With all the ignorant bluster coming from our current administration about the danger Iran poses to the world, as well as bluster from some Iranian officials, it's easy for Americans to forget that the country once known as Persia has one of the most ancient and sophisticated cultures in the world. Its native classical music, developed over thousands of years, is distinctive, with a focus on flowing, modal melodies. Musician/composer/conductor Hossein Alizadeh, who has degrees from both the University of Teheran and the University of Berlin, has conducted the Iranian National Orchestra and was recently named a National Music Treasure in his homeland. He's also toured extensively, making him one of the better known proponents of Persian classical music around the world. He'll be coming to the Cleveland Play House's Drury Theatre (8500 Euclid Ave.) at 7:30 p.m. as part of the Cleveland Museum of Art's Viva! And Gala Series. There he'll be playing the shurangiz, a lute-like instrument he himself designed, and will be joined by the six-member string, percussion and vocals ensemble Hamavayan, which includes his twin sons. Tickets: $27 CMA members, $29 non-members. Call 888.CMA.0033. — Anastasia Pantsios

Wednesday, March 28

CityMusic Cleveland

Among the many hats young violinist Michi Wiancko wears is concertmaster of CityMusic Cleveland, the chamber orchestra that presents free, accessible classical music programs in communities around the city, featuring some of the area's top musicians. A graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Music and Julliard College in New York, Wiancko's interests stretch from classical, electronic and gypsy music to trip-hop, country and soul. For CityMusic Cleveland's latest program, Margaret Brouwer, who heads the composition department at CIM, has written a Concerto for Violin and Chamber Orchestra inspired by the wide range of styles Wiancko embraces. For those who need a familiar anchor, the program also includes Mozart's Symphony No. 39 and Stravinsky's Danses Concertantes. The program will be performed at 7:30 tonight at Fairmount Presbyterian Church in Cleveland Heights, at 7:30 tomorrow at Elyria's St. Mary's Church, at 8 p.m. Friday at the Andrews School in Willoughby, at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Shrine Church of St. Stanislaus in Slavic Village, and at 7:30 Sunday at the Rocky River Presbytarian Church. Call 216.321.8273 or go to CityMusicCleveland.org for info and directions. — AP

Thursday, March 29

Cleveland Orchestra

Even with a calling card as esteemed as the Cleveland Orchestra's, it can't be easy filling the shoes of a long-scheduled conductor forced to withdraw due to illness. But conductor Kirill Petrenko's temporary misfortune proved to be opportunity for Stéphane Denève, who will mount the Severance Hall podium for the first time this weekend. It's a real coup for the 36-year-old conductor who assumed his first music director post, at the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, just a year and a half ago. His affinity for the music of his native France should serve him well in this program, headlined by Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique, with Beethoven's Violin Concerto featuring soloist Gil Shaham as the opener. Four performances: at 8 p.m. today, tomorrow and Saturday, and 3 p.m. Sunday. Tickets: $29-$80. Box office: 216.231.1111. — AP

St. John Passion

Michi Wiancko Soloing in a new concerto with CityMusic Cleveland.

Its performances of Bach's St. John Passion have found much favor among fans of Apollo's Fire, the Cleveland Baroque Orchestra. So the group is repeating the piece in celebration of the Easter season. To be performed in English rather than German (Apollo's Fire's music director Jeannette Sorrell is honoring Bach's intention that the message be understood by listeners), it will feature the Apollo's singers and soloists Jeffrey Strauss, Ian Honeyman, Jolle Greenleaf, Kirtsen Sollek, Marc Molomot and Thomas Meglioranza. Tonight's 7:30 performance is at Fairlawn Lutheran Church (3415 W. Market St.). It'll also be performed at 8 p.m. tomorrow at Christ Presbyterian Church (530 Tuscarawas St. W, Canton), at 8 p.m. Saturday, March 31 and 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 4 at St. Paul's Episcopal Church (2747 Fairmount Blvd., Cleveland Heights), and 4 p.m. Sunday, April 1 at Trinity Cathedral (2230 Euclid Ave.). Tickets: $10-$40. Call 216.320.0012. — AP

Evening of Improvisational Music

There's no telling what you will be hearing at Parish Hall (6205 Detroit Ave., 216.939.9099) when three acts take the stage to basically fly by the seat of their pants. The Riggs/Sternhagen/McCormack trio, who play entirely improvised music, met as students at the Oberlin Conservatory, so they've obviously got a solid base for a flight into the unknown. Chris Auerbach-Brown, a music teacher, also brings training to his performance, based on a drone he creates into which he later brings audience volunteers. The duo Washer uses found sounds and non-traditional instruments to construct its unpredictable performances. The sonic adventuring starts at 8 p.m. Admission: $5. — AP

Masterpieces of EuropeaN Painting

While the Cleveland Museum of Art's galleries have been closed during the building's expansion and renovation, many of its works of art have been busy elsewhere, with touring shows taking some to Asia, and an intriguing selection on display at MOCA here in Cleveland last year. Now Clevelanders will have an opportunity to visit some of the museum's best-loved works when Masterpieces of European Painting from the Cleveland Museum of Art opens at the Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage (2929 Richmond Rd., Beachwood, 216.593.0575). The 18-painting show includes familiar works by Rembrandt, Rubens, David, El Greco and Turner, among them Turner's iconic "The Burning of the Houses of Lords and Commons." It'll be on display through July 8. Admission: $12 adults, $10 seniors and students, $5 ages 5-11. — AP

Friday, MArch 30

Lou Muenz photography

Longtime denizen of the local music scene Lou Muenz, who moved to Cleveland from Pittsburgh in the '80s, had put aside his photographic aspirations, but was lured back by the advent of digital photography which freed struggling artists from the onerous cost of film and processing. Recently he's been documenting Cleveland cityscapes and events, and posting thousands of his photos on his Web site, loumuenz.com. If you'd like to see what his shots look like in the more traditional wall-hanging print format, you're in luck. He's opening a show called More Tales from the Rust Belt featuring local people, events and scenes, including shots of the LTV Steel plant where Steelyard Commons now stands, at Parish Hall (6205 Detroit Ave., 216.939.9099) with a free reception from 7-9 tonight. It's followed at 9 by a concert with New York's Luxury Flats, and Cleveland bands Tall Pines and Coffinberry. Admission is $5. Muenz's work hangs through April 28. — AP