Weekend Preview Sept 4-5
TANGLEWOOD JAZZ FESTIVAL
Tanglewood’s 23rd annual Labor Day Weekend Jazz Festival takes place this Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday at 2, Radio Deluxe co-hosts John Pizzarelli and Jessica Molaskey – the cutest couple in jazz -- will be joined by special guest vocalist Jane Monheit, followed by evening performances by the Laurence Hobgood Trio and vocalist Kurt Elling. Clarinetist/saxophonist Eddie Daniels and pianist Bob James perform a new program entitled “Broadway Boogie” on Sunday at 2, sharing a bill with the Legendary Count Basie Orchestra. Pianist/composer Donal Fox brings the curtain down on the festival on Sunday evening in a new program entitled Piazzolla to Bach Project, with special guest cellist Maya Beiser and Cuban-born drummer Dafnis Prieto. All performances will take place in Ozawa Hall, with Jazz Café performances taking place in the Jazz Café tent, located at the top of the hill behind Ozawa Hall.
This year, for the first time, the Tanglewood Jazz Festival conducted a national contest for four Jazz Café slots throughout the weekend. The winning artists who will be presented in this year’s Jazz Café are saxophonist Brandon Wright and his quintet, Saturday, September 4, at 12:30 p.m.; vocalist Kelley Johnson and her quartet, September 4, at 6:30 p.m.; vocalist Audrey Silver performing with her quartet, Sunday, September 5, at 12:30 p.m.; and pianist Noah Baerman performing with his trio, Sunday, September 5 at 6:30. Jazz Café concerts are presented before each main stage concert and are free with a ticket to the main stage event.
Tanglewood Jazz Festival, ranging in price from $18-77, are available through www.tanglewoodjazzfestival.org, by calling SymphonyCharge at 617-266-1200 or 888-266-1200. All-day lawn pass Saturday and Sunday $34. All ticket prices include a $1 Tanglewood grounds maintenance fee. Tickets are also available for purchase in person at the Tanglewood Box Office at Tanglewood’s Main Gate on West Street in Lenox, Mass.
WOODLAND STYLE at BERKSHIRE MUSEUM
The beauty and inspiration of the outdoors comes inside for Woodland Style, a new multi-artist exhibition on view at Berkshire Museum September 4 through January 2. Woodland Style is curated by local author Marlene Marshall, based on her new book of the same name, published by Storey Publishing. A series of related programs that are fun for the whole family, featuring local authors and hands-on crafts projects, will be presented at Berkshire Museum throughout the fall in partnership with Storey Publishing. An innovative installation, Woodland Style begins in the BerkshireBase display space in the Museum’s entrance lobby, then works its way up the main staircase to additional displays on the stairwell landings, “leading” the visitor up the stair toward the second-floor gallery where 2010 Festival of Trees: Storybook Forest will open on November 13. As part of that opening, Woodland Style will expand into an additional gallery adjacent to Storybook Forest. The initial installation features work by artists Anna Brahms, Carole Clark, Ellen Grenadier, Linda Horn and Joan Meakin; in November, the roster of contributing artists grows to include Janet Cooper, Peter Thorne, Nic Osborn, Robin Sweeney, Mona Mark, Bryan Nash Gill, Kevin Inkawich, Ann Getsinger, Susie Hardcastle and Sarah Sterling. BerkshireBase is a display space dedicated to bringing the work of local artists to a broader audience.
CHINESE PIANIST at MUSIC & MORE
On Saturday, September 4 at 4:30, Music & More presents pianist Xuerong Zhao at the Meeting House in New Marlborough, Mass. Zhao, an exciting young performer with a genuine flair for virtuosity, will play music by Domenico Scarlatti, Franz Liszt, Robert Schumann and Johannes Brahms. Born to a musical family in Beijing, Zhao first performed publicly at age six, and a year later she was awarded first prize at the “Beijing Young Pianist Competition.” Following her early success, she became one of eight students selected to attend the Central Conservatory in Beijing, the most prestigious music conservatory in China. Upon completing her studies in October 2003, Zhao captured second prize in the International Chopin Piano Competition in Rome. Shortly thereafter she returned to China to make her solo recital debuts in Beijing and Guangzhou, China. In 2006, Zhao came to the United States and earned a full scholarship to the Mannes College in New York City. In May 2010, she made her New York concert debut at Weill Hall of Carnegie Hall, which was presented by the New York Chamber Orchestra and Columbia Promotions LLC. It was a performance that Harris Goldsmith of the New York Concert Review, Inc. called “breathtakingly fleet and well-held together ... Ms. Zhao is a born performer.”
The program is: Two Keyboard Sonatas (B minor, K. 87 and G major, K. 455) by Scarlatti; Soirées de Vienne: Valse-Caprice No. 6 by Liszt; Carnaval, Op. 9 by Schumann; Variations on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 35 by Brahms; and Spanish Rhapsody by Liszt.
The concert will take place on September 4 at 4:30 p.m. at the historic Meeting House on the Green in New Marlborough. A wine reception will follow in the Meeting House Gallery. Tickets cost $25/$20. Students with ID and children with parents are admitted for free. Please visit http://www.newmarlborough.org or call 413.229.2785 for tickets, discounts and information.
SHANGHAI QUARTET at MUSIC MOUNTAIN
This Saturday at 6:30 in Falls Village, Conn., the Shanghai Quartet gives the Music Mountain premiere of Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki’s newest work, String Quartet No. 3 (Leaves from an Unwritten Diary), that Penderecki wrote specifically for the quartet to commemorate its 25th anniversary. The concert will also include the Schumann String Quartet in A Minor, Opus 44 No. 1 and the Debussy String Quartet in G Minor, Opus 10. On Sunday, Melvin Chen takes on the musical task of performing with the Shanghai on both the viola and the piano.Sunday's concert with violist-pianist Melvin Chen includes the Schubert: Quartetsatz, in C Minor, D. 703; the Brahms: Viola Quintet in F Major, Opus 88 with Chen playing the additional viola; and the Brahms Piano Quintet in F Minor, Opus 34 with Chen switching to the piano. This is a benefit concert and tickets are $75.
The Shanghai Quartet first performed at Music Mountain 22 years ago when they filled in for the Juilliard Quartet and they have returned ever since. Originally formed in Shanghai, this versatile ensemble is known for their passionate musicality, virtuosic technique and multicultural innovations. The Shanghai Quartet melds the delicacy of Eastern music with the power of Western repertoire, from traditional Chinese folk music to the most challenging classical works.
Tickets are available online at www.musicmountain.org, at the door the day-of or by phone at 860-824-7126.
REGGAE SOUL DANCE PARTY at MASS MOCA
Reggae-soul outfit Meta and the Cornerstones brings its beat-infused tunes to MASS MoCA on Saturday, September 4, at 8 for a dance party for all ages. Fusing Afropop, hip-hop, rock, and soul music with vocals in French, English, Wolof and Fulani, Meta and the Cornerstones transcend oceans, borders, and language barriers. Weather-permitting, the dance party will take place outside in Courtyard C, and dinner, snacks, and ice cream from Lickety Split will be available, as well as a full bar. (If rain threatens, the party moves indoors to MASS MoCA's Hunter Center.) Born in Senegal, West Africa, lead singer of Meta and the Cornerstones Meta Dia grew up listening to reggae greats Gregory Isaacs and Bob Marley on the radio. At a very young age Dia discovered his desire to be a musician, and over the next several years he nurtured his love and true appreciation for all types of music. At 14, he began performing on the street and stages of Dakar, Senegal, and in 2000 Meta formed his first band YALLA SUUREN (God Bless). The group was nominated as the best hip-hop/reggae group by the French Cultural Center in 2000. This led to Dia's celebrity as a pioneer of the voice and culture of hip-hop in West Africa. In 2002, he moved to the United States and immediately began collaborating with artists such as Sean Blackman, and hip-hop pioneer Toni Blackman.
After living in New York City for only a short time, Dia formed Meta and the Cornerstones with Adrian Djoman (bass), Shahar Mintz (solo guitar), Andre Daniel (keyboards), Ian Joseph (drums), and Daniel Serrato (guitar) who brought their Caribbean, African, American and Middle Eastern musical influences into the mix. Using these new sounds to complement Dia's powerful lyrics and phenomenal singing voice, the group channels the roots of reggae while breathing new life into the genre, creating what critics are calling a “soul-pounding spiritual experience” for their live audiences.
Tickets 413.662.2111 or online at www.massmoca.org.
GUTHRIE SERIES ENDS with COMIC HOOT
Some may think it’s funny to end the Guthrie Center’s 2010 Troubadour Concert Series with Christine Lavin and Don White. If Lavin and White have their way, people will find it hilarious — and entertaining and musical. Lavin and White, both of whom are simultaneously stand-up comics and sit-down singer-songwriters, are well known for their comic songs and witty repartee, and they will appear with their duo “Concert & Comedy” act at the Guthrie Center on Friday and Saturday nights, September 3 and 4.Christine Lavin is a singer-songwriter with 20 solo albums recorded over a 25-year span in the music industry, and she is also an author and radio personality. Her most recent release, Cold Pizza for Breakfast: A Mem-Wha? has been praised by industry critics for both its humor and artistry. Her songs have been performed by a variety of artists, including Broadway stars, cabaret divas, college choirs — and The Accidentals, winners of the National Harmony Sweepstakes championship. Lavin promises to host a knitting circle backstage prior to every show. Her wit, it is said, is matched only by her knit.
Don White has been a stand-up comic of sorts since the days he hitchhiked all over America in 1974, and has been in the music business for over two decades. Polishing his act in the Catch A Rising Star comedy clubs, where he often did nine shows a week for two and a-half years, he now lives in Lynn, Massachusetts and continues to deliver his brand of comedic arts, sharing stories and songs that keep audiences asking for more. Recently he and Lavin decided to combine their talents and abilities to form a force which is both funny and uplifting. Don White comments: “I have been trying to find a way to explain to people just how much fun these co-bills with Christine Lavin are. I have never been involved in anything like it in 20 years in the music business. People are justifiably skeptical when I tell them that, except for a few strategically placed serious songs, the audience is howling for over two hours with the kind of laughter that makes you think that some of them might be peeing themselves just a little. This is a folk show after all.”The Christine Lavin and Don White shows will begin at 8 p.m. for both nights of the September 3-4 weekend concerts. Ticket prices both nights are $25 for Guthrie Center members and $30 for non-members. Doors open for guests at 6 p.m. For more information, visit www.guthriecenter.org.
A TRIO at TANNERY POND
On Saturday, September 4, Jennifer Frautschi (violin), Eric Ruske (horn) and Pedja Muzijevic (piano) perform a diverse program of Beethoven, Schoenberg, Liszt, Czerny, Cage, and Brahms at Tannery Pond Concerts, the second to last concert in the 20th anniversary season housed in an early-19th-century Shaker tannery at the Darrow School in New Lebanon, N.Y., and curated by pianist/photographer Christian Steiner.Jennifer Frautschi was awarded the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant and has gained acclaim for her adventurous performing of a wide-ranging repertoire. As the Chicago Tribune wrote, “the young violinist . . . is molding a career with smart interpretations of both warhorses and rarities.” Born in Pasadena, California,. Frautschi began playing the violin at the age of three. She performs on a 1722 Stradivarius violin known as the “ex-Cadiz,” on loan to her from a private American foundation
Horn soloist Eric Ruske has established himself as an artist of international acclaim. Named Associate Principal Horn of The Cleveland Orchestra at the age of 20, he has also toured and recorded extensively during his six-year tenure as hornist of the Empire Brass Quintet. His impressive solo career began when he won the 1986 Young Concert Artist International Auditions, First Prize in the 1987 American Horn Competition, and in 1988 the highest prize in the Concours International d’Interpétation Musicale in Reims, France.
Pianist Pedja Muzijevic has toured extensively as soloist with orchestras and as a recitalist around the world. His artistic curiosity has led him to explore both the music of the 18th and 19th centuries on period instruments and the music of such contemporary composers as Knussen, Carter, Cage, Henze, Nancarrow, Crumb, Ades, and others. Muzijevic has appeared with Mikhail Baryshnikov and the White Oak Dance Project and with Simon Keenlyside in Trisha Brown’s staged version of Schubert’s Winterreise. A native of Sarajevo, Muzijevic graduated from the Academy of Music in Zagreb, where he received the Croatian Institute Award for best recital. He continued his studies at the Curtis Institute and The Juilliard School.
PROGRAM: SEPTEMBER 4 – 8PM
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN.....Sonata in F major, Opus 24 (“Spring”), violin and piano
ARNOLD SCHOENBERG….from Sechs kleine Klavierstucke, Opus 19, Langsam, piano
FRANZ LISZT…..Schlafos, Frage und Antwort, piano
ARNOLD SCHOENBERG...... from Sechs kleine Klavierstucke, Opus 19, Sehr Langsam, piano
CARL CZERNY.....Fantasie, Opus 339, No. 1 (on themes from Schubert’s songs) for horn and piano
Intermission
JOHN CAGE.....In a Landscape, piano
JOHANNES BRAHMS…..Horn Trio in E flat major, Opus 40, horn, violin, piano
Seth Rogovoy is Berkshire Living's award-winning editor-in-chief and cultural critic.
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