In the summer of 1940, Olivier Messiaen (French composer, Catholic mystic, and Allied soldier) was captured by the Nazi army and sent to prison camp Stalag VIIIA. There he composed Quatuor pour la fin du temps, an ethereal and frightening quartet for cello, piano, clarinet, and violin, and premiered it for 300 prisoners and their guards. Tonight, Seattle's cello wunderkind Joshua Roman will play Quatuor, as well as Fractured Jams by Dan Visconti and a medley of songs by Radiohead, with Sarah Rudinoff, John Osebold, and others. This is a night of excellent music by excellent musicians. (Town Hall, 1119 Eighth Ave, www.brownpapertickets.com. 7:30 pm, $15–$20, all ages.)

This may be the most important art lecture of the year. In the 1990s, Robert Storr became a power curator—from 1990 to 2002, he was curator in the hallowed department of painting and sculpture at the Museum of Modern Art. In 2006, he was made dean of the Yale School of Art. And in 2007, he was the (largely unpopular) commissioner of the Venice Biennale. This is your chance to ask him anything. (Kane Hall, University of Washington, www.brownpapertickets.com. 7 pm, $15.)