Philadelphia's surrealism show closes March 2

Enrico Donati, The Evil Eye, 1947, Philadelphia Museum of Art. This is a new addition to the collection and is not as large as it appears here. (See below.) Photo by Patricia Leslie

For all D.C. surrealist fans, the City of Brotherly Love just up the road a bit is well worth a rush trip this weekend to see The Surrealists:  Works from the Collection at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

It closes March 2 which, on the first Sunday of the month,  happens to be "Pay What You Can Day."

It's not a big show, just three galleries, but the art is more than enough to keep your mind occupied long past your exit from the museum.

A better perspective from the floor of Enrico Donati's 1947 The Evil Eye. On the left wall is label copy.  Surrealists were intrigued by "the eye" and often made it their subject, portending more government spying. Would this not make a good illustration for the NSA? Or Google? Photo by Patricia Leslie

Oils, photographs, sculpture, furniture, printed materials, rare books, and clothing, all from the museum's collection, are represented in 100 creations by 50 artists who explore their subconscious minds, dreams, and fears.  They made visual, the unconscious; real, unreality; and they exaggerated. 

Valentine Hugo, Dream Painting (Playing Cards and Lotus Blossoms), 1935, Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Curator John Vick led a tour and said the surrealists revolted against traditional names and values and practiced their own personal styles. The movement "about diversity, difference, and individuality," became "a real driving force in Europe" in the 1920s, spanning the aftermath of World War I, the entirety of World War II. and the Spanish Civil War (July, 1936 - April, 1939).

What would a surrealism show be without a Dali? Not a surrealism show.  This is a close-up of Salvador Dali's Soft Construction with Boiled Beans (Premonition of Civil War), 1936, Philadelphia Museum of Art/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Vick said it was Philadelphia's "first exhibition [where] we've been able to feature our surrealism collection in a comprehensive format." 

The show unfolds chronologically and geographically as artists fled Paris and Europe for New York, joining thousands displaced by World War II.

Not all the names are familiar (Pierre Roy, Eli Lotar, Esteban Frances, Wifredo Lam) but most are well known:  Joan Miro, Kay Sage, de Chirico, Giacometti, Max Ernst, and hometown boy, Man Ray. Some of the works have never been shown.

Curator Vick said Picasso never really joined the trend, being "slightly outside" of it, however, two of his are thrown in for good measure (Bullfight, 1934, and Head of a Woman, 1937). (Picasso is a draw.)

Salvador Dali painted Soft Construction with Boiled Beans (Premonition of Civil War) in 1936 when the Spanish Civil War broke out, when he witnessed his country torn apart by bloodshed.  The label quotes him describing  Soft Construction as "a vast human bodybreaking out into monstrous excrescences of arms and legs tearing at one another in a delirium of auto strangulation."  The surrealists were fascinated by and often portrayed the desecration of the human body, especially Dali.  (Who would have known?)

 Salvador Dali, Soft Construction with Boiled Beans (Premonition of Civil War), 1936, Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Many consider surrealism art to be anti-feminist.

In her self-portrait, Birthday, named by her future husband, Max Ernst, Dorothea Tanning paints herself as a sex tool, grabbing her skirt, clothed in a robe of human bodies.  Pretty, huh? At the same time she reaches for a door leading to a long hallway of open doors (an escape or a prison?). Her expression exudes self-doubt and sadness.  What do you see?

Dorothea Tanning, Birthday, 1942, Philadelphia Museum of Art.

The show contains violence, including violence against women (I could not locate it or them), torment, self-destruction, and exorcism of demons. 

Maybe it will help exorcise your demons when you see theirs and realize yours aren't so bad, after all.  The artists intended to shock, said Mr. Vick, and they still do today.

When: Now through March 2, 2014.  The museum is open every day except Monday, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., and Wednesday and Friday until 8:45 p.m.

 

Where: Philadelphia Museum of Art, 26th Street and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway
Philadelphia 19130

Admission: "Pay what you wish" on Sunday, March 2.  Customary prices are $20 (adults); $18 (seniors; 65 and over); $14 (students and youth, ages 13-18); free (children, under age 13); and members, no charge.

Getting there from Washington: Train, plane, bus, or car.

 

For more information: 215-763-8100 or visitorservices@philamuseum.org.


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Scenes from a musical petting zoo at the Kennedy Center

"Johann, this is how you hold it." At Sunday's "instrument petting zoo" at the Kennedy Center/Photo by Patricia Leslie

What fun to go and see all these fine instruments up close! To touch them, to hold them, and blow them all up!

Between performances at last Sunday's Peter and the Wolf at the Kennedy Center, everyone was invited to check out and play instruments on the Terrace Level. KenCen volunteers and members of the Lake Braddock High School Band were on hand to help the budding musicians, clean mouth pieces, and provide direction.  Smiles, galore!  What fun!  And free.

Which instrument do you think was the most popular?  Just take a guess, and I'll bet you are wrong. Answer is in the photos.

At Sunday's "instrument petting zoo" at the Kennedy Center ("I don't know if I trust this guy or not. He's a little scary to me in that checkered shirt.")/Photo by Patricia Leslie

"Stand back!  It's my turn, and I don't need your help! I can play these just fine."  Rat-a-tat-tat! At Sunday's "instrument petting zoo" at the Kennedy Center/Photo by Patricia Leslie

"Now, honey, it's Daddy's turn." At Sunday's "instrument petting zoo" at the Kennedy Center/Photo by Patricia Leslie

 

At Sunday's "instrument petting zoo" at the Kennedy Center/Photo by Patricia Leslie

"Open wide like you're at the dentist's and say "'aahhhh.'" At Sunday's "instrument petting zoo" at the Kennedy Center/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Cameras, photographers, and proud parents were in abundance at Sunday's "instrument petting zoo" at the Kennedy Center/Photo by Patricia Leslie

At Sunday's "instrument petting zoo" at the Kennedy Center/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Shoulder-to-shoulder or instrument-to-instrument at Sunday's "instrument petting zoo" at the Kennedy Center it was /Photo by Patricia Leslie

And the Number One Most Popular Instrument at Sunday's "instrument petting zoo" at the Kennedy Center was the cello.  The line to play it stretched from wall to wall, far more than for any other instrument.  Where was the bass?  Hiding in the orchestra pit/Photo by Patricia Leslie

 

 

 

 

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Hark! The angels sang at Dumbarton Concert

Dumbarton Church in Georgetown, one block off Wisconsin Avenue, is the home of Dumbarton Concerts/Photo by Patricia Leslie

For all the babies and children who have trouble going to sleep, for parents and caregivers, the ethereal 
"Good Night" by Anton Seidl (1850-1898) which the Washington National Cathedral Boy and Girl Choristers sang at the Dumbarton Concert Saturday evening is an answer to prayers for slumber.

Had a host of angels descended upon the sanctuary of the historic Dumbarton United Methodist Church to enthrall the audience with beauty and harmonies never anticipated?  I believe all in the packed hall would have agreed.

More than 100 years have passed since the composition was last performed, according to musicologist Joseph Horowitz who discovered the score while conducting research for a book.

Anton Seidl, 1895/Arnie Dupont/U.S. Library of Congress/Wikimedia Commons

The choristers, under the direction of Cannon Michael McCarthy, were the featured artists on the program entitled "Scenes From Childhood," presented to honor the centennial birthday of Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) and the bi-centennial birthday of Richard Wagner (1813-1892) whose written works for children were performed.  Mr. Seidl was a Wagner protege. 

Benjamin Britten, 1968/photo by Hans Wild/Wikimedia Commons

The evening's program began with "In Paradisum" from Requiem, Op. 48 by Gabriel Faure (1845-1924) which the choir sang from the balcony where their heavenly sounds seemed to have better effect, filling the church of stained-glass windows and lighted candles more eloquently than from the main stage of the sanctuary, their destination where they walked while singing the first of 11 movements of Mr. Britten's A Ceremony of Carols, Op. 28 which only lasted 20 minutes. They sang in Middle English and Latin.

What words are there to adequately describe such music, chimes and reception?  Made more perfect by the accompaniment of the harp, played by Jacqueline Pollauf, who rewrote the piano composition of  "Good Night" for harp.

After intermission and "Good Night," the choristers presented  "Schlaf, Kindchen, Schlafe," a lullaby they sang with a lonely oboe's hymn.  It is part of Wagner's Siegfried Idyll which the PostClassical Ensemble performed as the night's last selection and the audience answered, to no one's surprise, with a standing ovation.

Wagner wrote Siegfried Idyll in 1870 for a special birthday gift for his wife, Cosima, to honor their son's birth in 1869. Several years later, Cosima was dismayed to learn her private birthday gift would remain private no more for her husband had to "go public" with it to satisfy creditors.  How would the couple ever know their anguish would become a gift for millions for more than a century? 

Fritz Luckhart (1843-1894) made this photograph of the Wagners on May 9, 1872 in Vienna/Wikimedia Commons

The PostClassical Ensemble's music director, Angel Gil-Ordonez, was the evening's conductor.  Mr. Horowitz is the ensemble's executive director.  Ensemble members are David Salness, concertmaster, Claudia Chudacoff, violin, Chris Shieh, viola; Evelyn Elsing, cello;  Ed Malaga, bass;  Beth Plunk, flute; Fatma Daglar, oboe;  David Jones and Chris Reardon, clarinets;  Erich Heckscher, bassoon;  Chandra Cervantes and Mark Hughes, horns; and Chris Gekker, trumpet.    

The 22 members of the Washington Cathedral Choristers are Elliott
Bamford, Caroline Blanton, Grace Brigham, Elizabeth Brogan, Landon Chin, Constantine Desjardins, Sophie Evans, Selin Everett, Doris Farje, Nathan Heath, Madeline Kushan, Maya Millward, Luke Mott, Nolan Musslewhite, Bronwyn Redvers-Lee, Annabel Ricks, Christian Schmidt, Lucie Shelley, Teresa Speranza, Rubii Tamen, Ben Vacher, and Logan Whittaker.

                    Good-night! And sweet be thy repose

                    Through all their shining way,

                    Till darkness goes, and bird and rose,

                    With rapture greet the day,--

                    Good-night!

From Edna Dean Proctor's poem which Mr. Seidl adopted for "Good Night"

The next and last Dumbarton Concert for the 2013-14 season is:

March 15: A quintet with the Linden String Quartet and pianist Michael Brown

Where: Historic Dumbarton Church, 3133 Dumbarton Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20007

Tickets: $30 to $35

For more information: 202-965-2000

Free parking is available beginning at 6:30 p.m. at the Hyde School, 3219 O Street on a first come, first served basis. Your ticket is necessary for the attendant.

Metro station:  Not in Georgetown

 

 

A stellar afternoon with the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra

 

Maestro Kim Allen Kluge with the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra/photo by Carol Pratt

What a fantastic voyage to spend Sunday afternoon with the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra playing two of my favorites, Debussy's Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun and George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue.  And those were the reasons I went.

What an odd combination, I thought beforehand, but once I heard the explanation from Maestro Kim Allen Kluge, it all made sense.  For Valentine's Day weekend, the theme was "To Be Passionate." Of course.

Never mind that Prokofiev's Suite No. 2 from Romeo and Juliet, Op. 64ter and Wagner's Prelude and liebestod from Tristan and Isolde were also part of the program, accompanied by an original piece, Rhapsody for Lily, written by the maestro and his wife, Kathryn, in honor of their newborn daughter, all stunning in their deliveries, the apricots for the almond clafoutis.

That the audience did not respond as well as I would have liked at the Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall and in the manner to which I am accustomed when I hear the National Symphony Orchestra play at the Kennedy Center, was perhaps due to a sleepy Sunday after wild Valentine abandon and the Alexandria crowd's familiarity with the excellence of the ASO and Maestro Kluge's passion which may explain its pallor, an exaggerated term to describe it, but it describes it, nonetheless.

With one exception, Rhapsody in Blue, did the crowd respond as eagerly as I believe it should have.  Is it aware that although Mr. Kluge has been ASO's director for 25 years (!), another orchestra might swoop in and carry him off? 

Debussy's Prelude's must be the shortest ten minutes of any hour. If it were only longer, but, like the daffodils which blossom in the spring, would we admire it as much? Considered by some as the beginning of modern music, the singular flute, strings, and harp made magic together in shimmering waters.

Before the Debussy began, the maestro urged  audience members to transport themselves to the Mediterranean on a hot summer's day, to be Greek-Roman fauns pursuing nymphs, daydreaming about pursuit.  Easy enough to do and float.

An errant horn missed an entry from time to time, but the flow nor mood was thwarted.   

The first movement, Montagues and Capulets, of the Romeo and Juliet, began loudly with booming percussion and grand pronouncement that change is about to happen, the foreboding, enough to make chills.   The playful and rapturous Child Juliet, the second movement, conveys the young girl running through a field, happy, and energetic.  Strings and cello make way for Friar Laurence, the third movement, in heavy tones, as he enters into the secret. A short dance follows, and then the sad separation of the legendary couple and Romeo's visit to Juliet's grave, a sweet sadness with a commanding ending which returns to the sonorous beginning and the powerful percussion. 
Parting is such sweet sorrow that I shall say goodnight till it be morrow. 

 

For the Wagner, the ecstatic maestro shouted out at times to members of the orchestra who played with gusto, conveying the anguish and pain of the couple so much in love they died. Alas.  Based upon applause, Tristan and Isolde was the second favorite selection of the afternoon.

Gershwin's sexy jazz, Rhapsody in Blue, was as magnificent as I have heard played.

Up and down on the bench with hair flying from side to side as he bobbed his head, almost as in a silent movie, Maestro Kluge played the piano, while conducting the orchestra simultaneously, spinning his outstretched left arm round and round like a fast-moving carriage wheel, pausing long between sections and adding his own variations to Gershwin's composition.  His shouts of joy mingled with the orchestral sounds, and soon gave way to long-lasting broad smiles from two bass players and a cellist. 

The Alexandria Symphony Orchestra/photo by Carol Pratt

With the exception of the first violinist for various groups, never have I seen orchestral members smile during a performance and seem to have a good time, enjoying the spirit of the moment with a glow to spread all around.

Kluge's enthusiasm matches that of a new member of the orchestra, and, indeed, a special surprise came at the end:  the Rhapsody to Lily, as thrilling, light and beautiful as one could imagine.  Mr. Kluge asked us to consider for a moment joining Lily's long former residence in amniotic fluid and letting the music surround and wash over us.  Coming from a conductor at a symphonic performance, it was a little disconcerting, but at this concert, everything came out just fine.

Mr. Kluge said he honestly believes that when people come together for a presentation of live music, lives are changed forever. I believe mine was!

ASO's next performances are March 29 and 30, 2014 with Fanfare for an Angel (2011) by James Stephenson (b. 1969) and, with the Metropolitan Chorus of Arlington, The Armed Man:  A Mass for Peace (1999) by Karl Jenkins(b. 1944).



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Book review: 'Boy Kings of Texas' highly recommended

I picked up this book from my favorite shelves, the new non-fictions, at my favorite public library, Fairfax County's. 

I have always loved memoirs.  This is a memoir.

That it was a finalist for the 2012 National Book Award certainly attracted my attention.  That award is more creditable than, say, the New York Times' picks for the year, since I believe those editors don't pick the best, they pick their friends' books.  But, anyway...different subject.

The Boy Kings of Texas is all about growing up Mexican American in the 1970s and 1980s in Texas, Brownsville, Texas, with a cruel father who mistreated his children, and a mother who stood by and watched.  It's about family love with lots of humor scattered in-between the tales of drugs, sex, rock and roll, and fights.   It's a first-person account of fights, and I just hope my sons don't fight like this.  Or do drugs. Domingo Martinez describes what hard drugs can do to you and the worlds they reveal.  High school adventures, skipping school, all his different friends, and their abilities to "get by" are his life. 

The book becomes a mea culpa, a love song to his older brother, Dan.  It's heartbreaking when Martinez leaves behind his little brother, Derrick.  But the sisters turned out all right, and who will ever forget the "Mimis" ?  What a hoot.

The author's move to Seattle become part of his darker story, nearer the end which digresses more into the hell of life as he mixes in day-to-day living with the jobless, the down-and-outers, the people who float in and out of our lives, and their effects upon us.  While I was reading, I kept thinking what a fantastic movie this would make, and now I see HBO has optioned it.

Boy Kings is excellently written, gripping, and very sad.  Why do people treat each other so cruelly? How Martinez was able to escape the madness of his upbringing mentally and emotionally is left unsaid.  Because he hasn't?

It's eye-opening for those of us who may have little or no contact with this segment of society, and it creates sensitivity (I hope) which was not there before.  Once you know a little about someone's background, there's not as much explaining to do. Kudos to the book's cover designer, Diana Nuhn.



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Washington Post assigns troop deaths to the bottom

Coffins of U.S. troops stationed in the Middle East arrive at Dover Air Force Base, Dover, Delaware/Wikipedia

The Washington Post deems an employee at the U.S. Embassy in Egypt, the civil war in the Central African Republic, and a likely seafaring impostor far more important that the deaths of two of our troops killed by Afghan troops in another "insider job." In its article of 125 words in the February 13, 2014 edition on page A8 at the bottom of the page, the Post fails to mention four American troops injured in the same attack.

(Why does the U.S. continue to pour money and blood into Afghanistan?)

The Post's headline across the entire page says the Egyptian police have detained a U.S. Embassy employee.  The article has 14 paragraphs and two sub-titles. 

Below it is a large article with two color photographs, a color map, one sub-title, and 27 paragraphs about the Central African Republic.

Below it is the likely impostor story which states a survivor "drifted at sea for more than a year" in the Pacific Ocean yet the man, from El Salvador, showed no evidence of his journey other than a "fragile" mental state. The Post gave it 198 words in five paragraphs.

Further across the page at the bottom are four paragraphs devoted to the deaths of the two Americans. Their murders are not "news."  They are "has-beens."  They are killed and injured often enough it is not news, not after 11 years, not another story about Afghan troops who turn on us, whose government the U.S. has supported with more than $100 billion in non-military aid, 2,312 American lives, and close to $650 billion in U.S. military spending through last year.

Who cares? Not the Washington Post.  I suppose readers should be thankful the troops were even mentioned at all.

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Olney scores another hit with 'How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying'

"I Believe in You" the men sing in How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying on stage now through March 2 at the Olney Theatre Center/photo by Stan Barouh

If you need anything to shake off this winter's doldrums and snow, you can do no better than ride out to the Olney Theatre Center and enjoy its newest production, How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying, which will warm you up, for sure.

Oh, what a lot of fun it is!  Two hours and 40 minutes?  No way!

It was originally produced in 1961, but the theme (and means) of climbing to the top are timeless, and what a lark to see men in suits attended by secretaries in full skirts pecking away at typewriters and following their bosses around like puppies. 

It's a fast moving musical with laughs galore and terrific dancing.  Men are a'kickin' and high steppin' more than the women in this show with songs not real familiar, but what does it matter with splendid choreography (by Tommy Rapley) and perfectly unified red ties and hankies in jacket pockets flying all together now.

The World Wide Wicket Company employees really need a coffee break!/Photo by Stan Barouh

Using a self-help book entitled How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying to guide him to the top of the heap, young J. Pierrepont Finch (Sam Ludwig) enters the business world, starting in the mail room at the World Wide Wicket Company on Park Avenue, where he first encounters the Big Boss's nephew, Bud Frump (Dan Van Why), who is always jealous of promotions and ascendancy.

In the first act Finch is something of a goody-goody while he learns his way around, but his pretense is quickly shed as he begins to climb. The second act really brings out the best in Mr. Ludwig's performance as he grasps "how it's done."

But it is nephew Frump (whose name epitomizes his person) who steals the show with his greased-up hairdo, mannerisms, and delivery.  His shoes (costuming by Seth Gilbert) give impetus to his character, an obnoxious mama's boy who cries every time he doesn't get his way.  Have you ever worked with one of those?

Sex? 

Sex? 

Did anyone mention sex? 

What's a show without sex?  Dull. 

Naturally, romances develop and Rosemary (Angela Miller) chases Finch from the get-go.  Her apparel and demeanor reminded me of a pollyanna throughout the play, too good and kind to be attractive to most men.  Will she ever get her man? 

It is blonde bombshell Hedy La Rue (Colleen Hayes) bearing a striking resemblance to femme fatale, Marilyn Monroe (who died in 1962) who ignites flames late in the first act when she makes her way on stage in flamboyant costume, accompanied by flashy strip-tease music. She is, of course, the girlfriend of the married Big Boss, J. B. Biggley (Lawrence Redmond).

Mr. Biggley's secretary, Ms. Jones or "Jonesie" as he calls her (Sherri L. Edelen), is another show stealer, a storm trooper, who crosses the stage often in her buttoned man suit and librarian shoes, barking orders until she, too, is captured by Mr. Finch's flattering words which succeed in helping him in his race to the top. 

Whenever a new idea to stroke higher-ups occurs to Finch, lights dim, action halts, and with perfect timing, a bell rings at the instant a spotlight shines on his very brow nose, and he turns to the audience with a smirk and a smile, and the play resumes.

Spectacular lighting (by Joel Moritz) and set design (by James Dardenne with sound by Jeff Dorfman) contribute to the effects of this solidly entertaining show.  A silhouette of skyscrapers with changing sky and darkened buildings outlined in lights serves as backdrop. Lights along hallways cast shadows and give the premises a truly office feel which, with spiraling circular staircase, quickly becomes the mail room, the board room, the elevator, and a subway entrance. 

Adding immense enjoyment is the music, orchestrated by Christopher Youstra and led by Doug Lawler, also the pianist. Occasional flat horns from the nine-member group drew slight attention.

International star Ian McKellen, who presented a solo show at the Olney in 1987, is the recorded narrator for How To Succeed. You may see him on stage now, on Broadway's No Man's Land and Waiting for Godot.

Jason Loewith directed How To Succeed. Other cast members are MaryLee Adams, Kurt Boehm, Maggie Donnelly, George Dvorsky, Aileen Goldbert, Ashleigh King, Bryan Knowlton, David Landstrom, Allie Parris, Taylor Elise Rector, Chris Rudy, Harry A. Winter, and Jim Petosa.

How to Succeed is a good culture lesson for young folks about yesteryear's world of business and the roles men and women played and the way they dressed. Stepping on anything that gets in the way and stealing ideas on the way to the top of the pile, sigh, remain the same.

The play is based on the book by Abe Burrows, Jack Weinstock, and Willie Gilbert who used the 1952 book of the same name by Shepherd Mead. Frank Loesser wrote the music and lyrics. It won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1962 and seven Tony Awards.

Helen Hayes' nominations:

Outstanding Ensemble, Resident Musical

Outstanding Lighting Designer, Resident Production: Joel Moritz

Outstanding Supporting Actor, Resident Musical:  Dan Van Why

 
What:  How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying

When: Extended through March 2, 2014

Where: Olney Theatre Center, 2001 Olney-Sandy Spring Road, Olney, MD 20832

How much: Tickets start at $31.

For more information: 301-924-3400

For more area productions and reviews, click DC Metro Theater Arts. 

Save 15% with promo code: PACKUP! Valid 2/1/14 - 2/23/14.

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