SEATTLE SYMPHONY--No other pianist has done as much for contemporary music as Ursula Oppens; I'd love to hear her performing Carter or Rzewski live. Unfortunately, I don't set the symphony's programming, so we'll have to settle for the slighter charms of Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 2. Maybe Oppens will encore with something more recent--I understand she likes to mix it up that way. Also included are Webern's dramatic Passacaglia, Op. 1, and--making this the most bizarrely programmed concert of the month-- Schumann's Symphony No. 4. Benaroya Hall, Taper Auditorium, Thurs March 11, 7:30 pm, and Fri March 12, 8 pm, $15-$65, 215-4747 or www.seattlesymphony.org.

NORTHWEST CHAMBER ORCHESTRA--Catch up on your 18th- century allegorical musicals with this performance of Handel's L'Allegro, Il Penseroso ed Il Moderato, a discussion between Mirth, Melancholy, and Moderation. Benaroya Hall, Nordstrom Recital Hall, Sat March 13, 8 pm, and Sun March 14, 2:30 pm, $19.50/$22.50, 343-0445 or 292-ARTS.

BRIDGE ENSEMBLE--We all have our likes and dislikes--so, okay, Brahms has just never done it for me. If you're one of the millions who disagrees, you'll want to attend this concert of two Piano Quartets--No. 2 in A and No. 3 in C--by Seattle's pre-eminent chamber ensemble. Benaroya Hall, Nordstrom Recital Hall, Tues March 16, 8 pm, $15/$20, 292-ARTS.