It takes two to tango to Astor Piazzolla’s “passionate compositions," which were part of a revolutionary movement called nuevo tango, a genre that incorporates jazz and classical music. And two is the number of Mondavi Center programs that will feature his music in March and April.

• Tango Fire: Tango Inferno — The Tango Fire company of 10 dancers, with music and singing, performs Tango Inferno, "a journey from the red light district of Buenos Aires to the glamour of the Roaring '20s to the world of contemporary ballroom dance." The show features the music of many of the most famous tango composers, including the legendary Piazzolla. 8 p.m. Thursday, March 10, Jackson Hall.

• Pablo Ziegler with Beyond Tango — Pianist Ziegler began his career playing classical and jazz before joining Piazzola's New Tango Quintet in 1978. He performed with this group for 10 years before forming his own Quartet for New Tango in 1990. Today, he has a 12-piece band, Beyond Tango, which “carries forward Piazzolla’s legacy, while creating a bracing new tradition for the inimitable Argentine musical form," according to the Mondavi Center. 8 p.m. Friday, April 29, Jackson Hall.

More at the Mondavi

• Bluebeard's Castle — Béla Bartók’s opera, fully staged, with the UC Davis Symphony Orchestra, led by Christian Baldini, providing the music, and the Department of Theatre and Dance handling the set, lighting, costumes and direction. See separate story.

• UC Davis Jazz Bands: Selected Standards — 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 2, Vanderhoef Studio Theatre.

• University Chorus with the Alumni Chorus, and the University of the Pacific Symphony Orchestra — The program comprises Berlioz’s Roman Carnival Overture and Roussel’s Suite No. 2 to Bacchus and Ariadne, both conducted by Nicolas Waldvogel, director of the UOP orchestra; and Te Deum, led by Professor Jeffrey Thomas, director of choral music at UC Davis. Joining the University Chorus and Alumni Chorus on Te Deum will be the Davis Children’s Chorale, the Sacramento Children’s Chorus and the Pacific Boychoir. 7 p.m. Sunday, March 6, Jackson Hall.

• Henry Louis Gates Jr.: "African American Lives — Genealogy, Genetics and Black History" — The Distinguished Speakers series presents the head of the W.E.B. DuBois Institute for African and African American Studies at Harvard University, addressing research and DNA analysis and poignant family stories in a lively discussion on individual lineage and African American history. Beyond his academic work, Gates, you may recall, made the news in connection with a July 2009 confrontation with a Cambridge, Mass., police officer. 8 p.m. Monday, March 7, Jackson Hall.

• UC Davis Concert and University Bands: Celebrating Physical Sciences and Engineering — 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 9, Jackson Hall.

• Yefim Bronfman, piano — One of the most talented virtuoso pianists performing today, Bronfman’s commanding technique and exceptional lyrical gifts have won him critical acclaim and enthusiastic audiences worldwide. 8 p.m. Saturday, March 12, Jackson Hall

• Alexander String Quartet — Beethoven's String Quartet in C-sharp Minor, Op. 131. 2 p.m. (sold out; wait list available) and 7 p.m. (limited availability) Sunday, March 13, Vanderhoef Studio Theater. Commentary by musicologist, author and composer Robert Greenberg during the 2 p.m. concert; question-and-answer session with quartet members after the 7 p.m. concert.

With its four concerts in 2010-11 (each concert is presented twice, at 2 and 7 p.m. Sunday), the quartet will complete its Mondavi Center cycle of all of Beethoven’s string quartets.

Just added

Tony Bennett has never had a chance to leave his heart at the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts.

But last week the center announced two “just added” events for the 2010-11 season: Bennett and comedian Sarah Silverman, who also will be performing at the center for the first time.

Silverman, dubbed “the most outrageously funny woman alive” by Rolling Stone magazine, is scheduled to take the stage in Jackson Hall at 7 p.m. Sunday, April 10.

Bennett, whose “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” is a musical gold standard, is scheduled to perform at 8 p.m. Wednesday, May 25, also on the Jackson Hall stage.

Tickets are available online, or by visiting or calling the Mondavi Center box office, (530) 754-2787 or (866) 754-2787.