Yearly Archives: 2012

ASO announces River Rhapsodies for 2012-2013

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On the heels of the recent announcement of the 2012-2013 Arkansas Symphony Orchestra MasterWorks and Pops series, the ASO has unveiled next season’s River Rhapsodies Chamber Series.

It will kick off on October 2 when Augustin Hadelich will perform.  He will be featured on September 29 and 30 with the MasterWorks series as the Richard Sheppard Arnold Artist of Distinction.  Joining him on the program will be the Quapaw String Quartet, the Rockefeller String Quartet and violinist Geoffrey Robson.  The works to be performed include Haydn’s String Quartet in C Major, Op. 54 No. 2; Webern’s Langsamer Satz; Yasye’s Violin Sonata in d minor, No. 3 “Ballade” and Tchaikovsky’s Sextet, Op. 70 “Souvenir de Florence.”

Appropriately the second concert of the series is entitled Duos.  On October 30, the concert will feature David Gerstein, cello; Andrew Irvin, violin; Tatiana Kotcherguina, viola; Ryan Mooney, viola; Geoffrey Robson, violin and Barron Weir, contrabass.  The program will feature Mozart’s Duo No. 1 in G for Violin and Viola; Rossini’s Duetto for Cello and Bass; Bridge’s Lament for Two Violas and Kodaly’s Duo for Violin and Cello, Op. 7.

On November 13, the concert is entitled Masterworks and will feature the Quapaw String Quartet, Louis Menendez on piano and violinist Geoffrey Robson.  They will perform Ravel’sPiano Trio in a minor and Beethoven’s String Quartet, Op. 130 and Op. 133.

The Rockefeller String Quartet’s 10th anniversary will be highlighted in the fourth concert of the series.  They will perform Mendelssohn’s String Quartet in D Major, Op. 44 No. 1; Glass’s String Quartet No. 3 (Mishima) and Tchaikovsky’s String Quartet No. 1 in D Major.

The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra’s Composer of the Year Jennifer Higdon will be featured on February 26, 2013.  The musicians performing that night will be David Gerstein, cello; Kelly Johnson, clarinet; Kiril Laskarov, violin; Susan Bell Leon, bassoon; Meredith Maddox-Hicks; violin; Diane McVinney, flute; David Renfro, horn; Tatiana Roitman, piano and Beth Wheeler, oboe. The musical selections include Barber’s Summer Music; Higdon’s Piano Trio and Autumn Music and Shostokovich’s Piano Trio No. 2, Op. 67.

Spring in Little Rock will be celebrated with Appalachian Spring on April 16.  A host of musicians will play a program including Crumb’s Voice of the Whale; Debussy’s Sonate en trio for Flute, Viola and Harp; Higdon’s Amazing Grace and Copland’s Appalachian Spring.  The performers will be Carl Anthony, piano; Carolyn Brown, flute; Daniel Cline and David Gerstein, cello; Alisa Coffey, harp; Leanne Day-Simpson, Eric Hayward, Andrew Irvin and Kiril Laskarov, violin; Kelly Johnson, clarinet; Susan Bell Leon, bassoon; Ryan Mooney and Katherine Reynolds, viola and Barron Weir, contrabass.

The concerts will take place at 7pm at the Clinton Presidential Center.  Philip Mann is the music director of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra.

 

Architeaser – April 17

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Yesterday’s Architeaser was a lion on the side of the building at 421 Main Street.  It is currently being renovated.

Continuing in animal vein — here is another stone sentry but this one is of the avian variety.

Prized Occupants

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The Pulitzer Prizes were announced yesterday.  Though Mt. Holly Cemetery touts that it is the site of a whole host of elected officials, it is also the only place in Arkansas where two Pulitzer Prize recipients are buried.

In 1939, John Gould Fletcher became the first Southern poet to win the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry.  He was born into a prominent Little Rock family in 1886.  Fletcher was awarded the prize for his collection Selected Poems which was published by Farrar in 1938.  Two years earlier, he had been commissioned by the Arkansas Gazette to compose an epic poem about the history of Arkansas in conjunction with the state’s centennial.

Fletcher is buried next to his wife, author Charlie May Simon and his parents.  Other relatives are buried nearby in the cemetery.

The other Pulitzer Prize winner buried in Mt. Holly is J. N. Heiskell, the longtime editor of the Arkansas Gazette.  It was Heiskell, in fact, who asked Fletcher to compose the poem about Arkansas.  Heiskell served as editor of the Gazette from 1902 through 1972.  He died at the age of 100 in 1972.  Under his leadership, the Gazette earned two Pulitzer Prizes for its coverage of the 1957 desegregation of Little Rock Central High.  One was for Harry Ashmore’s editorial writing and the other was for Public Service.

Heiskell remained in charge of the Gazette until his death in 1972.  He is buried alongside his wife.

Architeaser – April 16

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Yesterday’s Architeaser featured Byrne Hall on the St. John’s campus in the Heights.  The building currently houses the offices of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra.  Yesterday the ASO concluded the 2011-2012 MasterWorks series.  This evening at the Clinton Presidential Center, this year’s final River Rhapsodies Chamber Concert will be held at 7pm.

This week we will look at some of the animals in Little Rock which are not at the Little Rock Zoo.

Museum of Discovery to showcase TITANIC wreckage

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100 years ago today, people worldwide read newspaper accounts of the unthinkable disaster that was the sinking of the RMS Titanic.

The Museum of Discovery is set to unveil its latest traveling exhibit April 28 titled “Extreme Deep: Mission to the Abyss” revealing some of the ocean floor’s mystique, and how science and technology play integral roles in defining it.

Developed by Evergreen Exhibitions in collaboration with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), the world’s largest non-profit ocean science research institution, this 3,000 square foot interactive exhibit is designed to engage museum visitors through hands-on exploration and discovery, submerging them into the deep undersea world. Extreme Deep depicts the mysteries of the ocean’s greatest depths. Newly discovered life forms, thermal vents, close-up views of deep-sea research submersibles as well as shipwrecks including the Titanic, are among the attractions in this deep-sea adventure. Museum goers will observe firsthand the technology that only recently has allowed men and women to travel to the ocean floor.

Extreme Deep puts the technology necessary for deep-sea exploration in the hands of museum guests. Visitors join fellow explorers in an interior replica of the submersible Alvin’s personnel sphere, which they can operate to simulate a dive to depths of up to three miles. They can fly a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) over a model of the Titanic’s deck. They can also test their skill at manipulating Alvin’s robotic arm by picking up lava rocks and clams from the seafloor while peering through a re-creation of Alvin’s four-inch viewport window.

Extreme Deep is presented by Little Rock Family Magazine, a member of the Arkansas Business Publishing Group. Little Rock Family is dedicated to providing informative family-friendly activities and resources for the central Arkansas region, and works to promote and support local businesses and non-profit organizations, as well as community-minded people.

“Together with our partners at Little Rock Family, we look forward to bringing Extreme Deep to Arkansas. People have long been fascinated with the ocean and what lies beneath. This interactive exhibit embodies our focus – creating a passion and an understanding for science and technology through discovery,” explains Nan Selz, executive director for the Museum of Discovery.

Extreme Deep brings the seafloor to the surface in an amazing display that illustrates the magnificent engineering feats of Mother Nature – like the building of enormous “black smokers” that spew mineral-rich fluid into the ocean supporting life vastly different from that flourishing on land or in shallow water.

The exhibit will run from April 28-July 29.

Architeaser – April 15

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Yesterday’s Architeaser concluded Capital week with a column capital at Robinson Center Music Hall.  The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra is playing there this weekend.

Today’s architeaser is below.

Sculpture Vulture: Brookin Memorial in Mount Holly

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The Pulitzer Prizes are announced tomorrow.  Two previous Pulitzer Prize winners are buried in Mt. Holly – poet John Gould Fletcher and publisher J. N. Heiskell.  With an eye toward the Pulitzers as well as some of the sculpture in Mt. Holly, today the Sculpture Vulture focuses on a statue which honors the memory of Little Rock firefighter Henry C. Brookin.

The sculpture depicts a firefighter in a helmet holding a hose.  On the base is the inscription “Erected by the Volunteer Firemen of Little Rock to the memory of Henry C. Brookin. Born Mar. 23, 1852, Died Mar. 11, 1891. He Was Killed Responding.”

The statue, forged in metal, is only a couple of feet tall but stands on a stone pedestal of approximately four feet tall. It marks Mr. Brookin’s grave. It is the only metal statue in the cemetery and the only one which does not depict an angel, child or religious figure.