Mondavi gets ‘Wild’ this weekend

By Jeff Hudson Enterprise correspondent

Concertgoers have plenty of options to choose from during the coming week, with concerts including music by a Black composer who became famous during America’s ragtime era; music by composers from Brazil; Baroque era music composed in France, Italy and Germany, and a one-man show based on popular early 20th Century California author Jack London’s most famous short story.

Lara Downes

Pianist Lara Downes for many years a favorite with Mondavi Center audiences, and New York Times columnist/author John McWhorter present a program on the life and music of American composer/pianist Scott Joplin at the Mondavi Center on Fri., May 5 at 7:30 p.m.

During the 1970s, Joplin’s music experienced a sudden resurgence in popular interest when Joplin’s jaunty ragtime-era piece “The Entertainer” was prominently featured in the 1973 Paul Newman/ Robert Redford film “The Sting. “ A number of performers soon recorded and released new recordings of Joplin’s music, almost always including “The Entertainer.”

Over time, Downes (and

McWhorter, who is deeply interested in African American culture) both concluded that Joplin has been unjustly pigeonholed as a bit of a “one-hit wonder”... whereas Joplin also composed lovely concert waltzes, a full-length opera that went unperformed during the composer’s lifetime, etc.

At Mondavi, Downes will be playing music from her bestselling 2022 album “Reflections — Scott Joplin Reconsidered,” which debuted atop the Billboard classical chart. Downes and McWhorter will also have an onstage conversation about Joplin’s importance in American musical history. $49-$37 general, MondaviArts.org and at the door.

Gershwin & Brazil

The UC Davis Symphony Orchestra, under visiting Brazilian guest conductor Evandro Matté, will perform the highlyregarded Piano Concerto in F by George Gerswhin (with powerhouse pianist Natsuki Fukasawa at the keyboard) on Sat., May 6, at 7 p.m. Composed in 1925 (about a year after Gershwin composed the very popular “Rhapsody in Blue,” which was orchestrated by Ferde Grofé), the Concerto in F was orchestrated by Gershwin himself.

The piece was initially conceived of as Gershwin’s “New York Concerto,” since the piece hews closer to the three-movement structure that had been the standard for concertos as fas far back as the late Baroque era.

Also featured on this program will be orchestral works by Brazilian composers Alberto Nepomuceno (1864-1920), a prominen musical figure in his day; and Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887-1959), whose music became internationally popular. $24 general, $12 students, MondaviArts.org and at the door.

‘Call of the Wild’

Looking for a familyfriendly performance in the afternoon? San Francisco-born adventurer and popular writer Jack London’s most famous story will be transferred to the stage when a touring multimedia program titled, “Call of the Wild: Illustrated Edition” comes to the Mondavi Center on Sun., May 7, 2 p.m.

An energetic professional actor will roam the stage (and sometimes howl like a sled dog) as he performes London’s classic text, surrounded by huge 180-degree projected images of the Klondike

Gold Rush and the wintry Yukon Territory. $35 general, $10 youth (under 18), MondaviArts.org and at the door.

Bach Soloists

The Anerican Bach Soloists will wrap up their 2023 season in Davis on Mon. May 8 at 7 p.m., at Davis Community Church, 412 C St.

Titled “Harmonious Love,” this program of Baroque compositions will feature gifted professional soprano Mary Wilson (who has impressed local audiences in her past appearances) as well as four more professional vocal soloists plus a period instrument ensemble in performances of a storydriven cantata by G. F. Handel (“Apollo and Dafne”) plus a compact one-act opera by JeanPhilippe Rameau (“Pygmalion,” based on an Ancient Greek myth that would later be adapted as a play by George Bernard Shaw, which was adapted in turn by the Broadway team Lerner and Loewe as the musical “My Fair Lady,” which was later adapted as a popular film).

Music director Jeffrey Thomas will conduct.