Month: March 2017

February – May 2017 Art Event in NYC: The Mysterious Landscapes of Hercules Segers

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February – May 2017 Art Event in NYC: The Mysterious Landscapes of Hercules Segers at the Met Museum

February - May 2017 Art Event in NYC: The Mysterious Landscapes of Hercules Segers
Hercules Segers, Mountain Valley with Fenced Fields, c. 1615-1630, etching, ink

The mystery of a faraway land, the beauty of new space, the expectation of secrets, the passing of time…. All of it is on full view at the Met exhibition of Hercules Segers, 17th century Dutch Golden Age master known for his prints, etchings and oil paintings. This is the first exhibition for Segers in the USA. Not many details of the artist’s life is known to us now but from what we do know he was well regarded by his contemporaries. He brought in pioneering techniques to printmaking by mixing colors, mediums and textures. At his time in the first half of 17th century his methods were fresh and groundbreaking like the impressionism at its time. Add to it an assumption that the artists had never traveled farther than between Haarlem, where he was born, and Amsterdam in the Low Countries but filled his work with mountainous views, and the mystery surrounding the master persists. The New York Times calls the exhibition mesmerizing and the New York Review of Books notes that “an air of unreality hangs over” Segers’s paintings. 

Venue: The Met Museum on Fifth Avenue        Time: till May 21, 2017

April 2017 Opera in NYC: Rigoletto at Met Opera

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April 2017 Opera in NYC: Rigoletto at Met Opera

April 2017 Opera in NYC: Rigoletto at the Met Opera
Scene from the opera / image source metopera.org

Rigoletto in Las-Vegas?  This vibrant and colorful production of Giuseppe Verdi’s beloved opera is sure to entertain and engage everyone. For the original opening of the opera in 1851, Verdi and his librettist Francesco Maria Piave shifted the setting in Victor Hugo play which the opera is based on  from early-16th century french court to Renaissance time Mantua, Italy.

It seems the story is destined for such transformations in time and place as the current production is set in Las Vegas in the 60s with all the bells and whistles of that turbulent era. Even if you are not a big fun of modern adaptation for traditional art forms, you will enjoy the time-tested tunes and passionate performance. Think about finding repeating patterns of history and savor the music in all its glory. The New York Times review for 2013 opening of this production called it “the Rat Pack “Rigoletto'”.

You can buy tickets here.

 

Venue: Met Opera, Lincoln Center, NY                                  Dates: April 19, April 22, April 27

Notes on Max Beckmann exhibition at the Met Museum

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Notes on Max Beckmann exhibition at the Met Museum

The Met Museum exhibition of Max Beckmann’s work is over, you can see a sampling of his paintings here.

The exhibition was running through February 20 and was listed in the February 2017 events in the Monthly Selections.

Notes from Django-a-GoGo concert

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Notes from Django-a-GoGo concert on March 3, 2017

It was an incredible night of jazz-manouche culminating in an amazing finale with 9 guitars and the band. If one thinks about oneself as a guitar music fan he got to be there. The virtuosity of the musicians combined with time-tested Django compositions have pleased everyone in the audience. The celebration would go well past 11pm if it wasn’t for the Carnegie Hall rules. Granted the style of the music is calling for an intimate setting unlike grand Stern auditorium, the concert was still a huge success thanks to Stephane Wrembel and  his all-star band. By the way, the feast continues on Sundays at Barbes in Brooklyn. Its hard to capture the spirit and action onsite as recording is not allowed, but lets use the imagination to color up this collage:

For more events in March 2017 go to Monthly Selection or scroll down.