State of the Arts

State of the Arts: March 31, 2010 Archive

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Your Weekend Outlook: Ready for take-off

Posted at 9:00 AM on March 31, 2010 by Marianne Combs (1 Comments)
Filed under: Events

shapiro_and_smith.jpg
Shapiro & Smith Dance Company performs "Women and Men" at the Southern Theater.

These are the weekends I love, when just a little bit of everything is out there for the choosing. Want dance? We've got it. Theater? No prob! Poetry reading? Sure thing. Plus music, prints, parties and more. Read on...

Shapiro & Smith Dance Company returns to the Southern Theater in Minneapolis for its latest evening of choreography "Women and Men." Through five different pieces (three company favorites and two new works) the dancers delve into the relationships and boundaries that exist between the sexes. Performances run April 1-4.

It's Poetry Month! Poets Lightsey Darst and Greg Hewett read from their newly released collections (Find the Girl, and darkacre, respectively) tomorrow night at the Loft. The reading begins at 7pm.

The expression "Safe as Houses" doesn't seem to carry the weight it used to now that the mortgage crisis has hit. Joking Envelope pushes the irony even further when a family buys a house located on the mouth of Hell. Performances run April 2 - 17 at Minneapolis Theater Garage.

Highpoint Center for Printmaking presents the work of 11 South African artists created in the David Krut workshop in Johannesburg. The artists find inspiration in their fraught social history, spirituality and music. The show runs through April 24.

Brazilian music legend and that country's former Minister of Culture Gilberto Gil returns to Minnepaolis for the first time in nearly a decade. He performs Sunday night at Orchestra Hall.

For some music that's equally exotic but in a more intimate setting, check out Lebanese Oud master Bassam Saba. In addition to performing with Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Ensemble, he conducts the New York Arabic Orchestra. Thursday he'll be performing with leading classical Arabic percussionist April Centrone at the Cedar Cultural Center.

Rediscover the innocence of the 1960s with your kids; Walker Art Center celebrates the opening of its "1964" exhibition with a Free First Saturday filled with dancing, prints and fun all with a retro feel.

Not sure what kind of art you want, but you know you want to party? Try out Ricochet Kitchen: Evolutionary Art Party at Bedlam Theater in Minneapolis. The get-together features all kinds of dance, spoken word, performance art and independent film. The party gets underway Saturday at 8:30pm, with a sliding cover charge of $5-10.

So tell me, what have you got going on this weekend?


(1 Comments)

Great local authors coming to a library near you

Posted at 1:05 PM on March 31, 2010 by Marianne Combs
Filed under: Books

If you live in the Twin Cities, a famous author could be coming to your neighborhood this summer.

Club Book, a new series funded by money from the Legacy Amendment, will bring the likes of Garrison Keillor, Neil Gaiman, Patricia Hampl and Kate DiCamillo to libraries in Chaska, Blaine, Stillwater and Apple Valley. The initial series of readings/discussions will take place from April to August. You can see the full list of authors here.

Club Book is part of the Metropolitan Library Services Agency and coordinated by the Library Foundation of Hennepin County.

Schubert Club announces season of big names

Posted at 4:02 PM on March 31, 2010 by Euan Kerr
Filed under: Music, People

Schubert Club Executive Director Kathleen van Begen has a huge smile on her face today.

The Club just announces its 2010-2011 International Artists Series, and it's a doozey.

It opens in October with the return of soprano Renee Fleming.

"She loves the Ordway," says van Bergen. "She loves singing on that stage."

This will be Fleming's third visit to the Schubert Club, and will include the music of Mahler in the program. This is in part because some letters by the composer owned by the Schubert were displayed at the Lincoln Center this year which Fleming saw.

Another big show follows in November when Alison Balsom comes to the Ordway to perform the first ever trumpet recital in the Schubert Club's history.

"We've been looking high and low about what can you do in the 128th (season,) that's fresh and exciting and a first. Ukulele would have been one route to go," she laughs.

But instead the trumpet beckoned as did the chance to have Balsom, who is taking the brass world by storm.

"The range and sound of the trumpet is really compelling, engaging, and we look forward to our first trumpet recital," van Bergen says.

In January Yuja Wang will perform on piano, followed by violinist Leila Josefowicz accompanied by Tamara Stefanovich on piano in March.

Van Bergen is also really excited by the final concert of the season where soprano Genia Kühmeier, mezzo-soprano Bernarda Fink, tenor Michael Schade, and bass-baritone Thomas Quasthoff, will be joined on stage by pianists Malcolm Martineau, and Justus Zeyen for a program of Schumann and Brahms, including Brahms' rarely programmed Liebeslieder Waltzes. It's unusual to have this number of top performers together for one concert.

"It's only being performed in four places in North America," van Bergen says. "We are tickled, just really delighted. If you are going to present Liebeslieder Waltzes, we really believe you should have the highest quality of artists, and it should be a defining moment for all of us. Personally, I have been attending concerts for decades and I have never heard them live. So this is something I am really looking forward to and I hope that many share in that experience."

Van Bergen also points out that the Schubert Club tickets are remarkably affordable particularly compared with venues on the coasts.

"Just another good reason to live in the Twin Cities," she says.

And then she smiles again.

You can listen to our conversation here

March 2010
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