This Is Your Brain on Music
The power of a playlist can affect productivity and happiness
By Aspen Matis
Columbia University psychiatry professor Galina Mindlin, MD, PhD, studies neuron connections and how such brain links can be strengthened by listening to the right music. Her new book, Your Playlist Can Change Your Life (co-authored by Joseph Cardillo and Don DuRousseau), distills her brain-training findings into playlists for the mood you want to be in. Read more
Serious or Just Playing Around?
Either way, guitar and piano are the most popular instruments to learn
“Why do people love music? That’s an age-old question,” said Richard Russell, the associate director of the Mannes College the New School for Music Extension Division. “It speaks to something in the soul. People have a calling for it.”
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Roberta Flack’s Manhattan Love Song
She’s been hailed as one of the leading songstresses of her time, but for the past 35 years she’s also been singing a soulful love song to the neighborhood that she’s called home.
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FREE ORCHESTRAL CONCERTS
By Karen Zheng
The Naumburg Orchestral Concerts is bringing back two popular classical ensembles and introducing a new group for its 106th year of hosting free, outdoor performances at the Naumburg Bandshell in Central Park.
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Free Classical Concerts at Mannes
Nestled in a quiet side street, Mannes College is truly a diamond in the rough.
One of Mannes’ least-known features, which is also most astonishing to new visitors, is its tradition of providing free concerts nearly every night of the week in its two concert halls.
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Yorkville Melodies Turn To Satin
“Barbara, Kronks!” I said, turning to mom’s youngest sister working the stroller and me down the long York Avenue stoop.
It was June 1958. Barbara was 19 and I was 4. Barbara loved me better than a sandwich loaded with mayo, but she had a second reason for taking us gallivanting: Teen boys loved teen girls pushing carriages. I was bait. To get Barbara’s attention, the guys had to go through me, and these were rough nice guys on the corner of 87th Street and York Avenue. In Kronk’s Soda Fountain, I’d get pretzels and egg creams on the cuff while the boys tried to impress Barbara.
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Black Eyed Peas in the Park
Let’s Get it Started. The Black Eyed Peas will be giving a free concert in Central Park on June 9 to benefit the Robin Hood Foundation, an anti-poverty charity. Tickets are required. Visit http://blackeyedpeas.robinhood.org/ for tickets and more info. The Associated Press was the first to report the story. http://bit.ly/jUSRd2
A Verdi Opera in Arty Hands
The Met does La traviata, and the Manhattan School does a Hoiby opera, plus other sleepers
The Metropolitan Opera has a new production of La traviata, though it is not really new: It is simply new to New York. This production, by the German director Willy Decker, debuted in Salzburg in 2005. The principal singers were Anna Netrebko (Violetta), Rolando Villazón (Alfredo) and Thomas Hampson (Germont). It was the sensation of the summer, maybe even the sensation of the year. The following summer, someone involved in that production said to me, “There was an awful lot of hype surrounding that show, wasn’t there?” I said, “Maybe. But I have to tell you: I have never been more moved in a theater.” Read more
City Week: December 16 – December 22
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 17
Peter and the Wolf—Isaac Mizrahi narrates Sergei Prokofiev’s children’s classic, “Peter & the Wolf.” New York City Opera’s George Manahan will conduct the Juilliard Ensemble. Dec. 17-19, 1071 5th Ave., 212-423-3500; times vary, $10+.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art—Alan Gilbert conducts members of the New York Philharmonic as part of the CONTACT! series. 1000 5th Ave., 212-535-7710; 7 p.m., $20.
Joffrey Ballet School—The school presents a new rendition of The Nutcracker, created by Gelsey Kirkland and Misha Chernov. Ends Sunday, John Jay College, Gerald Lynch Theater, 899 10th Ave., 212-254-8520; 7 p.m., $20+.
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 18
Clay Festival 5—The Clay Festival celebrates its fifth year by showcasing 20 works by New York ceramic artists. Dec. 18, St. Anthony’s Church, at Houston and Sullivan streets, 212-226-5249; 12-7 p.m., free.
Jerome Robbins Theater—Choreographer Aszure Barton explores the human psyche in Busk. Baryshnikov Arts Center, 450 W. 37th St., 646-731-3200; 8 p.m., $25.
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 19
Church of St. Ignatius Loyola—Benjamin Britten’s “Ceremony of Carols” features carols from around the world and from our own tradition. 980 Park Ave., 212-288-2520; 4 p.m., $40+.
Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola—Percussionist Duduka Da Fonseca and pianist Helio Alves lead a concert of samba jazz and bossa nova. Ends today, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Frederick P. Rose Hall, Broadway at West 60th Street, 5th Fl., 212-258-9595, www.jalc.org; 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., $15+.
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 21
Avery Fisher Hall—The National Choral Council presents the 43rd annual Handel’s Messiah Sing-In with music director Martin Josman. 10 Lincoln Center Plz., 212-875-5656; 8 p.m., $32+.
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 22
Jazz Standard—Drummer Francisco Mela performs with pianist Vijay Iyer and bassist Larry Grenadier. 116 E. 27th St., 212-576-2232; 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. today and tomorrow, $25.
City Week: November 12 – November 18
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 12
Art20—Galleries showcase their finest 20th-century and contemporary paintings, sculpture, drawings and photography, through Nov. 15. Park Avenue Armory, 643 Park Ave., 212-777-5218, www.sanfordsmith.com; $20+.
SATURDAY, NOVEMER 13
New York Jazz Choreography Project—The company’s semi-annual dance concert is devoted exclusively to jazz and presented by Jazz Choreography Enterprises, Inc. Ailey Citigroup Theater, Joan Weill Center for Dance, 405 W. 55th St., 212-369-8775; $15+.
Margaret Mead Film & Video Festival—The longest-running documentary festival returns for its 34th year, through Nov. 14. American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at West 79th Street, 212-769-5100, www.amnh.org.
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 14
The Pier Show—The show brings together 500 art and antiques exhibitors, as well as the Steampunk House, filled with all of the elements necessary to complete your own Steampunk project. Passenger Ship Terminal, Pier 94, 12th Avenue at West 55th Street, 973-808-5015; 10 a.m.–6 p.m., $15.
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 15
Latin American Cultural Week—Pan American Musical Art Research presents the fifth annual LACW, celebrating Latin American culture through performing arts concerts, films, visual arts and auctions. Nov. 10-17, locations vary, www.lacw.net.
Merkin Concert Hall—Performers celebrate the works of composer Jerome Kern as part of the Broadway Close Up series. Kaufman Center, 129 W. 67th St., 212-501-3300; 8, $40.
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 16
Alice Tully Hall—Organist Paul Jacobs performs Johann Sebastian Bach’s organ masterwork Clavierübung III in its entirety. Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, 10 Lincoln Center Plz., 212-721-6500; 7:30, $45+.
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 17
Church of St. Ignatius Loyola—The professional choir and orchestra of St. Ignatius Loyola perform works of Liszt, Viktor Kalabis and Juraj Filas as part of the Sacred Music in a Sacred Space series. 980 Park Ave., 212-288-2520; 8, $30+.
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 18
The Drawing Center—Gerhard Richter: Lines Which Do Not Exist. Ends Nov. 18. Claudia Wieser: Poems of the Right Angle. 35 Wooster St., 212-219-2166.
