Weekend Arts Planner: Edward Hopper's New York at the Whitney and two big shows at Carnegie Hall
WNYC Culture and Arts Editor Steve Smith joins Weekend Edition host David Furst to chat about arts highlights in New York City this week.
Steve's picks:
You don't want to be the only one among your friends who hasn't seen "Edward Hopper's New York," a new exhibition that opened this week at the Whitney Museum of American Art. Hopper is probably best known for his 1942 painting "Nighthawks," a familiar image that depicts a handful of people inside a brightly illuminated diner, on a dark corner in what could be some Greenwich Village of the mind. He was born in Upper Nyack in 1882, but spent nearly all of his mature career here, and his images of New York City are the focus of this powerful new show, in which the quieter corners of our metropolis are depicted with the gentle melancholy and luminous glow we associate with his work. Through March 5.
2. The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra might not convey the metropolitan glamor of its better known London counterparts, but this British ensemble has been a proving ground for some the world's most exciting conductors: Simon Rattle, Sakari Oramo, and Andris Nelsons are three of the more prominent stick-wavers to emerge from that post. For its first Carnegie Hall appearance in 30 years, the orchestra is led by the exciting Lithuanian conductor Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla, who recently completed her term as the orchestra's music director. They'll perform Elgar's grandly romantic Cello Concerto with soloist Sheku Kanneh Mason, the young superstar who captured the world's attention at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in 2018. The program also includes the New York premiere of a new symphony by Thomas Adès based on his opera "The Exterminating Angel," and it ends with Debussy's gorgeous "La Mer." Saturday, Oct. 22 at 8 p.m.
Natalia Lafourcade, a wonderful pop and folk singer-songwriter from Veracruz, Mexico, has released a string of successful records, filling her shelf with Grammy and Latin Grammy awards in the process. She'll make her Carnegie Hall debut one day before the release of her new album, "De todas las flores." What's magical about Lafourcade is the way her songs can sound nostalgic and contemporary at the same time – she knows her music history, and she'll honor it by sharing this prestigious stage with two iconic predecessors and past collaborators: Uruguayan pop genius Jorge Drexler, and legendary Cuban balladeer Omara Portuando. Thursday, Oct. 27 at 8 p.m.
Â
