Classical music listeners in Washington are going to be busy this month, since we are tracking an imposing number of must-see concerts and performances in February. We will pick the best of the best for you every Sunday here at DCist. If you want more information, go to our Classical Week in Washington feature at Ionarts.

THE BIG NAMES:
>> Without a doubt, the main event this week is the recital by legendary pianist Alfred Brendel on Tuesday (February 7, 8 p.m.) in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall, sponsored by Washington Performing Arts Society. Mozart may have been 250 years old last week, but Alfred Brendel turned 75 on January 6 and is still going strong. Widely revered for his interpretation of the Classical composers of Vienna, Brendel will play two sonatas by Haydn, one sonata by Schubert, and two pieces by — yes, indeed — Mozart. This DCist will be there, and we will have a review for you on Wednesday. If you can get there yourself, prepare to hear something wonderful.

>> French tenor Jean-Paul Fouchécourt is one of the leading singers of the Baroque performance movement, and he will be singing a concert of airs by Jean-Philippe Rameau this Sunday (February 12, 3 p.m.). Opera Lafayette will provide the orchestral music, at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center in College Park. The program includes selections from Rameau’s Platée, Les Indes Galantes, Les Fêtes d’Hébé, Zoroastre, and Hippolyte et Aricie. Tickets: $25 to $45 (students, special price of $7). Artistic director Ryan Brown will give a free pre-concert lecture at 2 p.m.

>> Guest conductor Christoph von Dohnányi will lead the National Symphony Orchestra this week, in a concert with cellist Alban Gerhardt. The program includes Bartók’s Divertimento for String Orchestra, Brahms’s first symphony, and Schumann’s cello concerto. Performances are scheduled in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall on Thursday (February 9, 7 p.m.), Friday (February 10, 1:30 p.m.), and Saturday (February 11, 8 p.m.). Tickets: $20 to $79.

Not only that, but there are many free concerts this week.

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