SEATTLE SYMPHONY
Gerry Schwarz & Co. perform A Symphonic Requiem, Variations on a Theme of Howard Hanson by Samuel Jones, the SSO's unabashedly tonal composer-in-residence. Pianist Stewart Goodyear joins the band for Saint-Saëns' Piano Concerto No. 2. And why they're giving Schumann's boring Symphony No. 3 (dubbed the "Rhenish") a go is beyond me; some eyelid-drooping duds should just be allowed to recede into the history books to make room for pieces like A Carlo Scarpa (Luigi Nono) or Sun-treader (Carl Ruggles). Pre-concert lecture starts one hour prior to performance. Also Fri Oct 4 at 8 pm and Sun Oct 6 at 2 pm. Benaroya Hall, 200 University St, 215-4747, 7:30 pm, $11-$75.
FRIDAY OCTOBER 4
MARILYN NONKEN
A student of the legendary David Burge, this virtuoso pianist serves up a formidable program of contemporary solo piano music. Nonken tickles and thunders the ivories with David Rakowski's appealing and sometimes knotty Etudes, Jason Eckhardt's Echoes' White Veil, Michael Finnissy's North American Spirituals, Paul Nauert's A Collection of Caprices, and Allegro Penseroso by that grand old man of American serialism, Milton Babbitt. A must for piano fanatics. Brechemin Auditorium, UW campus, 685-8384, 8 pm, $8/$10.CCRK
Most free improvisers are too busy practicing or hustling gigs to learn the art of naming the band. Instead of the traditional [insert name] duo/trio/what-have-you, Jesse Canterbury, Mark Collins, Bob Rees, and Jim Knodle cooked up an acronym. This enterprising quartet tackles a mixture of composed, improvised, and hybrid works for clarinet, bass, drums, and trumpet. The Eveline Müller-Graf/Bob Rees Percussion Duo opens the show. Polestar Music Gallery, 1412 18th Ave at E Union, 329-4224, 8 pm $6.
SUNDAY OCTOBER 6
SCHUBERT IN THE PARK
Rather than risk the rain, this concert takes place in the snug auditorium of the Seattle Asian Art Museum. Violinist Marjorie Kransberg-Talvi and pianist Randolph Hokanson perform Franz Schubert's Duo No. 4 for Violin and Piano in A Major. Cellist Craig Weaver joins them for the Piano Trio No. 1 in B flat Major. Seattle Asian Art Museum, 1400 E Prospect, Volunteer Park, 343-0445, 2:30 pm, $14.50.
MONDAY OCTOBER 7
JANIS MANN/GRETA MATASSA
Two of Seattle's finest jazz singers team up for a benefit for the Swedish Breast Care Center. Backed by Randy Halberstadt on piano, bassist Clipper Anderson, and Mark Ivestor on drums, Mann and Matassa sing solos and duets. Count on a variety of jazz standards and some obscure chestnuts as well as an original tune or two. Jazz Alley, 2033 Sixth Ave, 441-9729, 8 pm, $13.50/$15.50.
WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 9
WAYNE JOHNSON
Back in the 18th and early 19th centuries, pianists plied their trade in the swank salons and drawing rooms of the rich and titled. The music ranged from virtuosic but forgettable lollipops to a handful of well-made pieces that have endured. Pianist and music scholar Wayne Johnson presents a clutch of salon classics by Sinding, Liszt, Rubenstein, Schubert, Paderewski, and others. Sherman-Clay Piano & Organ, 1624 Fourth Ave, 622-7580, 12:15 pm, free.
