WHAT TO WATCH THIS WEEK - AUG 29-SEPT 4

Bella Figura - Jiri Kylian

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Jiri Kylian is one of the towering figures of 20th century dance.  His nearly 30 year tenure (1975-2004) as the Artistic Director and principal choreographer of Nederlands Dans Theater challenged our perceptions of what contemporary dance could be. This is one of his masterworks.

In Bella Figura the performers, in Kylian’s vision, explore the division between art and life, perception and reality, in carefully shaped vignettes of extraordinary precision.

Performed by the dancers of the Nederlands Dans Theater, the work is set to baroque music and uses a combination of classical ballet and contemporary movements of Kylián’s own invention. The dance space is strikingly defined by light and darkness, with black drapes used to frame the dancers in unusual ways. In this piece, Bella Figura, (an Italian expression meaning to make a good impression, a fine appearance), Kylián's theme is, ‘what is life if not a dream?’.

Exquisitely beautiful, Bella Figura flows as if it inhabits the music, which is by Lukas Foss, Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, Alessandro Marcello, Antonio Vivaldi, and Giuseppe Torelli.

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Mahler’s “Resurrection” Symphony

Opening Night: Resurrection Symphony - Elbphilharmonie Mediatheque
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Grammy-winning American conductor Alan Gilbert launches his fourth season as Chief Conductor of Hamburg’s NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra with performances of Mahler’s monumental 'Resurrection' Symphony featuring vocal soloists Christina Nilsson and Sarah Connolly, the NDR Vocal Ensemble and the Berlin Radio Choir. The performance will stream live at 8 pm CEST on September 3 at the orchestra’s website.

"Rise, even rise, you will!" At the end of Gustav Mahler's Second Symphony, the choir presents the religiously and philosophically motivated core message of the work with poignant optimism. To this day, performances of Mahler's monumental 'Resurrection' Symphony are an impressive event – not only in Hamburg, where the composer had the inspiration for the choral finale.

With the approximately one-and-a-half-hour work, chief conductor Alan Gilbert and his NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra are putting one of the largest symphonies in the repertoire on the programme of the season's opening concerts – together with renowned soloists and the combined forces of two first-class choirs.
Sept 3  8pm CEST
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 “This music feels like you're putting your finger in the socket and suddenly your hair is standing on end.”
Alan Gilbert

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Kiss Me, Petruchio – Public Theater

Click here to watch Part 1
Click here to watch Part 2

The Delacourt Theater in Central Park is one of the glories of summer in New York. Every year the Public Theater, formed in 1954 by Joseph Papp, performs Shakespeare plays, free, for Shakespeare-loving New Yorkers.

The greatest stars of American theatre and movies have performed here, some at the start of their careers, others to round them off, and every night is a surprise.

I remember with great fondness a Taming of the Shrew in 1981, starring Meryl Streep and the late great Raul Julia which, I’m delighted to say, was filmed and formed part of a performance/documentary which displays at least some of the quality of the production and its then-less well known stars as well as interviews with them with some great quotes.

It's in two parts so a bit fiddly to watch in its entirety, and the technical quality has necessarily diminished over the years but, if you want to know what made NY’s amazing Public Theater so vibrant, it’s all here. 

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Bach - The Art of Fugue – Angela Hewitt

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Wigmore Hall’s Summer Replay, its catalogue of repeat live performances on video, has kept me going this summer. There hasn’t been a week that I haven’t dipped into it, no matter where I’ve been. Now that I’m home again, I’ve saved one of my favourites to the last.

Bach’s monumental Art of Fugue isn’t one to ‘dip into’. No, under the fingers and brain and artistry of a wonderful Canadian pianist, Angela Hewitt, this is a programme to wallow in.

There’s rather a good BBC Radio Three introduction from announcer Gavin Plumley which you can skip if you like but, if you’re not familiar with Bach’s astounding work, or even if you are, I find it helps to be reminded, in words as well as music, what each new section is about.

Left incomplete on his death in 1750, Bach’s vast contrapuntal work nevertheless stands not only as a monument to his extraordinary abilities in this field but also to his determination to create an exemplar for others to follow. Angela Hewitt’s recording had The Times extolling its ‘radiant majesty and humanity’.

This concert, indeed, all the concerts in the Summer Replay series have been free but do leave a contribution to Wigmore Hall in the handy box. The Hall provide music-lovers and musicians with a fine service that’s worth paying for, even if you don’t have to.

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Here are three little Summer Short films to round out August.

Sirens Tango – Inspired Dance Film Festival

Stream Sirens Tango | Marquee TV
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​Sirens Tango takes us inside a grand dance hall in the 1930s. A series of men are lured to their destruction when they engage in a steamy tango with a seductive dance partner. With a lush musical score, Jazz Age costumes, and visually striking cinematography, this evocative short film uses the Tango as a metaphor for life’s tempting interruptions.

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5 minutes of Handel – Where’er You Walk
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Click here to watch
Hugo Hymas, tenor, singing Handel’s Where’er You Walk from Semele.
Just beautiful.

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Saul – Hip hop dancer - Scottish Ballet

Click here to watch
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​Little personal dance vignette from Saul Nash of the Scottish Ballet.

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What’ll I Do – Bea Arthur

​The Golden Girls: Journey to the Center of Attention - "What'll I Do" (February 22, 1992) - YouTube
​Click here to watch
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The Golden Girls are all gone now but we shouldn’t forget the depth of professionalism and expertise that went into the writing and performance of that exemplary sitcom.

​Here’s a little taste of what they could do, severally and collectively, when they stopped clowning. Check out Bea Arthur’s comedic timing and the way she subtly uses her physical reactions to emphasise the lyrics of this song. 

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