Second Thoughts
The new season of The Hattie B. Speed Endowed Concert Series has been announced and promises to provide classical music lovers a double dose of their favorite melodies. First of all, the Series has shifted from the U of L School of Music Auditorium to the Brown Theatre. This change will provide an increase in available sets from 600 to 1500. Additionally this season, four concerts will be offered rather than the two of the last season. All concerts will be on Sunday afternoons starting at 3 p.m.
The opening events center on the concert by Polish contralto Ewa (E-va) Podles (Poed-a-lich), scheduled for Sunday, October 29. Ms. Podles' artistry has been acclaimed on every continent. Boasting a three-plus octave range, She is at home equally with Handel, Vivaldi, Chopin, Rossini, Mahler and Prokofiev. Her local concert will include works by Schumann, Brahms and Tchaikovsky
The first educational; event will be held on Thursday, October 26 at 6 p.m., in the Speed Auditorium. Speed educator Kristen King Gilbert will lecture on "Portraits of Opera Singers." Then at 2 p.m. on the day of the show in the Frazier Lobby of the Brown Theatre, Robert Franz of the Louisville Orchestra and Fadel Friedlander of WUOL will present a stimulating and informative pre-concert conversation. There will also a post-concert backstage tour of the Brown, followed by a tour of the new Public Radio Partnership building.
On February 18, 2001, the Series will present Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, with pre-concert events similar to those mentioned above. On February 25, 2001, pianist Dubravka Tomsic will be the featured guest and on April 22, the Series will close out with a performance by pianist Jeffrey Swann.
For ticket information, call the Kentucky Center for the Arts box office at 584-7777.
The coming concert season will offer many delights, but the best seems to be the dazzling dozen series billed as "The Solo Keyboard Works by Ludwig van Beethoven," performed by U of L Artist in Residence, Lee Luvisi. Luvisi's mastery of the piano in general and interpretations of Beethoven in particular have won acclaim in this country and Europe.
The series will be presented in the Margaret Comstock Concert Hall beginning on September 25; the finale will be April 23. All concerts are on Mondays, at 8 p.m. and are free and open to the public. Early arrival is suggested, as the Comstock Concert Hall only seats 600. Parking spaces are also very limited.
The programs will include, but not be confined to, Beethoven's thirty-two Sonatas, sixteen sets of Variations, three sets of Bagatelles, three Rondos and numerous shorter works. Beethoven is noted for his masterful compositions for the pianos; few contemporary performers compare with Maestro Luvisi Few Louisvillians or Kentuckians could match in his virtuosity on the keyboard.
Dean Herbert Koerselman, Maestro Luvisi and the School of Music deserve a continuing ovation for making it available.