Anthony McGill (photo by Martin Romero)
Collaboration, Dance and a Great Orchestra Banish Winter Blahs
The Harriman-Jewell Series is celebrating its 60th anniversary season with an emphasis on collaboration. A recital on Jan. 31 featuring pianist Emanuel Ax and clarinetist Anthony McGill is the epitome of collaboration. And in February, there’s much more to come. From a quirky, surreal take on “Alice in Wonderland” to the unbridled joy of Ballet Folklórico de México, the Series will banish winter’s gloom with colorful and exuberant performances.
“We’re super excited about Ax and McGill,” Clark Morris, artistic director of the Harriman-Jewell Series said. “They’re both superstars, one of them is very familiar to Kansas City, but we’ve never presented Anthony McGill. In fact, I don’t think we’ve ever presented a clarinet recital.”
It’s about time Kansas City meets this distinguished musician. McGill joined the New York Philharmonic in 2014 as its principal clarinetist. He is the orchestra’s first African American principal player.
Ax, of course, needs no introduction.
“Manny is one of our most beloved artists,” Morris said. “I feel like he’s superhuman. His musical gifts are amazing. He’s a delightful person, and I think his personality comes out in his playing. He’s one of those people that you would love to have as your neighbor because he’s one of the nicest people on the planet. He’s also very funny and has a great sense of humor. I just can’t say enough good things about him.”
The program will include several works by African American composers.
“They’re doing a recent work by James Lee III, some short pieces by Florence Price and Jessie Montgomery, Adolphus Hailstork’s “The Blue Bag,” which was composed for Anthony, and some other works inspired by Ella Fitzgerald and Lena Horne,” Morris said. “They’re also doing Leonard Bernstein’s Clarinet Sonata and some Schubert sonatas. It’s an incredibly varied program, and I think it’s going to be a barrel of fun.”
MOMIX, an offshoot of the dance company Pilobulus, was founded in 1981. They have captivated audiences with works that combine mime, acrobatics and dance. On Feb. 15, they’ll present their take on a Lewis Carroll classic.
“We haven’t actually presented MOMIX in a number of years,” Morris said. “We presented them multiple times, but a long time ago. It’s an incredibly inventive company. They use props and lighting and illusion to create something that’s more than dance. They’re a little bit like Cirque du Soleil. This particular performance was inspired by “Alice in Wonderland,” which is quirky, creative and fun, so it really gives them a platform to create a visual spectacle.”
Ballet Folklórico de México has been a Harriman-Jewell favorite for decades. Founded by Amalia Hernández in 1952, the company incorporates indigenous Mesoamerican culture into its performances.
“We have presented them multiple times,” Morris said. “It’s music, it’s dance, it’s costuming, it’s an incredible night of celebrating Mexican culture going all the way back to the Aztecs. We love presenting cultures from around the world. That’s part of the variety of our programming.”
Bringing the world’s great orchestras to Kansas City is another hallmark of the Series. On Feb. 25, they’re presenting the Czech National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Steven Mercurio in Helzberg Hall. Great orchestras can start to sound the same, but Czech orchestras, with their piquant winds, have maintained their distinctive sound.
“It’s one of the pleasures of what we get to do, bringing orchestras that are unique and have a special sound,” Morris said. “And it’s fun to get to put them in Helzberg Hall, where you can hear a pin drop and absorb the music in one of the best halls in the world.”
Anthony McGill, clarinet and Emanuel Ax, piano
7 p.m. Jan. 31. Folly Theater, 300 W. 12th St.
MOMIX Alice
7:30 p.m. Feb. 15. Muriel Kauffman Theatre, Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts.
Ballet Folklórico de México de Amalia Hernández
5:30 p.m. Feb. 23. Muriel Kauffman Theatre, Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts.
Czech National Symphony Orchestra featuring Steven Mercurio, music director and conductor
7 p.m. Feb. 25. Helzberg Hall, Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts.
For more information, hjseries.org.
–Patrick Neas
