Charles Downey provides us with one last Classical Music Agenda. Click through for your weekly picks, including a free recital by soprano Sarah Coburn at the National Museum of Women in the Arts tonight. more ›

>> Plácido Domingo is about to step down as artistic director of the Washington National Opera at the end of this season, though it may not mean that Domingo's performance in the role of Oreste in this month's production of Gluck's will be your last chance to see him on stage in Washington. It is also the company's first production of an opera by Gluck. After seeing opening night on Friday, I can say that this ticket will be well worth it -- if not for Domingo, but also for the electrifying soprano Patricia Racette in the title role. Remaining performances are on May 9, 12, 15, 17, 20, 25 and 28. Anyone between the ages of 18 and 35 is encouraged to join the company's Generation O program, to qualify for reduced-price tickets. more ›

Yet again, this is one of those weeks where it's very good to live in the district, if you want to hear some classical music for free, that is. more ›

With holidays this week, there isn't much going on in classical music. So that your Classical Music Agenda can take an Easter vacation, today's installment covers the next two weeks. more ›

Before the classical music schedule shuts down for the Easter holiday, here are a few concerts you should hear this week. more ›

It is another busy week for classical music lovers in Washington, and here are our picks for the best performances in town. more ›

>> The best things to hear this week are concerts of older music, beginning with harpsichordist Trevor Pinnock's Tribute to Wanda Landowska on Tuesday night (March 29, 8 p.m.) in the free concert series at the Library of Congress. He will perform part of this concert on a Pleyel instrument that once belonged to Landowska, one of the pioneers of the harpsichord revival. Reserved seats are all claimed, but if you show up early you can wait for an unused seat. more ›

>> Without a doubt, the concert not to be missed this week is the recital by soprano Christine Brewer and pianist Craig Rutenberg (March 23, 7:30 p.m.), presented by Vocal Arts D.C. in the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater. In a review of her last recital here, I described her voice as "that rara avis, a luscious and buttery dramatic soprano that has the power to strip paint off the walls but with the control and suavity to apply that nuclear force only when needed." more ›

This is a week for symphony orchestras with visiting ensembles lining up against our hometown teams. Seven days of free concerts after the jump. more ›

This is one of those weeks when classical music listeners feel especially lucky to live in Washington because of the number of free concerts. There are also several good concerts of contemporary music on the calendar -- find them, after the jump. more ›

>> In the excellent series featuring leading European contemporary composers, Estonian composer Erkki-Sven Tüür will speak at the Phillips Collection on Thursday (February 24, 6 p.m.), following a concert devoted to his music. Show up early for the screening of a film about Tüür's music, Seven Etudes in Pictures by Marianne Kõrver, at 4 p.m. more ›

One pair of ears couldn't possibly handle all of this week's options. Here are a couple picks for each day of the week. more ›

This is going to be a busy week for classical music, with far more to hear than any one person could possibly take in. Here are the top picks for what will be good, according to category, including some free concerts after the jump. more ›

>> We think the highlight of your week likely will be whichever one of the chamber music performances you choose for Friday night out. For those of you on a budget, try the free performance by Salzburg's Hyperion Ensemble (February 4, 8 p.m.) at the Library of Congress. It's too late to pre-order a ticket through Ticketmaster, though you can chance showing up early and hoping for an unused seat. more ›

>> Leading the major events this week is a recital by violinist Joshua Bell on Wednesday night (January 26, 8 p.m.). Bell will perform with pianist Sam Haywood, in an event presented by Washington Performing Arts Society in the Music Center at Strathmore. Bell, who caused quite a stir a few years ago by volunteering to play incognito during rush hour in the L'Enfant Plaza Metro station, will play music by Brahms, Schubert and Grieg. more ›

Sometimes people think that classical music is only about the past, but this week's top concert picks all focus on new compositions, some composed only last year. Find out what some of these living composers have been up to lately. more ›

The Christmas decorations have been stored away for another year, and that means that the classical music world is coming back to life and your classical music agenda must rise from its long winter's nap. more ›

At this point in December, holiday concerts and Handel's Messiah have completely hijacked the classical music schedule. Here are a few other events, not all of which avoid the spirit of the season. After this post, the Classical Music Agenda will take its end-of-the-year hiatus, to return in the New Year. more ›

As highlighted in this week's Classical Music Agenda, the newly appointed music director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Maestra Marin Alsop, is the first woman to take the helm of a major American orchestra. Tonight in the Music Center at Strathmore, she will lead the BSO in a program that features Fearful Symmetries by American composer John Adams. Last night, Marin Alsop sat down with John Adams at the quirky alternative venue known as Baltimore Theater Project, to inaugurate Composers in Conversation, a new series that brings living composers to speak to audiences about their music. In an hour-long dialogue, Adams spoke about his admiration for Beethoven, whose seventh symphony he will conduct at the BSO's concerts next week, as well as Mahler, whose Fifth Symphony Marin Alsop will conduct this week. more ›

>> The Classical Music Agenda will return this Sunday, after hibernating all summer, but there are already a few developments to note this week in local classical news. Robert Shafer is a legend in the local choral music scene, as the long-standing director of the Oratorio Society of Washington, known in recent years as the Washington Chorus. Shafer's particular gift is to inspire a huge group — some 200 singers, none (or few) of them... more ›

Everyone needs a vacation, even musicians, and the summer is quite naturally a time that the classical music world slows down. So this is it for your Classical Music Agenda, until August. This week's installment will be a little longer than normal, because there are several interesting things happening over the next couple months. If you want to hear some music this summer, you can, and here's where. HEADLINES: >> The most important classical music... more ›

Memorial Day has come and gone, and we are now officially in the summer hiatus of the Classical Music Agenda. Here are some highlights for this week: in a week or two, this feature will take a well-deserved rest until Labor Day, when the classical concert schedule returns to full power. TOPS THIS WEEK: >> On Wednesday night, the excellent NPR radio program From the Top will be recorded in front of a live audience... more ›

Summer is almost here, and that means it is almost time to roll up the carpets and send the Classical Music Agenda on vacation. So enjoy the music while you can. In particular, this is the last week to take in a performance of the best production from Washington National Opera this season, Janáček's Jenůfa. My review called this opera "essential viewing for anyone who cares about music drama." Performances remain only on Monday (May... more ›

They have a saying in Paris that describes the fast pace of life in that city: Métro, boulot, dodo, meaning that life consists only of an endless repetition of subway rides, work, and sleep. Life in Washington is harried, too, but sometimes you need to stop as you dash through the L'Enfant Plaza station at rush hour on a Friday in January. Who is playing the famous Chaconne from Bach's D minor partita so well... more ›

Last week's Classical Music Agenda omitted an excellent concert opportunity that just came to my attention, annual concerts of Schubert's music called Schubert, Schubert, and Schubert. The final installment is this evening (March 18, 8 p.m.), at Georgetown University's Gaston Hall (37th and O St. NW), when the Auryn String Quartet will play Schubert's Quartetsatz, D. 703, and the "Death and the Maiden" quartet, D. 810. Pianist Kyoko Hashimoto will also play the four Schubert... more ›

At this point in December, people looking to hear a concert are probably only looking for a performance of Handel's Messiah or Holiday Concerts, and we have already dealt with both of those. Since there is not much else to mention, this will be your Classical Music Agenda until the New Year. There are a few things to hear, so hang in there. We will be back on January 7. >> The year's final free... more ›

After several feverish weeks of wall-to-wall concerts, the approach of Thanksgiving puts the Classical Music Agenda into a temporary lull this week. Not to worry: we have some concerts for you even this week, and next week we will come back out swinging. more ›

With a jam-packed weekend in the city that saw the dedication of the Air Force Memorial by the president as well as festive activities for Howard's homecoming and a crushing loss by the Skins, there doesn't seem to be too terribly much on the local news radar. But let's check it out. Gallaudet to Reopen: Despite the fact that over 100 students (133 to be exact) were arrested in continued protests on the school's campus... more ›

On Tuesday, American composer Steve Reich turned 70, as mentioned in last week's Classical Music Agenda. While New Yorkers are enjoying a month-long festival of performances of Reich's music, here in Washington there was only one opportunity, a concert Saturday night by the recently formed Great Noise Ensemble at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Silver Spring. The Great Noise Ensemble may have the distinction of being the first new music ensemble formed through a listing on craigslist.com. Their core membership are young area musicians who answered the ad placed by the group's founder, Armando Bayolo, and they are now embarking on their second season of concerts. more ›

In last week's Classical Music Agenda, I led with a concert on Sunday afternoon in the Corcoran Gallery of Art's acoustically splendid auditorium. It was the first concert of the season from the Contemporary Music Forum, but not even the Washington premiere of a major piece of new music, Paul Moravec's Tempest Fantasy, could draw more than a sparse audience. more ›