News Roundup, Oct.31, 2024

NEWS ROUNDUP, Nov. 1, 2024 The best part of this season is the abundance of great music in our halls great and small. Upcoming events range from symphonic music and choral events to theatrical humor combined with dazzling operatic singing. The Mid-Texas Symphony will present Jean Sibelius’ Second Symphony that moves “from darkness to triumph, symbolically conveying Finland’s fight for …

News Roundup, Oct. 24, 2024

“Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons – The Last Encores” features Valli himself and the Four Seasons in a show at the Tobin Center. They are apparently still going strong despite advanced age. Valli’s career with the Four Seasons, and his solo career, have produced countless hit singles. Among his hits are “Sherry,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” “Rag Doll,” “Can’t …

Book Review

“CREATION LAKE” by Rachel KushnerReviewed by Steven G Kellman After a federal agent bungles an undercover mission to entrap two animal rights advocates in criminal acts, a journalist asks: “What kind of person would manipulate and frame young people with utopian hopes and principles?             That person narrates Creation Lake, Rachel Kushner’s seductive fifth novel. A 34-year-old American who calls …

News Roundup, 10,18,2025

NEWS ROUNDUP, Oct. 17, 2024 High caliber ballet performances are not frequent events in San Antonio, so ballet lovers can look forward to the up-coming performance of Ballet San Antonio’s “Don Quixote,” this weekend.The ballet is an adapted version inspired by Miguel Cervantes’ famous 17th century tale that follows the protagonist on a heroic quest to vanquish his enemies and …

News Roundup, Oct.10, 2024

More good music coming our way! The San Antonio Chamber Music Society kicks off its new season with a concert by the 2023 Grammy-nominated vocal ensemble – VOCES8. Touring globally, this beloved vocal octet “consistently thrills audiences” with a repertoire ranging from Renaissance music to folk songs, jazz, pop and original compositions.” We can, indeed, confirm that this octet sounds …

News Roundup, 10,3,2024

Music, music, everywhere! Camerata San Antonio will present its second program of the new season, “Longing,” which will showcase a selection of piano trios. The beautifully curated program explores the theme of longing through works of Mel Bonis, Schubert, Weinberg and Brahms. The trio of performers includes violinist Matthew Zerweck, cellist Kenneth Freudigman and pianist Viktor Valkov. They will play …

News Roundup, Sept. 27, 2024

As is usual in the fall, arts organization get into high gear. Let’s start with music! The San Antonio Philharmonic will perform Classics II concert, conducted by music director Jeffrey Kahane, and featuring Nicholas Namoradze on the piano. The concert begins with Sarah Kirkland Snider’s evocative “Forward into Light,” a meditation on perseverance, bravery and alliance inspired by  American women …

Book Review: “The Perilous Art of Selling Books”

Reviewed by Steven G. Kellman             “Entering any bookstore is a sensory experience,” writes Evan Friss, and he shares that experience in the opening pages of The Bookshop, where he invites the reader to enter Three Lives & Company, an independent emporium in Greenwich Village. Three Lives does not sell puzzles, greeting cards, gift wrap, or coffee, and it does …