By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — The music of Gustav Mahler is not everyone’s cup of tea, and this applies especially to his later works, starting with his sixth symphony. However, at last week’s concert given by the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Maestro Leon Botstein, the auditorium was packed, evidently with […]
The Mahler Experience Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Israel, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts
Pianist Iegor Romanenko from Kharkiv, Ukraine, sat down to give an impromptu recital last Sunday afternoon at the home of Solana Salons’ hostess, Monique Kunewalder. Although arranged just days before, Romanenko’s performance drew fifty guests to listen to this talented refugee musician. [Eileen Wingard]
Ukrainian Pianist Romanenko Delights at Impromptu Recital Read More »
Eileen Wingard, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County
Playing through January 8, this show will have you clapping and singing along whether you want to or not. Against the backdrop of chart-topping hits like For Once In My Life; Since I lost My Baby; My Girl; The Way You Do The Things You Do, and of course the title song Ain’t Too Proud To Beg, the story of the Temptations’ rise to fame and the cost to their personal lives is narrated by the last surviving original member, Otis Williams, played by Michael Andreas. [Sandi Masori]
‘Ain’t Too Proud’ Production a Temptation for Music Lovers Read More »
Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Sandi Masori, Theatre, Film & Broadcast
By Eileen Wingard LA JOLLA, California — A new series of Treasures from the Music Collection of the Astor Judaica Library will be launched on Thursday, January 5, 2 p.m. in the library of the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center. Register here. The three-part series will feature songs of our people, opening with Yiddish Songs.
Yiddish Songs to Kick Off New Musical Series at Lawrence Family JCC Read More »
Eileen Wingard, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego CountyBy Eileen Wingard LA JOLLA, California — The Litvak Dancers’ LIGHT and Yale Strom’s Broken Consort program served as a memorable opening for the eight nights of Chanukah. Performed on the first night of the holiday for an appreciative audience in the Lawrence Family JCC’s Garfield Auditorium, the two-part program was presented by the Center
Program Fuses New and Old Music, Creativity, Meaningful Connection to Chanukah Read More »
Eileen Wingard, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County
By Eileen Wingard LA JOLLA, California — Brazilian-born singer Carla Berg’s original Chanukah song, “Nes” (Miracle), with lyrics in Ladino, is available as a video clip on YouTube and on other digital platforms. It was produced by Allan Phillips at APMStudio in San Diego and was released last year. It is a welcome addition to
A Brazilian-born San Diegan’s Chanukah Song Read More »
Eileen Wingard, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County
By Sarah Ogince (JNS) The lights are kindled, the shamash is returned to its place and the family breaks into song: It is a rousing, march-like melody that is the aural equivalent of the menorah’s light—energy, joy and hope in the depth of winter, a promise of rebirth. It’s a familiar, comforting scene, repeated in
Everyone Knows ‘Ma’oz Tzur,’ Except They Don’t Read More »
Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts
My friend Susan Ferraro, who lives in a rural part of Northern California. tells me that since about the age of 7, she had fantasized about becoming a Jew. It started, she said, when she read Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl. As children often do, she imagined herself invulnerable; death being something that unfortunately happened to other people. If she had been born Jewish, and living at that time, she could have prevented those Nazis from hurting Anne and her family and those hidden with them in the secret annex. [Donald H. Harrison]
Postwar Encounters with the Holocaust Read More »
California, Donald H. Harrison, Holocaust, Jewish History, Music, Dance, and Visual ArtsBy Eileen Wingard LA JOLLA, California — The first night of Hanukkah, December 18, at 7 p.m., the Festival of Lights will be celebrated at the Garfield Theatre, Lawrence Family JCC by a performance of “Light,” by the LITVAKdancers, to original music composed by Yale Strom. He and his band, Hot Pstromi, will be accompanying
‘Light’ and ‘Hot Pstromi’ Served on 1st Night of Hanukkah at Lawrence Family JCC Read More »
Eileen Wingard, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County
By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — Secular poetry written in a mixture of Latin, medieval German and French by groups of monks and scholars in the 13th century were set to music in the 20th century by the German composer, Carl Orff. The orchestration calls for an especially large orchestra (with extensive timpani and
A Musical Experience Like No Other in Jerusalem Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Israel, Music, Dance, and Visual ArtsBy Eileen Wingard LA JOLLA, California — It was pretty remarkable that Tchaikowsky’s monumental Symphony #4, with its opening horn fanfare of Fate and its finale, often taken at break-neck speed, was successfully tackled by TICO, the Tifereth Israel Community Orchestra. Sure, there were a few places that barely held together, but the beautiful solo
Tifereth Israel Community Orchestra Successfully Tackles Tchaikowsky Read More »
Eileen Wingard, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego CountyBy Eileen Wingard LA JOLLA, California — Canadian-born pianist, Daniel Wnukowski, performed at two venues during his recent visit to San Diego County. On Sunday afternoon, November 13, he gave a recital of works by Mozart, Chopin and Schumann in the Solana Salons series at the home of pianist and series host, Monique Kunewalder. His
Local Performances Spotlight Holocaust-Era Composers Read More »
Eileen Wingard, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County
By Sam Ben-Meir NEW YORK — Jean-Michel Basquiat: King Pleasure, on view at the Starrett-Lehigh Building in Chelsea, features more than 200 artworks and artifacts from the artist’s estate – 177 of which have never been exhibited before. This highly unusual and intimate exhibition was assembled not by a curator or art historian, but by Basquiat’s
‘King Pleasure’ Lives Up to Its Name Read More »
Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Sam Ben-Meir, USA
By Alex Gordon HAIFA, Israel — For 25 years I lived opposite the Opera House in Kiev and many times I was near the scene of this murder, near the first row of the parterre and the orchestra pit. As a lover of classical music, I was a frequent visitor to the Kiev Opera House,
Murder in the Kiev Theater Read More »
Alex Gordon, International, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts