Arts & Culture

On Saturday the grey streets and sidewalk of Houston St. will be replaced with art murals made with chalk. For nearly a decade, Artpace’s Chalk It Up festival has gathered artists to express their talent on a canvas that people normally literally walk all over. 

Artpace Deputy Director Mary Heathcott said that  holding a show like Chalk It Up allows for a much larger audience.

James Dick has a good relationship with the Chamber Orchestra Kremlin and conductor Mischa Rachlevsky; in fact they have performed together previously in Texas, as well as in Moscow.

"They're the finest players in Russia, either in the conservatory or playing professionally," says soloist James Dick. "It is a pleasure to work with them. I can also guarantee you haven't heard Beethoven like this before, a new orchestration that has written the wind parts out for the strings and piano. It is breathtaking!"

On Sunday, October 14, the San Antonio International Piano Competition gets underway at Trinity University's Ruth Taylor Recital Hall. The eleven young men and women hail from Malaysia to Italy, and China to the United States. They will play music by Beethoven, baroque and a new piece written by Pulitzer Prize winning composer Paul Moravec.

"Of course I have to make it difficult." Moravec says, adding that it is not just about virtuosity. "I wanted the work to be beautiful, and hopefully helpful for the competitors, that they can use it later in their career on recitals."

Coming up next week, a solo piano recital by Lang Lang, Tuesday, October 16 at 7:30 p.m. at the Majestic Theatre. As he did in his last appearance in San Antonio, the image of his hands will be projected over the piano during the concert, so you’ll see his technique from every seat in the historic Majestic.

The San Antonio Symphony was one of many across the country to be in contract negotiations and is now one of the few to finally come to an agreement. Symphony Board Chair Dennert Ware said the collective bargaining agreement will extend the length of the performance season.
 
"We're slowly increasing the weeks from 27 to 29; we think that's a positive step," Ware said. "We made some very modest increases in salary."