Seattle Symphony
Guest conductor Stéphane Denève leads the orchestra this week in perhaps the most enticing symphony program of the season, a mix of Debussy, Ravel, Fauré, and Stravinsky.
Oddly in this (or any) concert, three of the concert's four pieces begin with a percussive bang. Stravinsky's The Card Game commences with a regal procession gravely announced by horns, strings, and thumping timpani. Like much of his ballet music, The Card Game—better known as Jeu de Cartes, as Stravinsky composed it while living in France—gives way to a jolly series of sections. Strings race along while the cantering brass and woodwinds bubble with rhythmic verve. Stravinsky deliberately made his skeletal rhythmic cut-ups apparent; as a result, the music acquires a propulsive life that eludes most classical music.
Both Ravel's Piano Concerto in G and Debussy's Ibéria open unusually. The Concerto erupts with a whip-crack slap; however, Ibéria has the craftiest intro, a light but explosive chord that suggests someone in back of the orchestra hammering a nail (or a pointy climbing piton) into a taut drumhead. The Concerto, like the syrupy strings of Fauré's suite Pelléas et Mélisande, soon settles into melancholy tunes. Yet Ibéria, composed in 1908, remains secretly avant-garde.
Charles Ives (1874–1954), the first great radical American composer and maybe the most macho, derided Ibéria as "ladyfinger music," mocking the lack of tough, manly dissonance. While Ibéria's shaken tambourine and chattering castanets bear no resemblance to the sine waves of early Stockhausen, Debussy filigreed his score with ravishing details—a lone castanet click, a single muted horn note—that multitrack overdubbing and computer-based mixing made much easier a half century later. 
The Seattle Symphony perform Thurs Nov 1 at 7:30 pm, Fri Nov 2 at 1 pm, and Sat Nov 3 at 8 pm (Benaroya Hall, 200 University St, 215-4747), $17–$110.
Thurs 11/1
MUSIC FOR LUNCH
My pick for classical-music bargain of the week: Pianist Dan Sabo plays selections from the underrated Eight Nocturnes of Francis Poulenc (1899—1963) and Ravel's sublime Le Tombeau de Couperin. Sherman Clay Piano & Organ, 1624 Fourth Ave, 622-7580, 12:15 pm, free.
PNB: CONTEMPORARY CLASSICS
I count on Pacific Northwest Ballet to satisfy my craving for late-period Stravinsky; PNB seems to present Agon more often than any other ballet company or orchestra anywhere. What makes Agon—composed a half-century ago—special? Stravinsky makes dissonance dance. A fleet-footed fencing match between melodious baroque counterpoint and the spry stabs, strikes, feints, and parries of post—World War II serialism, Agon's glassy, gossamer textures (strings, harp, and mandolin), snaky castanets, and archaic trumpet fanfares fit snugly with George Balanchine's battle-of-the-sexes choreography. The rest of the program teems with adventurous music: Susan Marshall's Kiss (with music by Arvo Pärt), David Parsons's "Caught" (Robert Fripp), and Twyla Tharp's In the Upper Room (Philip Glass). Through Sun Nov 11; see pnb.org for complete schedule. McCaw Hall, 321 Mercer St, 441-2424, 7:30 pm, $20—$150.
Fri 11/2
MONKTAIL CREATIVE MUSIC CONCERN
This feisty collective of avant-rockers and improvisers continually spawns new and perversely named ensembles. Here, the Dead Hot and Secret Chefs 3—the latter an "homage sonically generated from the wondermental homemade masterpieces of [instrument inventor] Ken Jacobson"—debut, sharing the bill with Figeater and long-time Monktail outfit Special Ops. Rendezvous, 2322 Second Ave, 441-5823, 10:30 pm, $5.
Sat 11/3
LADIES MUSICAL CLUB
Another classical-music bargain. Pianist Johanna Mastenbrook accompanies mezzo-soprano Kathryn Vinson in Mahler's Rückert Lieder. César Franck's Violin Sonata in A major rounds out the program. Frye Art Museum, 704 Terry Ave, 622-6882, 2 pm, free.
TOM BAKER QUARTET
Baker and his confreres couple the dissonant feints of the avant-garde with the rhythmic energy and unpredictable dialogue found in freely improvised music. The result: quietly tolling tocsins, fretless guitar that doubles as a theremin, undulating clarinet tremolos, and the occasional crunchy rock 'n' roll backbeat. Egan's Ballard Jam House, 1707 NW Market St, 789-1621, 9 pm, $5.
Sun 11/4
ORCHESTRA SEATTLE
Decades ago, music-appreciation classes touted the three Bs: Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms. This concert does so too, but with shrewd choices. Conductor George Shangrow leads the band and the Seattle Chamber Singers in J. S. Bach's transcendent cantata "Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit" BWV 106 and Beethoven's Symphony No. 2, as well as the Tragic Overture and a sampling of a cappella choral songs by Brahms. First Free Methodist Church, 3200 Third Ave W, 800-838-3006, 3 pm, $10—$25.
Mon 11/5
JIM KNAPP ORCHESTRA
Bandleader Knapp has corralled a fine group of players to traverse his smartly constructed and swinging compositions. Knapp's charts swing while skirting the usual clichés of big band jazz. Indeed, the presence of flutist Paul Taub, French hornist Tom Varner, and Chris Stover on bass trombone testifies to Knapp's open ear for new sonorities. Seattle Drum School, 12510 15th Ave NE, 364-8815, 8 pm, $5/$10.
