“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, 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 …
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 …
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 …
BY PHIL HOUSEAL, Contributor A dozen miles northeast of Boerne lies a subterranean setting so beautiful, the founders couldn’t come up with a name it deserved. Welcome to the wonderful world of Cave Without A Name. Yes, that is the name it was given in a contest held shortly after its accidental discovery in 1935 by three children (more on …
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 …
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 …
The Gudalupe Cultural Arts Center is opening its new season by celebrating the 30th anniversary of “Rio Bravo” which premiered in July 1994. This writer was the dance critic for the daily newspaper back then and remembers the beautiful show. The dance company danced to the music of Mariachi Azteca de America. Colors and rhythms and great dancers captivated the …
BY JASMINA WELLINGHOFF, Editor What motivated you to form the SOLI Quartet, and who were the original members?SOLI was born out of a desire to make music together with friends and to commission new works from emerging composers of our time. SOLI’s unique instrumentation of clarinet, violin, cello and piano, combined brought about new colors and sounds for the composers …
The Fall season is getting lively as music groups launch their seasons. Camerata San Antonio is opening with QUARTETS, a concert of, well, quartets by Beethoven, Haydn and Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson, an African-American composer who wrote a great deal of music inspired by jazz. The Camerata ensemble is trying to include more women composers and black composers who were often overlooked …
