The Rogovoy Report: Berkshire & Hudson Valley Cultural Preview
Sep 6-10, 2023
With so much going on culturally speaking in our greater Berkshires/Hudson Valley region, this is my highly selective, curated snapshot of some of the most promising upcoming events …
SQUEEZE and PSYCHEDELIC FURS REVIVE NEW WAVE at THE EGG
You’d be forgiven for thinking it’s 1981 instead of 2023 at the Egg in Albany, N.Y., on Thursday, September 7, at 8pm, when New Wave and post-punk avatars Squeeze and the Psychedelic Furs revive the sounds of the late-1970s and early-1980s in a double bill featuring the groups responsible for such timeless classics as “Tempted,” “Cool for Cats,” “Pulling Mussels From a Shell,” and “Black Coffee in Bed” in the case of Squeeze, and “Pretty in Pink,” “Heaven,” and “Love My Way” in the case of the P-Furs. (Thu, Sep 7)
HERSHEY FELDER BRINGS BEETHOVEN to THE COLONIAL
Pianist, actor, and playwright Hershey Felder brings his one-man show about Ludwig van Beethoven to the Colonial in Pittsfield, Mass., on Friday, September 8, at 7pm; Saturday, September 9, at 2pm and 7pm; and Sunday, September 10, at 2pm. Felder’s performance includes narrative, storytelling, and plenty of Beethoven’s powerful music. (Fri, Sep 8-Sun, Sep 10)
BEETHOVEN PIANO TRIOS at TANNERY POND
Capital Region Classical brings down the curtain on its summer season with a concert featuring a program of Beethoven piano trios, including the renowned “Archduke” Trio, at Tannery Pond, located at the Darrow School in New Lebanon, N.Y., on Saturday, September 9, at 7:30pm. The trio, from the Marlboro Festival, includes violinist Stephanie Zyzak, cellist Alexander Hersh, and pianist Evren Ozel. (Sat, Sep 9)
KRIS ALLEN LEADS JAZZ TRIO in WEST STOCKBRIDGE, MASS.
Jazz saxophonist Kris Allen leads his trio, featuring bassist Matt Dwonszyk and drummer Richie Barshay, at the Old Town Hall in West Stockbridge, Mass., on Saturday, September 9, at 7:30pm, as part of the West Stockbridge Jazz Series. Allen has worked with a variety of groups, including those led by Illinois Jacquet, Jimmy Greene, Winard Harper, and the Mingus Dynasty, and is a jazz artist-in-residence at Williams College. (Sat, Sep 9)
IRIS DEMENT BRINGS ROOTSY ORIGINAL FOLK to COHOES MUSIC HALL
Rootsy singer-songwriter and Grammy Award-nominee Iris Dement, whose voice often draws comparisons to Emmylou Harris, brings her original songs and melodies rooted in hymns, gospel, and old country music, to Cohoes Music Hall in Cohoes, N.Y., on Saturday, September 9, at 8pm. (Sat, Sep 9)
VERONA QUARTET to PLAY BEETHOVEN, MENDELSSOHN, BACEWICZ at STISSING CENTER
The Verona Quartet kicks off Clarion Concerts’ fall season in a performance featuring works by Bacewicz, Mendelssohn, and Beethoven at the Stissing Center in Pine Plains, N.Y., on Saturday, September 9, at 7pm. The Verona is quartet-in-residence at Oberlin College and has performed at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, Boston’s Jordan Hall, the UK’s Wigmore Hall (U.K.) and Melbourne Recital Hall. (Sat, Sep 9)
GODSPEED YOU! BLACK EMPEROR HEADLINES BASILICA SOUNDSCAPE
Montreal’s Godspeed You! Black Emperor headlines the annual Basilica SoundScape festival at Basilica Hudson in Hudson, N.Y., on Saturday, September 9, starting at 5pm and running through 2am on Sunday, September 10. The post-rock band employs multimedia aspects in its stage show, which ranges from ambient soundscapes to chaotic, industrial crescendos. Other performers include free jazz collective Irreversible Entanglements and the Hudson Valley’s own Zannie. (Sat, Sep 9))
CASSATT QUARTET and URSULA OPPENS to PLAY MOZART, SHOSTAKOVICH, and TANIA LEON at MAVERICK CONCERTS
The famed Cassatt String Quartet joins forces with legendary pianist and composer Ursula Oppens in a concert featuring works by Mozart, Shostakovich, and, on the occasion of her 80th birthday, composer Tania León, at Maverick Concerts in Woodstock, N.Y., on Sunday, September 10, at 4pm. The Cassatt Quartet’s recordings were named three times by Alex Ross in his “10 Best Classical Recordings” feature in the New Yorker. With five Grammy Award nominations to her credit, Ursula Oppens established her reputation early on with a classic recording of Frederic Rzewski’s The People United Will Never Be Defeated. Cuban-born composer Tania León was named a recipient of the 45th annual Kennedy Center Honors for lifetime artistic achievements in 2022. (Sun, Sep 10)
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Roll Call: Founding Members
Anne Fredericks
Anonymous (6)
Erik Bruun
Benno Friedman
Richard Koplin
Steve and Helice Picheny
Rhonda Rosenheck
Elisa Spungen and Rob Bildner/Berkshires Farm Table Cookbook
Julie Abraham Stone
Mary Herr Tally