Thomas Adès is conducting at the Barbican on October 19 and 23 [Mark Allen]

WHEN musicians reach the stage of being living legends they can get elusive – which is now the case with Martha Argerich, arguably the greatest pianist of our time but never guaranteed to turn up when expected. Aged 84, her health is uncertain, as are her bookings. But the chance of her appearing as planned at Wigmore Hall on Oct 22 is high because she’s sharing the platform with the pianist who was once her offstage partner, the comparably celebrated (and Hampstead resident) Stephen Kovacevich.

Kovacevich is soon to turn 85, so no youngster himself. But he remains, like Argerich, a key figure in the modern keyboard hierarchy. And the chance of catching the two together – in music by Brahms and Beethoven – is something to sieze. wigmore-hall.org.uk

• Something else to sieze is the prospect of composer Thomas Adès conducting his own music – which he does with the LSO at the Barbican, Oct 19 & 23. Both programmes include Sibelius symphonies. And the one on Oct 19 has guitarist-of-the-moment Sean Shibe playing a concerto by Poul Ruders based on the prickly Pagannini theme that so many other composers (from Rachmaninov to Andrew Lloyd-Webber) have turned into sets of variations. barbican.org.uk

• More guitar music, of a more intimate kind, from the young Lebanese-Armenian Arie Dakesian who has a solo recital, Oct 21, in the atmospheric surroundings of Leighton House: the Holland Park mansion built with flights of oriental fantasy by Victorian painter Frederick, Lord Leighton. To experience its opulence with music thrown in is an other-worldly treat. Booking: lisapeacock.co.uk

• Another concert in a place you may not have experienced is given by the London Mozart Players, Oct 20, at Inner Temple Hall. A post-war rebuild after its predecessor was bombed, it’s not as magical as Middle Temple Hall but still worth seeing. And the LMP play an entire programme of their namesake Mozart. templemusic.org

• Never underestimate the power of film scores, especially those that come with names like Miklos Rozsa and Nino Rota who composed for some of the great directors of the 20th century. On Oct 18 at Smith Square the Salomon Orchestra, conducted by Graham Ross, play music from Rosza’s epic Ben Hur, and from Rota’s score for the Fellini classic La Strada. Take popcorn, but eat it quietly. sinfoniasmithsquare.org.uk

• Thinking of film music, John Wilson’s supercharged Sinfonia of London have just launched a new recording of My Fair Lady that features the supersmooth young lyric tenor Laurence Kilsby in a lead role. Kilsby is a singer going places. And he extends his relationship with Wilson and the Sinfonia at the Barbican, Oct 23, singing Britten’s Serenade for tenor, horn and strings. barbican.org.uk

• Finally, something for hi-fi enthusiasts. A new show of paintings by Peter Doig has just opened at Serpentine South called The House of Music. And the music –ambient when I was there, played as a background to Doig’s ghostly images on canvas – comes from massive vintage speakers rescued from old cinemas and placed around the rooms as works of art in their own right. The gallery has thoughtfully provided comfy chairs to lounge in as you listen. Runs to Feb next year. And free! serpentinegalleries.org