The 49th Mostly Mozart Festival
continued with a program by three
composers. It began with Jeremy
Denk, alone at the piano, playing Chaconne
in D minor for piano left hand, by Bach (trans. Brahms).
He, then, was the soloist in Piano
Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K.466,
by Mozart.
He gave a superb performance, and the
second movement was extremely beautiful.
He received a thunderous ovation. The
program concluded with Symphony
No. 4 in E. minor, by Brahms, with Louis
Langree conducting
the orchestra in a rousing performance.
It was another delightful night at
Mostly Mozart.
Mostly Mozart presented the debuts of Cornelius
Meister as
conductor and Sol
Gabetta as
cello soloist in an exciting program of
three works by different composers.
After opening with a lively Overture
to Le nozze di Figaro, by Mozart, Gabetta
played the Cello
Concerto in
C Major, by Hadyn.
She gave a skillful performance. The
program ended with a splendid
interpretation of Symphony
No. 4 in B-flat major, by Beethoven.
There is no better way to spend a summer
night for classical music lovers than to
attend a concert of Mostly Mozart.
The Second Mother (Que
Hora Ela Volta), by Anna
Muylaert, Brazil , 2014, is a
wonderful film, starring Regina
Case, in
a brilliant performance as a housekeeper
for a wealthy family in Sao Paolo. For
years, she has cooked, cleaned and
raised their son. Her grown up daughter,
whom she has not seen for ten years,
arrives to live with her. Her presence
in the house causes many problems. It is
a well acted, realistic film, showing
class divisions between servants and
their masters. It is certainly one of
the finest films of the year.
A superb exhibition Sinatra:
An American Icon is on display at the
New York Public Library for the Performing
Arts at Lincoln Center. With it, films are
being shown in the Bruno Walter Auditorium. Tony
Rome, by Gordon
Douglas, USA, 1967, stars Frank
Sinatra as
a hard boiled private investigator, and he
does a fine job in a serious role, as he
searches for a missing diamond pin. He is
supported by an excellent cast, with good
looking female stars, like Jill
St. John, Gena
Rowlands and Sue
Lyon. It is a very entertaining film,
with snappy, funny dialogue.
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Legendary pianist and composer Irving
Fields celebrated
his 100th birthday with family and fans
at Nino's
Tuscany Steakhouse, 117 West 58th
St, where he plays at night Wednesday to
Saturday. He is one of the most
entertaining and delightful musicians in
New York. He drank his nightly vodka
martini, with three olives. He maintains
that is his key to longevity.
Hamilton opened
on Broadway at the Richard Rogers
Theatre. I photographed the arrivals.
Among the opening night guests were Sarah
Jessica Parker, Matthew Broderick, Diane
Sawyer, Rosie O'Donnell and
many others too numerous to mention.
The opening night party was held at
Chelsea Piers with fireworks.
MoMA is presenting Glorious
Technicolor: From George Eastman House and
Beyond June 5-August 5. Lady in the Dark, by Mitchell
Leisen, USA, 1944, stars Ginger
Rogers as
the editor of a fashion magazine. She is
suffering mental depression, and the
highlight of the film are her three dream
sequences. In the final one, she sings The
Saga of Jenny, from the musical, on
which the film is based. It is a wonderful
song, and she performs it excellently.
Otherwise, it is a weak film, about her
having to make a decision to marry one of
two men. She ends up making a surprising
choice.
Artists and Models,
by Frank
Tashlin, USA, 1955, stars Dean
Martin and Jerry
Lewis. I have never seen a Martin and
Lewis film before. I believe it is an
acquired taste. I do not have it. Dean
Martin is good looking and sings well. Jerry
Lewis makes weird faces, and engages in a
lot of physical activity. None of which is
funny. The film is silly, and the plot makes
very little sense. Martin is a painter, and
Lewis is a writer obsessed with comic books.
He dreams about the stories and says them
out loud repeatedly. It is annoying and
irritating. I guess one must be French to
appreciate Jerry Lewis.
MoMA presented Mexico at Midnight:
Film Noir from Mexican Cinema's Golden Age
July 23-29. Crepusculo (Twilight),
by Julio Bracho,
Mexico, 1945, stars Arturo
de Cordova as
a surgeon in love with the wife (Gloria
Marin) of his best friend. It is a slow
moving, psychological drama, that maintains
the viewer's attention. When Cordova is
forced to perform surgery on a brain injury
his friend suffers, we await the result.
Again, Cordova has a beautiful co-star
Marin, a joy to watch.
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