Berlin in Lights Honors 20th Anniversary of the Fall of The Berlin Wall
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Linn Maxwell
The Bijou Orchestra celebrates the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin wall with a concert entitled "Berlin in Lights"
Event dates, November 21 at 8pm in the State Theatre in Bay City and on November 22 at 2pm in Rhea Miller Hall at Saginaw Valley State University.
"Whenever we talk about "classical" music, we nearly always begin with German composers," says Leo Najar, artistic director of The Bijou. "While all the arts have been important in the development of German culture, music is arguably the most important art to Germans. The traditional "three B's" of classical music were Bach, Beethoven and Brahms, and while the latter two spent much of their lives in Vienna, they were not natives of Austria, but rather North Germany.
The first portion of our concert will include a feast of popular German concert music including the Bach Toccata in d minor, the first movement of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, a pair of Brahms Hungarian Dances, Waltzes by Richard Strauss from Der Rosenkavalier and 2 selections by Wagner including the Ride of the Valkyries.
The music on the first half of the concert represents familiar concert staples. After its defeat in World War I, Germany no longer had the ability to support all of the orchestras and opera houses that it once had, and at the same time, the new American jazz and popular song styles were taking over popular taste. Kurt Weill will be represented by music from The Three Penny Opera (Mack the Knife, etc.) and Friederich Hollaender, whose songs became instant hits particularly after they were sung by Marlene Dietrich (Falling in Love Again) in theater and film. With the rise of National Socialism, many German artists left home, some forever. Their story, too, will be told here.
Soloist for the concert is Linn Maxwell. She has performed on the stages of major orchestras, opera companies and recital halls across the United States and 25 foreign countries. She now brings her worldwide experience and classical training to the musical theater and cabaret stages. Linn has performed cabaret and one-woman shows in New York City and in March 2006 made her European cabaret debut at the International Theater, Frankfurt, Germany. The Frankfurter Rundschau said of her show, "Linn Maxwell captured the hope within the songs and revived a bygone era . . . Her performance was marked with a glowing perfection." Mx. Maxwell will be heard in several songs including selections from Weill' s Three Penny Opera, She will also be heard in several songs by Friedrich Hollaender including Falling In Love Again, Munchausen, and The Ruins of Berlin.
Concert-goers interested in learning more about this fascinating era will have two opportunities in advance of the concert. On Wednesday, November 18, Bijou Artistic Director Leo Najar will present a talk about the cultural shifts that completely re-structured German musical life. The talk will begin at noon in room 180 in Curtiss Hall at Saginaw Valley State University. A shorter version of this talk will be given prior to Sunday's performance in the Rhea Miller concert hall. That talk will begin at 1:15 and will take place in the Olly classroom in Curtis Hall at SVSU. Both of these talks are open to the public and free of charge.
Tickets for the concert are $10, $20, $25 and $30. Ticket information is available at by calling the State Theatre Box Office at (989) 892-2660 or by calling the SVSU Box Office at (989) 964-4348 or online at www.thebijou.org. Tickets will also be available at the door.
The Bijou Orchestra takes its name from the Bijou Theater, one of the earliest Bay City theaters, which later became known as the Bay and eventually the State. The ensemble is composed of thirteen outstanding musicians drawn from Michigan and beyond to perform in this challenging medium in which every player is a soloist.
The orchestra is supported in part by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, Arts Midwest, the Michigan Council for the Arts and Cultural Affairs and the Bay Area Community Foundation. Major corporate sponsors include Dow Corning and the Dow Chemical Company Foundation with additional support from Bay Regional Medical Center.
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Julie McCallum, Entertainment Editor |
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