Music From The Sole

Ashwini Ramaswamy

Let the Crows Come (with live music)

Friday | January 19 | 8pm

Saturday | January 20 | 2pm

NEC’s Plimpton Shattuck Black Box Theatre

Evoking potent symbolism of the crow as a messenger between life and death, transcending space and time, Ashwini Ramaswamy explores memory, dislocation, ancestry, and more in Let the Crows Come.

Ramaswamy, who comes from a family of Bharatanatyam teachers and practitioners, remixes and recontextualizes this Indian classical dance alongside two other artists representing seemingly disparate techniques and traditions. Alanna Morris performs with an Afro-Caribbean Modern technique, and Berit Ahlgren performs using the Gaga technique developed by Ohad Naharin.

Together, the three women illustrate the transmission of memory and ideas from person to person, generation to generation, culture to culture: movements from Bharatanatyam dance are passed between them, transformed by each dancer’s training and their artistic interpretations.

Anthony Roth Costanzo countertenor

Bryan Wagorn piano

Friday | January 19 | 8pm

NEC’s Jordan Hall

Described by the Telegraph as “Super-cool, multi-talented and dauntlessly adventurous,” American countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo returns to Boston for an all-new recital program with pianist Bryan Wagorn.

A recent Grammy Award winner for his fearless and stunning portrayal of the title character in Philip Glass’ Akhnaten, Anthony Roth Costanzo has drawn public and critical acclaim for his unforgettable performances and the brilliance, power, and agility of his voice.

Costanzo’s program promises dramatic commitment and incisive characterizations; “very few singers can bring such high-caliber acting to a concert appearance,” wrote Opera News

Hélène Grimaud

“True to form, Ms. Grimaud proved a focused, at times ferocious, pianist who favors a big, steely sound and bold, unsentimental playing.”

–The New York Times

Hélène Grimaud piano

Saturday | January 20 | 8pm | NEC’s Jordan Hall

Sunday | January 21 | 3pm | Meadow Hall at Groton Hill Music Center

French pianist Hélène Grimaud enjoys a busy and varied career on the world’s concert stages as an orchestral soloist, a chamber music partner, and a solo recitalist. With her combination of sheer strength and power tempered by her interpretive subtlety and technical control, she’s an impressive pianist in any setting.

Grimaud’s Boston-area recital debut shows off her expressive skills and technical control: the many moods and the brilliant variations heard in Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 30, the colors and soulfulness of Brahms’ late piano works, and the pyrotechnics of Busoni’s transcription of Bach’s Chaconne

Program:

Ludwig van Beethoven

Johannes Brahms

Piano Sonata No. 30, Op. 109

Three Intermezzi for piano, Op. 117

Johannes Brahms Fantasies, Op. 116

J. S. Bach / Ferruccio Busoni Chaconne from Partita No. 2 in D minor, BWV 1004

Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis

Max Roach Centennial Celebration

Sunday | January 28 | 5pm Symphony Hall

Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra pay tribute to one of the greats when they celebrate the centennial of drummer and composer Max Roach. Roach, a pioneering legend and innovative master musician and bandleader, spanned a diverse range of styles and influenced generations to follow with his artistry and his commitment to activism.

“Only a group of musicians who have toured together for so long—with several original members still on the bandstand—could have attained this kind of synchronicity in intricate passagework.”

–Chicago Tribune