WEEKEND FORECAST

TODAY

Final notes of piano competition

Since June 6, more than 30 contestants from 13 countries have been vying for honors in the 2005 Rachmaninoff International Piano Competition. The contest revs into high gear today and Friday when it goes into the final rounds. Three pianists each day will play a large-scale Rachmaninoff work with orchestra. The top three prize-winners selected from that group will play at the awards gala on Saturday. The winner will take home a $30,000 grand piano and get to play recitals at Carnegie Hall and the Great Hall of the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory, among other engagements.

Rachmaninoff International Piano Competition, Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., Los Angeles, 7:30 p.m. today. $30 to $120. (213) 480-3232. www.mcint.org

* Also 7:30 p.m. Friday. Awards ceremony and closing concert, 7 p.m. Saturday.

FRIDAY

A couple’s undoing

Francois Ozon, who broke through to a wider audience with the art house hits “8 Women” and “Swimming Pool,” takes a page from Harold Pinter in his exploration of a relationship between a man and a woman in “5 x 2.” The film works backward through five key events in the couple’s lives, beginning with the finalization of their divorce. Stephane Freiss and Valeria

Bruni-Tedeschi star as Gilles and Marion, the unfortunate husband and wife.

“5 x 2,” rated R for strong graphic sexuality, language and some drug content, opens Friday exclusively at the Landmark Nuart Theatre, 11272 Santa Monica Blvd., West Los Angeles. (310) 281-8223.

Another ‘Judgment’

“Judgment at Nuremberg” -- a 1957 teleplay and then a 1961 movie -- became a stage play by the original writer, Abby Mann, in 2001. Mann has attended rehearsals for the Southern California premiere of his play, which examines the war crimes trials after World War II. “The issues that we

dealt with in ‘Judgement in Nuremberg’ unfortunately are still with us,” Mann wrote in a recent essay.

“Judgment at Nuremberg,” International City Theatre, 300 E. Ocean Blvd., Long Beach. Opens 8 p.m. Friday. $32 to $60. (562) 436-4610.

* Runs 8 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays, 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Ends July 10.

SATURDAY

Sensual Picasso

Pablo Picasso was known for having a string of love affairs and famously fathered a child at the age of 68, so it’s fitting that “Les Demoiselles d’Avignon,” a painting of five nude women, is one of his most important works. “Picasso Erotica” features a collection of etchings that served as studies and looks at how sensual themes played a role in many of Picasso’s works of art.

“Picasso Erotica,” Leslie Sacks Fine Art, 11640 San Vicente Blvd., L.A. Opens Saturday. (310) 820-9448.

* Hours: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays. Ends July 18.

Honoring the horse

Museum of the American West presents its two-day Festival of the Horse, which will feature riding demonstrations, historic reenactments, films, pony rides, live music and arts and crafts. Cowboy comedian Sourdough Slim will perform both days. Admission to the festival is free. Each day will conclude with an evening concert: Saturday by Banda Los Lagos and Sunday by the Sons of the San Joaquin.

Festival of the Horse,

Museum of the American West, Griffith Park, 4700 Western Heritage Way, L.A. 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday; ; evening concert 7:30. Free festival admission; evening concert $10 to $20. (866) 468-3399. www.museumoftheamericanwest.org* Also 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday; evening concert at 7.

Jazz from on high

In the rarified air 7,000 feet above sea level, does jazz sound smoother? This weekend it will as the first Big Bear Lake Jazz Trax Festival takes place in the mountain community. Smooth jazz artists -- Steve Oliver, Steve Cole, Lalah Hathaway, Kirk Whalum, Brian Culbertson and Paul Jackson Jr. -- head the musical lineup at this festival taking place Saturday in a natural hillside amphitheater near the top of Snow Summit. Attendees will need to take the chairlift to get to the music.

Big Bear Lake Jazz Trax Festival, Snow Summit Mountain, Big Bear Lake, noon Saturday. $35 to $75, plus a $6 round-trip lift ticket. (866) 872-9849. www.jazztrax.com

SUNDAY

A dam’s effects

Linda Butler’s photographs look at the initial effects of China’s controversial Three Gorges Dam construction project in “Yangtze Remembered: The River Beneath the Lake.” Mountains and villages by China’s famous three gorges were inundated by a lake formed behind the dam, displacing the people who once lived there. Butler made several trips in 2000 through 2003 to document the transformation.

“Yangtze Remembered: The River Beneath the Lake,” UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History, Sunset and Westwood boulevards, L.A. Opens Sunday. Free. (310) 825-4361.

* Hours: noon to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Sundays, except 8 p.m. Thursdays. Ends Sept. 4.

TUESDAY

Tragic results

The conflict between love and duty leads to tragedy in “Sonezaki Shinju” (The Love Suicides at Sonezaki), a masterwork by Chikamatsu Monzaemon to be performed by Japan’s antique but still vibrant Grand Kabuki in performances starring official Living National Treasure Nakamura Ganjiro III. On opening night alone, the program will be completed by a rarity -- the dance ceremony “Ayatsuri Sambaso” (Marionette Sambaso) -- but tickets are pricey. The comic dance-drama “Bo Shibari” (Tied to a Pole) will be on view during the rest of the engagement. The company includes singers, musicians and such notable masters of Kabuki acting and dancing traditions as Nakamura Kanjaku and Nakamura Kikaku. English translations and commentary via earphones are available for the performances.

The Grand Kabuki, Cerritos Center, 12700 Center Court Drive, Cerritos. 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. $95 to $10,000 (for 8 seats) on June 21. $65 to $125 at other performances. (800) 300-4345 or (213) 680-3700.

* Also 8 p.m. Wednesday through Friday.