MARK AUERBACH
Two Pianists
“The Pianist of Willesden Lane”
Hartford Stage presents “The Pianist of Willesden Lane”, starring piano virtuoso Mona Golabek, who performs some of the world’s most beautiful music, as she shares her own mother’s riveting story of survival (March 26 to April 26). Golabek was taught piano by her mother, Lisa Jura, who, along with Lisa’s mother, Malka, is the subject of the book, “The Children of Willesden Lane: Beyond the Kindertransport: A Memoir of Music, Love, and Survival,” by Golabek and Lee Cohen. Director Hershey Felder (from Hartford Stage’s “George Gershwin Alone”) adapted the play from the book.
Garnering triumphant reviews from across the country since 2012, “The Pianist of Willesden Lane” includes pieces by Beethoven, Rachmaninoff, Debussy, Liszt, Grieg and more.
Hartford Stage describes the play with music as, “An expression of hope and the life-affirming power of music, ”The Pianist of Willesden Lane” tells the true story of a young Jewish musician, who was sent from Nazi-ruled Vienna to the relative safety of London during the Blitzkrieg.”
Mona Golabek headlines “The Pianist of Willesden Lane” at Hartford Stage.
An author, recording artist, radio host and internationally acclaimed concert pianist, Golabek is the founder and president of the non-profit organization Hold On To Your Music. A Grammy Award nominee, she has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the Avery Fisher Career Grant and the People’s Award of the International Chopin Competition. She has been the subject of several PBS television documentaries, including “More Than the Music”, which won the grand prize in the 1985 Houston Film Festival, and ”Concerto for Mona”, featuring her and conductor Zubin Mehta. She has appeared in concert at the Hollywood Bowl, The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Royal Festival Hall, and with major orchestras and conductors worldwide.
For tickets: 860-527-5151. or www.hartfordstage.org.
MacArthur Genius Jeremy Denk with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields
Keith Lockhart of The Boston Pops.
The London-based Academy of St Martin in the Fields performs on March 28 at the UMass Fine Arts Center Concert Hall with soloist, the MacArthur Fellow, pianist Jeremy Denk.
The Academy’s Amherst performance with Jeremy Denk will include highlights from three celebrated classical composers. Denk will conduct from the keyboard for Bach’s Second and Fourth concertos, continuing his acclaimed exploration of the renowned composer’s work. Also on the program are pieces by Dvorak and Suk.
The Acting Company brings “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court to Hartford. (Photo by Heidi Bohnenkamp)
Jeremy Denk’s recording of Bach’s popular Goldberg Variations reached number one on Billboard’s Classical Chart, and was featured in “Best of 2013” lists by the New Yorker and the New York Times. Performing a range of work, Denk has appeared as soloist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the symphony orchestras of Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, and London, and regularly gives recitals in New York, Washington, Boston, Philadelphia, and throughout the United States.
“The Band of The Black Hand” premieres in Storrs.
The Academy of St Martin in the Fields is renowned for its polished and refined sound, rooted in outstanding musicianship. Formed by Sir Neville Marriner in 1958 from a group of leading London musicians, the Academy gave its first performance in its namesake church in November 1959. Originally directed by Sir Neville from the leader’s chair, the collegiate spirit and flexibility of the original small, conductor-less ensemble remains an Academy hallmark which continues today, with virtuoso violinist Joshua Bell as its Music Director. Together they explore symphonic repertoire to perform ‘chamber music on a grand scale.’
For tickets: 413-545-2511, 800-999-UMASS, or http://www.fineartscenter.com/.
Signs of Spring
The Boston Pops has announced its 2015 at Boston’s Symphony Hall and Tanglewood, as Maestro Keith Lockhart celebrates his 20th anniversary with the Pops. Audra McDonald, Bernadette Peters,The Midtown Men, and music of John Williams and Stephen Sondheim are on the programs. For tickets: 888-266-1200 or www.bostonpops.org.
Keep in Mind…
***The Acting Company performs Mark Twain’s “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court” as part of the Mark Twain House “Twain Onstage” Festival, The classic is adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher and directed by Ian Belknap on March 28, at the Hoffman Auditorium, St. Joseph’s College, West Hartford. The late John Houseman founded The Acting Company in 1972. For tickets: 860-232-5555 or www.usj.edu/arts.
***Young@Heart, the senior chorus that rocks the world, presents their April Fools Show, with special guests, on April 1 at Northampton’s Academy of Music. For tickets: 413-582-9032, ext. 105.
***Band of the Black Hand, a world premiere created by Greg Webster, director of Split Knuckle Theatre plays at Connecticut Repertory Theatre in Storrs through April 4. The film noir production about a private eye in a big city incorporates modern Indonesian shadow puppetry, physical theatre and jazz. For tickets: 860-486-2113 or www.crt.uconn.edu.
***Jerry and Ed, Steve Henderson’s comedy about two oldsters at the Garden Acres Retirement Community. Dick Volker, a community theatre veteran, directs. A benefit for the Silverthorne Theater March 27-29 at Sloan Theater, Greenfield (MA) Community College. For tickets: http://www.silverthornetheater.org.
Mark G. Auerbach studied theatre at American University and the Yale School of Drama. He’s worked for arts organizations and reported on theatre for newspapers and radio.
