Christian Gerhaher, baritone (left); Gerold Huber, piano, perform at Wigmore Hall on January 20 [Nikolaj Lund]

SOMETHING about the human voice makes it more magical, mysterious and beautiful than any other instrument; and of all human voices on the current concert circuit, there is none more special than the German baritone Christian Gerhaher, who comes to Wigmore Hall, Jan 20, with songs by Tchaikovsky and Faure.

Not long ago he sang the title role in Wozzeck at the Royal Opera House, and did so with unusual refinement. But it’s in the intimacy of recitals that his eloquence and burnished tone really deliver. And I’m keen to hear what he does with Faure’s song-cycle La Bonne Chanson: an other-worldly masterpiece not often enough done, and good to see included in the programme. wigmore-hall.org.uk

• Another special artist is the pianist Igor Levit, also at the Wigmore this week, Jan 19, with a programme of miniatures written late in life by Brahms. A hot ticket. wigmore-hall.org.uk

Tickets will be comparably hot for the evenings when Angela Gheorghiu steps into the Royal Opera’s revival of La Boheme in its spare Richard Jones staging. Show runs Jan 24-Feb 16. Gheorghiu nights are Jan 25, 27, Feb 1,11. roh.org.uk

• High on the musical anniversaries’ list for 2024 is Gustav Holst, and there will be performances of The Planets firing in all directions to mark 150 years since his birth. So before the frequency becomes unbearable, you might want to make an early start with the Philharmonia Orchestra, Jan 20, at the Royal Festival Hall. southbankcentre.co.uk

• Almost as unavoidable right now is Antonio Pappano as he finishes his time at the Royal Opera (with a sonically shattering new Elektra that’s just opened), starts his new life in charge of the London Symphony Orchestra, and fits in odd engagements like the student concert of Strauss and Mahler he conducts at the Royal College of Music, Jan 19.

Anyone who takes an interest in oboes and bassoons might want to take a sleeping bag and stay the night, because next morning, Jan 20, the RCM kicks off a Double Reed Day to celebrate those very woodwind instruments (not to be confused with things like clarinets and saxophones that use a single reed). With masterclasses, workshops, and earnest comparison of reed-making techniques, it will be bliss for enthusiasts but a musical equivalent of trainspotting for the rest of us. rcm.ac.uk

• St Martin’s Voices – resident ensemble of St Martin-in-the-Fields – sing to a social agenda in their “Songs of Justice” programme at the church on Jan 23. Works by James MacMillan, Cecilia McDowall (setting the last words of executed nurse Edith Cavell) and Philip Moore (his Three Prayers of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the priest killed in a Nazi concentration camp). stmartin-in-the-fields.org

• Finally, the ongoing series of Tales & Tunes Family Concerts continues Jan 20, 3.30pm at St Michael’s Church, South Grove, Highgate, with words and music based around Saint-Saëns’ Carnival of the Animals. Featuring piano duo Noriko Ogawa and Philip Smith, it’s designed for children great and small, with prizes for best animal costumes and “best-behaved four-legged friends” (which presumably means dogs rather than anything to stop the traffic). If only I hadn’t given my alligator onesie to the Oxfam shop. www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/carnival-of-the-animals-tickets-771401120517?