THURSDAY MARCH 9

UNIVERSITY SYMPHONY
Yep, even more Mozart, and at a bargain price, too. Geoffrey Boers leads the combined University ensembles—the Symphony, Chamber Singers, and Chorale—in a performance of Mozart's Great Mass in C Minor. Also Fri Mar 10. Meany Theater, UW Campus, 543-4880, 7:30 pm, $10.

FRIDAY MARCH 10

ALAN LECHUSZA
Even today, composers and improvisers occupy distinct territories often bounded by mistrust and condescension. Lechusza, a Bay Area–based clarinetist and saxophonist, typifies the recent breed of composer/improviser, musicians who are equally at home freely improvising music out of thin air or writing it all down on paper. His latest disc, Mineralia (pfMentum), abounds with snaky yet swinging improvisations that would make Webern proud. This gig features Lechusza's MAD trio, an ensemble of woodwinds, tuba, and electric cello. Gallery 1412, 1412 18th Ave, 322-1533, 8 pm, $5–$15 sliding scale donation.

SATURDAY MARCH 11

RICHARD EGARR
The renowned keyboardist delves into the Goldberg Variations. According to popular (and unproven) lore, J. S. Bach composed the mammoth work to entertain the ailing and insomnia-prone Count Keyserlingk. Since Glenn Gould's legendary 1955 high-velocity recording for Columbia, the Goldbergs have been a flashpoint for authenticity in music: period instruments (or replicas) versus modern instruments, adherence or avoidance of repeats, and proper tempi. At any speed, on any instrument, and even without repeats, the piece is a marvel. Pre-concert talk starts at 7 pm. Town Hall, 1119 Eighth Ave, 325-7066, 8 pm, $15–$34.

THE ESOTERICS
This a cappella ensemble sing Vigilia by Finnish composer Einojuhani Rautavaara, best known for his wraithlike 1972 work Cantus Arcticus: Concerto for Birds and Orchestra. I haven't heard Vigilia, a setting of the Orthodox liturgy; however, count me in for any choral piece by a master like Rautavaara teeming with, as detailed in the press release, "whispers, choral clusters, dramatic glissandi, profound bass pedals, and microtonal chant." Also Sun Mar 12 at Holy Rosary Church in West Seattle at 8 pm. Phinney Ridge Lutheran Church, 7500 Greenwood Ave N, 935-7779, 8 pm, $15–$20.

SUNDAY MARCH 12

SONIC REFLECTION
Thankfully it's not a New Age album on Windham Hill from 1985, but a promising concert belied by a generic name. In honor of Ravel's Miroirs, five pianists, including jazz pianist and composer Dawn Clement and the dauntless Julie Ives, play the music of Scriabin, Ligeti, Chick Corea, Arvo Pärt, and Rodion Shchedrin. Seattle Asian Art Museum, 1400 E Prospect St, Volunteer Park, 654-3100, 2 pm, $7/$15.

TUESDAY MARCH 14

QUAKE
Titled "Instruments Optional," the program includes John Cage's Living Room Music, Eve Beglarian's "Play Nice" for toy piano, and Steve Reich's text-sound classic Come Out. Quake also tackles pieces from the Fluxus Event Workbook; I'm looking forward to Yoko Ono's "Sky Piece for Jesus Christ." Yet I gotta quibble with the concert's title. Didn't the 20th century teach us that all ideas, objects, and processes are musical instruments in search of a master? Recital Hall at Benaroya, 200 University St, 292-2787, 7:30 pm, $10/$20.