REVIEW: “Reeds and Strings,” Close Encounters with Music

Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, Great Barrington, MA 

https://cewm.org/

May 29, 2022 

by Michael J. Moran 

Introducing this concert with his usual mix of erudition and wit, CEWM Artistic Director Yehuda Hanani identified music for reed instruments with Dionysus, god of fertility (“the music of heavy breathing”), and music for strings with Apollo, god of beauty and patron of the arts. Thus, the solo oboe piece by Britten would sound quite different from the Beethoven string trio, while the Mozart and Cimarosa works for reeds and strings would achieve “a happy balance” of earthly and celestial delights. 

Liang Wang

The opening performance by oboist Liang Wang, violinist Itamar Zorman, violist Michael Strauss, and cellist Hanani of Mozart’s 1781 oboe quartet accordingly exuded classical poise and elegance, from a lively “Allegro” through a tender “Adagio” and a graceful closing “Rondeau: Allegro.”   

  

Wang next took the spotlight for a literally breathtaking account of Benjamin Britten’s 1951 “Six Metamorphoses after Ovid” for solo oboe. Each section depicts a character in Roman mythology, and Wang, principal oboe of the New York Philharmonic, met the piece’s daunting technical challenges with virtuosic flair. Highlights included: the sensuous rhythmic complexity of the flutist Pan; the relentless speed of charioteer Phaeton; and the quiet poignancy of bereaved mother Niobe.

  

Zorman, Strauss, and Hanani then returned with an incandescent rendition of Beethoven’s inventive third string trio, Op. 9. A stormy opening C minor “Allegro con spirito,” a passionate “Adagio con espressione,” an energetic “Scherzo – Allegro molto e vivace,” with a gentle trio interlude, and a powerful “Presto” finale foreshadowed the pathbreaking mature composer who emerged shortly after this early (1799) masterpiece. 

Violinist Susan Heerema joined Wang and the string trio to close the program with Domenico Cimarosa’s 1790s oboe concerto. As Hanani promised, the Apollonian grace of the solemn “Introduzione” and the flowing “Siciliana” perfectly complemented the Dionysian exuberance of the alternating “Allegro” and “Allegro giusto” movements.   

The CEWM season will conclude on June 12, 2022 with “Musica Latina,” featuring Flamenco dancer Irene Rodriguez and a selection of Spanish music.

All Mahaiwe events, including CEWM concerts, require proof of vaccination and a photo ID for entry and masking inside the theater.

Editor's note: Mr. Moran's final paragraph, like reviews by myself and our writers, has become rote. By now, even though Covid is still very much with us, I usually gloss over this language. However, I have learned that I must heed these warnings. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend this concert because, while I did wear my mask (I even had an extra) and my ID, it didn't occur to me to bring my vaccination card. I had changed purses prior to the hour and a half drive to Great Barrington, and forgot to transfer the ID. Whether the ID is a Mahaiwe rule or that of Close Encounters, I don't know. Having been to at least a dozen arts events since Covid subsided a bit, I have yet to be asked to see my vaccination ID. My advice in the case of Close Encounters, and any venue, is to read the fine print.

REVIEW: Hartford Symphony Orchestra, From the New World

The Bushnell, Mortensen Hall, Hartford, CT

www.hartfordsymphony.org

May 26, 2022 

by Michael J. Moran 

In pre-concert remarks, HSO Executive Director Steve Collins cited the compassion of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., whom this program, rescheduled from January by Covid, would have honored, in dedicating the concert’s opening music to victims of the ongoing war in Ukraine and recent mass shootings in the United States. 

Jeri Lynne Johnson

That context added contemporary resonance to the poignant emotions of African-American composer Henry T. Burleigh’s century-old settings for baritone and piano, rearranged in 2020 by Christina Dolanc for string orchestra, of three traditional spirituals, especially in the caressing warmth that guest conductor Jeri Lynne Johnson drew from the HSO strings. Founder, in 2008, of the award-winning Black Pearl Chamber Orchestra in Philadelphia, Johnson was the first African-American woman, in 2005, to win an international conducting prize. 

Next, in sharp contrast, came the joyous Slavonic Dances #1 and #8 by Dvorak, Burleigh’s teacher at the National Conservatory in 1890s New York City, exuberantly performed by the full orchestra under Johnson’s animated direction. Just as the folk traditions of his Czech homeland infused Dvorak’s music, he encouraged Burleigh to draw inspiration from his African-American musical roots, as Burleigh later advised his protégé, Florence Price.

A brilliant account of the 1934 “Concerto in One Movement” by Price, the first African-American woman whose music was played by a major American orchestra, then marked a sensational HSO debut by rising young African-American pianist and music educator Michelle Cann. Through a tempestuous opening “Moderato” section, a serene call-and-response “Adagio,” and an invigorating “Allegretto” close, Cann’s thrilling virtuosity was energetically supported by conductor and orchestra with the “compelling, onward-sweeping force” of the composer’s intent.

A standing ovation brought a rare and welcome encore: a turbulent 1967 arrangement by Price student Margaret Bonds of the spiritual “Wade in the Water,” heard earlier in Burleigh’s quieter setting. 

The program closed with a vibrant rendition of Dvorak’s familiar ninth, or “New World,” symphony. Written in New York in 1893, it reflects not only his Czech heritage but his new interest in Native American and African-American melodies. A solemn, then lively opening “Adagio-Allegro molto,” a soulful “Largo,” a dramatic “Molto vivace,” and a heroic “Allegro con fuoco” finale were played with blazing conviction under Johnson’s dynamic baton.

Preview: Playhouse on Park, The Agitators

Playhouse on Park, West Hartford, CT

www.playhouseonpark.org

May 25 - June 12, 2022

Photo by Meredith Longo

The contemporary play "The Agitators," by Mat Smart tells of the enduring but tempestuous friendship of Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass. Great allies? Yes. And at times, great adversaries. Young abolitionists when they met in Rochester in the 1840s, they were full of hopes, dreams, and a common purpose. As they grew to become the cultural icons we know today, their movements collided, and their friendship was severely tested. This is the story of that 45 year friendship – from its beginning in Rochester, through a civil war, and to the highest halls of government. Anthony and Douglass agitated the nation, they agitated each other, and, in doing so, they helped shape the Constitution and the course of American history.

According to the Seattle Times, "The Agitators unfolds like a scrapbook, with snippets of conversation between Douglass and Anthony during their decades-long struggles for abolition and voting rights."

For tickets and information about Covid 19 safety rules, check Playhouse on Park's website at www.playhouseonpark.org.

PREVIEW: K and E Theater Group, Hedwig and the Angry Inch

K and E Theater Group, Northampton, MA

www.KETG.org

June 23-25, 2022

The Tony Award-winning glam rock musical “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” comes to Northampton Center for the Arts for 5 performances this summer. Marking its fourth full mainstage production of its Supersized Season Two, K and E Theater Group is also presenting this show as its first of an annual tradition to celebrate queer forward stories in their “Coming Out with Pride” series.

Innovative, heartbreaking, and savagely funny, “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” is the landmark rock’n’roll musical with text by John Cameron Mitchell and music and lyrics by Stephen Trask that broke the mold and captured Broadway. This genre-bending, fourth-wall-smashing musical sensation, with a pulsing score and electrifying performances, tells the story of Hedwig Schmidt, an East German punk rock goddess whose botched sex change operation left her with just “an angry inch.” Now, she and her band are out to right many wrongs.

K and E Theater Group's production of Hedwig and the Angry Inch features Eddie Zitka as Hedwig, Kelly Gagner as Yitzhak, and David Webber as The Angry Inch. The band led by musical director Devi Badea, features Justin Rodzen, Charlotte Ross, and Mitch Tilghman. Direction is by K and E Theater Group Artistic Director Eddie Zitka.

This production contains mature themes, explicit language, and sexual content. Recommended age is 14+. Stage effects include strobes and bright moving lights.

Preview: Majestic Theater, Betty & The Patch

Majestic Theater, West Springfield, MA

https://majestictheater.com

through July 24, 2022

 

The Majestic Theater will present the debut of "Betty & The Patch", a contemporary comedy/drama by Producing Director Danny Eaton.

 

The play is set at The Patch, one of those local destination restaurants with the reputation of good and plentiful food along with a kind of privacy which makes it ideal for intimate get togethers. It’s been run by Betty Borelli for years, but a recent kitchen fire has forced a shut down. Determined to reopen, Betty has recruited her daughter Cristina, a successful attorney, to come home and help. But that’s not the only reason — she has had recent health issues and Betty wants Cristina and chef Bobo Henderson to ensure the restaurant’s future. There are family secrets as well that need to be finally revealed, and recent visits from past friends have added to the urgency. Will Cristina stay? Will Bobo finally let Cristina know he’s in love with her? And just who is Cristina’s father?

 

The cast of Betty & The Patch includes Christine Anthony (Betty), Katie Mack (Cristina), Issa Best (Bobo), Brad Shepard (Joey), Michael Morales (Michael), J. T. Waite (Andy), Linda Storms (Betty understudy), Valerie Vaile (Cristina understudy), Joel Gladu (Bobo understudy), Rick Malone (Andy/Joey understudy) and Liam Toner (Michael understudy). Eaton will direct the play.  

 

Tickets to Betty & The Patch range from $31 - $35 and are available for sale at the Majestic’s box office Monday – Friday 10am – 5pm and Saturday 10am – 1pm; or on the phone at (413) 747-7797.  

Preview: Ventfort Hall, Tea & Talk Tuesday

Ventfort Hall, Lenox, MA

www.gildedage.org 

June 14, 2022

A Dirty Year 1872: Sex, Suffrage and Scandal in Gilded Age New York

 

Brooklyn storyteller and author Bill Greer will kick off Ventfort Hall’s 2022 Tuesday Summer Tea & Talk series on June 14 at 4:00 pm. He will talk about the city of his book A Dirty Year: Sex, Suffrage, and Scandal in Gilded Age New York. Tea will be served after his presentation.

 

The year is 1872, seven years after the Civil War. New York is convulsing with social upheaval and sexual revolution. In this illustrated talk, Bill Greer paints a picture of the city from the man’s world of Wall Street to the mansions of Fifth Avenue, from the smut dealers of Nassau Street to the limelights of Broadway, from pious Christians to free-loving iconoclasts. He highlights larger-than-life characters who fascinated the city – suffragist and presidential candidate Victoria Woodhull, vice hunter Anthony Comstock, celebrity preacher Henry Ward Beecher, and more – and the issues of the day that play out through their lives, issues that resonate today, from sexual impropriety and reproductive rights to attacks on the press and the chasm between rich and poor.

Through the lives of these larger-than life characters, the issues of the day play out – rigged elections, everyday shootings, attacks on the press, sexual impropriety, reproductive rights, the chasm between rich and poor – issues holding up a mirror to the country today.  Political parties split over a bitterly contested election, suffragist battles suffragist over bettering women’s place in society, pious saints fight soulless sinners, until at year-end, this jumble of conflicts explodes in the greatest sensation of the nineteenth century.

 

Greer has spent decades exploring New York, along with the world. As a travel writer and Internet entrepreneur, he built the early web’s leading community for outdoor adventure. His turn to telling New York’s stories began with his novel The Mevrouw Who Saved Manhattan, exploring the city’s founding as New Amsterdam.  focused on New York’s Gilded Age with his nonfiction narrative A Dirty Year: Sex, Suffrage, and Scandal in Gilded Age New York.

 

Tickets are $30 for members and with advance reservation; $35 day of. Reservations are required as seats are limited. For reservations call us at (413) 637-3206. 

Previews: Paradise City Arts Festival

Paradise City Arts Festival, Northampton, MA

May 7, 8, 9, 2022

paradisecityarts.com

   

Cowan

Paradise City Arts Festival has been presenting award-winning fairs and functual art for over 25 years. The artists are vetted by a special committee who select many genres of art from throughout the U.S. and some from other countries. Approximately 30 individuals are our neighbors from Western MA. Check out their booths when at the Fair. The following are just a few of the locals.

As a painter and illustrator, Doug Cowan has done artwork for The New York Times Book  Review, Wind-Up Records, Workstyle Magazine, The Independent, The Deal Magazine, Kevin Eastman's Heavy Metal Magazine, Lucasfilm, and The Topps Card Company, among others. He paints landscapes on location (plein air) and from memory in his studio.

 

Peeso

Bruce Peeso concentrates his focus on the horizon in his elongated acrylic paintings. Most are 48” wide and just 8” high. The extreme proportions are designed to emphasize the vastness of the landscapes, and the simplicity of content is intended to convey a peaceful serenity that invites the viewer to enter. With his particular attention to the sun's rays at different times of the day, each painting yields a quiet sense of time and place.

Justice

Haviland Justice says, “At Made:Cozy we design and make furniture and smaller household objects that are built to last and have a timeless yet playful aesthetic.” Justice graduated from Hampshire College, where she took advantage of the college’s innovative Center for Design (C4D, in short). Her final project was an interactive furniture exhibit where she built and staged a line of furniture inspired by childhood toys, and she hasn’t looked back. Like many Paradise City artists, Justice aims to blur the lines between sculpture and fine home furnishings. Her goal is to fill your home with cozy, lighthearted, humanizing, and modern heirlooms.

Haines

Bill Haines says, “I love turning green wood. There is an immediacy to it, a closeness, a sense of direct and instant involvement. I can find a piece of the tree I want to work with and bring it into the shop and start to work on it - now. It will take 6 months to finish the urn, but I can start now. That start requires a focus and a quickness of pace, once the wood is on the lathe it needs to be shaped and hollowed out before it dries too much - if it dries too much it will crack. Then patience. The rough urn needs to be dried slowly, thoroughly, over a period of months, before it can be returned to the lathe to be finished.” He learned his craft from Walter Goodridge, who demonstrated wood turning for many years at Paradise City.

To peruse a collection of previous Paradise City Arts Festival articles, follow this link.