This has been quite a week for culture in the Ozarks. Just a while ago KHOG interrupted ABC’s The View for a news bulletin: Was another cop shot? Last week, a couple of local stations broadcast a slain police officer’s funeral live. Today, it was to report that sources have identified the new basketball coach the University of Arkansas late this afternoon will announce.
That counts for news, to bust up a women’s chat show? I watch at least the first segment of The View almost daily because like Leno’s monologue it’s a barometer of what matters to people — both what is said and audience response.
Saturday and Sunday, the Dance Coalition presented its periodic concert. We attended the latter. The regional coalition comprises at least two dozen women and a very few men, with their teachers. The works Sunday were not classical but some were on pointe and many used classic poses and moves, set to popular, ethnic and serious 20th century music, prerecorded. Ethnic here was Cuban/African, Beijing Opera (the program said Peking) and Irish clogging.
All performers were enthusiastic and their quality generally high. (I know just enough about ballet, jazz and modern dance that I could’ve written a serviceable review.) All 144 ($15) seats were taken. The costumes were fun and the lighting inventive. One could appreciate the grace or the athleticism or the sensuousness, or all three in varying degrees. Legs.
Local amateur adults dancing is a familiar format for culturally aware cities and most college towns. But earlier in the week, University of Arkansas music professor Jura Margulis presented, after Olympian planning, the first Fulbright Concerto Competition. Margulis recruited three veteran international pianists to join him in judging young but already accomplished artists. The 12 semifinalists played 45-minute sets Thursday from 9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Three would be chosen from them. Those finalists would rehearse with our North Arkansas Symphony to all perform Saturday night, in the main Baum Walker Hall of the Walton Arts Center (Dance Coalition got its smaller Starr stage).
Both newspapers ran decent preview articles on this so word got out. Saturday night I had to work, but to come by during the day Thursday — heaven. Seating was allowed only between musicians, not between their pieces so I saw only three performers before my lobster shift. What a joyful midweek matinee those two free hours were.
The dozen came from everywhere: Mexico, Venezuela, Bulgaria, Spain, South Korea, Russia, Germany, Canada and China. Of the three Americans, one was born in Ukraine and another South Korea, with the third Las Vegas. Their ages ranged from 18 to 29, and musical training ran from Juilliard, Peabody and Curtis to Moscow State Tchaikovsky and London Royal College of Music.
I was privileged to see the Nevadan Corbin Beisner (Mozart, Ravel and Liszt), the Spaniard Moises Via (Chopin and de Falla) and Korean-American Esther Park (Beethoven, Ravel and Liszt). Patrons came and went, but a good 100 people were in the Starr for each performer. Coming in a couple of seats from me was judge Tamas Ungar, who took a lot of notes informally (not on a form but scrap paper and program margins). The house lights were dimmed only halfway, likely so the judges could work, but when the pianists hit the first beat, it was just you and the music.
I wish the world knew who the finalists were. The Demzette ran an arty backlit photo Friday of one semifinalist rehearsing Thursday on the Baum Walker stage, with an empty house. None of the local papers had further information.
Who won Saturday night? It’s Monday, and none of the papers still has anything. We all run editorials and columns mocking the university’s and public’s obsession with athletics to the extent of ignoring the occasional world-class academic and cultural achievements of the UA. But we don’t practice what we preach. (The names are on the competition’s Web site.)
All of our Web sites this morning have the name of the new Razorback basketball coach. Frank Broyles rehired Nolan Richardson. Yeah, that is worth a morning “extra.” -30-
