THURSDAY NOVEMBER 10

SEATTLE SYMPHONY
Jun Märkl leads the orchestra in Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 1 (with soloist Benjamin Hochman) and Brahms' trenchantly dramatic Symphony No. 1. The Symphony premieres Gabriela Lena Frank's aptly titled Manchay Tiempo ("Time of Fear"). Also Sat Nov 12 at 8 pm, as well as Sun Nov 13 at 2 pm but without Frank. Benaroya Hall, Third Ave and Union St, 215-4747, 7:30 pm, $15–$87.

TOOTS THIELEMANS
How do you import an unusual instrument into the jazz pantheon? Play it like a horn. The Belgian-born Thielemans single-handedly made the harmonica an accepted instrument in jazz by deftly bending and slurring tones, adroitly articulating notes at will, and compelling its predictably forlorn timbre to become by turns sunny, dapper, and sensuous. With longtime musical-foil pianist Kenny Werner and guitarist Oscar Castro-Neves. Through Sat Nov 12, and also Sun Nov 13 with sets at 6:30 pm and 8:30 pm. Jazz Alley, 2033 Sixth Ave, 441-9729, sets at 7:30 pm and 9:30 pm, $23.50.

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 11

QUAKE
The program, titled "New European Masters," can't possibly cover everyone in a single evening (Ligeti, Rihm, and Neuwirth merit a night each) but this chamber group's musical farrago looks promising: Hyxos by the enchantingly enigmatic Giacinto Scelsi, Ravel's Piano Trio, the rowdy Workers Union by Dutch aggro-minimalist Louis Andriessen, and an arrangement of Yes's prog-rock anthem "Roundabout." Recital Hall at Benaroya, Third Ave and Union St, 292-2787, 8 pm, $10/$20.

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 13

LA PÉRICHOLE
Roupen Shakarian conducts a concert version of Jacques Offenbach's farcical opera in honor of Hans Wolf, an opera conductor, guru, and activist who passed away last summer at a still-spry 92. Sung in English. Town Hall, Eighth Ave and Seneca St, 528-6828, 1:30 pm, $14/$18.

MONDAY NOVEMBER 14

LADIES MUSICAL CLUB
An avant opera director's dream. Select scenes from Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro sung barebones (just voices and piano with no staging) in a hospital cafeteria. With pianist Glenda Williams and sopranos Regina Thomas, Sharon Buck, and Petra Sovcov. Harborview Medical Center, Main Building Cafeteria, 325 Ninth Ave, 622-6882, 3 pm, free.

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 16

ANDRÉ WATTS
This powerhouse pianist proffers a solo recital that showcases his tremendous pianism with works by the usual suspects. There's some Domenico Scarlatti, two Mozart rondos, a Beethoven sonata (the "Appassionata"), two Chopin études, Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No. 13, and two pieces from Ravel's Miroirs. Only Watts's inclusion of selections from György Ligeti's Musica Ricerata (1951–53) surprised me. While not as pathbreaking as Ligeti's subsequent Études, the Musica can be heard as speculative music, as if Béla Bartók (1881–1945) had lived another 10 years, and like Stravinsky, dug the hermetic miniatures of Webern. Benaroya Hall, Third Ave and Union St, 215-4747, 7:30 pm, $21–$72.

MICRO-RITMIA
Pianist Thollem McDonas joins this Mexico City–based duo of Ernesto Martinez and Eduardo González. Martinez, a protégé of Conlon Nancarrow, composes rhythmically complex but nonetheless attractive music. Gallery 1412, 1412 18th Ave at E Union St, 322-1533, 8 pm, $5–$15 sliding scale donation.