An Education- Part 1 Faure's Requiem and Bartok's String Quartet #2

If you haven't seen An Education, nominated for an Oscar this year, I recommend it. It describes the "education" of a bright, impressionable high school girl in London in the late 1960's who allows herself to be seduced by an older man because he can provide the "education" she craves-music, art and literature.

Well, no one is going to seduce me so I'm trying to get my own cultural education while I'm here in New York. To that end, I've started going out to concerts given by excellent performers but in smaller venues than my usual Lincoln Center fare. I described the Renee Fleming event in yesterday's blog. Thursday night I went up to a church on the upper East side for a concert by the Voices of Ascension Chorus and Orchestra. This choral group has been producing wonderful choral performances for 20 years. Most of the performers are professional singers; the beauty of New York is that there is so much talent that even the smaller venues are first rate. I've always wanted to hear the Faure Requiem so this was the perfect, cheap opportunity ($10 for a seat on a side aisle). The combination of voices, orchestra and the "beautiful new Schoenstein" organ in the church was, well, heavenly.

Friday night we had tickets for the Musicians from Marlboro concert at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. One of Greg's colleagues recommended this event which is the touring extension of the Marlboro Music Festival from Vermont. Attending the Marlboro summer program is akin to a music fellowship and prior graduates have included Murray Perahia, Yefin Bronfman, Andras Schiff and Peter Serkin. These young performers were so talented and passionate about their performance. The Bartok string quartet looked incredibly difficult and required exquisite timing and energy. I've not heard much Bartok before, but based on last night's performance I am going to look for opportunities to hear more in the future.

Since I was going to the Met I arrived two hours early and spent some time in a few galleries. I saw the Velazquez Rediscovered exhibit, which was really just an demonstration of how the Met's curatorial staff had been able to identify a painting in their collection (but not displayed) as a Velazquez portrait from the 17th century. The explanation of how paintings can be altered by improper curatorial techniques and its history can be uncovered by careful techniques was worth the trip. You can save yourself the trip by going to the link if you are interested in expanding your own art history background.

So I spent today planning out future trips to the Met, MOMA and other galleries and looking for other "small" concerts. As I begin to expose myself to music and art I can tell that I am pulling the information together into my own "World Culture 101" course. And going back to school is great fun for an old lady.