From this point until the summer, the classical music concert schedule is going to be very busy. Even if you, like me, keep your week full of music, there are some tough choices to make.

HEADLINES:
>> The Juilliard String Quartet, a venerable American institution, has long been in residence at the Library of Congress, but we have not heard them in Washington since 2006 since that residency was extended to the rest of the country. So we are glad to have them back this Sunday (February 17, 6:30 p.m.), on the free concert series at the National Gallery of Art. The program includes one of the string quartets by Elliott Carter, the American composer who turns 100 years old this December. Attendance is likely to exceed the amount of space, so early arrival is recommended to get a seat. The doors at the Constitution Ave. entrance of the West Building, at Sixth St. NW, open at 6 p.m.

>> The Post-Classical Ensemble has been producing some of the most interesting programs in the area. Timed for Black History Month, their latest effort, called Free to Sing: The Story of the First African-American Opera Company, will be presented on Saturday night (February 16, 8 p.m.) in the Music Center at Strathmore. You can also attend a lecture about the history of black opera companies in America (February 16, 4 p.m.) at the Strathmore Mansion.

>> The Mark Morris Dance Group caused quite a controversy with an inventive, gender-bending adaptation of Henry Purcell's opera Dido and Aeneas. Although Morris himself has retired from the stage and recast the production, you have a welcome chance to witness this unusual work on Friday and Saturday (February 15 and 16, 8 p.m.), all the way out at the George Mason University Center for the Arts.

>> Speaking of new work, the Peabody Chamber Opera will give the world premiere of a new opera by Catherine Reid, The Yellow Wallpaper, in the quirky venue of Baltimore Theater Project (February 14 to 17). The libretto by Judith Lane adapts the early feminist short story by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, about a writer struggling with postpartum depression and the stifling attitude of her physician husband.

Photo of Juilliard String Quartet by Nana Watanabe/SONY Classical

ALSO WORTH MENTION:
>> As part of the Kennedy Center's Japan Festival, the Tokyo-based collaborative Laptop Orchestra will give an unusual concert of new music on Monday night (February 11, 7:30 p.m.) in the Theater Lab. Tickets: $18.

>> Viola da gambists Jérôme Hantaï and Kaori Uemura will play a concert of 17th-century music at La Maison Française (4101 Reservoir Rd. NW), also on Monday night (February 11, 7:30 p.m.). Tickets: $20.

>> The Folger Consort and soprano Johana Arnold present a program featuring a cycle of love songs by 13th-century composer Martin Codax, called Seven Songs of Love (February 15 to 17) at the Folger Shakespeare Library (201 E. Capitol St. SE). Tickets: $30.

>> The always controversial and entertaining Kronos Quartet continues its residency at the Clarice Smith Center with a concert with pipa player Wu Man on Sunday (February 17, 7:30 p.m.). The program features music for that combination of instruments by modern composers Tan Dun and Terry Riley. Tickets: $40.

THE FREE KIND:
>> Mark Janello (harpsichord), Jennifer Ellis (soprano), and Kiri Tollaksen (cornetto) give a free concert on the Friday series in Georgetown University's McNeir Hall (February 15, 1:15 p.m.).

>> At the Library of Congress on Friday (February 15, 8 p.m.), a free concert by the Chamber Orchestra Kremlin with soprano Julia Kogan.

>> A new opera, for free? Yes, Maryland Opera Studio will perform doctoral student Altin Volaj's opera Ion, based on the play by Euripides (libretto by Nick Olcott), at the Clarice Smith Center in College Park on Saturday (February 16, 7:30 p.m.).

>> Pianist Michael Adcock gives a free recital, sponsored by the Washington Conservatory of Music, at Bethesda's Westmoreland Congregational UCC Church on Saturday (February 16, 8 p.m.).

>> If you have not been to hear something at Strathmore yet, do so for free at their open house, Discover Strathmore, on Sunday (February 17, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.). Musical performances will be given by Opera Lafayette, St. Augustine's Gospel Choir, Members of the Baltimore Symphony, and the 18th Street Singers.

>> The violin-clarinet-piano ensemble known as the Raphael Trio gives a free concert at the Phillips Collection on Sunday (February 17, 4 p.m.). As always, the concert is free but you must still pay the price of admission to the museum.

>> For more free concerts, go to Ionarts.