Lise Davidsen is at Wigmore Hall [James Hole]

WHEN someone is truly at the top of their game – with the confidence, charisma, all-round magic that entails – you know it. And there’s one outstanding artist I’ve been privileged to follow as she’s grown into that magic – from hearing her sing in a small room in a Norwegian castle (where the voice sounded so big it was like being hit between the ears with a jewel-encrusted hammer) to seeing her more recently at the Royal Opera House and the Proms.
She is Lise Davidsen, the soprano, who, all those years ago in that small room, had just won the Queen of Norway’s singing competition. Now she’s one of the world’s most in-demand performers, spectacular in Wagner (where a big voice helps) but also mesmerising in Nordic song (where being Norwegian helps). So top of this week’s concert-going agenda has to be her recital at Wigmore Hall on Oct 13 where, with the pianist James Baillieu, she sings music by Grieg and Sibelius. Hot tip: don’t sit too close to the front – you’ll hear her more than adequately at the back! wigmore-hall.org.uk

• Also at the top of their collective game right now are the BBC Singers, for whom the threat of extinction has done wonders. Always technically impressive and a good thing for new music, they were (to be truthful) growing slightly tired – until the BBC tried to get rid of them and they re-invented themselves as a force to be reckoned with. So if you don’t get to Lise Davidsen, go support them at the Guildhall School’s Milton Court on Oct 13, where they sing a programme of meditative contemporary choral music by approachable composers like Morten Lauridsen, Caroline Shaw and Dobrinka Tabakova. barbican.org.uk

• In the belief that it’s never too early to introduce children to music, English Touring Opera have a new piece by composer Russell Hepplewhite, Under the Little Red Moon, that’s designed for children up to the age of two (presumably bringing the odd parent along for the ride). It plays Oct 14 at the Half Moon Theatre, E1, and Oct 16 at the Arts Depot, N12. Expect good-natured and instructive bedlam. englishtouringopera.org.uk

• City Music Foundation, the charity that helps young musicians in the early stages of their careers, has a series of lunchtime concerts running in City Livery Halls to which you wouldn’t have access unless you move in exalted circles. So along with the brilliance of the performers comes a chance to be nosey. And on Oct 16 you can nose around Barber-Surgeon’s Hall, EC2, while enjoying two of the fine talents on CMF’s books, violinist Emmanuel Coppey with pianist Antoine Preat. Debussy, Bach, Mendelssohn. citymusicfoundation.org

• Finally, two pianists at different points in their careers, both worth taking note of. Kevin Chen, 18, won the Arthur Rubinstein prize earlier this year in Israel and makes what should be a striking debut at St John’s Smith Square, Oct 15. sjss.org.uk. Meanwhile, the more established and always compelling Benjamin Grosvenor plays Bach, Liszt and Chopin at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Oct 18. southbankcentre.co.uk