 12 programs all look great, but are too diverse to describe in full. The festival runs at eight venues on both sides of the Bay. Through March 25; times, locations, and prices vary; (510) 848-0237, www.jewishmusicfestival.org (L.H.)

Paul Taylor Dance Company Family Matinee
The great choreographer Paul Taylor uses a wonderful variety of music for his works. The company's San Francisco Performances-produced annual tour here, March 27-April 1, will include a shorter, less expensive family matinee, the perfect opportunity to introduce the best of contemporary dance to children, even of a very young age. March 31, 2 p.m., Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, $8-$15, (415) 392-2545, www.performances.org. (J.G.)

Takács Quartet
The Takács continues its Beethoven series here, and I can only reiterate what I and my colleague David Bratman said about the previous two installments. Go, if you possibly can. You're not likely to hear better quartet playing this year, anywhere. March 25, 3 p.m. (sold-out), Hertz Hall, UC Berkeley, $42, (510) 642-9988, www.calperfs.berkeley.edu. (M.D.T.)

Early Romantics Fesitval
In the third concert of the Early Romantics Festival, Mack McCray (on piano) and the Santa Rosa Symphony Chamber Players perform two works by Schumann — his String Quartet No. 2 and Piano Quartet in E-flat Major — as well as solo piano works by Chopin and Liszt. March 31, 5:30 p.m., Sonoma Country Day School, Santa Rosa, $15, (415) 474-1608, Early Romantics Fesitval. (C.G.)

Jupiter String Quartet
The Jupiter String Quartet, a young group whose mastery exceeds expectations, plays with such unity that the sound it produces is often described as seeming like one big string instrument. The Quartet — Nelson Lee, violin; Meg Freivogel, violin; Lis Freivogel, viola; Daniel McDonough, cello — also plays with individual aplomb. Jupiter was recently appointed to the Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society Two program. The afternoon performance includes Beethoven’s Grosse Fugue, Britten’s lyrical Quartet No. 1, and Haydn’s Quartet in D Major. April 1, 2:30 p.m., Dinkelspiel Auditorium, Stanford University, Palo Alto, $17-$34, (650) 725-2787, www.livelyarts.stanford.edu. (C.G.)

Areon Winners
The Areon Flutes present the winners of the 2007 Areon International Chamber Music Competition. The Areon flutes will also join these young musicians, the future of chamber music in America, to perform the winning works of the group's composition contest. April 1, 2 p.m., Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, Mountain View, $10-$15, (650) 903-6000, Areon Winners. (C.G.)

Left Coast Chamber Ensemble
The Left Coast Chamber Ensemble calls its March concerts "Winds of Change." The only old music on the program is Mozart's K. 452 Quintet for Piano and Woodwinds. The balance is world and U.S. premieres of new works by young composers (none older than 34) featuring woodwinds. Eliana Fiore's Room of Courage, Mei Fan Lin's Project Remix, Aaron Einbond's Allusions, and Paolo Boggio's OskarCircus. March 22, 8 p.m., Throckmorton Theatre, Mill Valley; March 26, 8 p.m., Green Room, Veterans Memorial Building, San Francisco, $15-$20, (415) 642-8054, www.craigslist.org. (L.H.)

Duo46 and Avi Avital
The marvels of the Jewish Music Festival continue with a program featuring Duo46 (guitar and violin) playing selections from Jorge Liderman's Aires de Sefarad (Sephardic Airs). Prize-winning Israeli mandolinist Avi Avital takes the other half of the double bill. March 22, 8 p.m., Congregation Beth El, Berkeley, $20-$25, (510) 848-0237, www.jewishmusicfestival.org. (L.H.)

New Century Chamber Orchestra
Each of New Century Chamber Orchestra's concerts this season has a different guest concertmaster following the departure of longtime leader Krista Bennion Feeney. Tchaikovky Competition winner Stephanie Chase is at the helm for the current concert, which will include the premiere of Jorge Liderman's Rolling Strings, Bruch's Serenade on Swedish Melodies, and Hindemith's The Four Temperaments, with William Wolfram on piano. March 22, 8 p.m., St. John's Presbyterian Church, Berkeley; March 23, 8 p.m., St. Mark's Episcopal Church, Palo Alto; March 24, 8 p.m., Florence Gould Theater, San Francisco; March 25, 5, p.m., Osher Marin Jewish Community Center, San Rafael, $29.50-$43.50, (415) 357-1111, www.ncco.org. (L.H.)

Robin Cox Ensemble and Pamela Z
Los Angeles's Robin Cox Ensemble (violin, clarinet, percussion, cello, and audio engineer) visits the Bay Area for a pair of concerts with Pamela Z. They'll perform Pamela Z's improvisational Six Degrees of Non-Sequiturization, written for the Robin Cox Ensemble, and works by Todd Reynolds, Robin Cox, Bill Morrison, Ryan Brown, and Belinda Reynolds. March 23, 24, 8 p.m. The Royce Gallery, San Francisco, $10, (415) 861-3257, www.pamelaz.com. (L.H.)

Berkeley Contemporary Chamber Players/Berkeley New Music Project
The Berkeley Contemporary Chamber Players present new electronic and acoustic music composed by members of the Berkeley New Music Project, all of whom are composition students at UC Berkeley. David Milnes directs a concert of composers such as Loretta Notareschi, Aaron Einbond, Gael Tissot, Robert Yamasato, Jason Levis, David Coll, Heather Frasch, and John MacCallum. April 2, 8 p.m., Hertz Hall, UC Berkeley, $12, (510) 642-9988, www.events.berkeley.edu. (L.H.)