New Century Chamber Orchestra
New Century Chamber Orchestra visits three centuries in this concert. From the 18th century comes Telemann's Ouverture des Nations Anciens et Moderns. From the 19th there's Mahler's arrangement for string orchestra of Schubert's great string quartet "Death and the Maiden." From the modern era, Adler Fellow Melody Moore sings Benjamin Britten's song cycle Les Illumninations, which sets poetry by Rimbaud. Jan. 25, 8 p.m., St. John's Presbyterian Church, Berkeley; Jan. 26, 8 p.m., First United Methodist Church, Palo Alto; Jan. 27, 8 p.m., Palace of the Legion of Honor, San Francisco; Jan. 28, 5 p.m. Osher Marin Jewish Community Center, San Rafael; $32.50-$46.50, (415) 357-1111, www.ncco.org (L.H.)

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." Jan. 26, 27, 28, times vary, Yerba Buena Center, San Francisco, $11-$44, (415) 978-2787; 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.)

Early Romantics Festival
In the first concert in a series of four, festival host and featured pianist Mack McCray begins the Santa Rosa Symphony Chamber Players foray into early Romantic music. The concert, dedicated to Franz SchubertÆs music, explores the sound language of narrative verse and song. The composer's most popular chamber piece, Die Forelle "Trout," is joined by Shepherd on the Rock and Notturno. Jan. 27, 5:30 p.m., Sonoma Country Day School, Santa Rosa, $23-$31 (707) 546-8742, www.santarosasymphony.com. (C.G.)

Symphonica Toscanini
Jan. 16 marked the 50th anniversary of the death of Toscanini. Now Loren Maazel, who at age 11 guest-conducted the maestro's NBC Symphony Orchestra, leads the Rome-based band in Rossini's Overture to Il barbiere di Siviglia; Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 4 in A Major, Op. 90, "Italian;" Respighi's Fontane di Roma and Pini di Roma. Under Maazel's baton since 2004, the orchestra, drawn from 200 young European freelancers, has been touring the States. Maazel, of course, went from prodigy to pro; when not Toscanini-ing, he's artistic director of the New York Philharmonic. Jan. 28, 3 p.m., Zellerbach Hall, Berkeley, $34-$76, (510) 642-9988, www.calperfs.berkeley.edu. (J.B.)

California Symphony: Rhythm and Rapture
California Symphony's 20th anniversary concert 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. 28, 4 p.m.; Jan. 30, 7:30 p.m.; Dean Lesher Regional Center for the Arts, Walnut Creek, (925) 943-SHOW, www.californiasymphony.org. (L.H.)

Noe Valley Chamber Music
An eclectic program unites four Bay Area musicians: Emil Milland, cello; Sarah Cahill, piano; Carey Bell, clarinet; and Paul Ehrlich, viola. The program includes the West Coast premiere of David Carlson's Quantum Quartet, as well as Lou Harrison's Suite for Cello and Piano, Milhaud's Elegie, a new work by Clare Twohy, and Britten's Sonata in C. Jan. 28, 4 p.m., Noe Valley Ministry, San Francisco, $15-$18, (415) 648-5236, www.nvcm.org. (C.G.)

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.)

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.)

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.)

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.)

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.)

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. Feb. 10, 8 p.m., Dinkelspiel Auditorium, Stanford, $23-$50, (650) 725-2787, www.livelyarts.stanford.edu. (D.B.)

Sounds New
All-new works will be performed by the Sounds New Ensemble, known for its deft ability to interpret contemporary compositions with subtlety and understanding. The group — Brooke Aird, violin; Catherine Allen, cello; Elinor Armer, piano; Herb Bielawa, piano; Anna Carol Dudley, soprano; Richard Mathias, clarinet; Deborah Schmidt, flute — is dedicated to discovering and performing new music by American composers. The program will feature everything from solos to quintets, including two world premieres: the hilariously named Sloppy Floppy Copy by Herb Bielawa and Dancing at the Pink House by Howard Hersh. Feb. 16, 8 p.m., Old First Church, San Francisco, $12-$15, (415) 474-1608, www.oldfirstconcerts.org. (C.G.)

Young Caesar
San Francisco Conservatory of Music BluePrint series Artistic Director Nicole Paiement and the Ensemble Parallèle stage the world premiere of Lou Harrison’s puppet opera Young Caesar, about Julius Caesar's love affair with King Nicomedes of Bithynia, timed for what would have been the 90th birthday of the composer. Feb. 16-17, 8 p.m., Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, $45-$60, (415) 978- 2787, www.sfcm.edu. (M.B.)

Guzik Foundation Award Winners
Every year, hundreds of Russian music students compete for the Guzik Foundation Awards, named for Bay Area philanthropist, high-tech industrialist, and Russian emigré Nahum Guzik (see last year’s review). This February several of the young winners perform in the gilded splendor of the Florence Gould Theater. Feb. 16, 8 p.m.; Feb. 18, 2 p.m.; Florence Gould Theater, Palace of the Legion of Honor, San Francisco, $22, (415) 392-4400, www.chambermusicsf.org. (M.B.)

Basically British IX
Well-known Bay Area musicians Joseph Edelberg, violin; Adrienne Herbert, violin; Elizabeth Prior Runnicles, viola; Thalia Moore, cello; and John Parr, piano take on the ninth concert in the Old First Concerts Basically British series. The first great piano quintet by a major composer, Robert Schumann's Piano Quintet in E-flat Major, shares the program with Delius' Sonata No. 2 for Violin and Piano, and Elgar's Piano Quintet in A Minor. Feb. 17, 8 p.m., Old First Church, San Francisco, $12-$15, (415) 474-1608, www.oldfirstconcerts.org. (C.G.)

Opera Center Festival of Song
Steven Blier's New York Festival of Song, a rich, iconoclastic mix of classical and popular music, will have its annual West Coast edition again, with San Francisco Opera Center singers Rhoslyn Jones, Katharine Tier, Noah Stewart, and Jeremy Galyon. Composers of the works on the program include William Bolcom, John Musto, Adam Guettel, John Corigliano, Ricky Ian Gordon, Lee Hoiby, Richard Thomas, and others. Feb. 18, 5:30 p.m., Temple Emanu-El, San Francisco, $20, (415) 864-3330, www.sfopera.com. (J.G.)

San Francisco Symphony Rhapsodies
The San Francisco Symphony plays three great but little-heard rhapsodic works under Carlos Kalmar. SFS’s beloved principal cellist, Michael Grebanier, is soloist in William Schuman’s Song of Orpheus. Dvorák’s Symphony No. 6 is a lyrical gem, with his finest furiant as scherzo. And how often is a Liszt Hungarian Rhapsody heard at a formal symphony concert? Feb. 21, 23, 8 p.m.; Feb. 22, 2 p.m.; Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco, $25-$110, (415) 864-6000, www.sfsymphony.org. (D.B.)

A Flowering Tree
John Adams's first new work since Doctor Atomic, A Flowering Tree arrives in San Francisco in March. Cocommissioned by the New Crowned Hope Festival, the Berlin Philharmonic, the San Francisco Symphony, the Barbican Center, and Lincoln Center, A Flowering Tree has already been heard in Vienna and Berlin. Adams and director Peter Sellars adapted the libretto from an ancient Indian folk tale, modeling the opera on The Magic Flute. Sellars directs the semistaged performances; Adams conducts. March 1, 2, and 3, 8 p.m., Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco, $31-$114, (415) 864-6000, www.sfsymphony.org. (L.H.)

Consolation and Comfort
Paul Flight leads a concert of the great choral works of the Baroque period. Heinrich Schütz, the most renowned German composer of the 17th century, leads off the program. The high premium he placed on text expression is evident in the monumental Musikalische Exequien. J.S. Bach's early cantata Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit, also known as Actus Tragicus, is especially poignant because of the unusual and archaic scoring of two recorders and two violas da gamba. March 2, 8 p.m., St. Gregory of Nyssa Episcopal Church, San Francisco; March 3, 8 p.m., All Saints' Episcopal Church, Palo Alto; March 4, 4 p.m., St. Mark's Episcopal Church, Berkeley; $10-25, (415) 262-0272, www.calbach.org. (C.G.)

Rachmaninoff Vespers
The Grammy Award-winning Pacific Boychoir occupies a unique spot among children's choirs, as its home is the West Coast's only full-time academic choir school. In this concert the boys perform the Rachmaninoff Vespers in its original boy-choir setting, as well as Barber's Agnus Dei, the choral setting of the Adagio for Strings. March 2, 7:30 p.m., Grace Cathedral, San Francisco; March 3, 7:30 p.m., St. Augustine Catholic Church, Oakland; (510) 652-4PBA; www.pacificboychoir.org. (M.B.)

Volti
The exemplary contemporary music specialists present an evening of world premiere Volti commissions and other works, including the winner of the organization's Choral Arts Laboratory, Amy Beth Kirsten. March 2, 8 p.m., St. Mark's Lutheran Church, San Francisco; March 3, 8 p.m., St. Mark's Episcopal Church, Berkeley; March 4, 7 p.m., First United Methodist Church, Sacramento; $8-$20, (415) 824-7393, www.voltisf.org. (M.B.)

Jonathan Biss
Pianist Jonathan Biss makes another Bay Area appearance, courtesy of San Francisco Performances. Although young, he can no longer be called up-and-coming. He is a consummate interpreter of the works of Robert Schumann — a composer notorious for giving pianists fits. On his March program, Biss includes Schumann’s Kreisleriana, in addition to Beethoven’s “Pastoral” Sonata in D Major, Op. 28; the Mozart Sonata in F Major, K. 533; and Anton Webern’s Variations, Op. 27. March 3, 8 p.m., Herbst Theatre, $29-$47, (415) 392-2545, www.performances.org. (M.Z.)

Creative Voices
These first-rate singers feature the choral works of Francis Poulenc, including the stirring La Figure Humaine. March 4, 4 p.m., The Dance Palace, Point Reyes Station; March 10, 8 p.m., St. Mark's Episcopal Church, Berkeley; March 11, 4 p.m., St. Gregory of Nyssa Episcopal Church, San Francisco; April 1, 4 p.m., Holy Cross Church, Santa Cruz; (415) 861-3680, www.creativevoices.org. (M.B.)

Murray Perahia
Pianist Murray Perahia combines a flawless technique with uncommonly high sensibility to keyboard timbres. His recital — a Bach partita, Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 15, Schumann's Fantasiestücke, and Chopin's Ballade No. 4 — should be on your must-hear list. March 5, 8 p.m., Davies Hall, San Francisco, $25-$91, (415) 864-4000, www.sfsymphony.org. (C.G.)

Abduction From the Seraglio
Berkeley Opera is bringing Mozart’s Abduction From the Seraglio to the Julia Morgan Theatre this March. Mozart was rightly proud of this singspiel: In his first Viennese opera, he gave comic stereotypes the extra dimensions that we now identify as a trademark of this composer’s theater work. Berkeley Opera, the Bay Area’s most adventurous company, seems like the right group to give The Abduction its due. Performed in an English translation by director Ross Halper, the production is conducted by George Thomson. March 10, 14, 16, and 18, times vary, Julia Morgan Theatre, Berkeley, $15-$20, (925) 798-1300, www.berkeleyopera.org. (M.Z.)

A World-Class Youth Orchestra
The San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra is not only a local treasure, it is highly regarded at its national and international appearances. The young instrumentalists usually take on big, challenging works, and the next concert is no exception: Webern's Passacaglia, Mozart's Symphony No. 39, and Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition (Ravel's orchestration) are on the program. March 11, 2 p.m., Davies Hall, San Francisco, $10-$25, (415) 864-6000, www.sfsymphony.org. (J.G.)

Anything a Player Piano Can Do, We Can Do Better
Conlon Nancarrow spent most of his mature years writing pieces “impossible” to play, composing instead for player piano in Mexico City. See actual human beings play two of these amazing “studies,” performed in arrangements by the group Alarm Will Sound, along with four other pieces written for flesh-and-bones instrumentalists. Nancarrow, contrary to MTT’s loose definition of the term, is a true and fascinating American Maverick. Mar. 11, 3 p.m, Hertz Hall, UC Berkeley, $32, (510) 864-6000, www.calperfs.berkeley.edu/presents. (J.D.)

Exploring With Earplay
San Francisco's forward-looking, vital new-music ensemble comes together in the second concert of three this season. Under the baton of Mary Chun, the ensemble will perform a program titled "Exploring." Kurt Rohde's Double Trouble (2002), Christopher Wendell Jones' Fictions (2000), Krzysztof Penderecki's Clarinet Quartet (1993), Christopher Wendell Jones' Fictions (2000), and James H. Carr's Four Wilde Aphorisms (1991) are featured alongside a much older piece by György Ligeti: the Cello Sonata (1948-53). March 12, 7 p.m., Herbst Theatre, San Francisco, free, (415) 585-9776, www.earplay.org. (M.Z.)

Gerald Finley
The baritone Gerald Finley was both tortured and touching in his first local appearances, as Robert Oppenheimer in John Adams' Doctor Atomic. He is among the most eloquent of living recitalists, specializing in new music and songs in English. Now he sings Schumann's Dichterliebe and songs by Ives, Rorem, and Barber; Julius Drake plays piano. March 15, 8 p.m., Herbst Theatre, San Francisco, $27-$49, (415) 392-2545, www.performances.org. (L.H.)

Symphony Silicon Valley
Symphony Silicon Valley offers a delectable program of modern works under Leslie Dunner. Copland’s Third Symphony, the sweeping culmination of his Americana period, is the sort of work SSV can bring vision to. Kodály’s Háry János Suite outdoes anything in the standard repertoire for flashy display of brass and percussion. As an appetizer, Ravel’s Bolero. This should be fun. March 17, 8 p.m.; March 18, 2:30 p.m.; California Theatre, San Jose, $36-$72, (408) 286-2600, www.symphonysiliconvalley.org. (D.B.)

American Bach Soloists
The American Bach Soloists have spent the last several years performing music increasingly far from their 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.)

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.)

Trio Mediaeval
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.)

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.)

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.)

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.)

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.)

Beaux Arts Trio
One of the most venerable ensembles in chamber music, the Beaux Arts Trio — still including its founding pianist from half a century ago, Menahem Pressler — makes its San Jose debut in another great coup for the San Jose Chamber Music Society. The program is a solid one of Beethoven’s “Archduke” Trio, Schubert’s Nocturne in E-flat, and Shostakovich’s Trio No. 2. April 6, 8 p.m., Le Petit Trianon, San Jose, $21-$36, (408) 286-5111, www.sjchambermusic.org. (D.B.)

MTT Conducts Stravinsky
Michael Tilson Thomas's conducting style meshes nearly perfectly with Stravinsky's music, and this particular concert promises to be especially exciting. The Symphony Chorus is featured in Symphony of Psalms. Symphonies of Wind Instruments and Apollon musagète complete the Stravinsky trio. In addition, clarinetist Richard Stoltzman performs Takemitsu's Fantasma Cantos, which was written for him. April 11, 13, and 14, 8 p.m., Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco, $31-$114, (415) 864-6000, www.sfsymphony.org. (L.H.)

Magnificat
The crackerjack early music ensemble continues its groundbreaking work to popularize the works of Chiara Margharita Cozzolani, the dazzling female composer of the Baroque, with her Easter Vespers. April 13, 8 p.m., First Lutheran Church, Palo Alto; April 14, 8 p.m., St. Mark's Episcopal Church, Berkeley; April 15, 4 p.m., St. Gregory of Nyssa Episcopal Church, San Francisco; $12-$25, (415) 979-4500, www.magnificatbaroque.org. (M.B.)

PBO's Belshazzar
Enthusiastic Handelian Nicholas McGegan and the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra turn their attention to another in the composer’s series of English oratorios this April. It’s Belshazzar’s turn this year. The story comes from the Book of Daniel: Belshazzar, the last King of Babylon, desecrates Jewish holy vessels at a feast he’s giving. Handwriting mysteriously appears on the wall (hence the catch phrase), which the prophet Daniel interprets as a sign of doom. That night, the kingdom falls to Cyrus the Persian. McGegan will squeeze every bit of drama from Handel’s juicy score, which boasts wonderful choruses like “By slow degrees the wrath of God.” The dream cast includes tenor James Gilchrist in the title role, Dominique Labelle, Cécile van de Sant, William Towers, and Andrew Foster-Williams. April 14, 15, First Congregational Church, Berkeley; April 20, Herbst Theatre, San Francisco; April 21, First United Methodist Church, Palo Alto; $29-$67, (415) 392-4400, www.philharmonia.org. (M.Z.)

Concert of the Underappreciated
In addition to worthy composers who sometimes get lost in the shuffle, there are worthy pieces by great composers that get overshadowed by their creator’s more famous numbers. Examples of both categories make up this concert. Works include the Petite Symphonie concertante by the great but underrated Swiss composer Frank Martin, and delightful if not earth-shattering works by Richard Strauss (Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme Suite) and Beethoven (Piano Concerto No. 2 performed by Yuja Wang). The Martin is for harpsichord and string orchestra, and sounds like a spine-tingling horror movie at some points and the romping soundtrack for Tom Jones at others. April 18, 20, and 21, 8 p.m., Davies Hall, San Francisco, $25-$114; April 19, 8 p.m, Flint Center, Cupertino; $31-$57, (415) 864-6000, www.sfsymphony.org. (J.D.)

Liber UnUsualis
The last time the medieval ensemble Liber UnUsualis was here, as I recall it, they were short a member due to illness and had to make do with two musicians rather than three. In April they are back, and with an even juicier program than the French one so sadly rearranged. This time the terrain is the Italian trecento — Ciconia, Landini, and company. If you think you might like music at once effortlessly lyrical and also cunningly complex, you really ought to hear this. April 20, 8 p.m., First Lutheran Church, Palo Alto; April 21, 8 p.m., St. John's Presbyterian Church, Berkeley; April 22, 3:30 p.m., St. Gregory of Nyssa Episcopal Church, San Francisco; $22-$25, (510) 528-1725, www.sfems.org. (M.D.T.)

A Child of Our Time
Michael Tippett’s oratorio A Child of Our Time is one of the great musical protests against social injustice, melding influences from the Baroque to spirituals. It’s a masterwork of modern British choral music, equal to anything of its kind. The Santa Cruz County Symphony tackles it with the Cabrillo Symphonic Chorus and soloists not yet named. April 21, 8 p.m., Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium; April 22, 2 p.m., Mello Center, Watsonville; $13-$54, (831) 420-5260, www.santacruzsymphony.com. (D.B.)

The Damnation of Faust
If you missed Berlioz's great, and rarely heard, oratorio in its staged version at San Francisco Opera a couple of years back, you have another chance: Charles Dutoit leads four performances of the work at the Symphony. Ruxandra Donose, Gregory Kunde, Willard White, and Christopher Feigum take the singing roles. April 26, 27, and 28, 8 p.m.; April 29, 2 p.m.; Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco, $31-$114, (415) 864-6000, www.sfsymphony.org. (L.H.)

Remembering Lorraine
Lorraine Hunt Lieberson invested her singing with an astonishing degree of emotional openness, leaving audiences deeply moved and, often, overwhelmed. She died last July, much too young at age 52, fortunately leaving a large recorded legacy on both CD and DVD. Congregation Emanu-El pays tribute with an evening of reminiscences, musical performances by her colleagues, and films of the singer. April 30, 7:30 p.m., Congregation Emanu-El, San Francisco, $17-$20, (415) 355-9988, www.emanuelsf.org. (L.H.)

Steven Isserlis and Kiril Gerstein
Steven Isserlis was for years what amounted to house cellist for RCA Records, and although he stood a bit under the shadow of Yo-Yo Ma, Isserlis remains a first-rate artist. His recital in the Herbst Theatre promises to be an important event. May 3, 8 p.m.,Herbst Theatre, San Francisco, $27-$44, (415) 392-2545, www.performances.org. (H.T.)

Italy Comes to Germany
AVE returns for a concert exploring the Italian-German connection, featuring the music of Jacob Handl, Hildegard von Bingen, and J.S. Bach. May 4, 7:30 p.m., St. Ignatius Church, San Francisco; May 5, 6:30 p.m., St. Mark's Episcopal Church, Berkeley; May 6, 6:30 p.m., Lafayette-Orinda Presbyterian Church; askave@yahoo.com, www.ave-music.org . (C.G.)

Beethoven and Kissine at 6.5
If you have not had the opportunity to experience the 6.5 concept begun last year (that is, earlier concerts with less music but more talk and live demonstration), this is the last time this season to do it and give the Symphony your feedback. Two works, Beethoven’s Second Symphony and a short work for violin and orchestra by film composer Viktor (also Victor) Kissine will be discussed by conductor Hans Graf and soloist/concertmaster Alexander Barantschik. Response to the Kissine was reportedly “enthusiastic” when it premiered in Miami two years ago, underscored by Barantschik’s “searing” and “rhapsodic” performance. May 4, 6:30 p.m., Davies Hall, San Francisco, $25-$114, (415) 864-6000, www.sfsymphony.org. (J.D.)

Delights at MusicSources
MusicSources of Berkeley presents an excellent lineup of Spanish early music throughout the spring, but not to be missed is a program featuring The Sylvan and Oceanic Delights of Posilipo, a lavish court entertainment performed in Naples for King Phillip III of Spain in 1620. The benefit for MusicSources features knights, sea deities, sirens, gods of the forest, and "perhaps the largest continuo ensemble ever assembled in the Bay Area." May 4, 7 p.m., venue and price to be announced, (510) 528-1685, www.musicsources.org. (M.B.)

Jordi Savall
Jordi Savall has been almost singlehandedly responsible for the revival of the viola da gamba and, with his group Hesperion XXI, for a resurgence of interest in Renaissance Spanish music. He gives two recitals on the grave, plaintive-voiced viola da gamba in May. The first focuses on Marin Marais and his younger contemporary Antoine Forqueray, while the other includes works by J.S. Bach, Hume, Scarlatti, and Marais' teacher, Monsieur de Sainte-Colombe. May 4 and 5, 8 p.m., First Congregational Church, Berkeley, $48, (510) 642-9988, www.calperfs.berkeley.edu. (L.H.)

San Francisco Youth Orchestra
The San Francisco Youth Orchestra, conducted by Benjamin Shwartz, marks its 25th anniversary on May 20 with a daring program: Colin McPhee’s Balinese concerto for two pianos and orchestra, Tabuh-Tabuhan, and with the addition of chorus and soloists, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. May 5, 2 p.m., Davies Hall, San Francisco, $10-$75, (415) 864-4000, www.sfsymphony.org. (H.T.)

"Eastern Enchantment" at California Symphony
In its final program of the season, the California Symphony explores the mysteries of India with Grammy-nominated Anoushka Shankar. She will perform the Concerto for Sitar and Orchestra, her father Ravi Shankar's most renowned piece. The program closes with a musical depiction of Queen Scheherazade's book One Thousand and One Nights — listen for a heroine that can be heard in the violin part. May 6, 4 p.m.; May 8, 7:30 p.m.; Dean Lesher Regional Center for the Arts, Walnut Creek, $39-$59, (925) 943-7469, www.californiasymphony.org. (C.G.)

Conservatory Recitals
Good music, for free, and the excitement of discovering future stars for yourself — that's the promise of student recitals in the San Francisco Conservatory of Music's spanking-new building, at 50 Oak Street in the Civic Center. Most recitals (student, graduate, and faculty), concerts, and master classes are open to the public. Dates vary throughout the spring, free, (415) 864-7326, www.sfcm.org. (J.G.)