CLASSICAL: THE FIVE BEST CONCERTS

1

St Matthew Passion today

Roger Norrington conducts the OAE, plus chorus and soloists, in the belated UK professional premiere of the historic 829 Mendelssohn arrangement that spearheaded the modern Bach revival.

QEH, South Bank Centre, London SE (0870 382 8000) 7.45pm

2

La Clemenza di Tito today, Wed & Fri

Mozart's expose of sex and politics in imperial Rome. With Paul Nilon as the emperor and Emma Bell and Sarah Connolly as the conspirators.

London Coliseum, St Martin's Lane, London WC2 (020-7632 8300) 7pm

3

Helene Grimaud Wed

The French piano virtuoso contrasts the Second Sonatas of Rachmaninov and Chopin (after playing the latter's Barcarolle in F sharp and Berceuse in D flat).

RFH, South Bank Centre, London SE (0870 382 8000) 7.30pm

4

The Renaissance Muse Thur

German counter-tenor Andreas Scholl stars alongside Broadway actress Laila Robbins in a staged performance of Renaissance laments and lute songs by Dowland, Campion & Co, interspersed with poems by Shakespeare and contemporaries.

Barbican Hall, Silk Street, London EC2 (0845 20 7550) 7.30pm

5

Candide Fri

Young US tenor Michael Slattery is in the title role of Leonard Bernstein's philosophical romp. Rumon Gamba conducts and Sir Thomas Allen adds a gloss to what is hopefully the best of all possible casts.

RFH, South Bank Centre, London SE (0870 382 8000) 7.30pm; also Sat 2 Feb