A trip out to Fairfax requires some justification, which the concerts hosted by the George Mason University Center for the Arts occasionally provide. This was the case Saturday night, when that venue distinguished itself as the only local stop for the current U.S. tour of the orchestra of the Leipzig Gewandhaus (recently in Chicago and Boston, but also in smaller places like Schenectady). That venerable ensemble, founded in 1781, is one of the oldest orchestras…

When we get to the busiest part of the classical music season, there is at least one worthy event, sometimes more than one, for every night of the week. No one is complaining, since we like to have concerts to hear, but it does require careful scheduling. WEDNESDAY: >> There is no question that, this Wednesday evening (February 21, 8 p.m.), the hottest classical ticket will be a free one. The Venice Baroque Orchestra, directed…

We always tell you where the free concerts are, but just because a concert is free does not mean that it will be good. This week, we are leading with the free concerts because they are so good. Other than the free stuff, there is so much to hear, we have selected a few options from what is less expensive, not sold out, and likely to be good. FREE, FREE, FREE: >> The Washington Bach…

We thank my Ionarts colleague Jens F. Laurson, who has stepped in to contribute this week’s installment of DCist Goes to the Symphony, a review of a concert I had to miss because of a last-minute conflict. The National Symphony Orchestra’s season finale attempts to pull out all the stops it didn’t quite manage so far, and this week’s run of all-Beethoven concerts under the baton of Kurt Masur is an auspicious run-up to the…