All Souls, Lost Souls ... (Will California Regain Its National And International Leadership Role The Eve After All Souls Eve?)

November 1, 2010, 9:00 pm Classical WETA, Nation's Capital

"Front Row Washington is pleased to present the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra under their new Music Director, Christopher Zimmerman. On November 1st, the orchestra presents highlights of a concert recorded March 13, 2010 at George Mason University's Center for the Arts."

AVNER DORMAN: Lost Souls--A Piano Concerto (East Coast premiere)
Alon Goldstein, piano

JEAN SIBELIUS: Four Legends from the Kalevala, Op. 22
Lemminkäinen in Tuonela
Lemminkäinen's Homecoming

Despite the cultural fallout from the recent Great Recession, this new Piano Concerto was commissioned and premiered by the Kansas City Symphony, last November, under American conductor Michael Stern.

Pianist Alon Goldstein on Avner Dorman's Lost Souls

Cartoon credit: (c) Tom Toles 2010 via the Washington Post. Copyright controlled.

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Saeb Erakat -- Impasse in the Mideast: Israel's settlements render a Palestinian state impossible

Back To The Future Through The Arts And Humanities, And Study, Discipline, And Hard Work

During his tenure as Oakland mayor, Jerry Brown successfully reversed decades of neglect and economic decay and made Oakland one of the top ten green cities in America. He inaugurated the 10K Housing program, bringing 10,000 new residents to the heart of the city and creating a new urban vitality of art galleries, restaurants and festivals. Most noteworthy, the 1928 Fox Movie palace — dark for 30 years—was totally restored and expanded, becoming the home for the Oakland School for the Arts and a live music venue.

Brown personally founded the Oakland School for the Arts and the Oakland Military Institute, College Prep Academy. Both schools serve students from the 6th grade through the 12th and are among the best performing schools in Oakland. Their graduates are now studying in such outstanding universities as Yale, Vassar, Stanford, West Point, UCLA, UC Berkeley, UC Santa Cruz, UC San Diego, California State University East Bay, Le Cordon Bleu California Culinary Academy, Columbia University, University of Michigan, Middlebury College, Carnegie Mellon University, Wesleyan University, Mount Holyoke College, The Theatre School at Depaul University, Barnard College, Spelman College, Howard University, Berklee College of Music, Pratt Institute, California College of the Arts, Boston Conservatory, Fordham University, Texas A&M, Fresno State University, San Francisco State University, and Texas Southern University.

Currently, there are nine emphases at Oakland School for the Arts:

1. Arts Management
2. Dance
3. Instrumental Music
4. Literary Arts
5. Theatre
6. Vocal Music
7. Visual Arts
8. Digital Media
9. Circus :)

Photo credit: Wikipedia Commons. With thanks.

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California Field Poll of 10/5/2010 shows Californians share near universal belief [93%] that California is in bad economic times. Personal economic status declining and many don't expect things to improve next year. Unemployment very serious and few see improvement in coming year.

Will The G-20 World Leaders Visit The Seokguram Buddhist Grotto In Gyeongju Korea This Weekend?

Seokguram Buddhist Grotto, in Gyeongju Korea, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1995.

The G-20

UNESCO World Heritage Sites

Photo credits: Richardfabim and steveslep via Wikipedia. With thanks.

Ukraine's National Capital, Kyiv, Building New National And Private Museums To House Its Cultural Treasures, Some Of Which Are Now In Washington, D.C.

The Glory of Ukraine: Golden Treasures and Lost Civilizations at Meridian International Center, Washington, D.C., October 20, 2010 – January 16, 2011

Photos:

Future Kyiv Arsenal Museum Complex

Future Kyiv Fortress Museum Complex

Temple Model 4200 - 4000 B.C.E.
Ceramic

Necklace (Hryvna)4th century B.C.E.
Gold.

Mother of God Hodigitria,Village of Isaiah, Lviv Oblast, 1370 C.E.
Wood, tempera
30 1/2” x 24 1/4”

The Andrei Sheptitsky Lviv National Museum. [The Andrei Sheptitsky Lviv National Museum has recently moved into the ornate building of the former Polish Industrial Museum.]

One of the earliest surviving Ukrainian icons, Mother of God Hodigitria holds a revered place in Eastern Orthodox iconography and is one of the most frequently depicted iconographic types of the Virgin Mary.

Descent Into Hell, Yasenytsya, Lviv Region, late 16th century C.E.
Wood, tempera, silvering
44 7/8” x 31 1/2”

The Andrei Sheptitsky Lviv National Museum

One of the most significant scenes in Eastern Orthodox iconography, the Descent into Hell symbolizes the Resurrection, the feast of greatest importance in the Church.

Photo credits: (c) Copyright controlled.

Renaissance Update: Nearly 44 Million People In America Alone Are Living In Poverty Today

[Click on image for enlargement.]

Ekaterina Semenchuk as Marina in the new MET production of Boris Godunov, being televised to select theaters this Saturday at noon.

Musorgsky's Boris Godunov is 'an epic spectacle that captures the suffering and ambition of a nation' (MET Opera).

Photo credit: Courtesy of the Metropolitan Opera. Photo by Brent Ness 2010.

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Brett Cooke - Musical Truth in Musorgsky’s Boris Godunov