Music From Japan: Echoes of the Silk Road
Hear ancient musical instruments brought to Japan along the Silk Road—with a focus on the long-extinct Persian harp (kugo). Fuyuhiko Sasaki performs both new and recreated works for the harp, joined by a six-piece ensemble of winds, voice, and percussion in music by Sasaki, Akiko Yamane, Toshi Ichiyanagi, Maki Ishii, Takehito Shimazu, and Sukeyasu Shiba. Made possible through support from the Thaw Charitable Trust; part of Music From Japan Festival 2012.
Categories: Performances. Venue: Freer Gallery. Event Location: Meyer Auditorium. Cost: Free tickets required. Related Events: Pre-concert tour, Korean Ceramics, 6:45 pm.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012, 7:30 PM.
Debussy at 150: Calefax Reed Quintet
The flamboyant Dutch ensemble performs its vibrant arrangements of music inspired by painters, including the Estampes and Suite Bergamasque by Claude Debussy, who was strongly influenced by Whistler and Japanese prints; Enrique Granados’ Goyesca; Conlon Nancarrow’s Studies for Player Piano; and Hans Abrahamsen’s Walden. Praised by the New York Times for their “unadulterated virtuosity,” the Calefax musicians moved the London Times to describe them as “extremely gifted Dutch gents who almost made the wind quintet seem the best musical format on the planet.”.
Categories: Performances. Venue: Freer Gallery. Event Location: Meyer Auditorium. Cost: Free tickets required. Related Events: Pre-concert gallery tour, Freer and Whistler, 6:45 pm.
Friday, March 2, 2012, 7:30 PM.
Nowruz! A Persian New Year Celebration
Dance, play, and feast your way into the Persian New Year at the Freer and Sackler Galleries. The museums' fourth annual Nowruz celebration features free attractions for all ages—including Haft Sin table displays, "fire" jumping, paper-flower arranging, Nowruz memory photo booths, chess and backgammon games, a text-messaging scavenger hunt, Persian stories by Xanthe Gresham, performances by vocalist Monika Jalili (free tickets required) and the Nomad Dancers, and contemporary Persian dance beats by Radio Javan—along with traditional Persian food for sale by Moby Dick House of Kabob. Made possible by a generous grant from Jahangir and Eleanor Amuzegar.
Categories: Kids & Families. Performances. Venue: Freer Gallery. Sackler Gallery. Event Location: Freer and Sackler Galleries. Cost: Free.
Sunday, March 4, 2012, 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM.
Monika Jalili
Vocalist Monika Jalili brings to life cherished Iranian songs from the 1940s to the 1970s, along with beloved folk songs in Persian, Azeri, and other Iranian languages. She is joined by her outstanding ensemble on violin, guitar, oud, and percussion. Jallili earned her degree in voice from the prestigious Manhattan School of Music and has performed her Iranian repertoire at the Lincoln Center Out of Doors festival, (Les) Poisson Rouge, and the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York, as well as in London, Paris, Montreal, Budapest, and Helsinki. Made possible by a generous grant from Jahangir and Eleanor Amuzegar.
Categories: Performances. Venue: Freer Gallery. Event Location: Meyer Auditorium. Cost: Free tickets required.
Sunday, March 4, 2012, 2:00 PM.
Monika Jalili
Vocalist Monika Jalili brings to life cherished Iranian songs from the 1940s to the 1970s, along with beloved folk songs in Persian, Azeri, and other Iranian languages. She is joined by her outstanding ensemble on violin, guitar, oud, and percussion. Jallili earned her degree in voice from the prestigious Manhattan School of Music and has performed her Iranian repertoire at the Lincoln Center Out of Doors festival, (Les) Poisson Rouge, and the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York, as well as in London, Paris, Montreal, Budapest, and Helsinki. Made possible by a generous grant from Jahangir and Eleanor Amuzegar.
Categories: Performances. Venue: Freer Gallery. Event Location: Meyer Auditorium. Cost: Free tickets required.
Sunday, March 4, 2012, 5:00 PM.
Kayhan Kalhor, kamanche; Behrouz Jamali, tombak
One of the great masters of Persian music—and a three-time Grammy nominee—Kayhan Kalhor returns to the Freer for a rare intimate performance on the traditional Iranian kamanche (spike fiddle). Kalhor is a longtime performer and composer with Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble and is cofounder of the Masters of Persian Music, Dastan, and Ghazal (with Shujaat Khan and Swapan Chaudhuri). His many other collaborations have ranged from work with Brooklyn Rider and the New York Philharmonic to the soundtrack for Francis Ford Copolla’s Youth Without Youth. He is accompanied by Behrouz Jamali on tombak (drum).
Categories: Performances. Venue: Freer Gallery. Event Location: Meyer Auditorium. Cost: Free tickets required. Related Events: Pre-concert gallery tour, Arts of the Islamic World, 6:45 pm.
Saturday, March 17, 2012, 7:30 PM.
The Art of Kabuki: Bando Kotoji
Traditional dance master Bando Kotoji demonstrates and discusses scenes from famous kabuki plays in the style developed by Bando Mitsugoro III (1775–1832). He elucidates the intricacies of kabuki costumes, makeup, postures, and movement, which are supported by exquisite live music for shamisen, chanter, and percussion. The scenes include “Yoshino-yama,” set on a famous Japanese mountain known for its cherry blossoms. As part of the program, select members of the audience receive onstage instruction for basic kabuki dance footwork and fan gestures, typical male and female gestures, and a simple dance piece from the traditional repertory.
The US tour of Bando Kotoji and the kabuki musicians is organized by the Japan Society, with funding from the Japan Foundation.
Categories: Demonstrations. Lectures & Discussions. Performances. Venue: Freer Gallery. Event Location: Meyer Auditorium.
Saturday, March 24, 2012, 2:00 PM.
Musicians from Marlboro II
Young virtuosos from the prestigious Marlboro Music Festival perform Haydn’s String Quartet, op. 54, no. 1; Beethoven’s String Quintet, op. 29; and Brahms’ Clarinet Trio, op. 114. The ensemble features violinists David Bowlin and Robin Scott, violists Kyle Armbrust and Emily Deans, cellist Peter Stumpf, clarinetist Romie de Guise-Langlois, and pianist Gabriele Carcano. The Washington Post called concerts by the Musicians from Marlboro “a virtual guarantee of musical excellence.”.
Categories: Performances. Venue: Freer Gallery. Event Location: Meyer Auditorium. Cost: Free tickets required. Related Events: Pre-concert gallery tour, Arts of Japan, 6:45 pm.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012, 7:30 PM.
Musicians from Marlboro III
The highly regarded Marlboro Music Festival tours six of its outstanding musicians to perform Mozart’s String Quintet, K. 614; Schumann’s Piano Quartet, op. 44; and Bartók’s String Quartet no. 6. The performers are violinists Bella Hristova and Robin Scott, violists Dimitri Murrath and Vicki Powell, cellist Marcy Rosen, and pianist Cynthia Raim. The Washington Post wrote of one Marlboro concert, “Impeccable ensemble work, unbridled energy and boatloads of virtuosity produced an electrifying performance.”.
Categories: Performances. Venue: Freer Gallery. Event Location: Meyer Auditorium. Cost: Free tickets required. Related Events: Pre-concert gallery tour, Peacock Room Comes to America, 6:45 pm.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012, 7:30 PM.