St James Piccadilly

WHEN the composer/conductor Pierre Boulez suggested blowing up opera houses as an “expensive” but “elegant” solution to the problems faced by classical music, it marked him out forever as a firebrand. Radical, uncompromising, scary.

But it was the 1960s. He was French and on the barricades. And he got over it, maturing into one of the most revered (if still scary) cultural lions of modern times – which is how he’ll be remembered in this week of his centenary with tribute events across Sunday, March 30, on BBC Radio 3 and at the Barbican. Details: barbican.org.uk

Immersing yourself in Boulez is like jumping into shark-infested waters: his music can be merciless and bite. But it can also be surprisingly beautiful once you acclimatise to its demands. For anyone who’s never tried, Sunday is perhaps the day.

• Not quite so big a deal as Boulez but still worth celebrating is the centenary of the soprano Jennifer Vyvyan; and a concert to mark her life – much of it spent premiering operas by Benjamin Britten or rediscovering those of Handel in the 1950s/70s – runs at the Royal Academy of Music, April 3. I commend it as a fascinating evening. But then, being involved, I would. ram.ac.uk/whats-on

• Talking of water, it floods London venues this week with Requiem for Water – a new piece by Indian-American composer Reena Esmail – playing at St Paul’s Covent Garden, March 28. eclecticvoices.org.uk Meanwhile, the LPO play Tan Dun’s Water Concerto at the QEH, March 29. southbankcentre.co.uk

And if you’re interested in new music, two emerging composers from the Royal Academy, Felix Penna and Bruno Quezada, showcase song cycles they’ve written to texts by James Joyce and Apollinaire, Apr 2, Burgh House, Hampstead. burghhouse.org.uk

• Megastars in London this week include Joyce DiDonato singing two performances of Schubert’s late, great song cycle Winterreise at Wigmore Hall, March 28. wigmore-hall.org.uk. And veteran conductor Riccardo Muti (84 this year) sweeps into the Festival Hall for a Verdi Requiem with the Philharmonia Orchestra which he ran back in the 1970s. March 27. southbankcentre.co.uk

• For some while now the fine Wren church of St James Piccadilly has been undergoing renovations, which have meant the suspension of its weekday concerts. But starting April 2 they’re back, with a new rolling season of free lunchtime recitals by students from London conservatoires made possible by sponsorship from Rolex watches (SJP has classy neighbours). Evening concerts by more established artists are restarting too. And work is under way to put a new organ in the church’s handsome Grinling Gibbons organ case – where there’s been no functioning pipe instrument for 40 years!

That St James wants to raise its musical game is understandable, given that the rector Lucy Winkett was a professional singer before she got the cue from God. But there are broader issues at play. As she tells me, “these concerts are a way of combatting the social isolation felt by so many people in London. When we restarted them after a pause during the pandemic, it was incredibly emotional because the audience was so glad to be back. I’m sure that will be the case again. It’s part of our mission.” Concert details: sjp.org.uk