American Composers Orchestra (Tuesday) This concert marking the 75th birthday of Philip Glass features the American premiere of his Ninth Symphony. (Fear not, superstitious types; Mr. Glass already has a 10th in the drawer.) Completing the program is Arvo Pärt’s stirring “Lamentate,” featuring the pianist Maki Namekawa. At 8 p.m., Carnegie Hall, (212) 247-7800, carnegiehall.org; $29 to $82, with limited availability. (Steve Smith)
Eve Beglarian’s RiverProject (Friday and Saturday) Prompted by the 2008 election to get back in touch with America, the composer and singer Ms. Beglarian kayaked and bicycled the length of the Mississippi River; since her return she has translated her findings into music of sophisticated rusticity. On Friday the agit-prop new-music ensemble Newspeak presents the New York premiere of “Waiting for Billy Floyd”; on Saturday Ms. Beglarian performs with the violinist Mary Rowell, the guitarist Taylor Levine and the singer Malcolm J. Merriweather. At 8 p.m., Abrons Arts Center, 466 Grand Street, at Pitt Street, Lower East Side, (866) 811-4111, abronsartscenter.org; $25, or $15 for students and seniors. (Smith)
Focus! 2012 Festival (Friday, and Monday through Thursday) The Juilliard School provides a gift to the city in this year’s installment of its venerable annual new-music festival: six concerts celebrating the 100th anniversary of the birth of John Cage. It’s a rich selection of nearly 40 works drawn from every period of Cage’s pathbreaking career, from vocal music to compositions for percussion ensemble. That the shows are all free is the icing on the cake. (The finale concert is next Friday.) Friday, and Monday through Thursday at 8 p.m., the Juilliard School, Lincoln Center, (212) 769-7406, juilliard.edu; free tickets required. (Woolfe)
Gaudeamus Muziekweek New York (Friday and Saturday) A series mounted by the prestigious Dutch new-music festival Gaudeamus Muziekweek ends with two concerts featuring Ensemble MAE, the successor to the trailblazing Maarten Altena Ensemble. On Friday the International Contemporary Ensemble pitches in for works by Yannis Kyriakides; on Saturday, Iktus Percussion shares a program that includes pieces by Ligeti, Robert Ashley, Michel van der Aa and others. At 7:30 p.m., Issue Project Room, 110 Livingston Street, downtown Brooklyn, (718) 330-0313, issueprojectroom.org; $20. (Smith)
David Lang (Friday) A founder of Bang on a Can, with Julia Wolfe and Michael Gordon, Mr. Lang writes in a colorfully accessible, energetic style. His “Little Match Girl Passion,” a wrenching setting of the Hans Christian Andersen story, won the Pulitzer Prize in 2008 and is the centerpiece of this Making Music program, which also includes the New York premiere of Mr. Lang’s “Death Speaks.” The starry cast includes Theater of Voices; Bryce Dessner and Shara Worden on guitars and vocals; the composer Nico Muhly on keyboards; and Owen Pallett on violin and vocals. At 6 p.m., Zankel Hall, Carnegie Hall, (212) 247-7800, carnegiehall.org; $30, with limited availability. (Kozinn)
Mimesis Ensemble (Saturday) This new-music group offers an appealing program of 20th- and 21st-century works, including Takemitsu’s “Entre-Temps,” Mohammed Fairouz’s “Furia,” Ned Rorem’s “Unquestioned Answer” and Kaija Saariaho’s “Terra Memoria.” At 8 p.m., Merkin Concert Hall, 129 West 67th Street, Manhattan, (212) 501-3330, kaufman-center.org; $20 in advance; $25 at the door; $15 for students and 65+. (Schweitzer)
“Carpenter Shop”
