Ailey program for April 28-May 3 is online

Judith Jamison, 1976* 

The program for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater's 50th Anniversary Celebration, April 28-May 3 at Boston's Opera House is on our web site.

*Photo by Jack Mitchell

Pianist Angela Hewitt reviewed in Boston Globe

Angela Hewitt

Canadian pianist Angela Hewitt is known as something of a Bach specialist but as David Weininger notes in his review of her recital this past Sunday, Ms. Hewitt has range:

"First up in the second half were the first two Valse-caprices by Faure,
works clearly influenced by Chopin. The music, varying between
exuberance and reverie, is of limited depth, but Hewitt gave it exactly
the wit and sparkle it needed, using a full palette of colors, nuanced
tone, and rippling phrases. She also made its considerable technical
hurdles seem like no big deal."

Read Canadian pianist Angela Hewitt introduces herself.

A couple of reviews of von Otter/Mehldau/Forsberg concert

Anne Sofie von Otter

Here are two reviews of the performance by mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter and pianists Brad Mehldau and Bengt Forsberg on February 13. I have been remiss in not sharing them sooner.

First, the big guns, as it were: Matthew Guerrieri's review for The Boston Globe, which was published on February 17.

Next, from the Jazz.com blog, is Roanna Forman's take.

And, from elsewhere in the tour:

The New York Daily News

The New York Times

Hubbard Street Artistic Director Vincent to leave for NDT

Jim Vincent

Jim Vincent, Artistic Director of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, has announced he will be leaving the company for Nederlands Dans Theatre in late August. Vincent is replacing Anders Hellstrom, who is resigning after 6 years with NDT. The Chicago Tribune carried the announcement: Vincent resigns from Hubbard Street Dance. Vincent also posted the following letter on Hubbard Street's web site.

Hubbard Street Dance Chicago completed a Celebrity Series engagement at the Cutler Majestic Theatre in early February. Nederlands Dans Theatre 2, the second company of Nederlands Dans Theatre visits Boston and the Celebrity Series on April 16 & 17 at the Tsai Performance Center.

"40 years' worth of thanks"

You may have seen this on the front page of today's Boston Globe. I recommend the video included with the story on Boston.com (link below). This story happened with the help of a Boston Globe reporter Maria Cramer. Yet another reason why we need reporters. Thanks, Maria Cramer! Thanks, Globe!

Read and watch: 40 years' worth of thanks

First Family takes in Ailey performance at Kennedy Center

Now you, too, can see the dance company that...the Obamas...saw...on Friday night. No matter how lame my tie-in might be, the fact that the first family checked out Ailey is rather heartwarming. Some parents take their kids to monster truck rallies (not that there's anything wrong with that, ahem). Here's the AP story.

President Carter once gave Cecil Taylor a hug and sang Salt Peanuts with Dizzy Gillespie on The White House lawn, so I don't mean to imply that the Obamas are the only First Family to check out the arts in some breadth. Still it's a refreshing thing.

I almost forgot, you can come see the dance company that the Obamas saw from April 28 to May 3 at Boston's Opera House.

Karen Campbell reviews Hubbard Street Dance Chicago for Globe

Hubbard Street Dance Chicago in Doug Varone's "Constant Shift of Pulse"

Here's a taste of Karen Campbell's typically thorough review:

"Swedish choreographer Johan Inger may not be a common name among dance
lovers in the United States, but surely it's only a matter of time. His 'Walking Mad' on last night's sold-out Hubbard Street Dance Chicago
program at the Cutler Majestic Theatre was the evening's riotous hit, a
clever, surreal romp set to Ravel's 'Bolero.' Choreographed in 2001 for
the Nederlands Dans Theater, with which Inger performed in the 1990s,
the "mad" in "Walking Mad" evokes both connotations, but it is a
slightly daft quality that gives the work its charm."

Read all of Dancers grounded in flights of fancy.

It's worth noting two things 1) Hubbard Street continues tonight and tomorrow and 2) Celebrity Series of Boston is also presenting NDT2 this season, the second company of Nederlands Dans Theater mentioned above.

The Globe's Jeremy Eichler on Andsnes/Tetzlaff

Leif Ove Andsnes (l) and Christian Tetzlaff (r)

Jeremy Eichler reviewed Saturday evening's Jordan Hall performance by pianist Leif Ove Andsnes and violinist Chritian Tetzlaff for today's Boston Globe. I think he liked it:

". . .these two superb artists did not let up, keeping the audience on
the edge of its seat for the length of this two-hour recital, surely
one of the best things presented by the Celebrity
Series this season. There was no filler repertoire, no playful banter,
no virtuoso showpieces to whip the hall into a frenzy. Both artists are
in demand as soloists, yet neither one is a household name of the kind
that draws big crowds and standing ovations just by showing up and
flipping on the auto-pilot."

"Surely one of the best things presented by the Celebrity Series this season"? Hmm. Now, I don't disagree, but (surely) the Romeros Guitar Quartet, Emerson String Quartet, or Dresden Staatskapelle were worth consideration, yes? David Sedaris was on his game back in October, too, he kept his audience on the edge of their seats. Not a lot of auto-pilot performances here (wink).

Read the whole thing, make up your own mind: When music journeys beyond technique.

Andsnes/Tetzlaff Jordan Hall encores

Pianist Leif Ove Andsnes and violinist Christian Tetzlaff closed their electrifying concert Saturday evening with two short pieces by Sibelius:

Danse Champêtre, Op. 106, No. 5

Danse Champêtre, Op. 106, No. 2