Notables

Cornell Concert Series' 100th season features a stageful of notable artists

Celebrating 100 years as central New York's premiere classical music presenter, the Cornell Concert Series has announced its 2003-04 season. Cellist Yo-Yo Ma, who first played on the Concert Series in 1977 when he was 21 years old, returns April 28 for a concert with the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra. Six concerts precede Ma's appearance, including a return visit by violinist Pinchas Zuckerman on Nov. 14, as well as a debut performance by the most renowned percussionist in Africa, Senegal's Doudou N'Diaye Rose.

Also making their debuts in the 2003-04 Cornell Concert Series are young Russian tenor Daniil Shtoda; the 50th anniversary tour of the Newport Jazz Festival; sizzling French duo-pianists Katia and Marielle Labeque; and, leading off the season Saturday, Sept. 20, the Marcus Roberts Trio.

Due to the ongoing renovations of Cornell's Bailey Hall and Statler Auditorium, all concerts in the 100th anniversary season will take place at the historic State Theatre, 111 W. State St. in downtown Ithaca. All concerts begin at 8 p.m.

Season tickets (subscriptions) are on sale at the office of the Cornell Concert Series, 101-D Lincoln Hall, on campus; call 255-5144 or 255-4363. The office is open for subscription sales Monday-Friday, 9:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Visa, MasterCard and Discover are accepted. Address inquiries to Cornell Concert Series, 101-D Lincoln Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853. There are three different subscription possibilities offered for the 2003-04 season, ranging from all seven concerts to as few as four. Depending on the number of concerts and seat location desired, subscription prices range from $72 to $227 for adults, $43-$136 for students.

Tickets to individual concerts are on sale at the Willard Straight Hall ticket office (Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; Saturday, noon-5; 255-3430) and at the ticket center in Clinton House (116 N. Cayuga St., Ithaca; open Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., closed 2-3 p.m. on Saturday; 273-4497 or 800-284-8422). There is no ticket office in Lincoln Hall. Tickets also can be ordered via the Cornell Concert Series Web site at http://www.arts.cornell.edu/ccs.

Here's a look at the series:

The Marcus Roberts Trio, led by pianist Marcus Roberts (described as playing with "technical virtuosity ... passionate intelligence ... and yes, with soul" by Time magazine) will perform a new program Sept. 20 called "The Spanish Tinge." This fast-paced program explores the rhythms of Brazil, Cuba and other Latin countries, showing the important influence that these characteristic rhythms have had on musicians from Jelly Roll Morton to Duke Ellington and Dizzy Gillespie. The Marcus Roberts Trio includes Jason Marsalis on drums and Roland Guerin on bass.

Under the direction of the incomparable 75-year-old Doudou N'Diaye Rose, the Drummers of West Africa perform Oct. 25. The most revered percussion orchestra in Africa, the Drummers of West Africa have traveled extensively, including a number of visits to Japan, where they appear in performances and seminars in the art of percussive music as the guests of the Japanese drum company Kodo. One of the most important musicians of our time, Rose has composed and collaborated with such performers as Peter Gabriel, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie and the Rolling Stones.

Israeli-born violinist Pinchas Zukerman will make his sixth appearance in the Cornell Concert Series on Nov. 14 -- and his first as music director of the National Arts Centre Orchestra. Zuckerman was named music director of the Ottawa-based orchestra in 1998 and has committed himself to the orchestra through 2008. His many area admirers will be relieved to know that Zuckerman hasn't simply exchanged his violin for a baton, however. His artistry as a violinist will be on display in a performance of Mozart's Violin Concerto No. 5 ("Turkish"). Also on the Nov. 14 program will be Rossini's Overture to "La Cenerentola," Mozart's Symphony No. 41 in C Major ("Jupiter") and a new work by Canadian composer Denys Bouliane.

Look to the extraordinary pianists Katia and Marielle Labeque to heat up the State Theatre on the evening of Feb. 3. The Labeques have commissioned young composer Dave Maric to write a new work for two pianos, percussion (performed by Colin Currie) and live electronics (performed by the composer). The new work, titled "Exile," forms part of a program that was performed throughout the United States this past winter to great critical acclaim. The Labeques also join forces with Currie and Latin percussionist Julio Barreto to perform a new instrumental version of Bernstein's "West Side Story."

The Newport Jazz Festival has pulled out all the stops for its 50th anniversary tour, which plays just one night at the State Theatre on Feb. 11. Saxophonists James Carter and James Moody, pianist Cedar Walton, trumpeter Randy Brecker, guitarist Howard Alden, bassist Peter Washington and drummer Lewis Nash assure the highest standard of playing -- a standard fully in keeping with the grand and lasting legacy of the granddaddy of all jazz festivals. A multimedia presentation of highlights from the history of the Newport Jazz Festival is included.

Tenor Daniil Shtoda, born in 1977 in St. Petersburg, Russia, has been described as a "wunderkind." Shtoda already has made notable appearances at the Edinburgh Festival and Wigmore Hall. Shtoda performs Feb. 28, accompanied by the formidable Larissa Gergieva, artistic director of the Maryinsky Academy of the Kirov Opera.

Concluding the 100th anniversary season of the Cornell Concert Series on April 28 will be cellist Yo-Yo Ma and the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, directed by Ton Koopman. Ma has embraced the early music insights of Dutch harpsichordist/conductor Ton Koopman, and two recordings already have come from the Ma/Koopman partnership: "Simply Baroque" and "Simply Baroque II." In both, Ma's own Stradivarius cello was configured as a baroque instrument, as it will be for his concert in Ithaca, which features the music of Bach and Vivaldi.

September 4, 2003