Sorry, folks, I let a few weeks go by without updating this blog. Was busy working on our print magazine, SAN ANTONIO WOMAN. By the way, people often ask me where they can find the current issue of the magazine. So, for the record, it’s available at most H-E-Bs and at CVS pharmacies, plus at select other locations throughout the city. The CVS in my neighborhood had a pile of them the other day. Hope this helps.
Now about the interesting things happening this week.
If you are a music fan, the San Antonio International Piano Competition should be on your list of thing to do this week. Once every four years, the dedicated group of San Antonians behind this wonderful event brings to town the crème-de-la-crème of young piano virtuosos from all over the world (ages 20-32) to play and compete for medals and special awards. It’s an unparalleled opportunity to enjoy extraordinary piano fireworks and root for your favorites without paying high concert prices. All competition recitals, which take place at the Ruth Taylor Recital Hall at Trinity University, are free and open to the public. This year, the playing start June 7 at 1:30 p.m. and doesn’t stop until Sunday, June 12 when the winners will take the stage at 3 p.m.
In addition to three top medal winners, there are special awards for a range of other accomplishments, including best performance of a SAIPC commissioned piece (This year from composer Matthew Mason); best performance of a work from the 20th or 21st century, and for performances of Baroque, Classical and Romantic works.
Though all the concerts are free, if you want to support the organization while having fun, you can attend the end-of-fiesta reception Sunday night at the Veranda, 1746 Lockhill-Selma Rd., where you’ll mingle with the pianists, judges, organizers and supporters. I attended both the concerts and the reception a few times and I can tell you that you’ll be astonished by the performances. The intimate setting is perfect for solo piano and you’ll most likely have a favorite pianist whom you’ll want to see as the top medalist. Then you can chat with him or her at the reception. It’s a nice way to cap the day, or the week. For reservations go to www.saipc.org
A very different event but equally worth of our attention is “14” a show created by director Roberto Prestigiacomo for AtticRep. It opens Thursday at the Alvarez Theater in the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts. Inspired by the director’s own 14-year-old daughter, the piece tells a story of a girl named Maia as she grows from an infant to a teenager in the post-9/11 world. Prestigiacomo is interested in expanding the boundaries of theater by incorporating a variety of other disciplines, especially movement-based ones such as contemporary dance and, in this case, aerial dance. The latter is choreographed by aerialist Julia Langenberg, founder of the Aerial Horizon company, whose members engage in mind-boggling athletic feats while suspended in the air. (See the SAN ANTONIO WOMAN ArtBeat article, written by yours truly.) The modern dance contribution is by Seme Jatib. Video projections will create a sense of place.
I spoke to Prestigiacomo a while back when he was developing the piece. He described it as a journey, roughly modeled on stories of mythological heroes, who encounter obstacles as they travel to strange lands but also learn a great deal and eventually return home wiser and stronger. Maia’s journey starts with the “big bang” that occurred on 9/11 and changed our world in significant ways. The show promises to be a visual feast. (www.atticrep.org; for tickets call 223-8624).
