In Concert
John Davidson
Wed, Oct 21, 7pm
(opening night w/reception)
250 pesos
Thurs- Sat Oct 22-24, 7pm
Matinee, Sun, Oct 25, 5pm
150 pesos
Teatro Santa Ana
Reloj 50-A
Hollywood and Vegas meet in San Miguel
By Atención Staff
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All round entertainer John Davidson takes the stage at the intimate Santa Ana theater this week. Davidson and wife Rhonda like many new residents took some time to build and settle into their new home but now he is back on stage—first in San Miguel for a five-night run then he goes on tour in the US. |
Davidson has only appeared in San Miguel in two concerts at Patsy’s Place earlier this year and his first, “invitation-only” performance back in early 2005. “John’s charming, engaging and funny—the evening was a delight” said one long time fan of his shows.
So here is a quick quiz to warm you up:
1. During the 5 years that John hosted The Hollywood Squares, who was the center square?
A) Paul Lynde
B) Shadoe Stevens
C) Molly Goldberg
D) Joan Rivers
2. Who were John’s co-stars on That’s Incredible?
A) Skip Stephenson, Sarah Purcell
B) Frank Gifford and Kathy Lee Gifford
C) Fran Tarkenton and Cathy Lee Crosby
D) Dick Clark and Ed McMahon
3. What TV show did John guest host more than any other singer?
A) The Mike Douglas Show
B) The Tonight Show
C) Merv Griffin
D) Entertainment Tonight
4. In which Las Vegas main showrooms has John not appeared?
A) The Las Vegas Hilton
B) Caesar’s Palace
C) Circus Circus
D) MGM Grand
E) Riviera
F) Desert Inn
G) Aladdin
H) Golden Nugget
5. John sang at the White House for what event?
A) The State dinner honoring Monica Lewinsky
B) The Kennedy Center Honors for outstanding game show hosts.
C) The Sierra Club’s presentation of “Man of The Year” to George W. Bush.
D) None of the above.
Answers: 1. D; 2. C; 3. B; 4. C; 5. D, John has never sung at The White House, but he went on the tour.
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Pro Musica Concert
Kevin Kenner
Sat–Sun, Oct 24–25, 5pm
Chopin discussion
Bryan Townsend
Sun, Oct 25, 4pm
St. Paul’s Church
Cardo 6
250/150/80 pesos
Chopin and champagne
By Michael Pearl
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Another 200th birthday in 2010 will add to the bicentenary celebrations in Mexico—that of Frederic Chopin, the great Polish composer who was born on March 1, 1810. Pro Musica is marking this milestone with three pairs of concerts in its 2009-10 season dedicated to the maestro’s music. |
The first of these concerts is on October 24 and 25, when the renowned Chopin pianist Kevin Kenner will give two completely different recitals at 5pm both days in St Paul’s church.
Kevin is one of the world’s leading interpreters of Chopin’s piano repertoire, and these are his first performances in Mexico. Indeed, that weekend will be the start of Kevin’s world tour to celebrate the composer’s bicentenary, which will take him from San Miguel de Allende to the US, Canada, Japan, Poland, France and the UK.
Canno0ns hidden beneath flowers
Chopin was one his country’s national heroes, and his music is still the voice of Poland. As Europe’s earliest nationalist musician, his creations breathe the spirit of his native land, especially in the rhythms of the countryside in the mazurkas, and in the polonaise, a processional dance.
When Chopin was 20 years old, Poland was invaded by Imperialist Russia and he fled to Paris. Music was so influential in those days that fellow composer Robert Schumann wrote, “If the Czar knew what a dangerous enemy threatens him in the works of Chopin, he would banish that music. These works are like cannons hidden beneath flowers.”
According to Arthur Hedley, Chopin’s biographer, the composer “found within himself and in the tragic story of Poland the chief sources of his inspiration. The theme of Poland’s glories and sufferings was constantly before him, and he transmuted the primitive rhythms and melodies of his youth into enduring art forms.”
Chopin was also one of the greatest virtuoso pianists of all time, although during his entire life he only gave some 30 public concerts. His works are so beloved that virtually everything he wrote is still in the active repertoire, including scherzi, ballades, études, preludes, impromptus and waltzes. One leading music critic of the time said of him that he had “an extravagance of original ideas that are unexampled anywhere.”
A virtuoso confined
Chopin suffered from tuberculosis and, as a result, he was unable to perform in large halls. In Paris he played only one annual public concert in a hall seating 300 people.
Kenner’s two different programs will include a wide range of Chopin’s repertoire and the musical forms he developed. They will be unique opportunities to hear the master’s works in the acoustically perfect setting of St Paul’s church on Pro Musica’s superb Steinway grand piano, in a venue with 250 seats.
In 1836, at a party hosted by Countess Marie d’Agoult, mistress of friend and fellow composer Franz Liszt, Chopin met French author and feminist Amandine Aurore Lucille Dupin, the Baroness Dudevant (better known by her pseudonym, George Sand.) She became his lover (and nurse) for a decade and memorably described Chopin as “more Polish than Poland.”
During a stay in Majorca with her, the composer was particularly ill and complained about the incompetence of the doctors on the island. “I have been sick as a dog during these past two weeks. Three doctors have visited me. The first said I was going to die; the second said I was breathing my last; and the third said I was already dead.”
Nevertheless his time in Majorca was one of the most productive of his life.
Universal appeal
Chopin, according to Arthur Hedley, “had the rare gift of a very personal melody, expressive of heart-felt emotion, and his music is penetrated by a poetic feeling that has an almost universal appeal.”
Chopin widened enormously the musical forms available to pianists and reinvented the étude, expanding on the idea and making it into a gorgeous, eloquent and emotional showpiece. He also used his Études to teach his own revolutionary style of playing, for instance, playing with the weak fingers (3, 4 and 5) in fast movements and playing black keys with the thumb.
Arthur Rubinstein, one of the truly great Chopin interpreters, said this about Chopin’s music and its universality: “He was a genius of universal appeal. His music conquers the most diverse audiences. When the first notes of Chopin sound through the concert hall there is a happy sigh of recognition. All over the world, men and women know his music. They love it. They are moved by it. Yet it is not Romantic music in the Byronic sense. It does not tell stories or paint pictures. It is expressive and personal, but still a pure art. Even in this abstract atomic age, where emotion is not fashionable, Chopin endures. His music is the universal language of human communication.”
Chopin and champagne
To celebrate this universality and Kevin’s visit to San Miguel, Pro Musica is inviting the audience to a free champagne reception after the concert on Saturday, October 24. On Sunday, October 25, in a new innovation for Pro Musica, musicologist Bryan Townsend will give a free half hour talk on Chopin before the concert from 4–4:30pm. This will be the first of several talks that Bryan will be giving during the season, and I hope you will come to what promises to be a fascinating half hour.
Tickets are on sale at La Tienda in the Biblioteca, Insurgentes 25; La Conexión, Aldama 3; Border Crossings, Mesones 57; and St. Paul’s Church, Cardo 6, Monday to Friday, 11am–2pm, and at the door half an hour before concert time.
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Concert/fundraiser Jazz & Blues Festival
Pila Seca
Sat, Oct 24, 6pm
Hotel Villas Xichú
Camino Real a Xichú 9
150 pesos
Jazz fest turns 25!
By Antonio Lozoya, Festival Director
| San Miguel’s Jazz and Blues Festival turns 25 this year in a musical party set to last ten days. From November 26 through December 5 the city will be serenaded to the sounds of jazz and blues at locations around the city. | |
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Grammy-award winning musicians Eddie Gomez (bassist for Bill Evans, Miles Davies, Chick Corea), David Sánchez Quartet, with special guest Antonio Sánchez and the David Gilmore Quartet among others will return to San Miguel for the festivals anniversary celebration. The grand finale under the rhythms of Pila Seca is a Tribute to Motown.
To help defray costs the festival will hold a preview concert with Pila Seca and poetry reading by Klaudia Oliver.
Pila Seca is totally San Miguel—formed in 1999 the band is known for keeping crowds dancing until the early hours with their infectious mix of Funk and Hip-Hop. Their first album, Humo de Cigarro (Cigarette Smoke), includes ten songs that combine various musical styles and experiment with guest musicians. In 2001 they began work on songs for their second album, which shows the evolution of their style and creates a fusion of Hip-Hop, Funk, House, and electronic music. In 2002 they recorded their second album, Afrodisiaco (Aphrodisiac), with the producer Francis Buckley (allmusic.com) who captured the live, funky sound of the band. All recordings were done in the recording studio HIT RECORDS (San Miguel de Allende) and mastering in Bernie Grundman Studios (Hollywood California).
Afrodisiaco is the title of Pilaseca's new album, engineered and produced by Francis Buckley who has worked with the likes of Alanis Morrisette, Quince Jones and Aerosmith. It contains 11 songs that reflect the band's work of one year combine different influences like funk, hip hop and house.
For more information visit: www.sanmigueljazz.com
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