The guy born on December 25 is not the only one to celebrate this month. American composer Elliott Carter was born on December 11, 1908, and musicians around the world are marking the occasion. As he has for 70-some years, Carter continues to create music of sometimes dizzying complexity, and Washingtonians will have many opportunities this week to get to know it, almost all of them for free. If you are looking for holiday concerts or performances of Messiah or The Nutcracker, we have already done that.

>> On Wednesday (December 10, 7:30 p.m.), musicians from the Paris Opera will perform several works by Carter for various combinations of clarinet, violin, cello, and piano. That will be followed by the sublime Quartet for the End of Time by Olivier Messiaen, who was born on December 10, 2008 1908. This free concert at La Maison Française (4101 Reservoir Rd. NW) requires only a reservation to attend.

>> On Carter’s birthday (December 11, 8 p.m.), the Verge Ensemble will kick off the Elliott Carter Centennial Celebration in a free concert at the Library of Congress. You can reserve a seat through Ticketmaster, but if you are averse to paying fees, just show up early to the Coolidge Auditorium (enter the ground level of the Jefferson Building from First St. SE) to claim an empty place.

>> The following evening (December 12, 8 p.m.) Sequitur continues the Elliott Carter Centennial Celebration, also at the Library of Congress. At both of these concerts, the Library is likely to display some of Carter’s manuscript scores from its extensive collection.