Overture
In this issue: AT&T PAC turns 1, Bach to Bachendorf’s, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center at SMU, WRR airs Anna Bolena live, Spanish Brass at the LCC
Dallas / Fort Worth • wrr101.com
WRR Classical 101.1 FM
A Monthly publication For Friends of WRR
October 2010
A Stradivarius Tale on WRR’s Classic Café
Michael Shih, Concertmaster of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, joined WRR’s Tempie Lindsey Monday, Oct. 4, for the Classic Cafe and discussed the legendary 1710 Davis Stradivarius violin. This priceless instrument was crafted by famed violin maker Antonio Stradivari three centuries ago and since 1981 has been with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra through the generosity Mr. and Mrs. William S. Davis. In October, to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the instrument, FWSO Concertmaster Michael Shih will take the stage to perform the beautiful Mendelssohn Violin Concerto – the same piece performed at the inaugural concert of the Davis Stradivarius in Fort Worth in 1981. Universally regarded as the finest violins ever made, the instruments crafted by Italian violin maker Antonio Stradivari are treasured for the elegance of their sound. Stradivari had a
Booker T: The Next Generation
Guests of WRR’s Labor Day Picnic at NorthPark were treated to the Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts R&B Ensemble led by Roger Boykin. These talented young musicians are among the 700 students enrolled at DISD’s arts magnet high school honing their artistic skills and fulfilling their academic work. They are the rising stars of stage, dance and the visual arts, following in the footsteps of some very distinguished alumni (Erykah Badu, Roy Hargrove, Nora Jones, Sandra St. Victor, Edie Brickell…). Essential to the artistic development of these young artists is presenting their work to the public. With the recently-completed expansion and renovation of the school, the Booker T. students have professional-grade performing and exhibition spaces on the school’s campus in the Dallas Arts District. The 2010-11 academic year is mirrored by a multi-disciplinary season of dance recitals, music concerts, plays and exhibitions. Booker T. theater students will join more than 10 North Texas theater companies for the 2011 Horton Foote Festival, staging three one-act plays A Young Lady of Property, The Dancers and Courtship in April, while the music students will perform Beethoven’s 9th Symphony (WRR’s Top 40 Classical winner!) in December. Seniors in the dance program will perform solo work in the Portraits Dance Concert in November, while visual arts students showcase their mastery of multiple media in monthly exhibitions like Scrap Can Be Beautiful, to be held In January. These are just a few of the performances and events that will take place at the Montgomery Arts Theater or the Hudson Gallery at Booker T. during the year, giving us a glimpse of the exciting future of the arts in North Texas. For more information about Booker T. Washington High School and their performing and visual arts programs, please visit dallasisd.org/btw.
Overture • October 2010
1
very long career, making instruments from the 1680s well into the 1730s, but his “golden period” is the years from 1700 to 1720. The 1710 Davis Stradivarius was crafted during this time period. No one truly knows exactly why the sound of the Stradivarius violin is so wonderful, but there are many theories as to what makes a violin a good violin. The quality of the wood is a definite factor, as well as the shape of the instrument, the thickness of the wooden plates that are placed in the belly and the back of the instrument, and the varnish on the wood. Of the more than 1,100 instruments Stradivari made, only 650 are known to survive today. The concerts take place October 8-10 at Bass Performance Hall. Visit fwsymphony.org or 817-665-6000 for ticket details. WRR will air this performance Nov. 3 at 8 p.m. during The Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra presents broadcasts.
Mourners grace Dallas Museum of Art By guest columnist Charles Dee Mitchell
Forty mourners are currently at the Dallas Museum of Art. Each is about fifteen inches tall, and they once surrounded the tomb of the Burgundian prince, John the Fearless. The master sculptors who created these figures worked the soft alabaster to create each mourner as an individual character. There are clerics, choirboys, and laymen, each showing his grief in his own fashion. I saw The Mourners last spring at the Metropolitan Museum in New York City, their first stop on a seven-city U.S. tour. I noticed the two rows of little men, remembered that they were headed to Dallas, and thought I should take a look when I passed back by. Perhaps these moments are always best when lest expected, but within a minute of looking more closely at the works, I knew this would be one of the most moving experiences I had ever had in a museum. Despite their realism, the alabaster figures are not portraits, and although we admire them now as significant works of late Medieval art, they are a secondary element to the actual tomb. The focus would have been on the figure of John himself, lying in state, eyes open to heaven, arms clasped in prayer, and attended by angels. But modern viewers will be attracted to the lively variety of the solemn figures. Printed with permission by Arts+Culture magazine. See the full story on The Mourners: Medieval Tomb Sculptures from the Court of Burgundy Oct. 3- Jan. 2, 2011 in the October 2010 issue, distributed throughout Dallas-Fort Worth monthly. Find out where you can pick up your copy at artsandculturedfw.com or wrr101.com
101.1 FM WRR • wrr101.com