crosscut.com : Arts Beat

Meet the dynamos who make Portland's art music snap and crackle

Crosscut — Fri, 09 May 2008 08:00:01 PDT

Four who are scene-shifting classical musicians talk about why they came to Portland, and why "a big small town" can be a more promising place than bigger Seattle for an art-music revolution.

Big Bach at Big Ben

Crosscut — Wed, 07 May 2008 09:35:01 PDT

Seattle's Benaroya Hall, home of the Seattle Symphony, also contains a fine organ, which is the most prominent visual feature as you look at the stage of Big Ben (as opposed to the recital hall, or Little Ben). This year, the Symphony has promoted a series of three Bach organ recitals on the Watjen Concert Organ, designed by the leading American organ builder, C.B. Fisk. Joseph Adam of St. James Cathedral was the soloist, and last week Dr. Adam concluded the series before a large and rightly enthusiastic audience.

Lawrence Brownlee shines in Seattle Opera's Puritani

Crosscut — Mon, 05 May 2008 00:00:01 PDT

A night to cheer Bellini fans: absolutely splendid music, excellent singers, and a chance to see a rising star tenor.

A retrospective of Paul Taylor Dance at Meany

Crosscut — Sat, 03 May 2008 11:00:01 PDT

The program highlights Taylor as a droll observer and as an artist enamored of the relationships between movement and music.

Mods versus snobs

Crosscut — Fri, 02 May 2008 05:00:01 PDT

Modernist architecture is for the elite, right? Not any more. The movement to preserve modern structures is finding new energy in populist appeal and as a counterbalance to today's McMansions and Viagra villas. The debate over a Ballard Denny's is just one squabble in a growing national discussion about preservation, proportion, and pedigree.

Discords in the violin sections

Crosscut — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 10:27:01 PDT

The concertmaster post (leader of the first violin section) is proving a hot seat in Seattle. Marjorie Kransberg-Talvi, longtime leader of the Pacific Northwest Ballet Orchestra, has resigned that post, unhappy at criticism of her playing by conductor Stewart Kershaw, effective the end of this season. Ingrid Matthews is taking a one-year leave from being leader of Seattle Baroque Orchestra, citing a need to take some time off. And turmoil continues at the Seattle Symphony.

Appraising the Deborah Jacobs revolution at Seattle libraries

Crosscut — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 05:00:01 PDT

They are changing fast, turning into neighborhood gathering places. Did we put too much emphasis on our glittering downtown branch, and does it have enough of the comforts of a bookstore?

On Sunset and Leilani

Crosscut — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 05:00:01 PDT

We're thrilled to bring a distinct new voice to Crosscut readers with today's piece on the closing of Sunset Bowl. I was introduced to the work of Seattle novelist Stephanie Kallos when writing a series for Seattle Woman on local women writers. Both Seattle transplants, Kallos and I discussed the importance of place in her work; her novel Broken for You is set in a fictionalized but quite recognizable Seattle.

Cellos rock in Portland

Crosscut — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 05:00:01 PDT

The burgeoning indie music scene has spawned the Portland Cello Project. It's keeping cellists busy, playing classical and rock in non-traditional venues. The Rose City is now Celloland.

The good old days

Crosscut — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 09:00:01 PDT

Gunther Herbig conducts the Seattle Symphony in a program full of spellbinding beauty. That's what happens when a conductor pays attention to the details and the essence of the music.

The African American Film Festival is a fine example of community-based exhibition

Crosscut — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 12:00:01 PDT

While the African American Film Festival, now in its fifth year, is marked by steady success, it's not yet a player in the cinema circuit. But that's okay. The intent seems to be sparking local dialogue, and at this, the Festival excels.

Music critic Melinda Bargreen takes buyout at The Seattle Times

Crosscut — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 12:00:01 PDT

After 31 years as classical music critic at The Seattle Times, Melinda Bargreen has decided to take a buyout offer. She may return, after some months, as a freelance music critic, and says she'll continue to write book reviews at the paper. Bargreen has been a reliably enthusiastic critic, particularly of the Symphony, Opera, and Seattle Chamber Music Society performances. A pianist, she also provided extensive and informed coverage of concert pianists. She has many close friends in music, extending back to her days at the University of Washington School of Music. Here's the letter she sent around to friends and colleagues:

Fred Bassetti and 'warmed-up modernism' in architecture

Crosscut — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 14:29:01 PDT

With The Seattle Times forced to make cuts, I hope they will continue being an unusual paper that puts out a Sunday magazine, with the local version called Pacific Northwest. One good example is an interview with Seattle architect Fred Bassetti, now 91, talking charmingly about life aboard the lovely, wood-embraced houseboat on Portage Bay that he has remodeled over the years.

Seamus Heaney tackles Sophocles at the Seattle Rep

Crosscut — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 19:00:01 PDT

The production opens with a stunning scene, but there are a few fatal mistakes in this play about fate and war.

Anne Frank at Intiman: an avatar of uncompromised human spirit

Crosscut — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 12:00:01 PDT

The daily routines in that attic hideaway in Amsterdam existed under a special intensity that is well dramatized in Intiman's new production of a 1955 play.

Anne-Sophie Mutter in recital: big risks, stunning artistry

Crosscut — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 08:58:01 PDT

How often do you run across the hack formula "one of the leading musicians of his/her generation" in a program bio or review? Not only is it a meaningless nuisance; its ubiquity makes it all the more difficult when an artist really does need to be singled out from her peers. Anne-Sophie Mutter’s Wednesday evening recital at Benaroya Hall was a stunning reminder of what sets the truly great performers apart: their ability to make us hear music in entirely new ways. (She also happened to be stunningly fitted in one of her mermaid-style Dior gowns — a silk-satin lemon yellow number with fantastical swirling appliqués.)

Addressing the rent crisis for Capitol Hill arts

Crosscut — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 14:00:01 PDT

The City Council convenes a meeting to explore special incentives, as rising rents threaten a lively arts scene on the Hill. Will a complicated Cultural Overlay District be the answer?

Puccini's only comic opera is brought to vivid life

Crosscut — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 13:00:01 PDT

Seattle Opera's Young Artists have good fun with the story of an amiable con artist, while also staging a rare "lyrical fantasy" by Ravel (libretto by Colette), here set in a subway.

Opera heroes on the big screen

Crosscut — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 05:00:01 PDT

The Metropolitan Opera's live telecasts to movie houses pass the test of two very demanding masterpieces, Britten's Peter Grimes and Wagner's Tristan und Isolde.

In Seattle, umbrella funds are adapting to the new philanthropy

Crosscut — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 10:00:01 PDT

An important organization in Seattle, the Alliance for Education, has announced changes in the way it will be distributing money. There will now be more targeting and accountability, and more meshing with the district's emerging strategic focus. Similar changes are going on with other umbrella agencies, including in the arts and social services.