A highly selective preview of cultural events taking place this weekend in the greater Berkshire region, including a recital by renowned violinist Joshua Bell; an appearance by vocalist and performance artist Helga Davis; Cuban movies at FilmColumbia; a reading by Jonathan Safran Foer; a concert by country outlaw Elizabeth Cook, and a whole lot more.
Joshua Bell (photo Phil Knott)
JOSHUA BELL to PERFORM BRAHMS, BEETHOVEN in DUO PROGRAM at MAHAIWE
(GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass.) – World-renowned violinist Joshua Bell will perform works by Beethoven, Brahms, Debussy, and Sarasate in a duo concert with pianist Alessio Bax at the Mahaiwe on Friday, October 28 at 8pm.
The program includes Beethoven’s Sonata in A Major for Violin and Piano, Op. 12, No. 2; Sonata No. 3 for Violin and Piano in D minor, Op. 108 by Brahms; Sonata in G minor for Violin and Piano, L140 by Debussy; and Carmen Fantasy for Violin and Piano, Op. 25 by Sarasate, among other works.
Helga Davis
HELGA DAVIS RESPONDS to NICK CAVE’S “UNTIL” in LIVE PERFORMANCE at MASS MoCA
(NORTH ADAMS, Mass.) – Helga Davis responds to Nick Cave’s monumental exhibition “Until” with an intimate performance, solo with her loop station, inside the exhibition in the Building 5 gallery at MASS MoCA on Friday, October 28, at 8pm. Davis, an actor, vocalist, and performance artist hailing from New York City, is known for collaborating with composers and choreographers to build original works. She has appeared in pieces by Ann Hamilton, Missy Mazzolli, Paola Prestini, Peter Greenaway, and Shara Worden.
‘I, Daniel Blake’ by Ken Loach
CUBAN CINEMA and NEW FILMS by LOACH, ALMODOVAR, VERHOEVEN, & COURTNEY HUNT at FILMCOLUMBIA 2016
(CHATHAM, N.Y.) – A focus on Cuban cinema and premieres of new films by Ken Loach, Pedro Almodovar, Paul Verhoeven and Columbia County’s Courtney Hunt are some of the highlights of FilmColumbia 2016, offering an extraordinary lineup of international feature, documentary, independent, short, and children’s films from Saturday, October 22 through Sunday, October 30, at venues in Chatham and Hudson, N.Y. The films will be shown at three venues: the historic Crandell Theatre, the anchor of the festival’s screenings, and the Morris Memorial community center, both in Chatham, and at the Hudson Opera House in Hudson.
Jonathan Safran Foer (Jeff Mermelstein)
AUTHOR JONATHAN SAFRAN FOER READS FROM NEW NOVEL at YIDDISH BOOK CENTER
(AMHERST, Mass.) – Author Jonathan Safran Foer will read from and talk about his long-awaited and highly acclaimed new novel, “Here I Am,” on Wednesday, October 26, at 7pm, at the Yiddish Book Center. Foer will also sign copies of the book after the talk. The event is free. Space is limited. Doors open at 6:30pm.
“Here I Am,” perhaps Foer’s best novel yet, tells the story of a Washington D.C. family in crisis set against the backdrop of an international crisis: a catastrophic earthquake in the Middle East. NPR book reviewer Maureen Corrigan calls the book “dazzling” and “a profound novel about the claims of history, identity, family, and the burdens of a broken world.”
Elizabeth Cook
ELIZABETH COOK BRINGS SOUTHERN COUNTRY-ROCK to CLUB HELSINKI HUDSON
(HUDSON, N.Y.) – Country outlaw Elizabeth Cook brings her critically acclaimed batch of new songs from “Exodus of Venus,” her comeback album released earlier this year, to Club Helsinki Hudson on Wednesday, October 26, at 8pm. Nashville-based roots-music singer and songwriter Derek Hoke warms up the crowd for Cook.
Cook, who sings like a cross between Emmylou Harris and Dolly Parton but who rocks with the ferocity of Chrissie Hynde and Patti Smith, is a fixture of Nashville’s singer-songwriter circles. She’s performed at the Grand Ole Opry over four hundred times, hosts her own Sirius XM show on the Outlaw Country station, and has worked with everyone from Jason Isbell to Steve Earle to John Prine. NPR Music deemed Elizabeth a “treasure” of the Americana scene, and her knife-sharp new record appeared on Rolling Stone Country’s list of the most anticipated albums of 2016.
Cellist John Belk (photo Bridget Bertoldi)
THE ORCHESTRA NOW PERFORMS ELGAR’S ‘ENIGMA VARIATIONS’ at BARD
(ANNANDALE-on-HUDSON, N.Y.) – The Orchestra Now performs works by Britten, Mahler, and Eglar at the Fisher Center at Bard College on Saturday, October 29, at 8pm, and Sunday, October 30, at 2pm, in the Sosnoff Theater. The orchestra performs under the baton of Leon Botstein, and features soloist John Belk in William Walton’s Cello Concerto.