Bronx Arts Ensemble features electrifying pianist Valentina Lisista

Bronx Arts Ensemble features electrifying pianist Valentina Lisista

The Bronx Arts Ensemble’s Chamber Music Concert on Sun., Oct. 25 at 3 pm will feature “electrifying pianist” Valentina Lisista in a concert of Brahms, Strauss and Beethoven at 4673 Delafield Avenue in the historic neighborhood of Fieldston in the Bronx. Concert program includes Beethoven’s Sonata No. 2, Op. 27 (Moonlight) and Sonata, Op. 81 (“Les Adieux”); Strauss’ Piano Quartet in C Minor, Op 13 and Brahms’ Piano Quartet in G Minor, Op. 25.

The Ukrainian-born Valentina Lisitsa has been receiving rave reviews since making her Mostly Mozart Festival debut at Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall. Ms. Lisitsa is at home in a vast repertoire ranging from Bach and Mozart to Shostakovich and Bernstein and her orchestral repertory boasts more than forty concerti, all of which have been performed. Born in Kiev, Ms. Lisitsa began to study piano at the age of three and performed her first solo recital at four. After her studies – first in Lysenko School of Music and then in Kiev Conservatory – she moved to the United States and shortly thereafter became a citizen. She has performed in the world’s most prestigious concert venues, and among recent collaborations have been tours with Sao Paolo Symphony, the New Zealand Philharmonic, Warsaw Philharmonic and Prague Chamber Orchestras.

Tickets for the concert are $25, which includes an intermission reception to meet the artists.

The complete 2009-10 Chamber Music Concert Series features pianist Irina Morozova on Sunday, November 15 at 5020 Goodridge Avenue; pianist Stewart Goodyear and saxophonist Christopher Sacco (the 2009 Spingold Winner, BAE Young Bronx Artist Contest) on Sunday, January 24 at 5000 Goodridge Avenue; harpsichordist Elaine Comparone an cellist Mona Zarina (2009 Bingham Co-Winner, BAE Young Bronx Artist Contest) on Sunday April 25 at Bartow-Pell Mansion Museum; and pianist Adrienne Kim, soprano Brenda Feliciano and cellist Shaheen Malick (2009 Bingham Co-Winner, BAE Young Bronx Artist Contest) on Sun., May 23 at 4560 Delafield Avenue.

For more information call (718) 601-7399 or visit www.bronxartsensemble.org.

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The Riverdale-Yonkers Society will hold a Fall Festival on Sun., Oct. 18, at 11 am at the Society Meeting House, located at 4450 Fieldston Road, corner of Manhattan College Parkway.

This is a free event, filled with food, music and color. Bring your family, your friends, and some food to share.

For information call (718) 548-4445.

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The Bruce Museum in Greenwich, CT, presents the new exhibition Alexander Calder: Printmaker from October 31, through January 31, 2010. The show, which features works from the Bruce Museum collection and loans from other institutions, galleries and individuals, is supported by a Committee of Honor led by Honorary Co-chairs Dave and Reba Williams, Co-chairs Drs. Henry and Michele Gasiorowski, Oldham Resources, and the Charles M. and Deborah G. Royce Exhibition Fund. The exhibition is organized by the Robin Garr, the Bruce Museum’s Director of Education, and guest curator Jodi Roberts, Ph.D. Candidate, New York University Institute of Fine Arts.

Alexander Calder’s many sculptural inventions—including his famed Cirque Calder, his imposing stabiles and, most importantly, his graceful mobiles—have secured his place among America’s most celebrated artists. Yet critical and public praise of Calder’s sculpture has drawn attention away from his career-long devotion to other media. In an effort to uncover one of the artist’s lesser-known artistic practices, the Bruce Museum’s exhibition Alexander Calder: Printmaker brings together 28 prints made throughout Calder’s career, affirming his continual interest in printmaking processes and proficiency in numerous printing techniques. A degree of stylistic and iconographic continuity exists among Calder’s prints, but they served diverse purposes. Comprised of literary illustrations, poster designs, studies related to sculptures and paintings, and ostensibly independent compositions, the artist’s prints intersect with his more famous works while also providing insight into his working process and extra-artistic concerns.

The museum is located at 1 Museum Drive in Greenwich, CT. For info call (203) 869-0376.

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The Bruce Museum in Greenwich, CT, presents Alchemy – Chemistry Family Day from 1 to 4 pm on Sun., Oct. 18. The day’s events, suitable for ages five and up, are devoted to exploring the roots of chemistry and include a gallery hunt for families through the new exhibition Alchemy: Magic, Myth or Science? and lotion-potion making in the workshop. Daniel Kelm from The Wide-Awake Garage Interpretive Fine Binding presents Distillation Demonstrations throughout the day at his fantastic alchemist’s furnace. In his work, Daniel Kelm explores the general theme of transformation of materials. Visitors can see the distillation of plant materials using a wood-burning furnace that Daniel modeled on 16th-century engravings. At 3 pm, The Science Genie from The Children’s Museum of West Hartford presents the interactive show Chemistry and Combustion featuring spectacular experiments and experiences such as the flaming vortex, the chemical cannon, and reactions that change color, glow and explode! All activities are free with Museum admission and are suitable for people of all abilities ages 5 years and up.

The Bruce Museum is located at 1 Museum Drive in Greenwich, CT. Admission is $7 for adults, $6 for seniors and students, and free for children under five. Bruce Museum members are free. For information call (203) 869-0376.