Isn't it Romantic?

Andrés Orozco-Estrada
Photo: © Werner Kmetitsch

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Who: The St. Louis Symphony conducted by Andrés Orozco-Estrada with pianist Louis Lortie
What: Music of von Weber, Beethoven, and Bartók
When: Friday through Sunday, January 17-19, 2014
Where: Powell Symphony Hall

This weekend the second of the symphony’s four "Beethoven Festival" concerts brings us music of Beethoven, a younger contemporary of Beethoven, and a 20th century composer who acknowledged Beethoven as a major influence—all done up by guest conductor Andrés Orozco-Estrada in that dramatic, late Romantic Austro-German style I associate with the recordings of Bruno Walter and Otto Klemperer that were so much a part of my youth.

The concerts open with the overture to the 1823 opera "Euryanthe" by that younger contemporary of Beethoven, Carl Maria von Weber. Unlike Weber's "Der Freischütz," "Euryanthe" has never found a place in the active repertoire, probably because (as Paul Schiavo writes in his program notes) the libretto by German journalist, poet, and playwright Helmina von Chézy (once described by Mahler as a "poetess with a full heart and an empty head") "was an incompetent botch." Still, the overture is a real crowd pleaser, with engaging themes, plenty of dramatic contrast, and a rousing finale.

Here, as in the rest of the program, Mr. Orozco-Estrada made the most of those contrasts—part of that aforementioned echt Romantic approach. The "ghost" theme was (you should pardon the expression) haunting and the fugato run-up to the finale was nicely articulated. Mr. Orozco-Estrada was an exuberant and very physically demonstrative figure on the podium, with big but crisp gestures suggesting a good balance of emotional involvement and intellectual control.

This week's Beethoven is the "Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat major," op. 73 (a.k.a. the "Emperor"), a work which bristles with nobility and grace despite being written under the cloud of war and occupation. When Beethoven was writing the concerto in Vienna in 1809, the city was under heavy siege by Napoleon. "[L]ife around me", he wrote, "is wild and disturbing, nothing but drums, cannons, soldiers, misery of every sort." You can even hear a bit of that bombardment, I think, in the heavy piano chords that show up early in the development section of the first movement just as you can hear a kind of impassioned yearning for peace in the wistful second. It's a work of inescapable emotional power.

Louis Lortie

Soloist Louis Lortie channeled all that power beautifully. This was a very visceral performance; Mr. Lortie truly threw himself into the music, with every emotion etched on his face and visible in his body language. Like Mr. Orozco-Estrada, Mr. Lortie gave us a nearly perfect combination of head and heart. Between them, we got a powerfully noble first movement, a transcendent second and, after that wonderfully suspenseful transition, a completely engaging finale.

This sort of big, colorful, high-wattage reading might not work for some of the earlier Beethoven concerti, but for the Fifth I think it's very valid. The piano part, in particular, seems to cry out for the fuller tone and wider range of the modern, metal frame concert grand—a type of piano that wouldn't be perfected until shortly before the composer's death. Mr. Lortie's muscular approach couldn't have been a better fit.

The Hungarian composer Béla Bartók was a great admirer of Beethoven, so it seems only right that this weekend's concerts should conclude with what may be Bartók's most famous work, the 1943 "Concerto for Orchestra." Written, like the "Emperor" concerto, at a time of great personal travail, the "Concerto" is nevertheless a dramatic, appealing, and sometimes even humorous work. Indeed, as Paul Schiavo points out in his program notes, Bartók, although impoverished and suffering from leukemia, declared that the commission to compose this work was "the wonder drug I needed to bring about my own cure."

And it really is a wonder. The "Concerto" provides an opportunity for the members of the symphony to show off, either individually or in small groups—and on Friday morning they did it beautifully. If I were to list everyone who managed to "shine with a virtue resplendent" this morning, I'd just be listing all the principal and assistant principal players in each section, which might make for tedious reading. So I'll merely note that, once again, the St. Louis Symphony lived up to its reputation as an ensemble of virtuosi. Mr. Orozco-Estrada gave all the featured musicians a chance to stand and receive their applause at the end, which they fully earned.

For his part, Mr. Orozco-Estrada gave Bartók the widescreen, Technicolor treatment the "Concerto" deserves. The little dance of the second movement "Giuoco delle coppie" ("The Game of Pairs," featuring a series a duets) was appropriately jaunty; the interjection, in the third movement "Intermezzo interotto" ("Interrupted Intermezzo"), of a theme from the Shostakovich Seventh Symphony (which Bartók heard in a live broadcast while composing the "Concerto") was thoroughly cheeky; and the finale was charged with wild energy. Lively and completely captivating stuff it was, and a welcome antidote to a chilly and blustery winter morning.

Next at Powel Hall: David Robertson continues the "Beethoven Festival" with the "Symphony No. 3" (the "Eroica") along "Testament" and a "Viola Concerto" by contemporary composer/violist Brett Dean. Mr. Dean will be the soloist for his concerto. The concerts are Friday and Saturday, January 24 and 25, at 8 PM. For more information: stlsymphony.org.

For more information on the music, check out the symphony program notes and my symphony preview article.

Chuck's Choices for the weekend of January 17, 2014

As always, the choices are purely my personal opinion. Take with a grain (or a shaker) of salt.

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New this week:

Photo: Stewart Goldstein

The Black Rep presents Jeff Stetson's The Meeting, based on a supposed meeting between Malcom X and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., through January 26. Performances take place at the Emerson Performance Center on the campus of Harris-Stowe State University. For more information: theblackrep.org. Read the 88.1 KDHX review!

My take: In her review for 88.1 KDHX, Tina Farmer calls this an "effective, thought-provoking drama" that offers "a well-directed, well-performed look under the public veneer" of these important historical figures. "The new space at the Emerson Performance Center on the Harris-Stowe State University campus suits the company well," she writes, "and the technical aspects were to their usual high standards."

Circus Harmony presents Verismo, described as “the four seasons, circus style,” on Saturdays at 2 and 7 PM and Sundays at 2 PM, January 18-26. Performances take place at City Museum, 701 N. 15th Street. Museum  admission is free with your ticket purchase. For more information: circusharmony.org.

My take: The kids at Circus Harmony are always a highlight of Circus Flora's annual performances in Grand Center. Expect a fun, family friendly show in the small ring at City Museum. And don't forget to check out the museum's unique interactive attractions while you're at it; the place is truly a one-of-a-kind experience and a tribute the the remarkable imagination of its founder, the late Robert Cassilly.

Held Over:

Photo: Jerry Naunheim, Jr.

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents Michael Hollinger's Opus through February 2. "With only four days to rehearse for their most important performance ever, a world-class string quartet takes a chance by hiring a gifted but inexperienced young woman. Onstage the Lazara Quartet is pitch perfect but behind the scenes they're coming unstrung as the four artists battle the sweat, tears and pain that go into making extraordinary music seem effortless. This fascinating play is a passionate look at the delicate and complex relationships between artists' lives and their art." Performances take place at the Loretto-Hlton Center, 130 Edgar Road in Webster Groves, MO. For more information, call 314-968-4925 or visit repstl.org.

My take: I'm on the board of West End Players Guild, the group that did the St. Louis premiere of this play last April. I was a big backer of Opus in the WEPG play reading committee and remain a fan of this funny, literate, dramatic, and informed look at the often less than beautiful reality behind the performance of so much beautiful music. It's easy to be transported by (say) a late Beethoven quartet and lose sight of the fact that the performers are doing their jobs as well as creating art. Opus explores what happens when the worlds of commerce and art collide. "Here is a lovely play," writes Andrea Braun in her review for 88.1 KDHX, "well performed by a talented cast and it deserves an audience".

First Run Theatre presents Whatever Remains, a new Sherlock Holmes mystery by Jason Slavik, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 PM and Sundays at 2 PM, January 10-19. Performances take place at First Run Theatre at De Smet Jesuit High School Theatre, 233 N. New Ballas Rd. For more information, call (314) 352-5114 or visit www.firstruntheatre.com.

My take: I admit it; I'm a Sherlock Holmes fan (a Sherlockian, as we call ourselves) and have been for a long time. You'll even find some Sherlockian papers that I've written over the years at my old personal home page (now mostly abandoned). I don't know whether I'm gong to be able to see this or not (the next two weekends are pretty heavily booked for me), but I look forward to at least finding out what it's about. For those of you curious about the title, it comes from something Holmes says in "The Sign of Four": "How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?" He repeats that point in "The Beryl Coronet," "The Bruce-Partington Plans," and "The Blanched Solider" (and says something very similar in "Silver Blaze") so it's a safe bet he meant it. In her review for 88.1 KDHX, Tina Farmer says the show is "is entertaining and well paced, if occasionally a bit of a credibility stretch."

Wiener blut

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The “Beethoven Festival” continues this Friday through Sunday with what is probably his grandest piano concerto—the Fifth, known as the “Emperor Concerto”—along with a concerto of a very different sort from Béla Bartók and an overture to a failed Medieval fantasy opera by Carl Maria von Weber.  Andrés Orozco-Estrada conducts with piano soloist Louis Lortie.

Its noble character not withstanding, Beethoven’s “Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat major, op. 73” was written under the cloud of war and occupation.  When Beethoven was writing the work in 1809, Vienna was not so much the fabled “City of Dreams” as a metropolis of nightmares.  The French laid siege to it with shelling so fierce that at one point the composer took refuge in his brother’s house and covered his head with pillows to escape the din.  “[L]ife around me”, he wrote, “is wild and disturbing, nothing but drums, cannons, soldiers, misery of every sort.”  The royal family—including Beethoven’s friend and patron Archduke Rudolf—fled, along with many of the notable families with whom the composer had become close.

Left alone and, once the French occupation began, in difficult financial circumstances due to rapid inflation, Beethoven had little else to do but compose.  The Fifth Concerto is probably the most famous work to emerge from this difficult period, although the Op. 81a piano sonata (“Les Adieux”) is probably a close second.  Both were dedicated to Rudolph.

Much has been written about the “Concerto No. 5”, so I won’t presume to waste your time with my own analysis, especially when there are concise and informative articles on Wikipedia and at the Classy Classical blog.  The magisterial first movement, the wistful second, and the jolly concluding rondo all show Beethoven at his best. 

Louis Lortie

They offer a wealth of opportunities to shine for soloist and conductor.  This week’s soloist, the French-Canadian Louis Lortie has, according to his biography in the symphony program, “extended his interpretative voice across a broad range of repertoire rather than choosing to specialize in one particular style.”  He has also, however, studied “in Vienna with Beethoven specialist Dieter Weber, and subsequently with Schnabel disciple Leon Fleisher,” so I’d expect that the “Emperor” would hardly be foreign territory for him.

“In my youth,” wrote the Hungarian composer Béla Bartók in a 1929 letter to Edwin von der Nüll, “Bach and Mozart were not my ideals of the beautiful, but rather Beethoven.”  It seems only fair, then, that the other Big Piece on the program this weekend should be Bartók’s 1943 “Concerto for Orchestra”—a dramatic, appealing, and sometimes humorous work that, ironically, was written when the composer’s health and fortunes were both at a low ebb.

Forced by the rise of Fascism to flee to the USA in 1940, the composer found himself marooned in a strange land where he was known primarily as an ethnomusicologist and teacher rather than as a composer.  Unable to find steady work and suffering from the leukemia that would soon kill him (he died on September, 26, 1945), Bartók found himself unable to summon the will to compose anything. 

A more prosperous Bartók in 1927

That all changed in 1943.  Prompted by conductor (and former Bartók student) Fritz Reiner and violinist Joseph Szigeti—both fellow Hungarians and Bartók admirers—Serge Koussevitzky, famed music director of the Boston Symphony, came to Bartók with a commission for a new orchestral work.  The commission worked like a tonic.  Bartók threw himself into the project and the final result has been part of the core orchestral repertoire ever since.

Why a “Concerto for Orchestra”?  As Thomas May pointed out in his program notes for a performance by Chrisoph Eschenbach and the National Symphony last January:

The idea of a concerto featuring not just a soloist, as in Mozart's classical example of the genre, but for the whole ensemble as a collective of virtuosos did not begin with Bartók…At the same time, Bartók revives something of the Baroque concept of the concerto-the so-called "concerto grosso"- which juxtaposes various smaller groupings of instruments against the texture of the larger ensemble. And of course the Concerto for Orchestra also serves to showcase the expressive power and versatility of a modern orchestra. Indeed, instrumental timbre turns out to be a significant dimension of this music, along with its innovative formal design and the manner in which Bartók develops his thematic material.

It is, in short, an opportunity for the members of the symphony to show off, either individually or in small groups.  The second movement (titled “Giuoco delle coppie “ or "The Game of Pairs"), for example, unfolds as a series of duets for pairs of bassoons, oboes, clarinets, flutes, and trumpets, while there are neat little solos for trombone and oboe in the first movement.  Pretty much every section gets a chance to join in the fun.

Andrés Orozco-Estrada
Photo: © Werner Kmetitsch

It will offer guest conductor Andrés Orozco-Estrada a chance to show what he can do as well.  Although born in Columbia, Mr. Orozco-Estrada was trained in Vienna and, according to his biography in the program, “first came to international attention in 2004, when he took over a concert with the Tonkünstler Orchestra Niederösterreich at the Vienna Musikverein. For that performance he was celebrated by the Viennese press as a ‘wonder from Vienna.’  He became Music Director of the Tonkünstler in 2009 but will be leaving that in 2014 when he takes up the positions of Music Director of the Houston Symphony Orchestra and Chief Conductor of the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra.  He has tended to specialize in the Romantic and Viennese repertoire as well as contemporary Spanish and South American works, but it doesn’t look like he has done much Bartók recently.  Still, it looks like he’s no stranger to early 20th-century music, so it will be interesting to see the results.

The concert opens with the overture to Carl Maria von Weber’s 1823 opera “Euryanthe,” based on a 13th-century tale of a knight who is conned into doubting his lady’s fidelity (full title: "L'Histoire du très-noble et chevalereux prince Gérard, comte de Nevers et la très-virtueuse et très chaste princesse Euriant de Savoye, sa mye.").  It’s the sort of Medievalism that was all the rage among 19th-century Romantics and might have been a hit if it hadn’t been for the libretto.  As Paul Schiavo writes in his program notes for these concerts, the text by German journalist, poet and playwright Helmina von Chézy “was an incompetent botch, and its dramatic deficiencies have kept Euryanthe out of the active opera repertory.”

Still, the overture is enormous fun and remains and is performed often.  The symphony hasn’t taken it on in over twenty years, though, so it will be good to welcome it back.

Andrés Orozco-Estrada conducts the St. Louis Symphony and pianist Louis Lortie in von Weber’s “Euryanthe” Overture, Beethoven’s “Emperor” Concerto, and Bartók’s “Concerto for Orchestra” Friday at 10:30 AM, Saturday at 8 PM, and Sunday at 3 PM, January 17-19.  For more information: stlsymphony.org

Roll over, Beethoven

Andrey Boreyko

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Who: The St. Louis Symphony conducted by Andrey Boreyko with violinist Adele Anthony
What:  Music of Stephanie Berg, Nielsen, and Beethoven
When: Friday and Saturday, January 10 and 11, 2014
Where: Powell Symphony Hall

The first of the St. Louis Symphony's "Beethoven Festival" concerts this weekend brought exciting performances by guest conductor Andrey Boreyko of three works, each separated by nearly a century: Beethoven's "Symphony No. 7 in A major", Op. 92 (first performed in 1813), Carl Nielsen's Op. 33 "Violin Concerto" (1912 premiere), and "Ravish and Mayhem", a colorful little tone poem by Missouri composer Stephanie Berg from 2012 that opened the evening.

New music at the symphony isn't often greeted with wild applause. More often the reaction is polite (if somewhat baffled) approval from audience members who aren't sure whether they missed something important or whether, as Anna Russell once observed, the composer was just trying to get away with something.

Stephanie Berg

Not so with "Ravish and Mayhem," which drew enthusiastic ovations for both the orchestra and—when Mr. Boreyko persuaded her to appear on stage—Ms. Berg as well. Inspired, according to the composer, by a vision of "an ancient Middle Eastern street festival," this unabashedly cinematic and vivid piece was a delight from the opening Coplandesque fanfares and melismatic woodwind figures to the brass glissandi near the end that conjured up images of trumpeting elephants.

Yes, dear friends, it was the 21st century version of Ketèlbey's 1920 hit "In a Persian Market." And I mean that in the best way possible. Many contemporary composers, in my view, could benefit from trying to be a bit more like the late British master of "light music" and a bit less like (say) Karlheinz Stockhausen.
The symphony musicians handled this new work with the same ease they display with well-worn favorites. There were especially notable contributions by Andrea Kaplan (flute), Ann Choomack (piccolo), Scott Andrews (clarinet), and Diana Haskell (E-flat clarinet) in the lively opening section.

Next was Carl Nielsen's violin concerto, a work that, like many of the Danish master's symphonies and other larger works, often defies expectations in ways that can leave audience members a bit confused. Which might explain why the concerto wasn't heard at Powell until 2001 (nearly 90 years after its premiere) and hasn't returned since Robert Spano conducted a performance with Yang Liu in October of 2002. Adele Anthony was the soloist this time, and she gave us a thoroughly idiomatic and assured reading (as you might expect from a Carl Nielsen International Violin Competition winner), dashing off the cadenza and final pages of the Allegro cavalleresco that closes the first half of the concerto so impressively that she was awarded with a spontaneous burst of applause.

Adele Anthony

Personally, I've always loved Nielsen's music. I find the composer's joy in the unexpected and characteristic melodic voice immensely appealing. It would be nice to see more of it on the stage at Powell.

The evening closed with an exhilarating Beethoven "Symphony No. 7," beautifully shaped by Mr. Boreyko. He last conducted the orchestra in an all-Tchaikovsky program in November of 2012 that was distinguished by an electrifying performance of the "Violin Concerto" by Vadim Gluzman and a "Symphony No. 1" that exploited all of the work's extremes in tempi and dynamics while still pulling everything together into a coherent whole. The Beethoven Seventh comes from a more restrained emotional world than the Tchaikovsky First, but Mr. Boreyko nevertheless found and effectively exploited all the drama inherent in the music.

He displayed an unerring ability to build to an effective climax, both within movements (as in the opening Poco sostenuto) and in the overall structure of the symphony. The white-hot intensity of the finale was simply the inevitable conclusion of an arc that had been built from the first notes of the first movement—the conclusion of which got a round of spontaneous applause—and which ran through the steady rhythmic pulse of the second and the fleet-footed romp of the third. An enthusiastic and thoroughly justified standing ovation followed.

It's likely that the orchestra that first performed Beethoven's seventh was somewhat smaller than 73 musicians assembled for this weekend's performance, but they played with the crisp articulation and precision of a much smaller ensemble. Timpanist Shannon Wood, in particular, deserves a shout-out for exactitude and endurance during that remarkable final movement.

The Beethoven Festival continues this coming weekend with the "Piano Concerto No. 5" (the "Emperor") along with Weber's "Euryanthe Overture" and Bartók's "Concerto for Orchestra." Andrés Orozco-Estrada conducts with soloist Louis Lortie . Performances are Friday at 10:30 AM (a Krispy Kreme coffee concert), Saturday at 8 PM, and Sunday at 2 PM, January 17-19. For more information: stlsymphony.org.

St. Louis theatre calendar for the week of January 13, 2014

Looking for auditions and other artistic opportunities? Check out the St. Louis Auditions site.]

For information on events beyond this week, check out the searchable database at the Regional Arts Commission's ArtsZipper site.

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Kirkwood Theatre Guild presents Arthur Miller's drama All My Sons Thursday [January 24 only] through Saturday at 8 PM and Sunday [January 19 only] at 2 PM, January 17-26. Performances take place in the Robert G. Reim Theatre of the Kirkwood Community Center, 111 South Geyer Road. For more information, call 314-821-9956 or visit ktg-onstage.org.

The Pub Theater Company presents Bye Bye Liver: The St. Louis Drinking Play, a comedic romp through the joys and pitfalls of The Gateway to the West's favorite pastime. Performances take place on Saturdays at 9 PM at Maggie O'Brien's, 2000 Market Street. For more information, you may call 314-827-4185, email stlouis at byebyeliver.com, or visit byebyeliver.com/stlouis.

Carol Schmidt

The Cabaret Project and 88.1 KDHX present the monthly Cabaret Open Stage Night on Wednesday, January 15, from 7 to 10 PM at the Tavern of Fine Arts. The master of ceremonies is 88.1 KDHX senior performing arts critic Chuck Lavazzi and the music director is Carol Schmidt. Bring your favorite seasonal songs and be prepared for the big sing-along! If you're planning to sing, be prepared to do one or two songs and bring music, preferably in your key. It's also recommend that you have your song memorized. The Tavern of Fine Arts is at 313 Belt at Waterman in the Central West End. There's free parking in the lot right across the street. For more information, visit tavern-of-fine-arts.blogspot.com or call 314-367-7549.

The Bissell Mansion Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre presents Flaming Saddles through April 27. The Bissell Mansion is at 4426 Randall Place. For more information: bissellmansiontheatre.com

The Lemp Mansion Comedy-Mystery Dinner Theater presents its Bullets in the Bathtub through April 27. The Lemp Mansion is at 3322 DeMenil Place. For more information: lempmansion.com

The Theatre Guild of Webster Groves presents Crossing Delancey through January 19. Performances take place in the Guild theatre at Newport and Summit in Webster Groves, MO. For more information: theatreguildwg.org or call 314-962-0876.

Photo: Stewart Goldstein

The Black Rep presents Jeff Stetson's The Meeting, based on a supposed meeting between Malcom X and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., through January 26. Performances take place at the Emerson Performance Center on the campus of Harris-Stowe State University. For more information: theblackrep.org. Read the 88.1 KDHX review!

Photo: Jerry Naunheim, Jr.

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents Michael Hollinger's Opus through February 2. "With only four days to rehearse for their most important performance ever, a world-class string quartet takes a chance by hiring a gifted but inexperienced young woman. Onstage the Lazara Quartet is pitch perfect but behind the scenes they're coming unstrung as the four artists battle the sweat, tears and pain that go into making extraordinary music seem effortless. This fascinating play is a passionate look at the delicate and complex relationships between artists' lives and their art." Performances take place at the Loretto-Hlton Center, 130 Edgar Road in Webster Groves, MO. For more information, call 314-968-4925 or visit repstl.org. Read the 88.1 KDHX review!

St. Louis Actors' Studio continues its seventh season, themed Sins of the Father, with Arthur Miller's The Ride Down Mount Morgan January 17 - February 2. Performances take place at the Gaslight Theatre, 358 North Boyle. For more information, call 314-458-2978 or visit stlas.org.

Peabody Opera House presents Sesame Street Live: Make A New Friend Thursday through Sunday, January 16-19. For more information, visit peabodyoperahouse.com or call 314-622-5420.

The Midnight Theatre Company presents the St. Louis premiere of Solemn Mockeries, the Notorious True Story of the Great Shakespeare Forgery by Rick Creese Fridays and Saturdays at 8 PM, through January 18. “Solemn Mockeries tells the true story of William Henry Ireland, who as a teenager in 1795, ignored by his father, detested by his stepmother, despised by his teachers, became an expert Shakespearean forger, producing dead-on facsimiles of the Bard's signatures,and creating his business papers, love letters, a rewritten KING LEAR and the “lost” Shakespeare play VORTIGERN. Taking London by storm, his VORTIGERN by William Shakespeare was scheduled to play the Drury Lane, the finest theatre in London, with a cast of the greatest performers of the day, including John Phillip Kemble, Mrs. Siddons and Mrs. Jordan, with the Duke of Clarence as his benefactor. In SOLEMN MOCKERIES, Ireland has returned to England thirty years later to proudly confess the literary crime of the century -and remember the one, wild, unforgettable staging of his “Shakespeare” play at the Drury.” Performances take place at Stray Dog Theatre's Tower Grove Abbey, 2336 Tennessee. For more information call 314-487-5305 or visit www.midnightcompany.com. Read the 88.1 KDHX review!

The St. Louis Family Theatre Series presents Theatreworks USA performing The Teacher From The Black Lagoon And Other Storybooks Friday at 7:30 PM and Saturday and Sunday at 2 PM, January 17-19. Performances take place at the Florissant Civic Center Theatre at Parker and Waterford in Florissant, MO. For more information, call 314-921-5678 or visit www.florissantmo.com.

Circus Harmony presents Verismo, described as “the four seasons, circus style,” on Saturdays at 2 and 7 PM and Sundays at 2 PM, January 18-26. Performances take place at City Museum, 701 N. 15th Street. Museum  admission is free with your ticket purchase. For more information: circusharmony.org.

First Run Theatre presents Whatever Remains, a new Sherlock Holmes mystery by Jason Slavik, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 PM and Sundays at 2 PM through January 19. Performances take place at First Run Theatre at De Smet Jesuit High School Theatre, 233 N. New Ballas Rd. For more information, call (314) 352-5114 or visit www.firstruntheatre.com. Read the 88.1 KDHX review!

Would you like to be on the radio? KDHX, 88.1 FM needs theatre reviewers. If you're 18 years or older, knowledgeable in this area, have practical theatre experience (acting, directing, writing, technical design, etc.), have good oral and written communications skills and would like to become one of our volunteer reviewers, send an email describing your experience and interests to chuck at kdhx.org. Please include a sample review of something you've seen recently.

St. Louis classical calendar for the week of January 13, 2014

Charles Metz

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The Chamber Music Society of St. Louis presents Make Mine a Double, featuring harpsichordist Charles Metz and other soloists, on Tuesday, January 14, at 7:30 PM.  The program includes music by Telemann, Bach, Mendelssohn, and Rameau.  The concert takes place at The Sheldon Concert Hall, 3648 Washington.  For more information: chambermusicstl.org.

The Chamber Project St. Louis presents Weave, featuring works by Abigana, Dahl, Reich, and Ibert, on Friday, January 17, at 8 PM.   “Percussionist Jeff Barudin makes his Chamber Project debut in a concert featuring two theatrical works and American composer Steve Reich's mesmerizing Vermont Counterpoint on marimba.”  The performance takes place at The Chapel Venue, 6238 Alexander Drive.  For more information: www.chamberprojectstl.org

St. Louis Regional Arts Connection presents a recital of French piano music and Beethoven's "Spring" Sonata for Violin and Piano featuring pianists Sherre Waggoner, Matthew Shipton, and Arun Garg with violinist Jane Price on Tuesday, January 14, at 7:30 PM.  The concert takes place at Tavern of Fine Arts, 313 Belt in the Debaliviere Place neighborhood.   For more information: tavern-of-fine-arts.blogspot.com.

Andres Orozco-Estrada

The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra presents the second in a series of “Beethoven Festival” concerts, as Andres Orozco-Estrada conducts the orchestra and piano soloist Louis Lortie in Beethoven “Emperor Concerto” along with Weber’s "Euryanthe Overture" and the Bartók "Concerto for Orchestra."  Performances take place on Friday at 10:30 AM, Saturday at 8 PM, and Sunday at 3 PM, January 17 – 19, at Powell Symphony Hall, 718 North Grand.  “The London Times describes pianist Louis Lortie’s playing as "ever immaculate, ever imaginative." Witness Lortie’s acclaimed talent as he conquers Beethoven’s mighty "Emperor" Concerto, a work considered to be the pinnacle of the composer’s works for keyboard. Columbian conductor Andres Orozco-Estrada makes his St. Louis debut leading Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra, a vibrant work and showcase for the talents of the musicians of the STL Symphony.”  For more information: stlsymphony.org.

St. Louis Symphony musicians Andrea Kaplan, flute, Erin Schreiber, violin, Morris Jacob, viola, and Anne Fagerburg, cello, perform a program that includes the Mozart “Flute Quartet in D major” on Friday, January 17, at 7 PM as part of the Symphony Where You Worship program.  The concert takes place at St. Francis Xavier (College) Church, 3628 Lindell Blvd.  For more information: stlsymphony.org

The St. Louis Symphony’s Young Friends of the Symphony presents Sips and Symphonies on Thursday, January 16, at 7:30 PM.  “What is Sips and Symphonies? It is a great way to learn about music in a fun, casual environment. On the third Thursday of each month, we get together at Tavern of Fine Arts to listen to and discuss a piece of music being performed at an upcoming concert at Powell Hall. We will have a different guest moderator each month who will help lead an informal conversation about the music.”  A special cocktail is created for each event to accompany the music.  The event takes place at The Tavern of Fine Arts, 313 Belt in the Debaliviere Place neighborhood.   For more information: tavern-of-fine-arts.blogspot.com.

The Tavern of Fine Arts presents a classical open stage night on Monday, January 13 from 7:30 – 9 PM.  “Come by yourself or bring your quartet. Sight read through a Beethoven quartet or use this as an opportunity to put the finishing touches on that Hindemith Viola Sonata you have been working on. All ages and skill levels are welcome. We have a 6' grand piano and an accompanist.”  The Tavern of Fine Arts is at 313 Belt in the Debaliviere Place neighborhood.   For more information: tavern-of-fine-arts.blogspot.com.

David Ferrara

The Tavern of Fine Arts presents classical guitarist David Ferrara on Friday, January 17 at 8 PM.  “David Ferrara, a recent transplant to the St. Louis area from Ohio, holds performance degrees from the University of Cincinnati's CCM and from Southern Methodist University, where he studied with noted Segovia pupil Robert Guthrie.  He has recorded two CDs of classical guitar music, Songs Without Words and Diabolico and Friends, both of which are available at iTunes and Amazon.com, as well as at tonight's program. He teaches, concertizes and gigs full time and lives in Soulard.”  The Tavern of Fine Arts is at 313 Belt in the Debaliviere Place neighborhood.   For more information: tavern-of-fine-arts.blogspot.com.

Chuck's Choices for the weekend of January 10, 2014

As always, the choices are purely my personal opinion. Take with a grain (or a shaker) of salt.

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New this week:

James Joseph O'Neil as Elliot and
Rachael Jenison as Grace
©Photo by Jerry Naunheim, Jr.

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents Michael Hollinger's Opus through February 2. "With only four days to rehearse for their most important performance ever, a world-class string quartet takes a chance by hiring a gifted but inexperienced young woman. Onstage the Lazara Quartet is pitch perfect but behind the scenes they're coming unstrung as the four artists battle the sweat, tears and pain that go into making extraordinary music seem effortless. This fascinating play is a passionate look at the delicate and complex relationships between artists' lives and their art." Performances take place at the Loretto-Hlton Center, 130 Edgar Road in Webster Groves, MO. For more information, call 314-968-4925 or visit repstl.org.

My take: I'm on the board of West End Players Guild, the group that did the St. Louis premiere of this play last April. I was a big backer of Opus in the WEPG play reading committee and remain a fan of this funny, literate, dramatic, and informed look at the often less than beautiful reality behind the performance of so much beautiful music. It's easy to be transported by (say) a late Beethoven quartet and lose sight of the fact that the performers are doing their jobs as well as creating art. Opus explores what happens when the worlds of commerce and art collide.

Mariposa Artists presents Shades of Blue—Lina Koutrakos, on Saturday, January 11th, at 8 PM. "Mixing pop, standards, originals and more with Rick Jensen at the piano and on arrangements, Lina Koutrakos's bluesy-hued voice lends itself to stories, melodies and feelings in Shades Of Blue." The performance takes place at the Kranzberg Center, 501 North Grand in Grand Center. For more information: www.brownpapertickets.com/event/530853.

My take: As someone who attended the St. Louis Cabaret Conference for (if I recall correctly) all of the years when Ms. Koutrakos was on the faculty, I'm clearly not a disinterested party here. That said, it was impossible not to be impressed by the depth of her emotional connection with the music she performs as well as her understanding of how to make that connection click with an audience. Her music director, Rick Jensen, is a powerful performer and songwriter as well as a gifted arranger. Although New York based, he has helped shape the cabaret shows on several local singers.

First Run Theatre presents Whatever Remains, a new Sherlock Holmes mystery by Jason Slavik, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 PM and Sundays at 2 PM, January 10-19. Performances take place at First Run Theatre at De Smet Jesuit High School Theatre, 233 N. New Ballas Rd. For more information, call (314) 352-5114 or visit www.firstruntheatre.com.

My take: I admit it; I'm a Sherlock Holmes fan (a Sherlockian, as we call ourselves) and have been for a long time. You'll even find some Sherlockian papers that I've written over the years at my old personal home page (now mostly abandoned). I don't know whether I'm gong to be able to see this or not (the next two weekends are pretty heavily booked for me), but I look forward to at least finding out what it's about. For those of you curious about the title, it comes from something Holmes says in "The Sign of Four": "How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?" He repeats that point in "The Beryl Coronet," "The Bruce-Partington Plans," and "The Blanched Solider" (and says something very similar in "Silver Blaze") so it's a safe bet he meant it. The dictum even inspired one of my own Sherlockian essays.  What does Jason Slavik mean by it? We'll just have to see, won't we?

Tales of the unexpected

First page of Beethoven's 7th

This weekend the symphony brings us the first of four "Beethoven Festival" concerts that will feature performances of the third and fifth symphonies, the fifth piano concerto (the "Emperor") and, this Friday and Saturday, the "Symphony No. 7 in A Minor," Op. 92. The two works that precede the Beethoven this weekend, however, are at least as noteworthy.

I'm not knocking the Seventh, mind you. First performed at a December 8, 1813, charity concert to benefit widows and orphans of soldiers killed in the Battle of Hanau—which marked the beginning of the end of Napoleon's dreams of empire—the work was greeted with wild acclaim by audiences and critics alike. The second movement Alegretto in, in particular, "enchanted connoisseur and layman," according to a contemporary review in the Allgemeine Musikalische Zeitung. Welsh musicologist David Wyn Morris has called the symphony "the continuous cumulative celebration of joy," and I'd have to agree.

But we get to hear the Beethoven seventh quite a lot. The symphony last performed it, for example, two years ago with Semyon Bychkov on the podium. By way of contrast, the piece that takes up most of the first half of the concert—Carl Nielsen's 1911 "Violin Concerto"—didn't make it's SLSO debut until 2001 and hasn't been seen on the Powell Hall stage since Robert Spano conducted a performance with soloist Yang Liu in October of 2002.

Carl Nielsen in 1910

Not that this is unusual. The concerto doesn't have anything like the high profile of the Sibelius concerto from six years earlier—possibly because it, like many of Nielsen's large-scale works, often defies expectations in ways that can leave audience members a bit confused. "The Violin Concerto," writes René Spencer Saller in her program notes, "for all its Neoclassical trappings, is similarly weird, not to mention unusually long and difficult to play. Notes ring out shrilly; harmonies collapse into dissonances; themes collide and implode. Its beauty is severe and gleams like a glacier."

For me, this is exactly what makes Nielsen such a very cool composer. His symphonies have always been favorites of mine, along with his concerti, programmatic pieces like the remarkable "Helios Overture," and the quirky incidental music he wrote for Adam Oehlenschläger's "dramatic fairy tale" "Aladdin" in 1919. When you encounter his concerto, expect the unexpected. It's in two movements instead of the usual three of four, for one thing, and each movement is preceded by a slow introduction. It's dramatic stuff but it makes no effort to impress with simple virtuoso display. Even the concluding Rondo, in the composer's own words, "renounces everything that might dazzle or impress." But I think you'll be impressed anyway.

The concerts open with a brand-new piece, "Ravish and Mayhem," written in 2012 by Missouri native Stephanie Berg (she was born in Parkville, MO, in 1986 has a Master's in composition from the University of Missouri). "With its wide-eyed, almost Coplandesque harmonies and hectic rhythms," writes René Spencer Saller, "Ravish and Mayhem neatly encapsulates Berg's approach. Dramatic brass vies with whimsical woodwinds; grand gestures are interrupted by playful passages; ceremony succumbs to chaos. The sonorities are at once American and exotic." Berg is also quoted in the symphony program as acknowledging an "Arabic" influence in the work in that "the melodies involve a lot of trills and flourishes, which seem to be a feature of music from that region." "It's a very high-energy piece," she said in a 2012 interview for Vox Magazine, "very folk-like melodies."

Stephanie Berg

Why the title? I have no idea, and Ms. Berg hasn't been quoted on the subject as far as I can see. I guess we'll just have to draw our own conclusions once we've heard it.

Turning from the music to the performers, this week's conductor, Andrey Boreyko, last led the symphony in an all-Tchaikovsky program in November of 2012 that was distinguished by an electrifying performance of the "Violin Concerto" by Vadim Gluzman and a "Symphony No. 1" that exploited all of the work's extremes in tempi and dynamics while still pulling everything together into a coherent whole. It will be interesting to see what he does with this weekend's vary varied program.

Mr. Boreyko's violin soloist, Adele Anthony, is making her SLSO debut. It's appropriate that she's playing the Nielsen, since she first made her mark on the international scene at Denmark's 1996 Carl Nielsen International Violin Competition. She has gone on to appear with important orchestras world wide, including the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, NDR Orchestra Hannover, and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France; also all six symphonies of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. She performs on a 1728 Stradivarius.

Andrey Boreyko conducts the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra with violin soloist Adele Anthony this Friday and Saturday, January 10 and 11, at 8 PM at Powell Hall in Grand Center. The Saturday concert will be broadcast on St. Louis Public Radio, 90.7 FM, HD 1, and live streaming at the station web site. For more information: stlsymphony.org.

A snowbound symphony

As I sat here contemplating snowpocalypse 2014, I started putting together a mental list of classical works that would make for appropriate listening for the snowbound.  I don't claim that this is exhaustive—it's just what I was able to come up with off the top of my head—but it does look nicely balanced to me.  Feel free to leave a comment with your own suggestions.

[ADDED 22 December 2022] Don't have all these handy? Never fear: here's a free Spotify playlist.

The list is in alphabetical order by composer.

Leroy Anderson

Leroy Anderson: Sleigh Ride – This cheerful orchestral depiction of a sleigh ride—complete with whip cracks and a derisive whinny from the horse performed by solo trumpet at the end—is probably the best-known piece in the list.  Ironically, Anderson got the idea during a heat wave in 1946. It was published in 1948, first recorded by Arthur Fielder and the Boston Pops in 1949, and had lyrics grafted on to it in 1950 by Mitchell Parish.  Anderson's own recording (on Decca) hit the Cashbox best sellers chart in 1950.

Debussy: Des pas sur la neige (Footprints in the Snow) – There's a wintry solitude to this music, with its fragmented melody and suggestion of a slow procession through the landscape.  It's from the composer's first book of "Preludes" from 1910.

Debussy: The Snow is Dancing – At the other end of the spectrum is this fanciful miniature from the "Children's Corner Suite" from 1908.  Unlike most of Debussy's music, the titles are all in English—probably a nod to the English governess of Debussy's daughter Claude-Emma, to whom the suite is dedicated.  The music wasn't meant to be performed by children—some of it is pretty challenging—but rather to reflect the world of childhood.

Frederick Delius

Frederick Delius: Sleigh Ride – Written at the request of the great Norwegian musical miniaturist Edvard Grieg for an 1887 Christmas party, this piece was orchestrated by Delius in 1890 and prefaced with this description: "On Christmas Even I stood in the open air.  The moon shone bright over a billowing landscape.  The sound of an approaching sleigh was heard from a distance, but it soon rushed by and disappeared.  And then gradually it was once more still and bright and peaceful."  The opening with sleigh bells and a perky melody on the flute is really pretty irresistible.

Liszt: Transcendental Etude No. 12, Chasse-neige (Snow storm) – Liszt's twelve "Transcendental Etudes" (Études d'exécution transcendante) are the Mt. Everest of piano music.  Originally published in 1837, the pieces were revised to make them less absurdly difficult to play in 1852, but even so they present technical challenges that separate the virtuosi from the run of the mill players.  This musical storm begins softly and relentlessly builds to a massive blizzard of notes.

Leopold Mozart: A Musical Sleigh Ride – We don't think much about Wolfgang Mozart's dad these days, but he had a fairly substantial career as a musician and composer.  Many of his works have been lost over the centuries but a few—like this charming miniature and his "Cassation in G for Orchestra and Toys" (a.k.a. the "Toy Symphony")—are still performed now and then.  Leopold Mozart loved using non-traditional sounds in his pieces, including bagpipes, whistles, and even (in anticipation of Spike Jones) pistol shots.

Wolfgang Mozart: German Dance No. 3, K. 605 (Sleigh Ride) – The younger Mozart's sleigh ride is a lilting dance in three-quarter time complete with tuned sleigh bells and an ingratiating posthorn solo.

A scene from Lieutenant Kijé

Prokofiev: Troika – This depiction of a ride in a traditional Russian three-horse sleigh comes from music written for the satirical 1933 film "Lieutenant Kijé," about a non-existent soldier created by a clerical error and kept "alive" by bureaucrats afraid of the Czar's wrath, should the mistake be discovered.  It's easily the most popular piece from the score and has been appropriated by a number of rock/pop stars including Greg Lake ("I Believe in Father Christmas") and Helen Love ("Happiest Time of the Year").

Strauss: An Alpine Symphony – Completed in 1915, this mammoth tone poem (it runs close to an hour) depicts and Alpine ascent and descent, complete with a trek across a glacier and a thunderstorm.  Strauss loved the mountains.  He built a villa for himself in the Bavarian Alps and often vacationed in Alpine regions.  That affection clearly shows in this music.

Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 1 ("Winter Dreams") – First performed in 1868, Tchaikovsky's first attempt at a symphony had a rough time being born.  It took nearly a year to compose and received a fair amount of unflattering criticism along the composer's former teachers.  The structure is a bit clunky in places, but the first movement (subtitled "Dreams of a Winter Journey") is so powerfully evocative of a haunted journey through a frigid landscape that I, for one, am inclined to overlook the work's flaws.

Artists of The Royal Ballet in The Nutcracker
Photograph © ROH/Johan Persson

Tchaikovsky: Waltz of the Snowflakes – This final number from the first act of the "Nutcracker" ballet also depicts a wintry sojourn, but a much cheerier one than the "Winter Dreams" symphony.  The Nutcracker Prince has just defeated the Mouse King and, as a snowstorm rises, he and Clara are transported to the Kingdom of Sweets.  The addition of a wordless children's chorus in the final bars adds a lovely touch of whimsy.

Ralph Vaughan Williams: Sinfonia Antartica (Symphony No. 7) – Adapted from the music Vaughan Williams wrote for the 1947 film “Scott of the Antarctic,” the “Sinfonia Antartica” is pure symphonic wind chill.  Its five movements leave an indelible impression of the forbidding landscape and tragic end of Scott’s ill-fated expedition.  In the score, each movement is preceded by a literary quotation.  Vaughan Williams didn’t explicitly say that they should be read as part of the performance, but when they are (as in the Andre Previn/London Symphony recording from many years ago) the theatrical effect can’t be denied.

Vivaldi: Winter (from "The Four Seasons") – This is easily one of the most vivid bits of tone painting you'll find anywhere, with snowstorms, icy winds, and quiet evenings by the first all colorfully captured.

That's my quick list.  I limited myself to orchestral pieces, so Schubert's 1828 "Winterreise"  ("Winter Journey") song cycle has been left out in the cold, so to speak, along with (probably) many others.  I also rejected Arnold Bax's "November Woods" on the premise that he was thinking more autumnal than wintry.  What would you add to the list?  Let me know.

St. Louis theatre calendar for the week of January 6, 2014

Looking for auditions and other artistic opportunities? Check out the St. Louis Auditions site.]

For information on events beyond this week, check out the searchable database at the Regional Arts Commission's ArtsZipper site.

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The Pub Theater Company presents Bye Bye Liver: The St. Louis Drinking Play, a comedic romp through the joys and pitfalls of The Gateway to the West's favorite pastime. Performances take place on Saturdays at 9 PM at Maggie O'Brien's, 2000 Market Street. For more information, you may call 314-827-4185, email stlouis at byebyeliver.com, or visit byebyeliver.com/stlouis.

The Bissell Mansion Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre presents Flaming Saddles through April 27. The Bissell Mansion is at 4426 Randall Place. For more information: bissellmansiontheatre.com

The Lemp Mansion Comedy-Mystery Dinner Theater presents its Bullets in the Bathtub through April 27. The Lemp Mansion is at 3322 DeMenil Place. For more information: lempmansion.com

The Theatre Guild of Webster Groves presents Crossing Delancey January 10-19. Performances take place in the Guild theatre at Newport and Summit in Webster Groves, MO. For more information: theatreguildwg.org or call 314-962-0876.

The Black Rep presents Jeff Stetson's The Meeting, based on a supposed meeting between Malcom X and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., January 8-26. Performances take place at the Emerson Performance Center on the campus of Harris-Stowe State University. For more information: theblackrep.org

©Photo by Lon Brauer

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents Michael Hollinger's Opus January 8 – February 2. "With only four days to rehearse for their most important performance ever, a world-class string quartet takes a chance by hiring a gifted but inexperienced young woman. Onstage the Lazara Quartet is pitch perfect but behind the scenes they're coming unstrung as the four artists battle the sweat, tears and pain that go into making extraordinary music seem effortless. This fascinating play is a passionate look at the delicate and complex relationships between artists' lives and their art." Performances take place at the Loretto-Hlton Center, 130 Edgar Road in Webster Groves, MO. For more information, call 314-968-4925 or visit repstl.org.

Mariposa Artists presents Shades of Blue—Lina Koutrakos, on Saturday, January 11th, at 8 PM. "Mixing pop, standards, originals and more with Rick Jensen at the piano and on arrangements, Lina Koutrakos's bluesy-hued voice lends itself to stories, melodies and feelings in Shades Of Blue." The performance takes place at the Kranzberg Center, 501 North Grand in Grand Center. For more information: www.brownpapertickets.com/event/530853.

The Midnight Theatre Company presents the St. Louis premiere of Solemn Mockeries, the Notorious True Story of the Great Shakespeare Forgery by Rick Creese Fridays and Saturdays at 8 PM, through January 18. “Solemn Mockeries tells the true story of William Henry Ireland, who as a teenager in 1795, ignored by his father, detested by his stepmother, despised by his teachers, became an expert Shakespearean forger, producing dead-on facsimiles of the Bard's signatures,and creating his business papers, love letters, a rewritten KING LEAR and the “lost” Shakespeare play VORTIGERN. Taking London by storm, his VORTIGERN by William Shakespeare was scheduled to play the Drury Lane, the finest theatre in London, with a cast of the greatest performers of the day, including John Phillip Kemble, Mrs. Siddons and Mrs. Jordan, with the Duke of Clarence as his benefactor. In SOLEMN MOCKERIES, Ireland has returned to England thirty years later to proudly confess the literary crime of the century -and remember the one, wild, unforgettable staging of his “Shakespeare” play at the Drury.” Performances take place at Stray Dog Theatre's Tower Grove Abbey, 2336 Tennessee. For more information call 314-487-5305 or visit www.midnightcompany.com.

First Run Theatre presents Whatever Remains, a new Sherlock Holmes mystery by Jason Slavik, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 PM and Sundays at 2 PM, January 10-19. Performances take place at First Run Theatre at De Smet Jesuit High School Theatre, 233 N. New Ballas Rd. For more information, call (314) 352-5114 or visit www.firstruntheatre.com.

Would you like to be on the radio? KDHX, 88.1 FM needs theatre reviewers. If you're 18 years or older, knowledgeable in this area, have practical theatre experience (acting, directing, writing, technical design, etc.), have good oral and written communications skills and would like to become one of our volunteer reviewers, send an email describing your experience and interests to chuck at kdhx.org. Please include a sample review of something you've seen recently.

St. Louis classical calendar for the week of January 6, 2014

Andrey Boreyko
Photo: Susanne Diesner

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The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra presents the first in a series of Beethoven Festival concerts, as Andrey Boreyko conducts the Beethoven Symphony No. 7 in A major, Op. 92 along with Nielsen’s Violin Concerto, Op. 33 and Stephanie Berg’s Ravish and Mayhem (written in 2012) on Friday and Saturday, January 10 and 11, at 8 PM at Powell Symphony Hall, 718 North Grand.  “Beethoven’s mastery of rhythm and harmony are on full display in the composer’s rhythmic Seventh Symphony. From the expansive introduction to ecstatic finale, the delightful work is a consummate audience favorite. Hear this magnificent work alongside Danish composer Carl Nielsen’s dazzling Violin Concerto featuring the subscription debut of Nielsen International Violin Competition winner Adele Anthony.” For more information: stlsymphony.org.

The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Steven Jarvi, presents Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf on Sunday, January 12, at 3 PM at Powell Symphony Hall, 718 North Grand.  “Student performers from STAGES St. Louis will join the St. Louis Symphony to act out this family favorite.” For more information: stlsymphony.org.

The Tavern of Fine Arts presents The Steve and Jennifer Project on Wednesday, January 8, at 7:30 PM.  “Husband and wife team Henry Claude on percussion and Tracy Andreotti on cello return to Tavern of Fine Arts for an exciting night of new improvised music.  Sometimes mellow, sometimes intense, always delivered with a half smile, the Steve and Jennifer Project create a fast changing and varied soundscape. Drawing from numerous musical styles, and incorporating various electronic devises, the Steve and Jennifer Project create a unique spontaneous music for our times.”  The Tavern of Fine Arts is at 313 Belt in the Debaliviere Place neighborhood.  For more information: tavern-of-fine-arts.blogspot.com.

Members of The Chamber Project St. Louis

The Tavern of Fine Arts presents The Chamber Project St. Louis in A Very Open Rehearsal on Thursday, January 9, at 7:30 PM.  “Percussionist Jeff Barudin makes his debut with Chamber Project. Check out his first rehearsal with flutist Jen Gartley as they prepare Brett Abigañaʼs "Little Match Girl" for vibraphone, flute, and narrator.  Experience the rehearsal process. Learn how the performance of a piece of music is put together. And feel free to ask questions and make suggestions.”  The Tavern of Fine Arts is at 313 Belt in the Debaliviere Place neighborhood.  For more information: tavern-of-fine-arts.blogspot.com.

The Tavern of Fine Arts presents pianist Nicholas Susi in a program of music by Bach, Beethoven, Liszt, and contemporary American composers on Friday, January 10, at 8 PM.  The Tavern of Fine Arts is at 313 Belt in the Debaliviere Place neighborhood.  For more information: tavern-of-fine-arts.blogspot.com.

Heather Fehl

The Tavern of Fine Arts presents soprano Heather Fehl and pianist Jon Garrett on Saturday, January 11, at 8 PM.  “Heather Fehl, despite her last name, is currently on her feet...kind of. She lives at home with her mother and has a part time job at Starbucks. She has a Bachelor of Music with a degree in vocal performance from Millikin University, and we all know how that turned out. She does sing with two choirs, the St. Louis Symphony Chorus and the St. Louis Chamber Chorus; the latter just recorded a CD of American music that will be available within the year.”  The Tavern of Fine Arts is at 313 Belt in the Debaliviere Place neighborhood.  For more information: tavern-of-fine-arts.blogspot.com.

St. Louis theatre calendar for the week of December 30, 2013

[Looking for auditions and other artistic opportunities? Check out the St. Louis Auditions site.]

For information on events beyond this week, check out the searchable database at the Regional Arts Commission's ArtsZipper site.

Share on Google+

The Pub Theater Company presents Bye Bye Liver: The St. Louis Drinking Play, a comedic romp through the joys and pitfalls of The Gateway to the West's favorite pastime. Performances take place on Saturdays at 9 PM at Maggie O'Brien's, 2000 Market Street. For more information, you may call 314-827-4185, email stlouis at byebyeliver.com, or visit byebyeliver.com/stlouis.

The Bissell Mansion Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre presents A Christmas Killing through December 31 and Flaming Saddles January 3 through April 27. The Bissell Mansion is at 4426 Randall Place. For more information: bissellmansiontheatre.com

The Lemp Mansion Comedy-Mystery Dinner Theater presents its Christmas Show through December 31 and Bullets in the Bathtub January 3 through April 27. The Lemp Mansion is at 3322 DeMenil Place. For more information: lempmansion.com

The Midnight Theatre Company presents the St. Louis premiere of Solemn Mockeries, the Notorious True Story of the Great Shakespeare Forgery by Rick Creese Fridays and Saturdays at 8 PM, January 3-18. “Solemn Mockeries tells the true story of William Henry Ireland, who as a teenager in 1795, ignored by his father, detested by his stepmother, despised by his teachers, became an expert Shakespearean forger, producing dead-on facsimiles of the Bard's signatures,and creating his business papers, love letters, a rewritten KING LEAR and the “lost” Shakespeare play VORTIGERN. Taking London by storm, his VORTIGERN by William Shakespeare was scheduled to play the Drury Lane, the finest theatre in London, with a cast of the greatest performers of the day, including John Phillip Kemble, Mrs. Siddons and Mrs. Jordan, with the Duke of Clarence as his benefactor. In SOLEMN MOCKERIES, Ireland has returned to England thirty years later to proudly confess the literary crime of the century -and remember the one, wild, unforgettable staging of his “Shakespeare” play at the Drury.” Performances take place at Stray Dog Theatre's Tower Grove Abbey, 2336 Tennessee. For more information call 314-487-5305 or visit www.midnightcompany.com.

© Amy Boyle 2013

The Fox Theatre presents Leonard Bernstein's West Side Story Friday through Sunday, January 3-5. "More than fifty years ago one musical changed theater forever. Now it's back, and mesmerizing audiences once again. From the first note to the final breath, WEST SIDE STORY soars as the greatest love story of all time. Directed by David Saint, using Tony Award®-winning librettist Arthur Laurents’ Broadway direction, WEST SIDE STORY remains as powerful, poignant and timely as ever." The Fox Theatre is at 517 North Grand in Grand Center. For more information, call 314-534-1678.

Would you like to be on the radio? KDHX, 88.1 FM needs theatre reviewers. If you're 18 years or older, knowledgeable in this area, have practical theatre experience (acting, directing, writing, technical design, etc.), have good oral and written communications skills and would like to become one of our volunteer reviewers, send an email describing your experience and interests to chuck at kdhx.org. Please include a sample review of something you've seen recently.