Laurie Anderson: The celebrated performance artist returns with the Chicago premiere of her latest full-scale work, “Delusion.” 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Harris Theater for Music and Dance, 205 E. Randolph St.; $35-$80; 312-334-7777, harristheaterchicago.org
Baroque Band: With “Charlie’s Angels,” concertmaster and artistic director Garry Clarke and his splendid period ensemble play instrumental music from the court of Britain’s King Charles II — works by Purcell, Blow, Locke, Croft and others. 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Hyde Park Union Church, 5600 S. Woodlawn Ave. (repeated Jan. 15 in Evanston and Jan. 19 in Chicago). $35, $30 for seniors; 312-235-2368, baroqueband.org
Julia Bentley: The ubiquitous Chicago mezzo-soprano, a faculty member at the Music Institute of Chicago, is joined by colleagues including pianist Kuang-Hao Huang for an unusual program of new music, including George Crumb’s “Madrigals Books I-IV” and the premiere of Laura Elise Schwendinger’s “About a Mountain.” 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Nichols Concert Hall, 1490 Chicago Ave., Evanston; $25, $15 for seniors; 847-905-1500, ext. 108; musicinst.org
Chicago Chamber Orchestra: Dieter Kober, the group’s long-serving music director, is back on the podium for the annual post-holiday concert, including works by Haydn, Mozart and Saint-Saens. Violinist David Yonan is the soloist. 3 p.m. Sunday at Preston Bradley Hall, Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington St.; free; 312-357-1551, chicagochamberorchestra.org
Chicago Composers Orchestra: Matthew Kasper directs the group’s winter concert, which includes the premieres of works by Andrea Clearfield, Brandon Harrington, Luke Gullickson and others. Elina Lev is the violin soloist. 7:30 p.m. Friday at Ganz Hall, Roosevelt University, 430 S. Michigan Ave.; $10-$15; chicagocomposersorchestra.org
Chicago Symphony Orchestra: The brilliant English pianist Stephen Hough concludes his survey of Tchaikovsky’s works for piano and orchestra with the ever-popular First Piano Concerto. The program, with Mark Elder conducting, also includes music of Liadov and Prokofiev’s powerful Symphony No. 5; 8 p.m. Saturday; $28-$211. Canadian conductor Yannick Nezet-Seguin (recently named music director designate of the Philadelphia Orchestra) and French violinist Renaud Capucon make their CSO debuts at concerts beginning at 8 p.m. Thursday (repeated Jan. 14-16). The program holds Ravel’s “Valses nobles et sentimentales,” Korngold’s Violin Concerto and Tchaikovsky’s “Pathetique” Symphony; $23-$211. Symphony Center, 220 S. Michigan Ave.; 312-294-3000, cso.org
Chicago Symphony Orchestra — ‘Beyond the Score’: Narrator and host Gerard McBurney leads an examination of the conflict between art and politics behind the composition of Prokofiev’s Fifth Symphony, followed by a complete performance of the World War II masterpiece under Mark Elder. 1:30 p.m. Friday and 3 p.m. Sunday at Symphony Center, 220 S. Michigan Ave.; $23-$127; 312-294-3000, cso.org
Elgin Symphony Orchestra: Music director Robert Hanson leads the ESO in Bruckner’s noble Symphony No. 6 and Haydn’s Cello Concerto in D major, with Alisa Weilerstein as soloist. 8 p.m. Friday at Prairie Arts Center, 201 Schaumburg Court, Schaumburg; and 8 p.m. Saturday and 3:30 p.m. Sunday at Hemmens Theatre, 45 Symphony Way, Elgin; 847-888-4000, elginsymphony.org
Emerson String Quartet: One of the great string quartets returns for a meaty program that holds the Berg and Debussy quartets. 7:30 p.m. Friday in Mandel Hall, University of Chicago, 1151 E. 57th St.; $35; 773-702-8068, chicagopresents.uchicago.edu
Lyric Opera of Chicago — Gilbert and Sullivan’s ‘The Mikado’: The most popular of the Savoy operas returns to the Lyric repertory in a delightful new production by Chicago director Gary Griffin. Andrew Davis and Philip Morehead share the conducting duties. The winning cast includes James Morris, Neal Davies, Stephanie Blythe, Toby Spence, Andriana Chuchman and Andrew Shore. Through Jan. 21 at Civic Opera House, 20 N. Wacker Drive; $33-$207; 312-332-2244, lyricopera.org
Schola Antiqua of Chicago: The early music group under Michael Alan Anderson presents medieval and Renaissance music for Epiphany by Dufay, Lassus, Victoria and others. 8 p.m. Friday at Rockefeller Memorial Chapel, 5850 S. Woodlawn Ave.; and 8 p.m. Saturday at St. Clement Church, 642 W. Deming Place; $20, $10 for seniors; 773-955-5887, lumenchristi.org
VOX 3 Vocal Music Collective: The enterprising Chicago ensemble premieres new song cycles by local composers Myron Silberstein, Eric Reda, Amos Gillespie, Matthew Lawton, Randall E. Moore, Randall West and Adam Gustafson. 6 p.m. Tuesday at Loyola University Museum of Art, 820 N. Michigan Ave.; 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, 1218 W. Addison St.; and 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Vail Chapel, Northwestern University, 1870 Sheridan Road, Evanston; free; vox3.org
Winter Chamber Music Festival: The 15th annual edition gets underway at 7:30 p.m. Friday with Brahms’ Piano Trio No. 1 in B major and the chamber version of Mahler’s Symphony No. 4, performed by the Evanston Chamber Ensemble. Bienen School of Music faculty and guest artists join for a program of Faure, Bartok, Richard Strauss and Ingolf Dahl (7:30 p.m. Sunday). The festival runs through Feb. 7. Pick-Staiger Concert Hall, Northwestern University, 50 Arts Circle Drive, Evanston; $22, $20 for seniors; 847-467-4000, pickstaiger.org
