A highly selective preview of cultural events taking place this weekend in the greater Hudson, N.Y., region, including a comedy festival; chamber music; art openings; a concert against guns; brooding indie-rock; an orchestral concert; and a whole lot more.
Gilbert Gottfried
GILBERT GOTTFRIED, SUSIE ESSMAN HEADLINE WOODSTOCK COMEDY FESTIVAL
(WOODSTOCK, N.Y.) – Comedian Gilbert Gottfried and Susie Essman of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” fame are featured guests in the fourth annual Woodstock Comedy Festival, a three-day weekend event from Friday, September 23, through Sunday, September 25, based mostly at the Bearsville Theater and other venues around Woodstock. In addition to stand-up comedy, the festival includes panel discussions, talks, workshops, films, and parties.
Trixie Whitley
TRIXIE WHITLEY to BRING ORIGINAL INDIE-ROCK to CLUB HELSINKI HUDSON
(HUDSON, N.Y.) – Indie-rock scion Trixie Whitley – the daughter of the late Texas experimental blues musician Chris Whitley – will bring her unique brand of moody, melodic indie-rock to Club Helsinki Hudson on Sunday, September 25, at 8pm. Experimental rocker Indigo Street warms up the crowd for Whitley.
Mike and Ruthy
HUDSON VALLEY MUSIC ALL-STARS UNITE for CONCERT to END GUN VIOLENCE at BSP KINGSTON
(KINGSTON, N.Y) – Marshall Crenshaw, Mike + Ruthy, Connor Kennedy & Minstrel, and special guest Kate Pierson of the B-52s will take part in the Hudson Valley edition of The Concert Across America to End Gun Violence at BSP Kingston on Sunday, September 25, at 7pm. The event is part of a nationwide effort, and similar concerts are being held throughout the U.S. simultaneously on Sunday, to raise awareness of the plague of gun violence affliction our nation.
Takao Kawaguchi
TRIBUTE to BUTOH FOUNDER at HUDSON’S SECOND WARD
(HUDSON, N.Y.) – Dancer-choreographer Takao Kawaguchi will perform “About Kazuo Ohno — Reliving the Butoh Diva’s Masterpieces,” at the Second Ward Foundation on Saturday, September 24, at 7pm, in a presentation by the Hudson Opera House, which is currently undergoing renovation. Kawaguchi joins Hudson-based choreographer Adam H. Weinert in conversation at The Inn at Hudson on Friday, September 23, at 7pm, followed by a reception with the artist.
Leon Botstein conducts The Orchestra Now (photo Jito Lee)
THE ORCHESTRA NOW KICKS off BARD SEASON with WORKS by COPLAND and BRUCKNER
(ANNANDALE-on-HUDSON, N.Y.) – The Orchestra Now kicks off its fall concert season at the Fisher Center at Bard College with a program of works by Aaron Copland and Bruckner, on Saturday, September 24, at 8pm, and Sunday, September 25, at 2pm, in the Sosnoff Theater. The orchestra performs under the baton of Leon Botstein, and features soloist Viktor Toth in Copland’s Clarinet Concerto, and performs Bruckner’s Symphony No. 5.
Shanghai Quartet
SHANGHAI QUARTET to PLAY MOZART, GRIEG, FOOTE and ZHOU LONG in CHATHAM
(CHATHAM, N.Y.) – The internationally acclaimed Shanghai Quartet will be joined by flutist Eugenia Zukerman in a program entitled “From East to West,” at St. James Church on Saturday, September 24, at 7:30 pm, as part of the Leaf Peeper Concert Series presented by Clarion Concerts.
The Shanghai Quartet’s elegant style melds the delicacy of Eastern music with the emotional breadth of Western repertoire, allowing it to traverse musical genres including traditional Chinese folk music, masterpieces of Western music, and cutting-edge contemporary works.
The September 24 concert features string quartets by Mozart and Grieg, the atmospheric “Night Piece” by American composer Arthur Foote for flute and string quartet, and “Song of the Ch’in” by the Pulitzer Prize-winning Chinese-American composer Zhou Long. Zhou is internationally recognized for creating a unique body of music that brings together the aesthetic concepts and musical elements of East and West with techniques which enable Western ensembles to effectively reproduce sounds unique to Chinese music.
‘Summer in the Catskills’ by Scott Thomas Balfe
WORKS by SCOTT THOMAS BALFE and JANE McWHORTER GO ON VIEW at SPENCERTOWN ACADEMY
(SPENCERTOWN, N.Y.) – Works by painter Scott Thomas Balfe and photographer Jane McWhorter, who were the winners of last year’s juried regional art exhibition judged by Carrie Haddad of Carrie Haddad Gallery in Hudson, N.Y., go on view at Spencertown Academy Arts Center with a free opening reception on Saturday, September 24, from 4 to 6pm.