For the latest installment of Town Hall's TownMusic series, cellist Joshua Roman has scrapped the standard notion of a classical concert. Instead, he's assembled a compelling program that mixes rock and classical without watering down either genre.

At first glance, the second half of the concert may exert the broadest appeal; Roman and a chamber quartet back up singer, actor, and Stranger Genius Award winner Sarah Rudinoff and John Osebold of "Awesome" in a medley of songs by Radiohead.

Musicians love the odd structures and the let's-write-a-pocket-symphony ambition that emanates from Radiohead. I do, too. I'm curious to listen for sonic links between Radiohead and the first half of the concert, which begins bravely with music by a living classical composer—Dan Visconti's Fractured Jams

written in 2006—and one of the most intense chamber works of the 20th century, Quartet for the End of Time by Olivier Messiaen.

Scored for violin, cello, clarinet, and piano, Messiaen (1908–1992) wrote the Quartet in 1941 while imprisoned in POW camp. The French composer described the Quartet's musical language as "essentially unmaterial, spiritual, and Catholic." Indeed, the titles of the Quartet's eight movements such as "Dance of Fury for the Seven Trumpets" and "Vocalise for the Angel Who Announces the End of Time" refer to the Bible's apocalyptic Book of Revelation.

And though another apocalypse—the Nazi sweep across Europe—was close by, Messiaen's Quartet edges toward hope, from the desolate (and heart-stopping) clarinet solo of "Abyss of the Birds" to the buoyant, dancing rhythms of the "Dance of Fury." With a sine tone-like violin melody and gently undulating piano chords, the final movement, "Praise to the Immortality of Jesus," transforms serenity into blissed-out triumph. recommended

Catch Joshua Roman and friends on Thurs Jan 10, Town Hall, 1119 Eighth Ave, 800-838-3006, 7:30 pm, $15–$20.

Concerts

Thurs 1/10

ZIGGURAT QUARTET

Saxophonist Eric Barber and pianist Bill Anschell front an edgy, eruptive quartet inspired by the serpentine time-stretching of South Indian classical music. Tula's, 2214 Second Ave, 443-4221, 8 pm—midnight, $8.

Fri 1/11

DALE SPEICHER

How many percussionists bother to play a microtonal vibraphone? Not many, but Dale Speicher does. One of the hidden treasures of the Seattle scene, the percussionist proffers a program sure to please fans of the avant: Christian Wolff's "Pairs," the Rebonds of Iannis Xenakis, along with works by Robert Ashley, Charles Lipp, and Stuart Saunders Smith. Speicher premieres James Romig's A Slightly Evil Machine, a multi-instrumental solo for wood and metal instruments described as a "jagged, polyrhythmic journey." Speicher also presents "The King of Denmark," Morton Feldman's hauntingly quiet masterpiece for solo percussion. Fourth floor Chapel Performance Space, Good Shepherd Center, 4649 Sunnyside Ave N, 8 pm, $5—$15 sliding scale donation.

Sat 1/12

PAGLIACCI

It seems strange to stage Pagliacci without its boon companion, Mascagni's opera Cavalleria Rusticana, or as a friend of mine exclaimed, "Pag but no Cav?" Italian tenor Antonello Palombi, famed for replacing Roberto Alagna in midscene during a performance of Aida several years ago, heads the cast. Through Sat Jan 26; see www.seattleopera.org for details. Sung in Italian with supertitles in English. McCaw Hall, 321 Mercer St, 389-7676, 7:30 pm, $25—$137.

DUO AMADEUS

Violinist Elizabeth Blumenstock, concertmaster of San Francisco's Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, teams up with fortepianist Tamara Friedman to perform solo and duo compositions by J. S. Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven. George Bozarth leads the intriguingly titled preconcert talk, "Who Was Nannette Streicher and Why Did She Wash Beethoven's Socks?" Also Sun Jan 13 at Queen Anne Christian Church at 3 pm. St. Stephen's Church, 4805 NE 45th St, 726-6088, 8 pm, $10—$25.

CAPPELLA ROMANA

Fr. Ivan Moody conducts this very fine Portland-based vocal ensemble in Orthodox choral works from Finland by a host of new (to me, at any rate) composers, including Boris Jakubov (1894—1923), Peter Mirolybov (1918—2004), and Pekka Attinen (1885—1956). With Finnish-American soprano Maria Männistö. Town Hall, 1118 Eighth Ave, 866-822-7735, 8 pm, $15—$30.

Mon 1/14

CASCADE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

The CSO serves up the kind of varied program other bands would do well to emulate. Along with meat-and-potatoes classical (Brahms' Symphony No. 2) lurks a gem (the Valse Suite, op. 110 of Prokofiev), and the rarely heard Concerto for Marimba and Vibraphone by Darius Milhaud. The soloist is the splendid percussionist Matthew Kocmieroski, a longtime compadre and collaborator with the Seattle Chamber Players. Edmonds Center for the Arts, 410 Fourth Ave N, Edmonds, 425-776-4938, 7:30 pm, $15/$20.

Tues 1/15

JOEY DEFRANCESCO TRIO

A master of the Hammond B-3, this jazz organist knocked me out last year at the Triple Door. DeFrancesco courses along the keys like a sip of smooth Scotch, gracefully dispensing howling runs, funky foot-pedaled bass lines, and deftly chosen drawbar tones. Also Wed Jan 16. Jazz Alley, 2033 Sixth Ave, 441-9729, 7:30 pm, $24.50.

chris@delaurenti.net