San Diego weekend arts events: Brendan Nguyen, San Diego Symphony, Andrés Hernández and more

Speaker 1: (00:00)

This weekend in the arts, we have a lot of piano music, the intersection of poetry and art, and some Pulitzer prize winning photo journalism. Joining me with all the details as KPBS arts editor and producer, Julia Dixon, Evans, and Julia. Welcome.

Speaker 2: (00:16)

Hi Maureen. Thanks for having me. You have

Speaker 1: (00:19)

Two piano performances is on your radar for this weekend. One from the symphony at the civic theater playing some of the greats and another from a smaller ensemble project blank, performing solo piano pieces by lesser known women composers. Let's start there with project blank.

Speaker 2: (00:37)

Yeah. Um, Brendan Wyn is one of the co-founder is of project blank, which is a performance organization, an ensemble, and no one's also an accomplished piano player. So to kick off their 2022 season, they're doing a concert of solo piano works, performed BYN, and this is also a donation based pay. What you can event with a $5 suggested minimum donation. They are doing women composers. So let's start with a living composer, but one that's 98 years old. She is an Ethiopian exile and none Emma ho Sega Maram G brow. And this is a piece she wrote called the madman's laughter. Andy will also perform some Amy Beach compositions. Um, she's an American composer and piano player who lived from 1867 through 1940, and noun will be performing a few of her works. And finally, there's Missy Mao, who is a young contemporary American composer. She's really prolific and composes for a pretty wide range of instruments and ensembles, but nomen will play a few of her works for solo piano. This one it's called breaker is one of my favorites. And this was from 2013.

Speaker 1: (02:19)

Brandon Wyn performs works by three women composers Saturday evening at St. James by the sea in LA Jolla. Now let's talk about the symphony concerts this weekend. Yeah.

Speaker 2: (02:31)

George Lee will join the symphony on piano for two concerts. There's one tonight and another Saturday afternoon. And both are at the civic theater. This will be conducted by Rafael PI and they're playing the much loved Rapsody on a theme of Paganini by RMAN and off. And this has one of the most recognizable passages in classical music. But beyond that section, it's a really lively and powerful piece that most of us probably have never listened to all the way through. And they're also playing symphony fantastic by Barios and a 1920s piece by a black American composer William Grant, still his darker America.

Speaker 1: (03:23)

The symphony performs tonight at eight and Saturday at 2:00 PM at the civic theater now onto the world of visual art and poetry. You've told us before about artist Andre Hernandez and her new exhibition of photography crying on the blue line trolley. But tomorrow she's in conversation with local poet, Carla Cordero. Can you tell us how poetry is connected here?

Speaker 2: (03:48)

Right. I actually first learned about Hernandez through her poetry in a graphic novel called we used to move through the city like doves and the wind. And now she has this multidisciplinary work of mostly photography. And that's up at the hill street country club right now. Her work is so intensely informed by this experience of feeling trapped by the border and being unable to move back and forth to see her partner, particularly during COVID when the border was completely closed to her. But even when open and Hernandez has to endure this really unsettling experience of crossing a border and Hernandez writes about this, the process of traveling across the border or about love in a really vulnerable and sparse way. And I think there's a lot of overlap between the poetry and the photography in the exhibition of that architecture of the border or from the trolley ride from San Ciro and there's poetry and, and short video works that go along with it. But they're going to be discussing that intersection on Saturday afternoon in an artist talk, uh, that's in conversation with Carla Cordero, who is a professor and a it she's author of the amazing poetry collection called how to pull apart the earth. And it's virtual

Speaker 1: (05:09)

Andres Hernandez will be in conversation with Carla Cordero Saturday at 1:00 PM, local photo journalist, Don Bartlet won of Pulitzer in 2003 for his work with the LA times documenting central American youth migrating north to the us. He has a retrospective of his work on view at the Oceanside museum of art right now. And what do you know about it? So this

Speaker 2: (05:34)

Exhibit covers something like 40 years of his work starting in the late 1970s. He was a photojournalist or what was then called the San Diego union. Um, he was with the paper until the mid eighties, and then continued with the LA times until 2015. And his photography is really powerful and story centric. He's traveled around the world, working on assignments and his work covers such a broad range of what the world has gone through in the last four decades. Definitely some of his most powerful pieces are those Pulitzer winning pieces of the central American youth on their journey. And my favorite is the striking picture taken from behind a who is sitting on top of a moving train. It's such a fleeting moment, but one that's really incredible. It'll all be on view at OMA through May 1st and the museums open Thursday through Sunday afternoons.

Speaker 1: (06:30)

That's Don Bartlet's exhibition of photography, elusive moments, and during stories at the ocean's side museum of art, be sure to check with events, organizers for last minute changes or cancellations, and you can find details on these and more arts events or sign up for Julia's weekly KPBS arts newsletter@kpbs.org slash arts. I've been speaking with K PS arts editor and producer Julia Dixon Evans as always. Julia. Thanks

Speaker 2: (07:01)

A lot. Thank you, Maureen. Have a good weekend.