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JOHN BUTCHER & GINO ROBAIR
Percussionist, Anthony Braxton compadre, and Electronic Musician magazine editor Robair teams up with one of the most remarkable saxophonists of our time, John Butcher. Zen Widow, a trio of improvisers from Italy and the Bay Area, opens. Polestar Music Gallery, 1412 18th Ave at E Union St, 329-4224, 8 pm, $10.
SATURDAY MAY 8
THE ESOTERICS
A plentiful program of "American madrigals" by Elliott Carter (two Emily Dickinson settings), Minnesota composer Stephen Paulus, Donald Skirvin, Irving Fine (The hour glass, a cycle of six Ben Jonson poems), and the undeservedly obscure Ross Lee Finney (the Spherical Madrigals). Also Sun May 9 at Holy Rosary Church in West Seattle at 3 pm. St Joseph's Church, 732 18th Ave E, 935-7779, 8 pm, $15-$20.
HESPERION XXI
Unlike some fussy "Early Music" (i.e., pre-Baroque) groups, this Spanish-based ensemble gets so rowdy, you might think they're playing proto rock 'n' roll from circa A.D. 1250. For this concert of Spanish, Italian, and North African music from A.D. 1100-1300, Hesperion XXI honcho Jordi Savall brandishes an array of medieval bowed instruments, including the vielle, rebab, and lira de arco. Harpist Arianna Savall and the percussionist Pedro Estevan round out the trio. Those under 25 pay 10 bucks. Where's my old fake ID? Town Hall, Eighth Ave and Seneca St, 325-7066, 8 pm, $10-$29. SUNDAY MAY 9
IVES PLAYS IVES
Pianist Julie Ives tackles the first and perhaps greatest colossus of American piano literature, the Piano Sonata No. 2 Concord, Mass. 1840-1860 of Charles Ives (no relation). Also on the program: two by Toru Takemitsu, Litany and Rain Tree Sketch II (In memoriam Olivier Messiaen), along with György Ligeti's Etude No. 5 "Arc-en-ciel," Paul Swenson's Two Short Piano Pieces, and Nichli'i by Sorelle flutist Sarah Bassingthwaighte. Polestar Music Gallery, 1412 18th Ave at E Union St, 329-4224, 8 pm, $10.
MONDAY MAY 10
MUSIC OF REMEMBRANCE
MOR sponsors concerts of music composed by Holocaust victims and survivors. Lest the repertory run out, the organization also features new compositions inspired by the Holocaust. Under the baton of Seattle Symphony conductor Gerard Schwarz, MOR premieres Thomas Pasatieri's Letter to Warsaw with soprano Jane Eaglen. Pasatieri set texts from six poems by Pola Braun, a Polish cabaret performer. Braun wrote her poems in the Warsaw ghetto and at the Majdanek concentration camp, where she perished. Recital Hall at Benaroya, Third Ave & Union St, 365-7770, 7:30 pm, $25.
MATT JORGENSEN + 451
This sleek quartet, propelled by Seattle drummer Matt Jorgensen and Ryan Burns on Fender Rhodes electric piano, plays an appealing, straight-ahead brand of jazz. The Triple Door, 216 Union St, 838-4333, 9 pm, free.
Stranger Personals
WEDNESDAY MAY 12
THE MAGIC FLUTE
UW voice students and faculty stage Mozart's operatic masterpiece in "a modern urban location." A good bet for opera lovers on a budget. Sung in English. Also Fri May 14 at 7:30 pm and Sun May 16 at 3 pm. Meany Theater, UW campus, 543-4880, 7:30 pm, $10/$20.
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