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What Makes Sondheim Great?

Stephen Sondheim

The season's final performance of What Makes It Great? with Rob Kapilow will take place this Friday evening, June 2 at Sanders Theatre in Cambridge. Tenor Michael Winther and soprano Terri Klausner along with host Rob Kapilow will explore The Songs of Stephen Sondheim.


Michael Winther

Tenor Michael Winther has appeared on Broadway in Mamma Mia, 1776, Artist Descending a Staircase, and Damn Yankees. He has also appeared with New York Theatre Workshop, Lincoln Center Theatre, Goodspeed Musicals, Yale Rep and currently, a collaboration with jazz pianist Fred Hersch.


Terri Klausner

Soprano Terri Klausner has been seen by audiences across America in productions of A Chorus Line, Sophisticated Ladies, and Evita. She was chosen to play Eva Peron in Evita and did so in the musical’s premiere performance at the Dorothy Chandler Pavillion in Los Angeles. She continued in that role in all the matinees for the Broadway Company. She has sung at the White House, Carnegie Hall and as a headliner in New York’s top nightclubs.

You can find Michael and Terri's complete bios here.


Carrie Cheron

In what we are pretty sure is a first, an employee of the Celebrity Series will appear onstage at a Celebrity Series performance (in the capacity of a performer that is, we're not talking encore flower delivery here). Joining Michael Winther and Terri Klausner for one number will be the Celebrity Series' own Carrie Cheron. A singer/songwriter in a folk vein who performs frequently in New England and around the country, Carrie also studied singing at Indiana Univeristy and New England Conservatory. Lots of people in Boston's folk music community already know about Carrie's vocal chops, now Celebrity Series audiences can to find out, too.

"The Royal Ballet: 75 Years" by Zoe Anderson

The Royal Ballet is in the midst of its 75th anniversary season and tributes, parties and special performances (including for The Queen on June 8) abound. Author Zoe Anderson has written the literary companion piece to all this quite understandable hoopla. The Royal Ballet: 75 Years, released by Faber and Faber on April 20, has thus far been reviewed by Clement Crisp for The Financial Times of London and by John Percival for Danceviewtimes.com.

Anderson herself tells us about the research and the people she encountered in writing the book in a first person narrative for The Independent on April 14. Here's a snip:

"'I remember having a V2 rocket go off in the third act, during the Black Swan pas de deux,' says the ballerina Beryl Grey. 'At the beginning, you do posé turns and then' - she gestures to suggest the steps - 'you go backwards, whomp. As I went backwards, whomp, the whole theatre shook with this V2 bomb exploding. But nobody moved in the audience - you know, people were wonderful.' It doesn't seem to occur to her that, as she went on dancing in a shaking theatre, she was wonderful, too."

Read all of The Royal Ballet: Behind the Scenes.

I'll let you make up your own mind about which seller you wish to support. Here are three options:

Royal Opera House Shop Online

Amazon UK

Dance Books, Ltd

Choreographer and pioneering modern dancer Katherine Dunham dead at 96

Katherine Dunham, an early pioneer of modern dance, groundbreaking choreographer, anthropologist, and activist, passed away on May 21 at the age of 96. Ms. Dunham, along with Pearl Primus, was among the first performers to bring Caribbean, African, and African-American dance to American audiences. In doing so she inspired the likes of Donald McKayle and particularly Alvin Ailey. Dunham was hired by George Balanchine for the musical "Cabin in the Sky" in 1940.

A native of Joliet, Illinois, Ms. Dunham earned a doctorate in anthropology from The University of Chicago, and she did her field work in the Caribbean, later moving to Haiti and becoming active in Haitian political causes and eventually taking up the Vaudun religion.

Katherine Dunham performed in Boston at least once, when she was presented by the Aaron Richmond Celebrity Series (that was our original name) in 1944.

Here are a few selections from among her many tributes:

New York Times (login required)

Washington Post (login required)

Amsterdam News

Great Dance Weblog - Video Tribute (several video clips of Dunham)

Onward and Upward (blog)

McDonald is Dyer's parting shot

Richard Dyer of The Boston Globe

Audra McDonald's performance at Sanders Theatre was reviewed by a number of local critics (some of those reviews are or will be linked to on this blog), but Richard Dyer's review was different. After more than 30 years covering the classical music that the Celebrity Series has presented in Boston (with occasional diversions into the other genres we present), this is Richard Dyer's last review of a Celebrity Series performance (not that we want to make this about us). I'm not going to even attempt to do justice, especially in this format, to the significance of this momentous change, but I thought you might want to know (gentle reader) that this particular ride is almost over. Read him while you can. Read this in a new light, scan the pages of the Globe for his remaining bylines or revisit some of his recent pieces via boston.com. Any of those options are worth your time...

Here is a bit of that "final" review:

"McDonald's lustrous voice is operatically trained and she's a theater singer, so each song is delivered by a character telling a story or sharing a feeling. McDonald herself is merely the gorgeous, amusing, self-deprecating creature who introduces the songs."

And here is the full text.

Corkchair

It is just what it looks like, a chair fashioned from used wine corks. Useless information, you say? Quite. But it is considered art by someone and Gabriel Wiese, the artist who created the cork chair, found a home for it at the Gallery of Functional Art.

I just had to share.

Here is the post of origin at Boing, Boing. Thanks to them, as always.

Audra gets her propers from John Amodeo

John Amodeo was among the throng that thrilled to Audra McDonald on Saturday evening. Here's a bit of John's EDGEBoston.com review:

"...And then there is that voice, that Juilliard-trained soprano, with warm low notes, and bright high notes, with a full-bodied range of color between them. But you won’t get showy coloratura from McDonald. Instead, she uses her beautiful instrument to tell stories in song, and that she did magnificently." Full text.

Audra gives master class for vocal locals

Audra McDonald (L) whispers instructions to Brookline High School student Maeve
Duggan during a master class presented by the Bank of America Celebrity Series

Our education department uncorked another inspiring event on Friday. They corraled the always agreeable Ms. McDonald into giving a master class for a small
group of lucky aspiring singers at Boston Arts Academy (BAA) on Friday (May 19). One student each from BAA, Brookline High School, and Walnut Hill School in Natick, MA got the chance to sing for, and be critiqued by none other than Audra McDonald herself. BAA’s Jamie Maletz of Charlestown and Shania Mason of Dorchester,
Brookline High School’s Nik Walker (son of CBS4 anchor Liz Walker) and
Walnut Hill’s Carolyn Sproule received coaching
from Audra while a classroom full of student singers looked on.

Audra McDonald's song list

Audra McDonald had 'em in the palm of her hand once again at Sanders Theatre on Saturday evening (May 20). Here is the list of songs performed, in order:

1. When Lola Sings
     (written for Audra McDonald by Michael John La Chiusa)
2. Medley: It Might as Well Be Spring/Hurry It's Lovely
3. Stars and Moon (from Jason Robert Brown's "Songs for a New World")
4. Bill (from Jerome Kern's "Showboat")
5. Beat My Dog (Jay Leonhardt)
6. I Double Dare You (Jimmy Eaton)
7. Will He Like Me?
     (from "She Loves Me" by Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick)
8. Can't Stop Talking About Him (Frank Loesser's "Let's Dance")
9. My Stupid Mouth (John Mayer cover)
10. Glamorous Life
     (from the movie version of Stephen Sondheim's "A Little Night Music")
11. I Wanna Get Married (Nellie McKay)
12. Hosing the Furniture
     (written by Jonathan Larson for the unproduced musical
     "Sitting on the Edge of Tomorrow")
13. Cradle & All (Ricky Ian Gordon)
14. I Won't Mind (from "The Other Franklin," music by Jeff Blumenkrantz)
15. The Christian Thing To Do
     (written for Audra McDonald by Michael John La Chiusa)
16. My Book (written for Audra McDonald by Jeff Blumenkrantz)
17. Tom Cat Goodbye (Laura Nyro cover)
18. The Man That Got Away (Harold Arlen)
19. When Did I Fall In Love? (from Jerry Bock's "Fiorello")

Encores:
Ain't It De Truth (Harold Arlen)
I Think It's Going To Rain Today (Curtis Stigers/Randy Newman)

Dame Margot Fonteyn born today

Today is the birthday of Dame Margot Fonteyn, born Margaret Hookham in Reigate, Surrey in 1919 (she died in Panama City, Panama in 1991). Star of the Royal Ballet (Sadler's Wells when she began), Fonteyn was an inspiration to Sir Frederick Ashton and also worked with Roland Petit and Martha Graham and danced with Rudolph Nureyev.

But others have chronicled her life better than I can:

Margot Fonteyn Wikipedia entry

Margot Fonteyn bio from ballet.co

In her article for the Celebrity Series, dance writer Christine Temin wrote of Fonteyn:

"In her Autobiography Margot Fonteyn tells of the food shortages that made it difficult for the dancers to keep performing six nights and three matinees a week – a crushing schedule even if there’s plenty to eat. Ballet fans would sacrifice their own rations, presenting them to the dancers at the stage door. There was such demand for ballet that there were three performances on Saturdays. They had to run virtually non-stop, Fonteyn writes, 'in order to finish early enough for the public to reach home before the bombs fell.'"  Read the complete article.

Audra McDonald on Songs That Scare Her

Broadway star Audra McDonald had a chat with Robert Nesti of EDGEBoston.com in advance of her sold-out appearance at Sanders Theatre in Cambridge this Saturday. She talked about her program of songs that "scare" her:

"EDGE spoke to McDonald one a recent afternoon while she was in traffic -- literally bumper-to-bumper rush hour traffic as she crossed the Brooklyn Bridge (with composer Ricky Ian Gordon in the passenger seat) on her way to an event in the city. The subject was her upcoming concert and its unusual theme: songs that she’s scared of.

"Yes," she said laughing. "I’ll be singing some of the songs that I’m scared of, just like I did at Carnegie Hall. The concert won’t quite be the same. I won’t have a big orchestra, but a jazz combo; but a good deal of the material will be the same. And they’ll be those songs that frighten me for any number of reasons."

Read Audra McDonald on Songs That Scare Her

Royal Bostonians on "Attitude" blog

Dance writer Debra Cash, writing for Attitude, the WBUR arts blog, outlines some of the Boston connections found amongst the principals and soloists in the Boston casts of The Royal Ballet's Manon. Read Royal Bostonians.

Debra also sent this link to an interesting LA Times article by Daniel Gesmer on The Royal Ballet's 75th anniversary party (the company was founded as the Vic-Wells Ballet by Nanette de Valois in 1931). The event, held at Covent Garden, saw 500 past and present company members mingling, reminiscing and getting reacquainted. Here's a snippet:

"The event underscored a challenge that faces most large ballet companies today and for which White's life serves as a metaphor: balancing tradition and innovation, respect and risk, custom and daring. It was also a poignant opportunity for reflection on bygone days." Full Text

St. Botolph's talks Barihunk and waits for Eichler

Regular readers of this blog have, no doubt, read my post on Richard Dyer's review of Dmitri Hvorostovsky's Celebrity Series recital on May 13. The ever thoughtful Christina Linklater of the blog St. Botolph's Town (and sometimes The Boston Globe) attended the recital, too, and has offered her commentary.

Ms. Linklater also did some of our homework for us, submitting links to some samples of the craftsmanship of the Globe's new classical music critic, Newton-native and soon to be "ex" (we assume) New York Times critic  Jeremy Eichler. Her post is a convenient way to get acquainted with his work: Waiting for Eichler.

Thinking of subscribing to our 2006-2007 season?

If you are considering a subscription for next season (and I know you are), there are a couple of dates you will want to remember:

1. June 2 - That's the deadline for priority seating, so if you want to ensure the best possible seats for your subscription, send us your subscription form or subscribe online by Friday, June 2;

2. June 5 - The first day you can subscribe by phone for 2006-2007. We have an able and affable staff ready to assist you by phone. After Monday, June 5 you can call them at (617) 482-6661 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday and subscribe. They can walk you through the process and answer any questions you may have. But not until June 5...

You can subscribe online now or have a brochure sent to you; just visit http://www.celebrityseries.org and follow the links.

Royal Ballet director to give pre-performance talk

 
Royal Ballet director Monica Mason will give a 20-minute talk in The Wang Theatre house prior to the Friday, June 16 performance by the Royal Ballet of Kenneth MacMillan's Manon. The talk will take place at 7:00 p.m. Patrons for the Friday evening performance should show their tickets to the ushers and sit in the first few rows of the house for the talk. The talk is free to all those holding tickets for that evening. The performance will begin at 8:00 p.m.

Hvorostovsky triumphs at Jordan Hall

 
Dmitri Hvorostovsky sang his recital Saturday night for a sold-out house, and though a few empty seats were visible, most ticket holders weren't about to miss this recital no matter what the weather. There was buzz indeed (if we do say so ourselves).

Richard Dyer, reviewing for the Boston Globe wrote:

"His lyric baritone voice, not large, is lean and pointed rather than warm and enveloping, but the timbre is exceedingly beautiful and completely even over a wide range, all the way up to high A-flat. His technique is superb -- all young singers should study his breath control and his command of legato and dynamics."

Here is the full text of Richard's review, Baritone demonstrates his superior control.

Here are Mr. Hvorostovsky's encores from Saturday (sorry, no title, yet for the Russian folk song):
1. "Credo" from Otello by Giuseppe Verdi
2. "O sole Mio" Music: Eduardo Di Capua; lyrics: Giovani Capurro (1898)
3. Russian Folk Song

And here, for those still hungry for info on the objectionably objectively handsome baritone, here is a bit of his interview from New York magazine:

"The sex appeal is part of the package. My voice is sensual, too, and it is part of my image and my character and my personality. It has something to do with a little magic called the 'significant presence,' or whatever. I’m very happy I’ve been very gifted with looks and stuff."

The full text of Deep Baritone: Dmitri Hvorostovsky.

Christine Temin on The Royal Ballet

Carlos Acosta as Des Grieux and Tamara Rojo as Manon

The Royal Ballet returns to Boston June 15-17 for four performances of Sir Kenneth MacMillan's Manon. The Celebrity Series has commissioned an article on The Royal Ballet and Manon from Christine Temin, a Boston-based writer, who from 1978-2005 was dance critic for The Boston Globe. The article outlines the origins of Manon and the history and current state of The Royal Ballet and features something of a portrait of the director of The Royal Ballet, Monica Mason:

"For all her awareness of the need to keep adding to the repertory, Mason epitomizes what Americans adore about the Royal, the same qualities we love about Britain itself: continuity, tradition, valor, a tendency not to take things too seriously – except when things are serious, when Brits are at their best. Royal directors have tended to have something of Winston Churchill about them, only; of course, they’ve all been from the dance world, hence somewhat trimmer than the man who saw Britain through the Blitz."

First Soloist Sarah Lamb, formerly of Boston Ballet, also talked with Christine:

"On the matter of applause, Lamb has found British audiences rather reticent. "I’ve never seen the audience here stand up," she says. "There’s this sense of, 'Don’t you remember when Margot did that role?'" she says in a perfect send-up of the accent of an upper class British woman. On the other hand, she says, on a tour of the Far East last year, Japanese audiences were so enthusiastic "They’d queue up outside the stage door to give Sylvie Guillem [the Royal’s Parisian-born principal guest artist] Louis Vuitton handbags."

Temin covers a lot of ground in the article, from Monica Mason's history with the company (which has included, among other things, playing the role of the Mistress in the 1974 premiere of Manon); to fundraising in Britain; the Royal Ballet's wigs; diversity in the company; and the courageous tale of the company's continued performing throughout the London Blitz of World War II.

Read Christine Temin's article, The Royal Ballet and Manon.

Read a synopsis of Manon (the ballet not the opera)

David Sedaris: Soap Opera fan

Boston loves David Sedaris. We know because we sold the tickets to his last three appearances here - and were forced to turn away the throngs that called us after he sold out. We love him, we're such an NPR town, some of us even think of him as one of the family. But how many Bostonians know of Mr. Sedaris' love for the soap opera One Life to Live? Yep. Turns out Mr. Sedaris is such a fan of the show that they named a portion of their studio after him: The David Sedaris Annex.

You did know? OK, well I didn't know.

In her article in The New York Observer, Rebecca Dana covers a range of celebrity soap fans, but it was Sedaris that caught our eye:

"Mr. Sedaris has written extensively about the writerly appeal of soaps,
especially One Life to Live, and he is thought to have appeared several
times on the program as an extra, although Mr. Valentini demurred to discuss
these roles. 'I’ve asked him a few times to consider a speaking part,' he said, 'but he said he would be too nervous.'"

Read all of Me Talk Pretty One Daytime.

Everything was all Rice

Francoise Voranger in Rebecca Rice's Busy Blues

Rebecca Rice Dance wrapped up the Boston Marquee performances for the season last Saturday at the Tsai Center. Tedd Bale chatted with Rebecca Rice for The Boston Herald in advance of the performance and The Boston Globe's Richard Dyer reviewed the performance, which included the world premiere of Deep Dances, with choreography by Rice and music by John Harbison. Here's a bit of Richard:

"Rice has worked in Boston as a teacher, dancer, and choreographer for more than 20 years, and it was easy to see why she has become a local phenomenon -- her work whirls entertainingly back and forth across the border between ballet and modern dance. It both defies gravity and celebrates it. Her musical taste is eclectic (from baroque to jazz, Arvo Part to Peter Schickele), and her choreography exhibits musical and dance intelligence. The 13 dancers she fielded Saturday night exhibited admirable discipline, energy, stamina, and style."

Read the full text of Defying gravity, and celebrating it.

The Globe on David Sedaris at Symphony Hall

Joe Yonan from the Boston Globe reviewed David Sedaris' outing at Symphony Hall (from May 5):

"Within a mere few lines of his first story, ''Memento Mori," he had the audience guffawing at his attempts to find a human skeleton for boyfriend Hugh, who had always wanted one. ''I was fine with buying someone who had been dead for awhile," he said in his typically dry delivery. ''I just didn't want to have to wrap him."

Full text of David Sedaris adds some Monkey business to his inciseive humor

Speed Angels: Marcia Siegel on Ailey

Hope Boykin and Clifton Brown in Judith Jamison's Reminiscin'

Marcia Siegel's Boston Phoenix review of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater's April engagement hit the streets today. She offers some new ideas (new to me in this context, at least) on ways in which older repertory can and does inform new repertory. Here's a bit:

"Elements of early Ailey are getting woven into newer dances, as recognizable allusions to previous performances or tropes that carry predefined emotional content. This is a characteristic of classical repertory, not a failure of imagination. It’s like the repercussions of Sleeping Beauty that show up in Balanchine."

Read Speed Angels: Ailey Motors On in its entirety.

David Sedaris: Symphony Hall, with monkeys

David Sedaris brought a lot of things with him to Symphony Hall last night - unpublished writings, translations of his books into Catalan and Italian, a packed house...he also brought Helping Hands.

And they brought a monkey...

 
Judi Zazula, Executive Director and co-founder of Helping Hands, Monkey Helpers for the Disabled, and Ayla (you can just see Ayla's head peeking out from under the blanket). Ayla made lots a friends last night.

Along with a lot of other funny, unpublished writings, Mr. Sedaris brought his Princeton-commencement-address-in-progress to the podium. Since I have already covered the fact of his Princeton assignment, I thought it might be fun to take a look at some other commencement speakers around the nation (with a slight emphasis on this region and the arts):

University of Massachusetts, Boston
Senator Barack Obama

Berklee College of Music
Melissa Ethridge

Boston College
Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice

Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College at Perkinston, Oklahoma State University, the United States Merchant Marine Academy and the United States Military Academy
President George W. Bush

University of Pennsylvania
Jodie Foster

Roger Williams University
First Lady Laura Bush

Buffalo State College
Senator Hilary Rodham Clinton and Senator Charles Schumer

Cleveland Institute of Music
Violinist and conductor Jaime Laredo (ahem, a Celebrity Series artist many times over, thank you very much)

Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art
Anna Deveare Smith and former President William Jefferson Clinton

Eastern Connecticut State University
Former poet laureate of the United States, Robert Pinsky (and Celebrity Series artist, 2002)

Harvard University
Newshour host Jim Lehrer

Juilliard School
Wynton Marsalis (look for him on the Series in 06-07)

Knox College
Stephen Colbert, host of Comedy Central's The Colbert Report

Merrimack College
Shonda Schilling

Rider University
New York Yankees manager Joe Torre (do the Yankees plan to be out of the running by then?) and Alice Torre

Westminster Choir College of Rider University
New York Times classical music critic Anthony Tommassini

State University of New York at Binghamton
Scottish percussionist Evelyn Glennie (Celebrity Series artist, 1999)

Syracuse University
Billy Joel

Tufts University
Lance Armstrong

Wheaton College (Mass.)
Cokie Roberts

New England Conservatory
Composer Joan Tower

The New York Times visits Preservation Hall

 
Nate Chinen of The New York Times visited with Preservation Hall Jazz Band music director Benjamin Jaffe (and the Edge) about rebranding, Katrina recovery, U2 covers at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival:

"Why wouldn't Preservation Hall do a project with Tom Waits?" Mr. Jaffe mused at the fairgrounds on Saturday. "Or Bruce Springsteen? Or even the Edge, like we did the other day? I don't think I'm compromising the integrity of the band, as long as I'm staying true to the vision of Preservation Hall, which was originally, and always has been, to provide a place for New Orleans jazz musicians to perform."

Read the full text of Quiet Since Katrina, Preservation Hall is Back from nytimes.com (log-in required).

Have i mentioned that the Preservation Hall Jazz Band opens our season on October 15...?

The Celebrity Series in 2006-2007, a web guide

The Celebrity Series 2006-2007 season was announced April 28. As soon as the office opened on Friday, dedicated concert-goers began filing in to make their selections (many of them dialed in via the web). The season features a lot of new artists; for example, pianist Yundi Li, soprano Karita Mattila, Academy Award winning actress Olympia Dukakis, country musician Kathy Mattea, the Prazak String Quartet, soprano Barbara Bonney and mezzo-soprano Angelika Kirchschlager, Praire Home Companion host Garrison Keillor, South African actor and playwright John Kani, vocalist Brian Stokes Mitchell and spin artist DJ Spooky, among others, all make their Celebrity Series debuts in 2006-2007. Complexions contemporary ballet, Compañía Nacional de Danza 2, and the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra and Choir with Ton Koopman, conductor are all making their Boston debuts in 2006-2007!

We think it's a terrific season (not surprising). The Boston Globe announced it with an article by Richard Dyer that featured a few words from our leader, Martha H. Jones:

''Our core mission remains the presentation of classical artists," said Martha H. Jones, Celebrity Series executive director. ''Next season we are presenting as many classical attractions as we always have, but we have expanded our reach by diversifying into other areas."

I couldn't (and didn't) put it better myself.

The links below are the the closest I came in this go 'round to official web sites for these artists. I hope to find other or better ones worth sharing with you in the future. I will be exploring these sites over the coming months for tidbits or scraps (or whole meals if they present themselves) of things worth seeing or knowing. In the meantime, you can view the lineup below, my little guide to the artists on the new season and their web sites, or visit us at www.celebrityseries.org.

Preservation Hall Jazz Band’s 45th Anniversary Celebration – “The New Orleans Revue”
Sun. Oct. 15, 5pm
Symphony Hall

NHK Symphony Orchestra
Vladimir Ashkenazy, conductor (Decca records Ashkenazy page)
Hélène Grimaud, piano soloist
Fri. Oct. 20, 8pm
Symphony Hall

New York Times columnist Frank Rich
Sun. Oct. 22, 3pm
John Hancock Hall

Trick or Treat! with Rob Kapilow – Family Musik
Sun. Oct. 29, 2pm
Tsai Performance Center

Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio
Sat. Nov. 4, 8pm
NEC's Jordan Hall

Gidon Kremer, violin and Krystian Zimerman, piano
Sun. Nov. 5, 3pm
NEC's Jordan Hall

Kirov Ballet and Orchestra – Swan Lake (Mariinsky Theatre web site)
Thurs.-Sun. Nov. 9-12
(Thurs. 7:30pm / Fri. 8pm / Sat. 2pm, 8pm / Sun. 3pm)
The Wang Theatre

Sergio & Odair Assad, guitar duo (artist management site)
Sat. Nov. 11, 8pm
NEC's Jordan Hall

Anne-Sophie Mutter, violin (official web site)
Tue. Nov. 14, 8pm
Symphony Hall

What Makes It Great? with Rob Kapilow
Christopheren Nomura, baritone – Romantic songs by Schumann (artist management site)
Sun. Nov. 19, 3pm
NEC's Jordan Hall

Barbara Bonney, soprano & Angelika Kirchschlager, mezzo-soprano
Fri. Dec. 1, 8pm, NEC's Jordan Hall

Guarneri String Quartet(faculty bio from University of Maryland)
Sun. Dec. 3, 3pm, NEC's Jordan Hall

Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Chorus
with Ton Koopman, conductor - Christmas concert (official web site)
Fri. Dec. 8, 8pm
Symphony Hall

Pilobolus (dance) (official web site)
Fri.-Sun. Dec. 8-10
(Fri. 7:30pm / Sat. 8pm / Sun. 3pm)
The Shubert Theatre

Vienna Choir Boys – Holiday Program (official web site)
Sun. Dec. 10, 3pm
NEC's Jordan Hall

Hilary Hahn, violin (official web site plus Hilary's blog: Itty-Bitty news)
Fri. Jan. 12, 8pm
NEC's Jordan Hall

Olympia Dukakis in Rose (theater) (link is from the Internet Movie Database)
Tues.-Sun. Jan. 16-21 (Tues. 7:30pm / Wed.-Sat. 8pm / Sun. 3pm)
Wimberly Theatre, Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA

Peter and the Wolf with Rob Kapilow - Family Musik
Sat. Jan. 20, 12pm, 2pm
Tsai Performance Center

Susan Graham, mezzo-soprano (official web site)
Sun. Jan. 21, 3pm
NEC's Jordan Hall

South African actor & playwright John Kani  (link is wikipedia entry)
Fri. Jan. 26, 8pm
Sanders Theatre, Cambridge

Regina Carter, violin
with vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater (official web site)
Sat. Jan. 27, 8pm
Sanders Theatre, Cambridge

Lang Lang, piano (official web site)
Sun. Jan. 28, 3pm
Symphony Hall

Complexions contemporary ballet (official web site)
Fri. -Sat. Feb. 2 and 3
(Fri. 7:30pm / Sat. 8pm)
Tsai Performance Center

Kathy Mattea (official web site) (Kathy Mattea's blog)
Sat. Feb. 3, 8pm
Sanders Theatre, Cambridge

Garrick Ohlsson, piano (link is to wikipedia entry)
Sat. Feb. 10, 8pm
NEC's Jordan Hall

Garrison Keillor (Praire Home Companion web site)
Sun. Feb. 11, 3pm
Symphony Hall

What Makes It Great? with Rob Kapilow - Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons
Boston Musica Viva & Jennifer Frautschi,  violin (all official web sites)
Fri. Feb. 16, 8pm
NEC's Jordan Hall

Dawn Upshaw, soprano
Sun. Feb. 25, 3pm
NEC's Jordan Hall

Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra (official Gewandhaus web site)
Riccardo Chailly, conductor
Yundi Li, piano soloist
Wed. Feb. 28, 8pm
Symphony Hall

Compania Nacional de Danza 2
Thurs.-Fri. Mar.1 and 2
(Thurs. 7:30pm / Fri. 8pm)
The Shubert Theatre

Tap on Tap! with Rob Kapilow - Family Musik
Sat. Mar. 10, 12pm, 2pm
Tsai Performance Center

Cirque Éloize “Rain”
Tues.-Sun. Mar. 13-18
(Tues.-Fri. 7:30pm / Sat. 2pm, 8pm / Sun. 3pm)
Cutler Majestic Theatre

National Philharmonic of Russia
Vladimir Spivakov, conductor (link is wikipedia entry)
Olga Kern, piano soloist (link from Van Cliburn Foundation)
Fri. Mar. 16, 8pm
Symphony Hall

Prazak String Quartet
with Roger Tapping, viola
Sat. Mar. 17, 8pm
NEC's Jordan Hall

Barbara Cook (official web site)
Sat. Mar. 24, 8pm
Symphony Hall

Alexander Kobrin, piano (Van Cliburn Foundation page)
Sun. Mar. 25, 3pm
NEC's Jordan Hall

Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra (Jazz at Lincoln Center web site)
with Wynton Marsalis
Wed. Mar. 28, 8pm
Symphony Hall

Daniel Bernard Roumain and THE MISSION (official DBR web site with fun intro)
Sat. Mar. 31, 8pm
Berklee Performance Center

Karita Mattila, soprano (link is wikipedia entry)
Fri. Apr. 13, 8pm
NEC's Jordan Hall

Bobby McFerrin with Voicestra (official web site)
Sat. Apr. 14, 8pm
Symphony Hall

Boston University Opera Institute - La Bohéme
Thurs.-Fri. Apr. 19-20
(Thurs. 7:30pm / Fri. 7:30pm)
BU Theatre

Australian Chamber Orchestra with Pieter Wispelway, cello (official web sites)
Sun. Apr. 22, 3pm
NEC's Jordan Hall

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (official web site)
Thurs.-Sun. Apr. 26-29 (Thurs. 7:30pm / Fri. 8pm / Sat. 2pm, 8pm / Sun. 3pm)
The Wang Theatre

Evgeny Kissin, piano
Sun. Apr. 29, 7pm
Symphony Hall

Kinodance Company - Boston Cyberarts Festival 2007– Boston Marquee (official web sites)
Wed.-Thurs. May 2-3 (Wed. 7:30pm / Thurs. 8pm)
Tsai Performance Center

Sweet Honey in the Rock (official web site)
Sun. May 6, 3pm
Symphony Hall

Brian Stokes Mitchell (official web site)
Fri. May 11, 8pm
Sanders Theatre, Cambridge

Emerson String Quartet (official web site) with Leon Fleisher, piano (link is wikipedia entry)
Sat. May 12, 8pm
NEC's Jordan Hall

Ballet Hispanico and the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra, Palladium Nights (official web sites)
Fri.-Sat. May 18-19, (Fri. 7:30pm / Sat. 8pm)
The Shubert Theatre

Boston Modern Orchestra Project (all official web sites)
with DJ Spooky, Rinde Eckert & guests – Boston Marquee
Sat. May 19, 8pm
Sanders Theatre, Cambridge

You can view all of these engagements in more detail and subscribe online at celebrityseries.org.

Christina Linklater on Maurizio Pollini for The Boston Globe

Christina Linklater reviewed Maurizio Pollini's Sunday recital for The Boston Globe. Want to read a literate and downright smart review that keeps the greys grey and doesn't insult your intelligence with mere thumbs up and thumbs down talk? Look no further. Here's a snippet:

"The Italian pianist Maurizio Pollini is an adventurous virtuoso, a connoisseur
of the traditional repertoire with a taste for some of the most difficult modern
compositions. He has recorded the complete sonatas of Beethoven as well as all
of Schoenberg's music for piano, and he is famous for exploring classical and
contemporary pieces in a single performance, bringing as much earnest lucidity
to avant-garde masterpieces as to beloved monuments."

And here's the full text of From a Melody to a Rattle with Wondrous Ease.

Pollini triumphs with Chopin & Liszt program, finds strength for five encores

Mr. Pollini takes his piano (a Fabrini) on the road - someone else does the driving...

Maurizio Pollini was marvelous yesterday afternoon at Symphony Hall. After a challenging regular program that wrapped up with Liszt's B minor sonata, Mr. Pollini had enough energy (and enough encouragement from a very enthusiaistic audience) for five encores. Here they are, in performance order:

1. Debussy, La cathédrale engloutie (The Submerged Cathedral)
2. Chopin, Nocturne in E-flat Major: Andante, Opus 9, no. 2
3. Liszt, Transcendental Etude No. 10 in F minor
4. Chopin, Etude, Opus 10, no.12 in C minor, allegro con fuoco "Revolutionary" B42
5. Chopin, Berceuse in D-flat major, op.57