La Jolla Music Society’s 45th Year

The La Jolla Music Society has set a new bar of excellence with its 2013-14 Anniversary Season, and is marking its 45th year with an astounding array of music and dance performances. The season is so chock full of extraordinary artistry that selecting from the menu of offerings will be nearly impossible. Consider this month’s concert by pianist Haochen Zhang at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego Sherwood Auditorium on December 7. Zhang’s sensitive interpretation of works by Brahms, Beethoven, Lowell Liebermann, Debussy, and Stravinsky will enchant. The performance is preceded by a talk, “Less is More? — The Art of the Short Composition” by Steven Cossedy.

January 2014 offers three inviting and diverse attractions. First up is violinist Nadir Khashimov performing on January 12 at the The Scripps Research Institute. Cellist Alisa Weilerstein and pianist Inon Barnatan team up at MCASD Sherwood Auditorium on January 17, and the megawatt Broadway performer Patti Lupone takes the stage on January 31 at the Balboa Theatre.

The great violinist Joshual Bell joins pianist Sam Haywood at the Balboa Theatre on February 7. Add the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, also at the Balboa, on February 28. These are two of five terrific February programs.

Through the rest of the fairly densely scheduled season, ending in May, are sprinkled names of such luminaries as Yo-Yo Ma, Wynton Marsalis, Ramsey Lewis, John Pizzarelli, and Audra McDonald. (858.459.3728, www.ljms.org)    DARLENE G. DAVIES