The Los Angeles Times from Los Angeles, California • Page 329

8 p.m. 7:30 p.m. fridav todav Music Pop Music his money. Chances are the pop balladeer will perform several selections from among his more than 60 charting songs in three concerts for lovers and others. Comedian Dick Hardwick opens.

Wonderful, wonderful. Cerrttos Canter for the Performing Arte, 12700 Center Court Drive. Sold out Also 8 p.m. Saturday (sold out) and Sunday. $45465.

(800) 300-4345. Johnny Mathls won a track scholarship to San Francisco State College and was invited to the Olympic tryouts. Instead, the operatically trained singer chose a career in music, and nevertheless got a run for i if IM1 li ft ffftfrr Mill, nlim.ir nr i nn Mm hi. in niirMi, ffln 8 p.m. today Benefit AIDS Project Los Angeles' "Ten Year Commitment to Life" Gala honors four people for their commitment to the AIDS cause: entertainers Jim Carrey and Rosie O'Donnell; Joe Roth, chairman of Walt Disney Studios; and Ron Burkle, managing partner of the Yucaipa Co.

and chairman of the board of Ralphs Grocery Co. The event, hosted by Jason Alexander and Jodie Foster, will be a retrospective of previous events celebrating a decade of support from the entertainment industry. Past honorees include Madonna, Barbra Streisand, Elton John, Tom Hanks, David Geffen, Elizabeth Taylor and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton. AIDS Project Los Angeles provides food, transportation, medical His versatility has made him the most recorded bass in operatic history, and it will be on display tonight when Samuel Ramey returns to Los Angeles for his first recital at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. On the agenda: Handel, Ravel and Verdi, and classic American songs by Stephen Foster, Paul Bowles and Cole Porter.

Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, 135 N. Grand Los Angeles. Reuters 4 p.m. friday Books Rare books take center stage at the XXXI California International Antiquarian Book Fair, which brings together more than 220 dealers from around the world. Virtually every field of collecting interest will be represented, from 15th century maps to Shakespeare folios to Honoree Jim Carrey services and housing assistance to people living with AIDS.

Universal Amphitheatre, 100 Universal Plaza, Universal City. (310) 201-5033, (213) 480-3232 or (818) 777-3931. aft Li A jL 4 5 presents a public performance of its touring school show "The Square Root of Terrible," a comic tale about peer pressure and math anxiety. Performing Arts Center, Cal State Northrldge. Free.

Also Feb. 21, a.m. at Watts Theatre March 7, 1:30 p.m. at California Museum of Science and Industry. Call for other public dates: (213) 11 a.m.

Saturday Theater The Mark Taper Forum's theater for young people, P.L.A.Y. (Performing for Los Angeles Youth), original manuscripts, prints and modern first editions. This year's fair includes "Out of This World: A Voyage Through 300 Years of Science Fiction From the Eaton Collection," a display of the largest collection of sci-fi literature in the world, which is housed permanently at UC Riverside. The fair, which continues through the weekend, hosts a Discovery Day on Sunday during which the public can bring up to three books each for examination by antiquarian book experts. Los Angeles Convention Center, 1201 S.

Flgueroa St. Friday, 4-10 p.m.; Saturday, 11 a.m.-8 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Discovery Day, noon-4 p.m. $10 for all three days or $5 per day. (818) 788-1520.

Display: pens from all over the world. 4 p.m. Sunday music If all day Sunday Collectives The 10th Annual Los Angeles International Pen Show will feature exhibitors from throughout the world showing, selling, buying, repairing and talking about the writing instrument. On tap: 1880s Victorian dip pens, 1900s Art Nouveau "eyedropper" fountain pens, 1920s Art Deco styles in Crayola colors, World War II models and a multitude of others from the 1880s to the present. The show includes free appraisals and a free Yafa fountain pen for every student (all ages) attending the show.

Manhattan Beach Marriott Hotel, Rosecrans and Parkway. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Adults, children under 12, free. (310) 546-7511. r) Ji I 9 p.m.

Sunday World Music Get out your best Carmen Miranda costume for the House of Blues' "Carnival '98." Christiane and the Girls From Ipanema headline this Brazilian -style bash that includes music by Klpber Jorge and his band, a drawing for a trip to Rio, costume contests, prizes and more. House of Blues, 8430 Sunset West Hollywood. $15. (213) 848-5100. Conductor George Pehlivanian pinch-hit for an ailing Carl St.Clair at the helm of the Pacific Symphony last March.

The name was familiar. His mother, Arpine Pehlivanian, is a Long Beach-based coloratura soprano who will sing works by Scarlatti, Mozart and others in recital today at Cal State Long Beach as part of the faculty recital series. She will be accompanied by her daughter (soprano) Elisabeth. Gerald R. Daniel Recital Hall, Cal State Long Beach, 1250 Bellflower Ave.

$5410. (562) 985-7000. Elisabeth, left, and Arpine Pehlivanian. CALENDAR WEEKEND PAH I THlRSDAY;.