Category Archives: Music

Bohemian Rhapsody as Arkansas Symphony celebrates Brahms, Dvorak

Posted on by

aso_2-colorThe Arkansas Symphony Orchestra kicks of 2014 with concerts this weekend at Robinson Center Music Hall.  Bohemian Rhapsody celebrating the works of Brahams and Dvorak, will take place at 8pm this evening and 3pm tomorrow afternoon.  The musicians will be led by ASO music director Philip Mann.

Many refer to Dvorak as the greatest Bohemian composer, and he headlines our festive occasion with a selection of his most entertaining and enchanting works. His Slavonic Dances showcase a wonderful juxtaposition of propulsive dance rhythms and sweeping lyricism. The result is a volatile concoction of explosive energy and affecting emotion.

Dvorak’s Scherzo Capriccioso adds another rousing and stylish work known to increase the heart-rate for musician and listener alike.

Pianist sensation and Brahms champion Norman Krieger makes his ASO return following his triumphant Brahms Concerto No. 1, with the exquisite 2nd. A towering and daunting work in the virtuosic demands it places on the pianist, it is beloved by audiences for is beauty, amiable disposition, and charming effervescence.

Fans of romantic symphonic or pianistic works won’t want to miss this perfect combination, and one of Brahms’ greatest works.

    Brahms Concerto for Piano No. 2 in B-flat Major, Op. 83
    Dvořák Slavonic Dances, Op. 46/72
    Dvořák Scherzo capriccioso, Op. 66

 

A native of Los Angeles, Norman Krieger is one of the most acclaimed pianists of his generation, highly regarded as an artist of depth, sensitivity and virtuosic flair.

Norman Krieger regularly appears with the major orchestras of North America, among them the New York, Los Angeles, Buffalo, Dayton and Hamilton Philharmonics, the Minnesota Orchestra, the Boston Pops Orchestra and the Baltimore, California, Chicago, Cincinnati, Florida, Hartford, Honolulu, Kansas City, Milwaukee, National, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Pittsburgh, Richmond, Saint Louis, San Antonio, San Diego and Syracuse Symphony Orchestras.

Symphony’s Neighborhood Concerts return tomorrow evening

Posted on by

ASO_revBack by popular demand, the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra’s Intimate Neighborhood Concert (INC) series returns this season.  It kicks off tomorrow night with a program entitled “Bohemian Festival.”

The concert starts at 7pm at St. James United Methodist Church on Thursday, January 16.  Tickets are $35 general admission at $10 for students and active military.  They may be purchased at the ASO website.

The Intimate Neighborhood Concerts Series presents chamber orchestra repertoire in gorgeous, acoustically unique spaces around Little Rock. In addition to hearing the beautiful works in the settings intended by the composers, you are invited to mingle with the musicians after the concerts.

DVORAK – Serenade in D minor, Op. 44

VANHAL – Double Bass Concerto in D Major
Barron Weir, contrabass

MOZART – Symphony No. 38 in D Major, K. 504

First 2nd Friday Art Night of 2014

Posted on by

2nd Friday Art NightThe first 2nd Friday Art Night of 2014 takes place tonight.  Among the participating locations are Historic Arkansas Museum, the Central Arkansas Library System and Old State House Museum.

Historic Arkansas Museum will feature live music by Phil G. and Lori Marie from 5pm to 8pm.  It will also host the opening reception for Chasing the Light: Photography by Brian Chilson, in the Second Floor Gallery through March 10.  Arkansas Times photographer Brian Chilson has had a front row seat to some of the most exciting, entertaining, eventful and sometimes poignant events in Arkansas, as well as those smaller moments of everyday life. This collection of photographs taken over the past decade, from 2003 to 2013, serves as a sort of retrospective of life in Arkansas in the arenas of fashion, sports, politics and human interest.

At the Central Arkansas Library’s Butler Center a new exhibit will open.  Unusual Portraits: New Works by Michael Warrick and David O’Brien features explorations in portraiture by two accomplished Little Rock artists. Featured musician for the evening is Das Loop, a Little Rock duo that creates instrumental compositions using live loops and “layers of poly-rhythmic bliss.” The featured artist is Jacquelyn Kaucher, a painter who works with watercolor and acrylics, and she is a long-time teacher of watercolor and experimental watercolor painting in Little Rock.

The Old State House will host Second Friday Cinema: “Broncho Billy Anderson: Arkansas’s First Movie Star” at 6:00 pm. Born Max Aronson in Little Rock, Ark., Gilbert M. Anderson was a motion picture pioneer, who appeared in the groundbreaking film The Great Train Robbery in 1903. Anderson partnered with George Spoor to form the Essanay (S and A) Studios, where he wrote, directed, and starred in hundreds of one-reel westerns and comedies, the most popular featuring a character Anderson created for himself, Broncho Billy. “Broncho Billy” Anderson became Hollywood’s first western star, and Essanay one of the most successful studios of the early motion picture era.

The screening will include three short movies featuring Gilbert M. “Broncho Billy” Anderson:   The Great Train Robbery (1903) Broncho Billy’s Fatal Joke (1914) The Son-of-a-Gun (1919).  Ben Fry, General Manager of KLRE/KUAR and coordinator of the film minor at UALR, will introduce the films and lead a discussion.

13 Cultural Highlights of 2013

Posted on by

In no particular order, here are 13 cultural highlights of 2013 in Little Rock.

10.+citylittlerock-21. The 73 year old Joseph Taylor Robinson Municipal Auditorium received a new lease on life when Little Rock voters approved an extensive, two-year plan for renovation, remodeling and expanding the new facility.

2. Speaking of Robinson, the new Ron Robinson Theatre was constructed in the Arcade Building.  It will be the flagship home of the Little Rock Film Festival as well as a site for events hosted by the Clinton School of Public Service and the Central Arkansas Library System.

3. The Little Rock Film Festival came downtown with all of its films being shown in downtown Little Rock and Argenta.  Among the highlights of the festival were Short Term 12, Bridegroom and Don John which have received plaudits at other festivals and are appearing on Best of 2013 lists as well as receiving award nominations.

4. As Main Street continues to redevelop, plans were announced in 2013 for the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra and Ballet Arkansas to each move their offices and rehearsal spaces downtown.  Joining them will be an expansion of educational space for the Arkansas Repertory Theatre.

5. A few blocks south on Main Street, the new South on Main restaurant and performance space opened.  Weekly performances of live music accent the food and drink under the leadership of Chef Matt Bell.

6. Further down Main Street, Little Rock’s newest museum opened.  The Esse Purse Museum honors women and their struggles, accomplishments, hopes and dreams through highlighting the purse.

7. Fashion also took center stage at the William J. Clinton Presidential Center as well with an exhibit on Oscar de La Renta.  In addition to showcasing his contributions to design, the exhibit attracted many boldfaced names from the worlds of fashion and politics to an event in Little Rock.

Washington Bible8. George Washington was the focus of two separate exhibits in Little Rock during 2013.  Historic Arkansas Museum showcased his inaugural Bible as well as his family Bible.  At the Clinton Presidential Center “A Tribute to George Washington” was on display.  It featured George Washington’s personal copy of the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights from Mount Vernon, and a portrait of George Washington painted in 1797 by artist Gilbert Stuart on loan from the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.

9. The amphitheatre in Riverfront Park received a new name (First Security Amphitheatre) and a new roof just in time to kick off its 26th year and to play host to musical acts during Riverfest.

10. Rembrandt and Rothko were just two of the artists featured in exhibits at the Arkansas Arts Center through 2013.  The Arts Center featured the exhibit Treasures of Kenwood House which highlighted the works of Rembrandt, Van Dyck and many other world class artists.  Earlier in the year, exhibits highlighted Bauhaus architecture and relics of the Japanese internment camp at Rohwer.  The Arts Center was also the site of the world’s second largest yarn bomb installation.

Babe Sophie11. The Little Rock Zoo welcomed two new elephants: Sophie and Babe.  The Zoo also was the site of the birth of Bugsy the penguin and four new tiger cubs.  The tigers were born as the result of the Zoo’s new tiger exhibit which facilitated not only easier mating but also allows for the separation of the mother and cubs from the father.

12. The Central Arkansas Library System opened its new Children’s Library.  A few months after the building opened, a name was bestowed and it is now known as the Hillary Rodham Clinton Children’s Library and Learning Center.

13. As 2013 drew to a close, the holiday decorations at the Capital Hotel received international recognition as Forbes named them one of the ten best hotel Christmas trees in the world.  The nearly 30 foot tree was decorated by Tipton Hurst.

Hayes Carll at the Rev Room Tonight – with Bonnie Montgomery opening

Posted on by

181891_C18_044_004Hendrix College alum Hayes Carll returns to Little Rock for a concert tonight at the Rev Room.  Doors open at 7pm and the concert starts at 9pm.   Bonnie Montgomery, a renowned singer-songwriter in her own right, will open for him.

“Another Like You,” Carll’s stereotype’s attract duet of polar opposites, was American Songwriter’s #1 Song of 2011 – and KMAG YOYO was the Americana Music Association’s #1 Album, as well as making Best of Lists for Rolling Stone, SPIN and a New York Times Critics Choice.

Playing rock clubs and honkytonks, Bonnaroo, Stones Fest, SXSW and NXNE, he and his band the Gulf Coast Orchestra merge a truculent singer/songwriter take that combines Ray Wylie Hubband’s lean freewheeling squalor with Todd Snider’s brazen Gen Y reality and a healthy dose of love amongst unhealthy people.

Born in Houston, he went to college at Hendrix College in Conway – getting a degree in History, then heading back to Crystal Beach to play for a wild assortment of people either hiding out, hanging on or getting lost in the bars along Texas’ Gulf coast.

After releasing Flowers & Liquor in 2002, Carll was voted the Best New Artist of 2002 by The Houston Post. He would go on to release Little Rock, on his own Highway 87 label, which became the first self-owned project to the top the Americana charts.  His third album was 2008’s Trouble in Mind.

For those who live in and/or love Little Rock, Carll’s paean to the Capital City of Arkansas contains probably one of the best descriptions ever:  “A piece of this Earth for my peace of mind.”

ASO Holiday Show This Weekend

Posted on by

Join Maestro Philip Mann and your ASO in a FUN-PACKED program for the whole family, featuring vocalists Leslie Harper and Charity Vance, members of Arkansas Rep’s Young Artists program, choirs, dancing Santas, and more.

The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra presents a brand new show written and directed by Nicole Capri of the Arkansas Repertory Theatre.

Among the highlights will be favorite Christmas Carols such as “Hark the Harold Angels Sing” and “Silent Night” as well as Christmas classics like “O Holy Night” and “The 12 Days of Christmas.”

This will be the final ASO holiday show in Robinson until 2016 (though they will take place in other locations during 2014 and 2015).  Bring your friends and family for the perfect way to get in the holiday spirit!

Performances are Friday, December 20 at 7:30pm; Saturday, December 21 at 8:00pm; and Sunday, December 22 at 3:00pm.

As Part of Entergy Arkansas 100th Birthday, Downtown Bridges Officially Illuminated Tonight

Posted on by

Arkansas River LightsEntergy Arkansas, the City of Little Rock, Pulaski County Facilities Board Authority, the William J. Clinton Foundation, the Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau, the City of North Little Rock and the Downtown Little Rock Partnership will be celebrating the official illumination of the Main Street, Junction and Clinton Presidential Park Bridges at First Security Amphitheater.

Event Schedule:

5:00-6:00 PM      Entertainment by the Natural State Brass Band

6:00-6:20 PM      Official Event – Opening remarks followed by the flipping of the switches and the illumination of all three bridges with a festive light show (bridges will remain illuminated)

Following              Entertainment by the Big Dam Horns

8:00 PM                 Event Ends

Ottenheimer Market Hall will be open for this event, so food and beverages will be available. This is a public event and all who want to attend and participate in this historic event will be welcomed – it is sure to be great fun, and an exciting day in our city’s history.

This once-in-a-lifetime event is made possible by a $2 million gift by Entergy Arkansas as part of its 100th anniversary in Arkansas, as well as support from the William J. Clinton Foundation, the Pulaski County Bridge Authority, Philips Lighting, Koontz Electric, the cities of Little Rock and North Little Rock, Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau and the North Little Rock Visitors Bureau. Total project cost is $2.4 million.

According to James Jones of Entergy Arkansas:

Entergy Arkansas has much for which to be thankful, and much to celebrate. A century in business is a rare achievement, and we appreciate the opportunity to have been a part of Arkansas’ history since 1913. The utility industry and Arkansas have come a long way in 100 years, and Entergy Arkansas is proud to have played a part in “Helping Build Arkansas,” a phrase founder Harvey Couch said often.