Arts & Events

Arts Calendar

Wednesday January 21, 2009 - 06:57:00 PM

THURSDAY, JAN. 22 -more-


Berkeley Symphony Names Carneiro Director

By Ken Bullock Special to the Planet
Wednesday January 21, 2009 - 06:59:00 PM
Joana Carneiro

Joana Carneiro will succeed Kent Nagano as Berkeley Symphony director. The selection follows a two-year search that saw six guest conductors under consideration for the post leading the orchestra in concerts and in readings of compositions by the resident composers of the Symphony’s “Under Construction” series. -more-


OEBS Premieres Bay Area Composer’s ‘World Concerto for Cello and Orchestra’

By Ken Bullock Special to the Planet
Wednesday January 21, 2009 - 06:59:00 PM

Oakland East Bay Symphony will present the world premiere of Bay Area composer Nolan Gasser’s World Concerto for Cello and Orchestra, also performing Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring and Johannes Brahms’ Symphony No. 3, at 8 p.m. Friday at the Paramount Theater in Oakland. -more-


Moving Pictures: Newspaper Noir at the Castro Theater

By Justin DeFreitas
Wednesday January 21, 2009 - 07:00:00 PM
Raymond Burr, as usual, stars as the heavy in Anthony Mann's "Desperate."

The struggle of World War II and the triumph of its conclusion brought to the silver screen a vision of a nation bold and patriotic, wholesome and optimistic. From propaganda films to brassy celebratory musicals, Hollywood’s program of A-list releases rolled out a bright-eyed, rosy-cheeked presentation of Norman Rockwell’s America. -more-


Moving Pictures: The Continuing Adventures of Scott Walker

By Justin DeFreitas
Wednesday January 21, 2009 - 07:00:00 PM

Scott Walker: 30 Century Man begins by building up the myth of Scott Walker, the narrator informing us of the elusiveness of the man, including the years of silence in which the singer rarely allowed himself to be photographed, at least not without customary sunglasses and visor pulled low. But if the opening of Stephen Kijak’s film seems a bit portentous, perhaps we can afford to be forgiving, as the music he documents has that same blend of grandiosity, mystery and sweeping melodrama. -more-


Sarah Cahill Plays Music for Peace by Nine Composers

By Ken Bullock Special to the Planet
Wednesday January 21, 2009 - 07:01:00 PM

Pianist Sarah Cahill will perform “A Sweeter Music,” music for peace from nine composers, including Terry Riley, Yoko Ono, Frederic Rzewski, Bay Area band The Residents—and Berkeley’s 17-year-old composer, Preben Antonsen, with video by John Sanborn, Cahill’s husband, this Sunday at Hertz Hall on the UC campus for Cal Performances’ 20th Century & Beyond music series. -more-


‘Art’ at Alameda’s Altarena Playhouse

By Ken Bullock Special to the Planet
Wednesday January 21, 2009 - 07:01:00 PM

What do you do if your dear friend has forked out a bundle for a canvas you can only see as a phony work of art, not even decor, much less a picture? -more-


East Bay Then and Now: Kingman Hall: a Microcosm of 20th-Century Berkeley History

By Daniella Thompson
Wednesday January 21, 2009 - 07:06:00 PM
Kingman Hall today. The arched loggia has been enclosed in glass, and front-yard parking is now the norm.

Few houses in Berkeley (or anywhere, for that matter) can boast the picturesque setting and colorful history of Kingman Hall, the student co-op at 1730 La Loma Avenue. Perched above the oak-wooded canyon of Strawberry Creek, the building overlooks a sunken garden with a creekside amphitheater. Built in 1914 for Nu Chapter of the Theta Xi fraternity, the house has mirrored the history of Berkeley over the past 95 years. -more-


Community Calendar

Wednesday January 21, 2009 - 06:56:00 PM

THURSDAY, JAN. 22 -more-