Portrait Concert Series: Steve Reich and George Crumb

If last week's jaw-droppingly great John Cage and Morton Feldman program is any indication, this week's installment of the Portrait Concert Series at the Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts should be one for the ages. The series, curated by Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra music director David Robertson, features orchestra members attacking left-field twentieth-century masterpieces, the kind that would cause Powell Hall regulars to have seizures in the aisles. On tap this week are two works for string quartet: Steve Reich's 1988 masterpiece, "Different Trains," a hypnotic swirl featuring voice samples, dizzying time shifts and an overall wooziness; and George Crumb's "Black Angels," which screeches and howls, then smolders, then burns again. Don't be surprised if a violinist or two blows an elbow.