Critic's picks
CLASSICAL MUSIC
BOSTON EARLY MUSIC FESTIVAL
The city is about to turn into a mecca for early music pilgrims from around the country, and even from overseas, with nine days of concerts, operas, symposia, lectures, workshops, family programs, and a trade show. Anchoring this year's festival will be a new production of Monteverdi's "Coronation of Poppea" as well as the return of a double bill of chamber operas (John Blow's "Venus and Adonis" and Charpentier's "Acteon"). June 6-14, various venues, 617-661-1812, www.bemf.org
LYDIAN STRING QUARTET
The stalwart local ensemble offers a pair of recitals, with the first, on June 6, featuring works by Haydn, Mendelssohn, and Faure, and the second, on June 13, celebrating the 80th birthday of the widely admired composer Yehudi Wyner. At 8 p.m., $15-$25, Slosberg Music Center, Brandeis University, 781-736-3400 or www.brandeis.edu 