Last week’s battle of the orchestras may be eclipsed by this week’s. Besides the local symphonic ensembles, there are some visitors in the ring, too. The common theme is the piano concerti of Johannes Brahms, both of them disarmingly beautiful pieces, and here is how we call it.

THE ORCHESTRAS
>> The week starts strong with the Cleveland Orchestra on Monday (October 15, 8 p.m.) in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall. Washington Performing Arts Society once again brings this top-ranking orchestra to the city, just before the group heads to Carnegie Hall for a series of three concerts. The program sandwiches another piece by American composer John Adams, Guide to Strange Places, between Mozart’s 28th symphony and Tchaikovsky’s 6th.

>> The second visiting ensemble this week is the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, performing with pianist Yefim Bronfman in the Music Center at Strathmore (October 18, 8 p.m.) on Thursday. The program combines Brahms, including the first piano concerto, with Schoenberg’s Kammersymphonie.

>> The re-release of Emanuel Ax’s recordings of the Brahms piano concerti coincides with his appearance this week with the National Symphony Orchestra, playing the second Brahms concerto, an archetypal example of the Romantic style. There are three performances of this concert, also featuring the Vaughan Williams sixth symphony, on October 18, 19, and 20.

>> Is it a coincidence that Brian Ganz will also be playing the Brahms second concerto this weekend? Would most pianists set themselves up for comparison with Emanuel Ax? This concert is with the National Philharmonic, paired with Holst’s The Planets (October 20, 8 p.m.), in the Music Center at Strathmore.

>> The Eclipse Chamber Orchestra presents music by Adamo, Harris, and Mozart on Sunday (October 21, 3 p.m.) at Alexandria’s George Washington Masonic Memorial.