Big news from the Ailey company's Judith Jamison

Judith Jamison

Things will be changing at Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater starting in 2011. Get the story from the Ailey company web site.

UPDATE: The New York Times article announcing Judith Jamison's retirement.

New slide show from the Cherryholmes band

This just in - literally. A slide show covering Cherryholmes' recent tour dates in Scotland.

Take a look.

BUSTED!

Received this righteous blast this morning from a patron on our e-mail list.

"Your message states 'It might seem a little like United Kingdom month at the
Celebrity Series, what with the Camerata Ireland, The Royal Scots
Dragoon Guards , and The Chieftains all scheduled. Even the bluegrass
family band Cherryholmes is known to do a bit of Irish step dancing in
their show.'
HOWEVER, IRELAND IS NOT PART OF THE UNITED KINGDOM!"

Oh, Maureen, you are so right. I was a fool when I wrote that Ireland is part of the UK - forgive me Paddy Moloney!  - and I'm a red-faced fool now. Thank you for calling me out. I only hope the good folks at O'Connor's will still serve me my bangers and mash with a smile.

No matter what I said, Cherryholmes does do some mean Irish step dancing, which is extraordinary when you consider they are originally from California (which is not part of the UK, by the way).

Cherryholmes profile on NPR

Cherryholmes in action

If you aren't yet familiar with the bluegrass family band phenomenon known as Cherryholmes, then this eight minute audio clip from NPR's Weekend Edition Saturday from '06 is just the thing to get you up to speed (I've pointed you to the home page for the story, you need to click on the link near the top left once the page loads for the eight minute clip.) In addition to the story, you can listen to several audio clips of the group's performances on the page, too.

Cherryholmes will be at Sanders Theatre this Sunday at 3pm.

Camerata Ireland and Barry Douglas BBC clip

Just came across this nice little introduction to The Camerata Ireland and Barry Douglas. The clip takes the form of four short segments of a BBC produced profile.

Alfred Brendel in the Globe

I have been remiss. I neglected to mention the Boston Globe's two fine pieces on Alfred Brendel. Here are their links:

David Weininger's preview article, His final bow.

Jeremy Eichler's concert review, Pianist Brendel bids a serenely Brendellian farewell

Alfred Brendel's encores

It took a little while, but I finally did get confirmation of Alfred Brendel's encores from his recital on Friday evening (I knew I should have elbowed my way to the head of the line...). They were as follows:

1. J.S. Bach, "Andante" from Concerto nach Italienischem Gusto, "Italian Concerto"

2. Liszt, “Au Lac de Wallenstadt” from Années de pèlerinage, Première Année – Suisse

3. Schubert, Impromptu No. 3 in G-flat major from Four Impromptus, Op. 90 (D. 899)
3. Schubert, Impromptu in A flat Major, from Four Impromptus, Op. 142, No. 2 (D. 935)

Mr. Brendel came off stage following each piece, stood for a beat, wiping his brow with a handkerchief, turned on his heel and strode back out on stage. No muss, no fuss. It was impressive, and made the process seem athletic.

UPDATE: I made a mistake on Mr. Brendel's third encore. It was indeed a Schubert work. See above.