It is always good to know how your concert schedule is going to play out, and this week things could not be any clearer (and none of these events has sold out). Here is your list of what's good, what's free, and even some of what's both.

THE BIG GUNS:
>> A couple years ago, soprano Anne Schwanewilms was in the news because she replaced Deborah Voigt, when the latter could not fit into a costume, the infamous "little black dress." That incident unfortunately drew attention from Schwanewilms' main selling point, a luscious voice that is made for late Romantic music. That is why her Vocal Arts Society recital this Tuesday (November 30, 7:30 p.m.), in the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater, is a must-hear event (especially as the program is all Lieder by Strauss and Mahler).

>> Other visiting musicians on that must-hear list are Andrew Manze and Richard Egarr, who will give a recital of Mozart and Schubert for violin and fortepiano on Sunday (November 4, 7:30 p.m.) at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center. Hear what Mozart and Schubert sound like when performed on historical instruments.

>> Joining the National Symphony Orchestra this week (November 1 to 3) is violinist Nikolaj Znaider. With a strong record in recordings and live performance, his take on the Beethoven violin concerto is likely to be memorable, especially with Iván Fischer at the podium.

>> As previewed earlier this week, Washington National Opera takes care of its role as the country's "national opera company" this week, by mounting a new American opera. William Bolcom's A View from the Bridge, premiered in 1999, has been widely cited as one of the most important new operas of the last few decades. Bolcom, who also composes in jazz and cabaret styles, has made the cross-fertilization of his opera and concert music with those styles his hallmark. Premiering on Saturday night (November 3, 7 p.m.), the opera will receive six performances, through November 17.

>> If you've been meaning to go see Marin Alsop conduct, here is your chance. As part of her new community initiatives, she will conduct the Peabody Symphony Orchestra on Wednesday (October 31, 8 p.m.). The program of music by Adams, Bernstein, and Shostakovich is unflinchingly modern. Don't worry, after this concert (tickets only $15) at the Peabody Institute's Friedberg Hall in Baltimore, you will have plenty of time to go out for Halloween.

THE FREE KIND:
>> Want to see how a string quartet acts in rehearsal? For free, you can witness the latest open rehearsal with the Guarneri String Quartet on Monday (October 29, 7:30 p.m.) at Clarice Smith.

>> Pianist Sonya Suhnhee Kim will play on the free lunchtime recital series at the Church of the Epiphany (1317 G St. NW) on Tuesday (October 30, 12:10 p.m.).

>> The Founder’s Day Concert at the Library of Congress on Tuesday (October 30, 8 p.m.) is not for anyone challenged by modern, atonal sounds. The ensemble known as Alarm Will Sound will play music by Nancarrow, Ligeti, and Birtwistle.

>> Cellist Evelyn Elsing and pianist Rita Sloan will give a free recital on Thursday (November 1, 8 p.m.) at Clarice Smith.

>> On Friday (November 2, 8 p.m.) at Clarice Smith, it will be a free performance by the University of Maryland Symphonic Wind Ensemble.

>> Free opera is not something that comes along every day. Peabody Chamber Opera will give a free performance of Purcell's masterful semi-opera Dido and Aeneas on Saturday (November 3, 7:30 p.m.) at Grace and Saint Peter’s Church in Baltimore.

>> If you would rather stay in town that night, you should hear the free performance by Café Zimmermann at the Library of Congress (November 3, 8 p.m.). The program features music by J. S. Bach and C. P. E. Bach, with harpsichordist Céline Frisch.

>> The pioneering alternative composer Meredith Monk will give a free lecture on Sunday (November 4, 2 p.m.), called Perceptual Weave: Pattern and Variation in Multidiscipline Performance. You do have to register with the hosting venue, the Walters Art Museum.

>> Also on Sunday (November 4, 4 p.m.), pianist Alan Mandel will give a recital on the free concert series at the Phillips Collection. Admission to the museum is not free.

>> At the National Gallery of Art, the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra will also play a concert on Sunday (November 4, 6:30 p.m.).

>> For more concert information, go to Ionarts.