As they did in 2006, the Cleveland Orchestra came to the Kennedy Center Concert Hall on Monday night for a concert sponsored by the Washington Performing Arts Society. After Washington, they will play a three-concert series at Carnegie Hall and then leave for an extended European tour. The Clevelanders were once arguably America’s best orchestra and were always classed among the Big Five symphonic ensembles in the country, a placement that more and more people…

Latvian-born Mariss Jansons is one of the giants among classical conductors of our time. After pioneering work for the Oslo Philharmonic and the Pittsburgh Symphony, he was named chief conductor of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam, one of the oldest and most highly esteemed musical organizations in Europe. In his concerts and recordings, he has distinguished himself with innovative and stylistically sensitive readings, beyond the Russian repertory of his early training (at the Leningrad…

You could hear a lot of good classical music this week, much of it at no cost other than the trip to the concert hall. The biggest events this week are not going to be cheap, but the performances of these visiting musicians do promise to be extraordinary. We will be bringing you reviews, of course. For more concerts, go to our Classical Week in Washington feature at Ionarts. LOOK WHO’S IN TOWN: >> The…

(Classical Music Agenda by DCist contributor Charles T. Downey of Ionarts) Arts blogger Drew McManus, at Adaptistration, has proclaimed that May is Take a Friend to Orchestra Month. As Drew envisions it, this is “your sanctioned excuse to approach a friend about attending an orchestra concert with you.” (All this week, Drew has been running responses to and suggestions concerning his idea at Adaptistration.) To that end, here is your weekly dose of concert suggestions….