English folk-rock pioneer Richard Thompson brings his well-crafted songs and his virtuosic guitar-playing to the Bardavon in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., tonight at 8pm. Having cofounded the groundbreaking group Fairport Convention as a teenager in the 1960s, Thompson and his bandmates invented the distinctive strain of British folk rock. He left the group by the age of 21, which was followed by a decade-long musical partnership with his then-wife Linda, to over 30 years as a critically acclaimed solo artist. (Fri, Nov 7)
Canadian-American violinist and composer Hannah Epperson teams with Canadian-American choreographer Rebecca Margolick and composer/pianist/electronics performer Niloufar Nourbakhsh for the world premiere of Catenary, a new interdisciplinary work, at PS21 in Chatham, N.Y., on Saturday at 7:30pm and Sunday at 3pm. Throughout the performance, the musicians become part of the choreography, the gestural dance movements become part of the soundscape, and traditional relationships are redefined. (Sat-Sun, Nov 8-9)
Grammy Award-winning Silkroad Ensemble will perform American Railroad at the Mahaiwe in Great Barrington, Mass., on Saturday at 7pm. The program, led by Chinese pipa virtuoso Wu Man, presents a sonic tapestry of the past, evoking the powerful and often-overlooked contributions of Indigenous and African Americans, as well as Chinese, Irish, Japanese, and other immigrant communities, who laid the tracks that transformed a nation. The program highlights collaborations of traditional percussion instruments from India, Japan, and Italy, alongside the tonal interplay of Chinese pipa, guitar, string instruments, and European accordion. (Sat, Nov 8)
Famed violinist Midori plays works by Poulenc, Beethoven, the Schumanns, and Schubert in a free concert in Chapin Hall at Williams College in Williamstown, Mass., on Monday, November 10, at 7:30pm. Midori will be joined by pianist Ieva Jokubaviciute. The concert will also feature the world premiere of Resonances of Spirit by the New York-based composer Che Buford. Midori commissioned Buford to create a piece inspired by Negro spirituals that would highlight the violin’s exceptional capacity to convey pain and sorrow. The work incorporates water, wind, deep sine tones, electronic drones, and whispers of Yoruba prayer, alongside Buford’s own humming and singing, with the violin blending seamlessly into these atmospheric textures. (Mon, Nov 10)
Also of note:
Filmmaker and composer Kyle Turgeon brings Trying to the Foundry in West Stockbridge, Mass., tonight at 7:30pm. A live audio-visual performance that explores grief and memory through the story of a young couple navigating the loss of a family member, Trying features Turgeon performing the score live — looping and layering cello, synthesizer, and piano — while projecting a live-assembled, chance-based version of the film behind him, creating a unique experience for each audience, each night.
Three-time Grammy Award-winning jazz drummer Ulysses Owens Jr. brings his band, Generation Y, to the Linde Center at Tanglewood in Lenox, Mass., tonight at 7pm.
Christopher Sánchez, Dominican operatic baritone and founder of the Wall Street Opera Company, will be joined by award-winning Cuban pianist and composer Dayramir González, for Latin Jazz Meets Opera, a fusion of Latin jazz, ballroom dance, and classical opera, at the Stissing Center in Pine Plains, N.Y., on Sunday at 3pm.
British pianist Paul Lewis performs early and late masterworks of Beethoven alongside Brahms’s Intermezzi and a new work by Thomas Larcher at Union College’s Memorial Chapel in Schenectady, N.Y., on Sunday at 3pm, in a concert presented by Capital Region Classical.
The Cassatt String Quartet -- celebrating its 40th anniversary -- performs works by Mozart, Joan Tower, and Robert Schumann in a free concert at Brooks-Rogers Recital Hall at Williams College in Williamstown, Mass., on Wednesday, November 12, at 7:30pm.
Seth Rogovoy is editor of the Rogovoy Report, available at rogovoyreport.substack.com.
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