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![Jon Kimura Parker [photo (c) Maurice Beznos]](https://sandiegostory.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Parker_c_Maurice-Beznos-150x150.jpg)
The prospect of hearing all three Piano Trios by Johannes Brahms in one concert was more than enticing. And SummerFest 2012’s A-list roster of violinist Cho-Liang Lin, cellist Gary Hoffman, and pianist Jon Kimura Parker as the program’s performers shot my expectations through the roof. At the intermission of Wednesday’s (Aug. 22) Brahms Piano Trio concert, however, I found myself wishing I had kept my inflated anticipation in check. Yes, we were hearing some of the most plush and ingeniously crafted chamber music in western music, and, without question, the performers were engaging their prodigious musical proficiency with clear-eyed precision.…
Ideas for dance often come from nature. In “Bare Arm Branches,” Blythe Barton creates a stark forest narrative: six women scramble to protect their precious potted trees and ultimately find common ground. Set to a collection of indie favorites by artists such as Andrew Bird, “Bare Arm Branches” opened with the sound of birds chirping at The Vine last weekend. The little box theater at the Rancho Bernardo Winery is an intimate space that works well for smaller dance troupes, but not during a heat wave. If real birdies had been inside the theater, they may have died from heat…
Producing Artistic Director Robert Smyth has a knack for staging plays from the 1940s. He gets the era, how people talked then, and he’s fascinated with the details of the kind of well-made play that 1940s writers routinely produced. But, these plays today are considered quaint, and they’re seldom done. Mr. Smyth consistently provides persuasive evidence for reviving shows from this period.
He’s also good at directing farce, and See How They Run is a classic 1940s British farce. It should be a winner at Lamb’s and it is.
It took the tango 100 years to make its way from the slums and brothels of Buenos Aires to the refined environs of La Jolla. But Saturday’s (Aug. 18) SummerFest concert featuring Pablo Ziegler and his Classical Tango Quartet proved this Argentine music could rub shoulders with Schubert and Brahms and hold its head high. As pianist, composer and arranger, Ziegler benevolently dominated the program, which featured a generous collection of music by that icon of tango nuevo Astor Piazzolla—mainly in arrangements by Ziegler—and his own tango compositions. Ziegler’s assured presence at the piano was the thread that tied together…
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