Summer Concert Series

The Norton Simon Museum Presents the Seventh Season of its Popular Summer Concert Series

June–September 2013

Featuring musical performances held in the Museum’s galleries and theater on select Friday evenings at 7:00 p.m., the series includes favorite performers such as the California String Quartet and Polli Chambers-Salazar, as well as new musicians.

Performances are free with Museum admission and no reservations are required. Stickers for ensured seating are distributed in the Main Entrance gallery starting at 6:00 p.m. Members enjoy early seating between 6:30 and 6:45 p.m.; general admission seating begins at 6:45 p.m.

Concerts include:

Sight and Sound
Bobby Bradford and Friends
Friday, June 21, 7:00–8:00 p.m.
Enjoy an evening of jazz at the Museum, celebrating the sights and sounds inspired by Modernism. Modernist artists of the late 19th and early 20th centuries explored various forms of visual expression, using elements such as rhythm, form and contrast to transcend traditional boundaries within their artwork. The sounds of Bobby Bradford and Friends take inspiration from works by these artists and transform their visual experience into an aural expression.
Presented in the Museum’s theater.

Color, Line and Form: Alexei Jawlensky and the Music of His Time
Dr. Polli Chambers-Salazar
Friday, June 28, 7:00–8:00 p.m.
The early 20th century was a time of experimentation, and composers such as Igor Stravinsky were writing innovative new music while artists such as Alexei Jawlensky were investigating color, line and form. After many years in the Russian army and a period of study at the Academy of Art in St. Petersburg, Jawlensky moved to Munich, where he painted portraits infused with intense color. Jawlensky’s use of color was shared by his fellow Russian, the composer Alexander Scriabin, who was interested in the connections between color and musical tones. Pianist Polli Chambers-Salazar presents an evening focusing on the works of Jawlensky and on piano works of Russian composers of the same era.
Presented in the Museum’s theater.

A Late Quartet
California String Quartet
Friday, July 19, 7:00–8:00 p.m.
The California String Quartet returns for a performance of one of Beethoven’s famous late quartets, Op. 131. Beethoven took the classical string quartet and radically expanded the art form in every conceivable way. The quartets became longer, more complicated and more difficult to play, and more intellectually and emotionally intense. “A Late Quartet" summarizes this overall progress in its move from darkness and its struggle for light and spiritual renewal.
Presented in the Museum’s 20th-century gallery.

Of Northern European and Mediterranean Origins
Odeum Guitar Duo
Friday, July 26, 7:00–8:00 p.m.
The Odeum Guitar Duo presents perennial soulful blossoms of sound vibrations from their two classical guitars. The Duo illuminates the exquisite melodic strains and tone colors of Scarlatti, Schubert, Brahms, Sor and Debussy, all of whom composed their works in Northern Europe and the Mediterranean.
Presented in the Museum’s theater.

Summer Impressions
Arpa y Aulos: Salpy Kerkonian and Andrea Puente
Friday, August 30, 7:00–8:00 p.m.
Impressionist composers incorporated the fluid shimmer of flute and harp to create the stunning wash of color and resonance that is Impressionism. Arpa y Aulos, the flute-and-harp duo of Salpy Kerkonian and Andrea Puente, perform works by such composers as Debussy, Ravel and Fauré. Vocalist Amanda Squitieri joins the duo.
Presented in the Museum’s theater.

The Golden Bird: Musical Responses to Visual Art
Vicki Ray
Friday, September 20, 7:00–8:00 p.m.
Contemporary pianist Vicki Ray offers a wide-ranging program of vibrant modern music influenced by the visual arts. Performing on solo piano and piano with electronics, she explores aural responses to paintings, sculptures, cartoons and the visual creative process itself by celebrated modern and contemporary composers. Some of the music has a direct correspondence to a specific work, whereas other pieces explore the lifelong relationship of artist to composer or demonstrate the influence of particular creative techniques. Specific artists represented include Constantin Brancusi, Joan Miró, Gustave Moreau and Sol LeWitt.
Presented in the Museum’s 20th-century gallery.