Impromp2, The Community Blog

Spend New Year's Eve at Lincoln Center with WPBT2

LIVE FROM LINCOLN CENTER PRESENTS
“New York Philharmonic: New Year’s Eve Gala”
Maestro Lorin Maazel’s last as Music Director of the Philharmonic
and featuring acclaimed mezzo-soprano Susan Graham
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 at 8:00 p.m. on WPBT2

Tune in to WPBT2 on Wednesday, December 31 at 8:00 p.m. for Live From Lincoln Center featuring the New York Philharmonic’s New Year’s Eve Gala, Lorin Maazel’s last telecast as Music Director of the orchestra. Ring in the New Year with this glamorous evening of opera favorites from Bizet’s Carmen, Strauss’s Ariadne auf Naxos, and Lehár’s The Merry Widow performed by mezzo-soprano Susan Graham.

Lorin Maazel, Music Director of the New York Philharmonic in September 2002, has led more than 150 orchestras in more than 5,000 opera and concert performances. He has conducted seven world premieres–New York Philharmonic commissions, led cycles of works by Brahms, Beethoven, and Tchaikovsky, and has taken the Orchestra on numerous international tours, including the recent historic visit to Pyongyang, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Founded in 1842, the New York Philharmonic is one of the oldest orchestras in the world. Since its inception, it has played a leading role in American musical life, reaching out to audiences with touring that began in 1882; recordings beginning in 1917; and radio broadcasts since 1922, now represented by The New York Philharmonic This Week, syndicated nationally 52 weeks a year.

Farewell to Eartha Kitt

Over the Christmas holiday, we were saddened by the news that Eartha Kitt had passed away.  Already in our schedule for February of 2009 was a program called "An Evening with Eartha Kitt."  Here is a description:

Gwen Ifill talks with the legendary performer Eartha Kitt about her stage, dance and acting career. After baring her legs and her more personal side, Kitt closes the program by singing "Ain't Misbehavin," "La Vie En Rose" and "Here's to Life."

Look for "An Evening with Eartha Kitt" when WPBT2's February schedule is published or sign up for our e-guide here.

America's Best Leaders - Built In Miami

U.S. News & World Report, in a piece posted Thursday, December 9, 2009 on the magazine website, named Mayor Manny Diaz among 24 people honored as ''America's Best Leaders'' for 2008. Two other people with Miami connections made the list as well: Jeffrey Bezos, the founder and director of Amazon.com, is a 1982 graduate of Miami Palmetto High School; Michael Tilson Thomas, Founder and Artistic Director of the New World Symphony, the orchestral academy in Miami Beach.

At a ceremony on December 10, Mayor Diaz and Michael Tilson Thomas were honored by their fellow South Floridians and you can watch that event on uVu by clicking here.

The Story of India

The Story of India airs Mondays, January 5-19, 2009 at 9:00 p.m. on WPBT2

Michael Wood’s fascinating journey through the history of the Indian subcontinent, the first history of India on western television, chronicles the incredible richness and diversity of its peoples, cultures and landscapes; outlines the originality and continuing relevance of its ideas; and relates some of the most momentous and moving events in world history.

The world’s largest democracy and a rising economic giant, India is now as well known in the U.S. for its mastery of computer technology and its business and industrial strength as it is for its many-armed gods and its spiritual traditions. But India is also the world’s most ancient surviving civilization, with unbroken continuity stretching back into prehistory.

Like other great civilizations, India has renewed itself several times, enjoying several brilliant golden ages in art and culture. Its great thinkers and religious leaders have permanently changed the face of the globe. Now, in the era of globalization, India is once again becoming a leading player in the world and an increasingly important strategic partner and friend of the U.S. Home to more than a billion people, it is a land of amazing contrasts: It contains both the high-tech brilliance of Bangalore’s Silicon Valley and the archaic splendor of the Kumbh Mela festival, where 25 million pilgrims bathe in the sacred river Ganges on a single night. While moving at high speed into the modern world, India is still in touch with her ancient past.

Watch some clips on uVu.

Grey Gardens - The Musical?

From Independent Lens - The 1975 Maysles brothers cult classic Grey Gardens told the story of the eccentric and often humorous mother-daughter relationship. Grey Gardens looks at how their lives set the stage for the Maysles film and later the Broadway musical.

See Independent Lens: Grey Gardens - From East Hampton to Broadway, on Wednesday, January 7, 2009 at 11:00 p.m. on WPBT2

Watch clips here on uVu

GREAT PERFORMANCES AT THE MET - Doctor Atomic

John Adams’ contemporary masterpiece explores a momentous episode in modern history: the creation of the atomic bomb. Movie director Penny Woolcock makes her Met debut with this production. Baritone Gerald Finley plays J. Robert Oppenheimer, the title character, in this gripping adaptation of a story that changed the course of world history. Alan Gilbert conducts the opera’s Met premiere.

GREAT PERFORMANCES AT THE MET - Doctor Atomic premieres on WPBT2 on Monday, December 29 at 9:00 p.m.

RENÉE FLEMING: SACRED SONGS AND CAROLS

RENÉE FLEMING: SACRED SONGS AND CAROLS airs Wednesday, December 24 at 10 p.m. on WPBT2

Internationally hailed as one of the truly magnificent voices of our time, beloved American soprano Renée Fleming has consistently wowed critics and audiences alike with her keen musicianship, artistic versatility, and, of course, a voice considered by many to be the gold standard of soprano sound. Recorded at Germany's historic Mainz Cathedral, Fleming performs a lush selection of sacred Christmas music, accompanied by the esteemed Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, conducted by Trevor Pinnock. The concert repertoire includes selections from Handel's "Messiah" ("Rejoice Greatly"), Berlioz's "L'Enfance du Christ" ("L'Adieu des Bergers"). Also presented are "Laudamus te" from Mozart's "Mass in C Minor," Schubert's "Ave Maria," and "Simple Song" from Leonard Bernstein's "Mass."

HOLLY JOLLY POPS HOLIDAY WITH BARENAKED LADIES

Wednesday, December 24 at 11pm on WPBT2, get into the spirit of the Christmas season with conductor Keith Lockhart, the Boston Pops Orchestra and special guests in A HOLLY JOLLY POPS HOLIDAY WITH BARENAKED LADIES. During the special, irreverent hitmakers Barenaked Ladies put their own special twist on seasonal tunes, including "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen," "Three Ships" and "Green Christmas." Later, Lockhart and the orchestra perform perennial Pops holiday favorites "Gloria," "Hark the Herald Angels Sing," "White Christmas," "We Wish You A Merry Christmas" and "Sleigh Ride."

Chanukah Concert

Chanukah Concert 
The Klezmer band, "Traditions," performed harmonic renditions at a Chanukah concert for the Jewish Museum of Florida on Thursday, December 18, 2008. "Traditions" has been a Museum tradition since the Museum's opening in 1995, enchanting audiences with the rhythmic sensations of Klezmer for years. Watch highlights here on uVu.

THE LIFE A HOUSE BUILT

The 25th Anniversary of the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Work Project

Monday December 22 at 9:00 p.m. on WPBT2

This documentary film tells the extraordinary story of Jimmy and Rosalynn Carters’ 25-year involvement with Habitat for Humanity. Using the massive 2008 Blitz Build along the Gulf Coast as the centerpiece, the film celebrates the 25th anniversary of the Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project — from its humble origins in New York City to the global reach it has today. It is an inspiring story of how one man’s inability to ignore the vast need he encountered has since brought thousands of strangers together from across the globe and changed the lives of thousands more.