Weekend Classical Music Picks
By Alexander Hough in Arts & Entertainment on Nov 5, 2009 6:20PM
Friday, November 6
In addition to co-writing and co-directing "The Golem," Paul Wegener stars as the clay creature. (Photo via the City of Chicago)
- "The Golem" and Fulcrum Point
Fulcrum Point performs live for a screening of Paul Wegener's 1920 silent film, "The Golem: How He Came into the World." The classic German Expressionist work portrays the most famous legend of the clay giant. With Jews under threat from the Holy Roman Empire in the 16th century, Rabbi Judah Loew ben Bezalel created the Golem to protect the residents of the Prague ghetto, although it's eventually used for less noble purposes and nearly destroys the town. The original score being played on Friday was written in 1997 by contemporary Israeli composer Betty Olivero for clarinet and string quartet.
Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington, 7:00 p.m., FREE
- Dawn Upshaw and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra
The SPCO makes its fall appearance on the University of Chicago Presents concert series. After opening with Steven Copes performing Sergei Prokofiev's Violin Concerto No. 2, the show takes a Latin turn, playing "Fuga y Misterio" by Argentine tango nuevo composer Astor Piazzolla, as well as two pieces written for Upshaw: Three Songs for Soprano and Orchestra by Oswaldo Golijov and "In the Land of the Lemon Trees" by Andres Iglesias, who composed the scores for the movies "Talk to Her" and "Volver." The Iglesias will receive its world premiere.
Mandel Hall, 1131 E. 57th, 7:30 p.m., $35, $5 students
- Chicago Chamber Musicians
CCM plays a soloist-heavy, all-Baroque concert. Music by J.S. Bach will be prominently featured (Concerto for Two Violins in D Minor and the Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D Major), as well as that of 18th-century megastar Georg Phillip Telemann (Concerto for Trumpet, Two Oboes and Continuo in D Major). CCM will also perform Antonio Vivaldi's Concerto for Bassoon in D Major, one of thirty-six pieces he wrote featuring the large woodwind (thirty-six bassoon pieces!), and Johann Wilhelm Hertel's Concerto for Solo Trumpet in E-Flat.
Pick-Staiger Concert Hall, 50 Arts Circle Drive, Evanston, 7:30 p.m., $20-$40, $10 students
- Chicago Chamber Musicians
CCM performs Sunday's program again.
Gottlieb Hall at the Merit School of Music, 38 S. Peoria, 7:30 p.m., $20-$40, $10 students