The Rogovoy Report: Berkshire and Hudson Valley Cultural Preview
Dec 6-13, 2022
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-looking upcoming events …
DEER TICK BRINGS INDIE-ROCK to MAHAIWE
Indie-rock group Deer Tick performs their rootsy, alt-country sounds that might appeal to fans of early Wilco and the National at the Mahaiwe in Great Barrington, Mass., on Friday, December 9, at 8pm. Izzy Heltai warms up the crowd for Deer Tick. (Fri, Dec 9)
PHIL KLINE’s ‘UNSILENT NIGHT’ INTERACTIVE STROLL in ADAMS, MASS., and KINGSTON, N.Y.
Composer Phil Kline’s walking symphony experience, Unsilent Night, celebrates its 30th anniversary this year with community-based performances in more than 40 cities around the world, including Adams, Mass. (Fri, Dec 9, 6pm), and Kingston, N.Y. (Fri, Dec 16, 6pm). This landmark in avant-garde public sound art and a beloved December holiday tradition takes the form of a promenade in which the audience becomes the performer, as each participant gets one of four tracks of music that they play simultaneously, combining to create an ethereal score for walking a carefully chosen route through a city’s streets. (Fri, Dec 9, 6pm; Fri, Dec 16, 6pm)
THE KLEZMATICS BRING MODERN KLEZMER to THE FALCON
The world’s premiere modern klezmer group The Klezmatics – the only klezmer band to have won a Grammy Award – bring their Yiddish world fusion to the Falcon in Marlboro, N.Y., on Saturday, December 10, at 7pm. The Klezmatics have one foot in the shtetl and the other in the downtown avant-garde, giving Jewish roots music a contemporary accent that speaks to modern-day listeners. (Sat, Dec 10)
BEETHOVEN’s PIANO TRIOS FEATURED at MAHAIWE CONCERT
Close Encounters with Music chamber series presents Beethoven’s Grand Piano Trios — the “Ghost” and the “Archduke” – at the Mahaiwe in Great Barrington, Mass., on Sunday, December 11, at 4pm. A virtual symphony for three musicians, expansive and noble, the great “Archduke” is more than a trio. It offered Beethoven the perfect vehicle for the development of his compositional techniques and the exploration of instrumental brilliance and virtuosity with three independent, powerful voices. In the “Ghost” Trio, conjuring up images from Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Beethoven plays with strangeness and eeriness. Performers are Ieva Jokubaviciute, piano; Hye-Jin Kim, violin; Yehuda Hanani, cello. (Sun, Dec 11)
BAROQUE CHORAL and BRASS WORKS by CRESCENDO MUSIC
A holiday concert of Italian and German Renaissance and Baroque music for chorus and brass featuring the Crescendo Chorus and the Berkshire Brass takes place at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Stockbridge, Mass., on Saturday, December 10, at 6pm, and at Trinity Church in Lakeville, Conn., on Sunday, December 11, at 4pm. The December 10 performance in Stockbridge will include an outdoor light show by Berkshire-based artist Joe Wheaton. (Sat-Sun, Dec 10-11)
VIOLINIST TAI MURRAY to PERFORM BEETHOVEN at HUDSON HALL
Violinist Tai Murray will perform works by Beethoven -- including the Kreutzer Sonata -- and Jeff Scott, accompanied by pianist Hee-Kyung Juhn, at Hudson Hall in Hudson, N.Y., on Sunday, December 11, at 3pm, in a presentation by Capital Region Classical. Murray was a member of Lincoln Center’s Chamber Music Society and has performed as guest soloist with leading ensembles such as the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Symphony Orchestra, and all of the BBC Symphony Orchestras. (Sun, Dec 11)
JORMA KAUKONEN to BRING COUNTRY-BLUES to THE EGG
Legendary guitarist and folk-country bluesman Jorma Kaukonen – a founding member of Jefferson Airplane and Hot Tuna and a member of the Rock Hall of Fame – performs his unique stylings of traditional blues and folk tunes as well as his classic original songs at the Egg in Albany, N.Y., on Tuesday, December 13, at 7:30pm. (Tues, Dec 13)
INDIAN CLASSICAL MEETS WESTERN PIANO at TROY MUSIC HALL
Audience members are invited to sit on the stage at the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall in Troy, N.Y., on Wednesday, December 14, at 6pm, for an intimate performance of Indian and Western classical fusion by mrudangam player Rajna Swaminathan and pianist Utsav Lal, an innovator to approaching Hindustani classical music on the Western instrument. (Wed, Dec 14)
GLORI WILDER BRINGS SOULFUL POP to EGREMENT BARN
Singer-songwriter Glori Wilder brings her moody, soulful brand of pop-soul, likely to appeal to fans of Grace Potter, Regina Spektor, and Amy Winehouse, to the Egremont Barn in South Egremont, Mass., on Thursday, December 15, at 7:30pm. (Thurs, Dec 15)
SON LITTLE BRINGS NEO-SOUL to RACEBROOK LODGE
Son Little brings his unique blend of acoustic blues, vintage soul, and conscious hip-hop to Racebrook Lodge in Sheffield, Mass., on Thursday, December 15, at 7pm. Warming up the crowd for Son Little is New York singer-songwriter, harpist and guitarist Lizzie No, who plays a haunting, highly personal brand of Americana. (Thurs, Dec 15)
JACK DeJOHNETTE BRINGS MODERN JAZZ to UPAC
Legendary jazz drummer Jack DeJohnette -- whose credits read like a history of modern jazz, celebrated for his work with Miles Davis Bitches Brew Band, Herbie Hancock, Keith Jarrett, Bobby McFerrin, Bill Evans, and as a band leader and composer -- will be joined by pianist Jon Batiste of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert fame and bassist Matthew Garrison at UPAC in Kingston, N.Y., on Thursday, December 15, at 8pm. (Thurs, Dec 15)
JOHN PIZZARELLI and JESSICA MOLASKEY BRING PARISIAN SWING to MAHAIWE
John Pizzarelli and Jessica Molaskey bring their Strings Attached program, a tribute to the days of the Hot Club of France and the music of Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli, to the Mahaiwe in Great Barrington, Mass., on Saturday, December 17 at 8pm. (Sat, Dec 17)