Cornell Concert Series offers richness, diversity in 2001-02 season

The eight concerts to be presented during the 2001-02 Cornell Concert Series offer compelling richness and diversity. From classical performances by the Kirov Orchestra of St. Petersburg, pianist André Watts and the St. Luke's Chamber Ensemble, to the alluring jazz of the Grammy-nominated Dave Holland Quintet, to the performance by Zakir Hussain, El Shankar and Gingger, whose rich Indian motifs highlight the authentic sounds of world music today, this year's concerts will appeal to the broad spectrum of area music lovers.

The Cornell Concert Series continues to be a leader in collaborative programming as well, this year presenting programs that explore diverse artistic genres and disciplines. MacArthur grant recipient Bill T. Jones will bring his famed modern dance company to the Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts for a program of cutting-edge dance with live musical accompaniment provided by the strings of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center; Cornell's own new-music group Ensemble X teams up with guitar virtuoso Manuel Barrueco and recorder virtuoso Michala Petri; and the Takács String Quartet collaborates with poet Robert Pinsky, the 39th United States poet laureate, for a program celebrating love in all its colors.

The Cornell Concert Series offers five different subscription possibilities for the 2001-02 season, ranging from seven concerts to as few as three. In addition, there is "create your own" custom subscription of any four concerts. (The Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company concert is not included in the subscription; tickets must be purchased from the Schwartz Center box office, 254-ARTS.) Season ticket subscriptions are $36-$143 for adults and $22-$86 for students. The Cornell Concert Series office, 101-D Lincoln Hall, is open for subscription sales Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-1 p.m., telephone: 255-5144 or 255-4363. VISA, MasterCard and Discover are accepted.

Tickets to individual concerts are on sale at the ticket center at Clinton House (116 N. Cayuga St., Ithaca; open Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., closed 2-3 p.m. Saturdays; call 273-4497 or 1-800-284-8422) and at the Willard Straight Hall ticket office (open Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; Saturday, noon-5 p.m.; call 255-3430). There is no ticket office in Lincoln Hall.

Tickets also can be ordered via the Cornell Concert Series web site at www.arts.cornell.edu/ccs.

The concert schedule is as follows:

• The Dave Holland Quintet opens the series Tuesday, Sept. 25, at 8 p.m. in Statler Auditorium. Bassist Dave Holland has been the foundation for big name jazz combos ever since Miles Davis first hired him in 1968. The Dave Holland Quintet, formed in the summer of 1997, features, in addition to Holland, Chris Potter, Robin Eubanks, Steve Nelson and Billy Kilson. The program will feature the Grammy-nominated quintet in the first half, expanding to a big band in the second half.

• Pianist André Watts, who last performed at Cornell during the 1994-95 season, will play Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition Thursday, Oct. 25, at 8 p.m. in Bailey Hall.

• In addition to the Dave Holland Quintet, the performance by Zakir Hussain, El Shankar and Gingger continues the Cornell Concert Series' exploration of "classic musics" from other traditions. The concert will be Friday, Nov. 16, at 8 p.m. in Bailey Hall. Superstars of Indian classical music and members of the legendary acoustic jazz/Indian fusion band Shakti, Hussain and Shankar have collaborated with top musicians from the classical, jazz and rock music worlds. Shankar's instrument, a personally designed 10-string double violin, covers the whole range of the orchestra's string section from double bass through cello, viola and violin. His daughter, Gingger, a recording artist in her own right, continues the family legacy. Hussain is the leading tabla player of his generation and the recipient of many awards and honors, including the 1999 National Heritage Fellowship, India's highest honor for achievement in the traditional arts.

  

• Thursday, Dec. 6, at 8 p.m. in Bailey Hall, the Kirov Orchestra will perform, led by its charismatic conductor Valery Gergiev. Gergiev, who is now principal guest conductor of the Metropolitan Opera in New York, brings his extraordinary orchestra for a performance of color and virtuosity that includes Debussy's La Mer, Rachmaninov's "Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini, Op. 43," (with pianist Vladimir Feltsman) and Stravinsky's The Firebird. Like Watts, the Kirov Orchestra last visited Cornell during the 1994-95 season.

• A program Friday, Feb. 1, at 8 p.m. in Statler Auditorium unites the Cuban-born guitar virtuoso Manuel Barrueco, the Danish-born recorder virtuoso Michala Petri and Cornell's Ensemble X. The performance features the Ithaca premiere of Cornell music Professor Steven Stucky's recorder concerto "Etudes" (written for Michala Petri), duos played by Barrueco and Petri, a solo guitar set and a performance from Ensemble X, directed by Stucky.

• The Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, accompanied by the strings of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, will perform Tuesday and Wednesday, March 26-27, at the Schwartz Center.

• St. Luke's Chamber Ensemble, featuring baritone Kurt Ollman, comes to Statler Auditorium Tuesday, March 12, at 8 p.m.

• The season's finale is the unique collaboration of the Takács Quartet with poet Robert Pinsky, centered on themes of love. The program, called "All the World for Love," features a fascinating blend of poetry and music, all focused on love. The concert is April 20 at 8 p.m. in Statler Auditorium.