Critic's picks - classical music
TAKACS QUARTET This top-tier chamber ensemble returns to town with an unusual program: Instead of simply performing the Bartok string quartets, the Takacs will explore their deep connection to Hungarian folk music with help from the folk ensemble Muzsikas. Nov. 16 at 3 p.m. $45-$58. Jordan Hall, 617-482-6661 or www.celebrityseries.org
DRESDEN STAATSKAPELLE The venerable orchestra makes its first local appearance with its music director, Fabio Luisi, performing Brahms's Fourth Symphony and Beethoven's First Piano Concerto. Rudolf Buchbinder is the soloist. Nov. 19 at 8 p.m. $37-$85. Symphony Hall, 617-482-6661 or www.celebrityseries.org
BOSTON SECESSION Artistic director Jane Ring Frank leads the chorus in works by Bach and Brahms as well as Alfred Schnittke's Requiem. Nov. 15 at 8 p.m. $25-$35. First Church, 11 Garden St., Cambridge, 617-499-4860 or www.bostonsecession.org
PACIFICA QUARTET The Longy School's resident quartet performs a modern-tilting recital program featuring Elliott Carter's String Quartet No. 3 and George Crumb's "Black Angels." The primary nod to tradition will be Beethoven's sublime late Quartet Op. 132. Nov. 17 at 8 p.m. $30. Longy School, 27 Gardner St., Cambridge, 617-876-0956 or www.longy.edu JEREMY EICHLER 