Michael S. GantSF Station Writer |
|
Michael S. Gant's Articles
| | American artist William Trost Richards caught the infinite rhythms of the ocean in his paintings and sketches at Stanford’s Cantor Arts Center ‘ALL THE SADDEST and wildest noises of nature are reproduced by the surf,” 19th-century painter William Trost Richards wrote in a letter. Richards’ best paintings depict depopulated seascapes with horizon lines that seem to stretch to a humbling infinity beyond the edges of the picture plane. An air of melancholy suffuses his marine views, as if the steady long-term rhythm of the breakers simply overwhelms the merely human. A new show at Stanford’s Cantor Arts Center makes a case for reclaiming the reputation of Richards (1883–1905). More » |  | | | Montalvo Arts Center announces Lang Lang and other big-name performers for fall/winter 2010-11 THE WORLD-STRADDLING appeal of Chinese piano prodigy Lang Lang is not to be underestimated. Only 27, he has already been named to the [i]Time[/i] magazine roster of 100 most important people. That explains why this Montalvo concert with the classical performer will be held at the California Theatre in downtown San Jose on Jan. 23. More » | | | | Stanford Lively Arts announce schedule for next season THE RUSH of premieres and commissioned works at Stanford Lively Arts continues in the just-released schedule for the 2010–11 season, Oct. 7–May 14. Among the one-of-a-kind offerings is The Gurs Zyklus, a brand-new commission by Seattle artist Trimpin, a triple-treat sculptor, musician and inventor. More » | | | | San Jose's Happy Hollow Park and Zoo shows off its two-year renovation at reopening ceremony Saturday, March 20 AFTER TWO YEARS and $72 million in renovations, San Jose’s much-beloved Happy Hollow Park & Zoo reopens to the public Saturday. The zoo has been extensively retooled and expanded, with a grand new entrance, some whimsical bronze sculptures by Tom Otterness and an array of new climbing and sliding equipment for busy children, as well as a 21st-century carousel featuring endangered species. More » | | | | Symphony Silicon Valley welcomes guest pianist Gabriela Montero this weekend; plus the best classical concerts for the weekend in the valley HARD ON THE HEELS of its Broadway in Concert salute to The Most Happy Fella, Symphony Silicon Valley moves abroad, far abroad, with a program titled “Richly Russian” and featuring a guest artist from Venezuela. Pianist Gabriela Montero will perform Rachmaninoff’s challenging Piano Concerto no. 2. More » | | | | The Symphony Silicon Valley presents 'A Most Happy Fella'; plus a complete guide to the best classical shows for the weekend in the valley FOR THE third installment of its new Broadway in Concert Series, Symphony Silicon Valley turns to Frank Loesser’s The Most Happy Fella, the story of a Napa grape grower and his romance with a San Francisco waitress. More » | | | | Cantor Arts Center's new show, "Tracing the Past, Drawing the Future,' highlights four master Chinese ink-brush painters FIVE YEARS AGO, the Cantor Arts Center mounted a show of modern Chinese artists aptly called “On the Edge.” It featured such aggressive gestures as Zhang Huan’s full-body raw-meat suit and lots of manipulated, even mocking, images of Chairman Mao. More » | | | | A guide to the best classical music concerts for the weekend in Silicon Valley A LOT of people may have missed out the last time the Masters of Persian Music: Three Generations came to Montalvo Arts Center—the show sold out. The evening features some of the main movers in Iranian classical music: Hossein Alizadeh on the tar, a kind of plucked lute; Kayhan Kalhor on the kamancheh, a.k.a. the spike fiddle; and vocalist Hamidreza Nourbakhsh More » | | | | A guide to the best classical concerts this weekend in Silicon Valley FOR ITS first offering of the new year, Sunset Concerts at St. Luke’s presents Quarteto Vivace Brasil, featuring guitarists Robert Colchiesqui and Edson Lopes, flutist Tadeu Coelho and percussionist Rodrigo Marinonio. For its first swing through the United States More » | | | | San Jose Repertory Theatre Unveils 30th Anniversary Season For San Jose Rep’s 2010-11 season, new artistic director Rick Lombardo has just announced the world premiere of Philip Kan Gotanda’s [i]Love in American Times[/i], a romantic comedy. The show, which opens May 12, 2011, examines with a wry eye the meeting, dating and wedding plans of a well-off WASPy business type and a young Asian woman. Lombardo will direct. More » | |
Michael S. Gant's Articles
|
