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More than a few operatic and other vocal diversions may beckon you in the coming spring. Here are just a few of the surprises.

Magdalena Kožená has proven her mettle in music of the high Baroque, and in her 2010 CD, Lettere Amorose, she adds to her recorded repertory Italian love songs by the 17th-century composers, bringing a natural flair and easy virtuosity to the works, and a beautiful and distinctive sound.

Change has proven to be good for David Daniels, who switched to the highly unlikely vocal category of countertenor as a graduate student. Since, the award-winning singer has performed with opera companies around the world, and was the first countertenor to give a solo recital in the main auditorium of Carnegie Hall. He spoke to SFCV about his career and hobbies.

Classical guitarist Sharon Isbin recently won a 2010 Grammy Award for for her CD Journey to the New World and became the first guitarist in 43 years to receive two classical Grammies. Here, the director of the guitar departments at the Juilliard School and the Aspen Music Festival, hailed by Boston Magazine as “the pre-eminent guitarist of our time,” talks with SFCV.

What better way to usher in a new year than to have fun with that funmost of instruments, the clarinet? Those who love William Bolcom’s Graceful Ghost reinvention of ragtime will take instantly to the first four cuts of this new Harmonia Mundi release.

The guitar has roots in all kinds of music, and the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet is determined to share them all ... and then some.

The most prestigious classical music competition in the U.S. isn’t the Van Cliburn Piano Competition, it’s the Naumburg Foundation Competition. As S.F. Performances prepares to host this year’s piano winner, Soyeon Lee, here’s what musicians think of the organization’s enviable track record.

Every season, a few concerts and recitals with “wow” factor come along: rare events that create a sense of occasion, partly because they rarely happen. You know that if you miss them, you’ll probably end up feeling sorry later. Here are a few top recommendations.

Almost every music fan knows that the December holiday season is high tide for choral concerts. But what do about the rest of the year? Only SFCV tracks the winter and spring doings of the Bay Area’s plenitude of choral groups.