Alfred Brendel: A Musical Celebration at the Barbican, Jan 5, 7pm [Regina Schmeken]

OK, Christmas/New Year done, we step into the void of January – and for classical music it does tend to be a literal void: the time when concerts stop and performers cast aside their seasonal Messiahs in favour of a few weeks on a beach in Gran Canaria, recuperating.

But this year looks a bit different, thanks to the unflagging determination of the Wigmore Hall not to take a rest, and to two memorial events starting the year with combined sadness and celebration.

One of the memorials, at the Wigmore Hall Jan 4, is for Laura Samuel, the violinist who was a founding member of the Belcea Quartet, then Leader of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, who died way before her time and is much-missed – not least by the army of musicians appearing in this concert, who include the surviving Belcea players, Ian Bostridge, Mark Padmore, and many more. Entry is free, but you’ll need to book and tickets are going fast: wigmore-hall.org.uk

The other memorial is for Alfred Brendel at the Barbican, Jan 5. And as Brendel lived in NW3 until his death last summer, it has local significance – although of course his fame as one of the supreme pianists of modern times was worldwide.

Predictably, the great and good have queued up to take part in this concert, including Simon Rattle, Imogen Cooper, Andras Schiff, the Takacs Quartet. And though there IS a ticket charge for it, all proceeds go to a trust supporting young musicians that’s been set up in Brendel’s name. So be generous. barbican.org.uk

• As for the Wigmore’s sterling refusal to hibernate, it’s programming a seriously strong week, with the alluring French tenor Cyrille Dubois singing Fauré, Dec 3; the choir of Christ Church Oxford in a last gasp of choral seasonality, Jan 5; super-suave baritone Christopher Maltman singing Schubert, Jan 6; polymath pianist Kirill Gerstein in Brahms & Liszt, Jan 7; and the nowadays near-iconic mezzo Sarah Connolly with an intriguing programme of old and new, Jan 8. More than enough to keep things going: wigmore-hall.org.uk

• Elsewhere, the National Youth Orchestra are at the Barbican Jan 4 with the programme of Ravel, Debussy and Anna Clyne (her magnificent cello concerto, written in 2019 and called Dance) that the NYO’s 160 or so teenage players have been rehearsing intently through the Christmas vac. barbican.org.uk

• Meanwhile, the Royal Opera’s endlessly revived circus-style staging of Turandot (first seen 40 years ago and still in business despite regular rumours to the contrary) soldiers on to the end of the month with changing singers in the lead roles – none of them Anna Netrebko at this point in the current run, though you might be interested to see that some performances have Roberto Alagna as Calaf (the hero who gets to empty his lungs into Nessun Dorma).
And alongside, the company rolls out yet another revival of its venerably old Traviata, Jan 8-Feb 17, starting with the glamorous Ermonela Jaho as Violetta, though the role passes to Pretty Yende in mid-run. Jaho is the better bet. rbo.org.uk