Michael Zwiebach

The oboe is not the easiest instrument to play under the best of circumstances. So deciding to play Baroque and classical oboes, the less-techologically advantaged forerunners of the modern instrument might seem like a recipe for frustration akin to attempting to surf the internet with a 1980s-era personal computer.

Of the many big names in postwar modernist composition, György Ligeti stands out because his music retains the power to influence and inspire young musicians. The new music group sfSound acknowledges this status in their upcoming concert. Ligeti's glittering Chamber Concerto is the focal point, with a number of musicians from the Bay Area composing short works in response to it.

The holiday concert season climaxes this weekend, and the San Francisco Symphony is pulling out its last stops – literally. The Symphony Chorus and is enlisted for a “Choral Christmas Spectacular” that brings out the flavor in your holiday faves.

The Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra and Music Director Benjamin Simon give a nod to the holidays this Saturday with Arcangelo Corelli's perennial Christmas Concerto.

The penny-whistle, harp, and bodhran will be in full cry this Friday evening as Old First Church presents Golden Bough, a trio of minstrels who do Christmas Celtic style. You don't need an Irish (or Galician) aunt to enjoy the rare carols and toe-tapping folk tunes this group performs.

The Schola Cantorum San Francisco is one of the Bay Area's finest, professional singing groups. Their Christmas concert for the San Francisco Early Music Society is based on music from Spain's Golden Age and is certain to be one of the choral highlights of the holiday season.

Linda Ronstadt narrates the annual winter concert performance of Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf with the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra.