Festival Capriccio. Capriccio Baroque. October 25 to November 19.

Capriccio Baroque, the boutique series devoted to intimate concerts by early keyboard specialists, hosts its first multi-concert harpsichord festival this fall. Three eminent French harpsichordists will perform recitals on various themes at the French Embassy: Justin Taylor represents the younger generation, preceding veteran musicians Pierre Hantaï (with a second program at Church of the Epiphany) and Christophe Rousset. capricciobaroque.org

Lunga Eric Hallam and Craig Terry. Vocal Arts DC. November 18.

The South African tenor, who has consistently impressed in his two seasons with Wolf Trap Opera, makes his Washington recital debut on the city’s preeminent lieder series. His thoughtful program will combine American and African folk songs with Italian classics by Donizetti, Rossini, Bellini, and Tosti. Given the dulcet refinement of this singer’s top range, this should be an exquisite evening. vocalartsdc.org

Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra/Klaus Mäkelä, with Lisa Batiashvili. Washington Performing Arts. November 24.

Of the two European orchestras hosted by Washington Performing Arts this season (the other is the Berlin Philharmonic on November 15), the Kennedy Center visit by the great Dutch ensemble offers the more interesting repertoire: a new work by American composer Ellen Reid, Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 2 (with Lisa Batiashvili as soloist), and Rachmaninoff’s Second Symphony. It also features the local debut of whiz-kid Klaus Mäkelä at the podium. washingtonperformingarts.org

Barbara Hannigan and Bertrand Chamayou. Library of Congress. December 16.

Think of it as an alternative holiday concert, leaning more to the mystical and synesthetic than the traditional. The ground-breaking Canadian soprano and conductor, champion of contemporary music, performs song cycles by Olivier Messiaen (Chants de terre et de ciel) and John Zorn (Jumalattaret). Her partner at the piano, the eminent French pianist Bertrand Chamayou, also performs piano works by Alexander Scriabin—and it’s free. loc.gov

Barber: Vanessa. National Symphony Orchestra/Gianandrea Noseda. January 30 and February 1, 2025.

Crowning a truly stellar eighth season from Gianandrea Noseda and the NSO is his latest offering of an opera in concert. Noseda, who has avowed Samuel Barber as his favorite American composer, has assembled an A-list cast for Barber’s penetrating, psychological masterpiece, including Sondra Radvanovsky, J’Nai Bridges, Matthew Polenzani, Susan Graham, and Thomas Hampson. kennedy-center.org

Dédé: Morgiane. Opera Lafayette. February 3 and 7.

Patrick Dupre Quigley, who will succeed Ryan Brown as artistic director of Opera Lafayette at the conclusion of this coming season, will conduct this concert performance in February. Morgiane, ou, Le sultan d’Ispahan by Edmond Dédé, a free-born Creole composer from New Orleans who lived much of his life in France, will receive its belated world premiere over a century after it was composed in the 1880s. operalafayette.org

Mozart: La Clemenza di Tito. Washington Concert Opera. March 1.

Another presenter helping to compensate for a lightweight season from Washington National Opera is the city’s leading concert opera company. Antony Walker conducts Mozart’s last opera seria in the middle of another season of three operas, with a typically strong cast including soprano Tamara Wilson, mezzo-soprano Stephanie Doche, tenor Edgardo Rocha, and mezzo-soprano Meridian Prall. concertopera.org

Julia Fischer and Jan Lisiecki. The Barns at Wolf Trap. March 26.

This season will be Wu Han’s last as artistic advisor to the series Chamber Music at the Barns. The high point will likely be the duet recital by this German violinist and Canadian pianist, both known for solo careers and now forging a collaborative rapport. The program, part of a brief American tour, offers a concentrated look at the classical violin sonata, in examples by Mozart, Beethoven, and Schumann. wolftrap.org

Stile Antico. St. John’s Episcopal Church, Georgetown. March 30.

Stile Antico, one of the most celebrated choral ensembles specializing in early music, returns to Washington for the first time since a collaboration with the Folger Consort, back before the coronavirus pandemic. The chamber choir presents a program devoted to the 500th anniversary of the birth of Palestrina: charting older music sung by Palestrina, the music he composed, and later music influenced by him. stjohnsgeorgetown.org

Maria João Pires. Kennedy Center Concert Hall. May 27.

The distinguished Portuguese pianist, who turned 80 this summer, prematurely announced her retirement in 2017. For the last few years she has gone back on the road periodically, in spite of problems with dystonia in her right hand. Pires has not announced her Washington program although she has tended to focus on her favorites recently, especially Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, and Debussy. Whatever she plays, it will almost certainly be worth hearing. kennedy-center.org

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