• Music: Contrasts Quartet
Clarinet, violin, cello and piano meet in the music of Contrasts Quartet, which performs a free concert tomorrow (Nov. 17) at 6 p.m. at the Community School of Music and Arts at 230 San Antonio Circle in Mountain View. The series of free concerts features musicians who are also in town to play more formal concerts at Stanford Lively Arts; Contrasts Quartet will also perform at 8 p.m. Nov. 18 in Stanford's Dinkelspiel Auditorium. That concert features music by Kodaly, Bartok and Ravel, with tickets set at $40/$46 general admission; call 650-725-ARTS. For more about the CSMA performance, call 650-917-6800, extension 314, or go to arts4all.org.

• Author: Amy Goodman
Tomorrow (Nov. 17) at 4 p.m., Amy Goodman will give a free talk about her book "Breaking the Sound Barrier." Goodman is one of the hosts of the daily radio and television news program "Democracy Now!" The event is at Books Inc., 855 El Camino Real #74, Palo Alto. Call 650-321-0600 or go to www.booksinc.net.