Over the next couple weeks, classical music fans, the last few concert series and performing groups will begin their regular seasons. When there is an abundance of things to hear, we try to select the best of them for this weekly post. As always, you can find a complete concert listing, each week in the Classical Music in Washington feature at Ionarts. Looking ahead, our complete listing for the month of October is full of many good things to hear.

ORCHESTRAS WITH SOLOISTS:
>> We are lucky in Washington to be able to hear concerts by many different symphony orchestras, the two best being the National Symphony and, at Strathmore, the Baltimore Symphony, which opened their new season with an incredible performance of Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue by Turkish pianist Fazil Say. (We recommended it in last week's agenda, and this DCist was at Strathmore to hear it on Saturday night.) The BSO will be performing twice this week at the Music Center at Strathmore, first on Thursday (September 29, 8 p.m.) for a program called Spanish Sensation. Juanjo Mena will be guest conductor for a program that opens with Joáquin Rodrigo's Fantasia para un Gentilhombre, featuring the orchestra's principal flutist, Emily Skala, on the solo part. Then on Saturday (October 1, at the unusual time of 11 a.m.), the BSO will perform The Promise of Youth, with soloist Kirill Gerstein at the piano for the very demanding first concerto by Mendelssohn.

>> If you can't bear the commute up to North Bethesda, go to the Kennedy Center instead, where cellist Truls Mørk will play Elgar's E minor concerto with the National Symphony. The program includes the rarely heard "Mysterious Mountain" symphony by 20th-century composer Alan Hovhaness. Performances are scheduled for Thursday (September 29, 7 p.m.), Friday (September 30, 8 p.m.), and Saturday (October 1, 8 p.m.) at the Kennedy Center Concert Hall. Tickets start at $20.

What about DCists who want to hear something for free?

FREE CONCERTS:
>> Have you ever wanted to see how a top performing group rehearses? You can do just that on Monday (September 26, 5 p.m.) by attending an open rehearsal of the Guarneri String Quartet. This event is free and open to the public, at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, in College Park.

>> One of the best free concert series in the city, at the Library of Congress, inaugurates its new season this Friday (September 30, 8 p.m.). The concert will feature the young and promising Daedalus String Quartet, joined by violist Donald Weilerstein, performing works by Prokofiev, Haydn, and Mozart. You need a ticket for events at the Library of Congress, which you can order for the usual fees through Ticketmaster. However, unclaimed seats are given away to anyone who waits in line, and standby patrons are rarely turned away. Entrance to the Coolidge Auditorium is at the front of the Thomas Jefferson Building, at the corner of First Street and Independence Avenue SE.

>> The two main museum series of free concerts will also hold their first concerts this Sunday. German pianist Trefor Smith will give a recital (October 2, 5 p.m.) in the Music Room of the Phillips Collection. Concerts are free with the price of admission to the museum. The venue is charming but very small, so arrive early to stake out a place. Later the same day (October 2, 6:30 p.m.), the National Gallery Orchestra will open the free concert series at the National Gallery of Art. Guest conductor Christopher Kendall and violinist Nicolas Kendall will join the group on a program of music by Mahler, Schoenfield, and Stravinsky. Tickets are not required, but the line begins to form around 5:30 p.m. most Sundays, at the Constitution Ave. entrance to the West Building, at Sixth St. NW. Seating begins at 6 p.m.

BUSY SUNDAY:
>> However, there are plenty of other options to draw you away from those free concerts on Sunday. The renowned vocal group Chanticleer will perform at the George Mason University Center for the Arts, way out in Fairfax. They will present pieces from their Earth Songs program (October 2, 7 p.m.).

>> This DCist will hopefully be going instead to Baltimore, for the first concert in the remarkable series at Shriver Hall, on the campus of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. Also on Sunday (October 2, 7:30 p.m.), the Takács Quartet and pianist Garrick Ohlsson will perform together. The program features the Takács, with their new violist, Geraldine Walther, on Mozart's "Dissonance" quartet, Garrick Ohlsson playing Chopin's B minor sonata, and all five together for the very tasty Brahms piano quintet in F minor. Considering the performers, this concert should be exceptional.

>> Unfortunately, that means this DCist will miss another promising Sunday concert (October 2, 8 p.m.) by the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra with superstar pianist Lang Lang. This event is coordinated with the opening of the Kennedy Center's Festival of China, with concerts, exhibits, and special events planned for the entire month of October. Considering the power of Lang Lang's name, the ticket prices ($10 to $45) make this Concert Hall event one of the week's best deals. Lang Lang will join forces with a singer from the Beijing National Opera and players of traditional Chinese instruments. Let us know what you think if you go to this concert.