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................... CENTRAL PARK SPRING BIRD WALK
HILLSTEAD HOUSE MUSEUM & LUNCHEON As we traveled route 84 we enjoyed the lush green of the Farmington Valley with azaleas and
Cassatt to name a few. We also learned about the family, how they acquired the works and the hospitality they extended to the town folk. All too soon we were heading out on Route 84 and back to the city. It was a long and rewarding day and we look forward to our trip to the Rockefeller Estate in June.
SIGNATURE THEATRE COMPANY - EDWARD ALBEE’S OCCUPANT
MEET THE ARTIST AT LINCOLN CENTER - VINCE GIARDANO & THE NIGHTHAWKS Once again, the Nighthawks delighted their audience at the Kaplan Penthouse as they recreated CHELSEA GALLERY TOURS
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In Hemingway’s only drama and forerunner to For Whom The Bell Tolls, we aretransported to a Madrid hotel during the Spanish Civil War. What unfolds is a tale of love and espionage reminiscent of Casablanca. At the heart of the play is the romance between two war correspondents – Philip Rawlings, the troubled but determined Hemingway hero who drinks his breakfast and Dorothy Bridges, a self-absorbed, vapid Vassar grad and Veronica Lake look- MERKIN CONCERT HALL - STEPHEN BEUS piano Cultural Connections members were delighted by the piano virtuosity of Stephen Beus, Julliard Another Nearly Lost Treasure Nourished to New Life at City Center’s Encores! For its final show of the season, Encores! chose NO, NO, NANETTE, originally presented in the early twenties. (Its Broadway debut in 1925 was after lengthy engagements in Chicago, on the road, and even London.) For years it was thought of as an old warhorse, and later as more of a quaint relic until it was rediscovered by an enterprising team for a splashy Broadway revival in 1971 which headlined Ruby Keeler, a tapping sensation of many popular musical films of the 1930s. The team behind that production, including Bert Shevelove as book reviser and director, Donald Saddler as choreographer, and Ralph Burns and Luther Henderson as orchestrators, put a stamp on the show that made it a must-see production and preserved the flapper-era style of music, attire, and movement.
NEW YORK CITY OPERA - CANDIDE & BIG BAND SOCIAL
ARCHITECTURAL AND VISUAL LITERACY - WALKING TOUR Participants met at the Sherman Monument on Fifth Avenue and 59th Street and were INSTITUTE OF CLASSICAL ARCHITECTURE Cultural Connections members enjoyed a spirited and informative session with Francis MERKIN CONCERT HALL – THE CALDER QUARTET
INSTITUTE OF CLASSICAL ARCHITECTURE ICA President, Paul Gunther welcomed our group and introduced our second speaker, Calder Loth, Director – Virginia Department of Historic Resources, who would focus on architecture as a language with its roots in Greek and Latin. His objective was to give us the basics so we could read buildings like a book. What followed was a lively and stimulating discussion around the classical orders. Calder introduced the group to the Renaissance Architect, Palladio who wrote four books of Architecture in his time and was a major influence in the field. We also learned the distinction between the Greeks, who focused on the exterior of structures, and the Romans, who focused on interiors, on a practical level through slide illustrations. Our review of the Tuscan and Doric Orders was accompanied by a pictorial review of Park Avenue doorways, Upper East Side Brownstones, ....................... _________________________________________________________ LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU! |
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| © 2007 The Carter Burden Center, 1484 1st Ave, New York, NY, 10075 (212) 879-7400 info@burdencntr.org |
We gathered at the Boathouse Café and watched barn swallows dive for insects over the Boat Lake as we waited for the showers to subside. There were light eyed common grackles, a spotted sandpiper and colorful male mallards as well. On our walk toward the Ramble we heard a cat bird calling and spotted a robin’s neat nest. In a magnolia tree, there was a yellow and black warbler
up from the Caribbean. At the Point we saw black locusts in bloom as well as mulberry. We also found a Canada warbler with a black necklace across a yellow breast and an orange and black Baltimore oriole in fine voice. As we continued our walk along the ramble we were delighted to find a scarlet tanager with black wings and an American redstart fanning its tail. Star of Bethlehem 
were in bloom as we moved along the Azalea Pond, a little spot of heaven deep in the Ramble. There we found a downey woodpecker, a ruby choked hummingbird and water thrush as well as a silent toad spying on busy goldfish and koi. Sincere thanks to our gracious hosts Richard and Art for a delightful adventure. We look forward to another walk in June. 
dogwood still in bloom. Once we passed Miss Porter’s School we were only minutes away from Apricots for lunch where guests enjoyed chicken or pasta entrees followed by chocolate mouse cake with raspberry coulis. Before boarding our bus several in our group took a moment to enjoy fishermen casting for trout in the Farmington River. Three gracious docents met our group and guided us through Hillstead House, the Colonial Revival country estate of the Pope family, where we enjoyed original works by Monet, Manet, Degas, Whistler, and 
Signature Theatre Company closes its Season with Albee’s exploration of the life and mind of his friend, sculptor Louise Nevelson. In this tribute to the larger than life Nevelson, Albee makes the point that behind the drama of the sable eyelashes and the over the top costumes was the work which gives the best view of the artist. The play is clearly about survival – about going from being numb to being Occupied and all that happens in between. We hear the sculptors journey in her own words played splendidly by Tony and Academy Award winner Mercedes Ruehl who captures the charismatic and complex aspects of her character. Born in Kiev and raised in Rockland, Maine, Nevelson married a shipping magnate in 
1920 and gained access to New York society. We hear her describe this period with the words “I played the game, it wasn’t me.” At that time marriage was 
a way out and up. When the marriage failed, she left her husband and son to study with Hans Hoffman in Germany. Not until she took a found wood piece and stood it up did she realize she was about creating these wall pieces – she knew the space she Occupied. Here we have a journey of becoming toldby a woman who cast off a privileged life in New York for an unconventional life as an artist. Someone who “Always knew she was special, different.” Her guide on the retelling of her story is a wise and distinguished journalist played convincingly by Emmy winner Larry Bryggman who worked hard to keep her on the road. Kudos to Director, Pam McKinnon, who is no stranger to Albee’s work, Christine Jones for sets and Jane Greenwood for costumes. We look forward to next Season at the Signature! 
and authentically presented jazz and popular music from the 20’s and 30’s. The band opened with a number from the Swing Era, It Don’t Mean A Thing by Duke Ellington and followed with China Boy from the 30’s. We also heard the jazz classic for Sax, Body and Soul, Louie Armstrong’s I Double Dare You and Benny Goodman’s Avalon. During Q & A’s the band talked about the uniqueness of some of their instruments and shared their views on how amplification is managed on the Broadway stage today. Vince also introduced all of his band members before closing with Casaloma Stomp. We thoroughly enjoyed another thrilling afternoon at the Kaplan Penthouse. 
We met our knowledgeable host, Art Historian, Catherine Lawrence promptly at 11 and began our journey through five fascinating Chelsea Galleries. Our first stop was at the Tagore where we enjoyed Susan Weil’s Trees. This artists’ work is poignant in this time of global warming. Susan, who was born in 1930 and was married briefly to Rauschenberg, has captured the wonder of nature through the four seasons through multidimensional works, collages on light sensitive paper as well as Plexiglas. At the Aperture Gallery we enjoyed anonymous found photos depicting a travel theme as well as a 1940’s black and white study of twins and another series in color which elevated ordinary objects each expressing different cultures through vintage photos. At the Ceres Gallery we had an opportunity to meet the artist, Phyllis Rosser, who sculpts and paints. She uses aged river wood from Vermont to build her sculptures and then at the other end of the spectrum she paints vivid, 
engaging florals in the style of Georgia O’Keefe. At the Stephen Haller Gallery we had a chance to speak with the owner about the artist Gregory Johnston and his work which has been influenced by Zen gardens. Our Gallery tour ended at the James Cohen Gallery where we enjoyed a collision of cultures in Prospero’s Monsters by Yinka Shonibare. This three part installation of sculpture and photography explores the conflict between irrational mysticism and logical reason that occurred during the eighteenth century Enlightenment period. The battered frigate sculpture introduces the artist’s exhibit and is the visual equivalent of The Tempest. The main gallery features five sculptural vignettes based on the key thinkers of the Enlightenment. In the back gallery we saw a photographic series based on Francisco Goya y Luciente’s etchings, The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters. Here the artist focuses on the complexity ofcultural identity while arguing for a delicate balance fantasy and reality. We look forward to a tour of the Historic Wall Street area in June.
alike. Kelly Ai Coin gives a strong performance as
undercover counterespionage agent Philip and Heidi Armbruster is a solid and believable Dorothy. Other notable performers include James Andreassi as Antonio, a Madrid police colonel, Ronald Guttman as Max, an underground fighter and Nicole Shalhoub as Anita, Philip’s Spanish girlfriend. Thank you Mint Theater for thoughtfully staging neglected plays for more than a decade under the artistic direction of Jonathan Bank. We look forward to the next offering at the Mint. 
School graduate and first prize winner in the 20006 Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition. He began the program with Liszt’s transcription of Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in A minor , a dark, moving, powerful and rich piece originally done for organ. The Fugue starts out with a long introduction and then goes off into a flurry of intricate arpeggios followed by a run in the harmonic minor which clearly gives Mr. Beus the opportunity to demonstrate his mastery of the keyboard. The Fugue is in 6/8 time and ends in one of Bach’s most Toccata-like cadenzas 
and Mr. Baus clearly captured the passion of the ending. Next we heard Mendelssohn’s Sonata in E Major which is somewhat reminiscent of his Midsummer Nights Dream in itsdreamlike playfulness. The last movement which is soulful and commanding showcases Me. Beus versatility. After intermission, the program closed with Sonata in B-flat Major by Beethoven which is considered to be the culmination of his early “grand” piano sonatas. Once again we see the artists agility as he captures the contrasts between movements. Mr. Beus received a well deserved standing ovation for a thrilling end to our Merkin Hall Concert Series. We look forward to next season.
The Encores! re-visit in financially-strapped 2008 is a bit surprising, as the effort required to mount this show seems way above average, with requirements for far more dancing and costumes in particular than most previous shows in the series. However, under the supervision of director Walter Bobbie, music director Rob Fisher, and, most notably, choreographer Randy Skinner, the results were joyous. Burden Center attendees at the Wednesday dress rehearsal were treated to an evening of joyous song and dance. They were primed for this tuneful occasion at the 6:00 P.M. seminar hosted by Laurence Maslon with his usual competent cornucopia of information. His guest, Mercedes Ellington, was one of the original cast members of the landmark 1971 production, and in fact one of the few of that cast who went into rehearsal with strong experience with tap dancing, so central to the show. Ms Ellington was charming in her relation of various anecdotes from 1971, and even brought along a number of production souvenirs including a photograph showing her and several other chorus ladies with Busby Berkeley, whose branding partly inspired the production and guided it to reality.
principal actor as well as the enormous chorus of singers and dancers. Especially thrilling for this viewer was Sandy Duncan in the role of Nanette’s Aunt Sue once inhabited by Ms. Keeler. Duncan, looking barely 40, even though her own Broadway debut was that many years ago, was charming, radiant, and even astonishing in her dancing. Complementing her beautifully were Charles Kimbrough as her befuddled Bible-salesman husband, Beth Leavel as her best friend Lucille, and Michael Berresse as Lucille’s charming but wandering husband Billy. Ms. Leavel and Mr. Berresse made an especially stylish and elegant couple in both song and dance. As the eponymous Nanette, Mara Davi at first seemed a bit tart and mature for the role, but became more charming as the evening went on. Her stage partner Shonn Wiley brought considerable innocent charm to his role of generic boyfriend. Supplementing these principals in mostly comic elements were three somewhat mysterious ladies played by Nancy Anderson, Jennifer Cody, and Angel Reda, and, in a perfect fit for the role of the disgruntled maid Pauline, Rosie O’Donnell. No doubt the best-known performer in the cast, Ms. O’Donnell found in Pauline what is undoubtedly her most appealing New York stage appearance so far. 
Our “Wizard of Oz” journey begins in Westphalia where the
Baron’s son Maximilian (baritone, Kyle Pfortmiller), his sister Cunegonda (soprano, Lauren Worsham) and his cousin Candide (tenor, Daniel Richard) are under the tutelage of Dr. Pangloss (Richard Kind). In this globe trotting plot Bernstein pokes fun at the musical form and we hear not only tango, polka, barcarolle, but Neopolitan bel canto and an extravagant coloratura aria, “Glitter and Be Gay,” sung 
brilliantly by soprano, Lauren Worsham in her debut 
Judith Dolan’s colorful costumes. What the show has going for it is Bernstein’s music and new lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. The overture is now an orchestral staple. Richard Kind made us laugh in several speaking roles (most noticeably Voltaire and Dr. Panglass). There were also strong contributions from Judith Blazer as the Old Lady and Jessica Wright as Paquette. 
grateful that the rain held off for our tour. From this vantage point, our knowledgeable and gracious historian and guide, Francis Morrone, took a moment to review our surroundings. He pointed out The Plaza, built in 1905, which is currently being renovated and suggested we stop in and look at the restoration of the interior which remains true to the period. Other structures of note from this vantage point were the Pulitzer Fountain and Equestrian Statue of Sherman with its strong sense of motion. 
Renaissance Palazzo by Stanford White was designed to give a sense of security and comfort. Francis made special note of the window brackets, balustrade and cornice which gives the building a finished look. The Harmony Club, just across the street, was also done by Stanford White. Next we visited the Pierre which was built in the late 1920’s and is much like the Frick with its paired pilasters on relief for support and the covered urns at the corners which are perfect forms of the classical language. 
by the Vanderbilt’s as a wedding gift to their daughter. We enjoyed the arched windows, floral motifs, exquisite iron balconies, slanted roof and dormer windows. The Wildenstein Art Gallery on 64th Street with its French limestone is reminiscent of 18th Century French architecture with human masks, Ionic capitals and garlands under the second story windows. We also stopped at the Carol Astor home as well as the Lotus Club and ended our tour at the Frick, a handsome country house with a distinctive lawn and flowering magnolias. Sincere thanks to ICA and especially Francis Marrone an exciting journey.
Morrone, historian, author and scholar as he guided his guests through an historical perspective of nineteenth century architecture in New York City. His objective was to help us read and understand the buildings we live among. Our journey took us from the simple Dutch Farmhouses of the 1650’s to the first apartment buildings on the Upper West Side built in the 1880’s. We had an opportunity to view some notable 
landmarks including: the Dutch Colonial Bowne House in Flushing; Van Cortland Manor wit its dormer windows reflecting the British influence; Fraunces Tavern-a Townhouse built in 1719 , in the Christopher Wren style; St. Paul’s Chapel with a steeple in the Greek style; Gracie Mansion, a 1799 Country House with its chinoiserie balustrades; many Federal Houses in the 
The Calder Quartet, a group of gifted musicians who recently received their Artist Diplomas from The Juilliard School after serving for two years as the Graduate Resident Quartet, gave us a program of composers who were successful early in their careers. They opened with Mendelssohn’s String Quartet No. 2 in A minor which was both somber and sweet as well as dramatic and soulful. The second movement ended in a thrilling crescendo and Benjamin Jacobson made the violin sing. Next we heard Arcadiana by Thomas Ades – an atonal piece in seven short movements. The piece 
opened with a ghostly duet for violins which was followed by a movement reminiscent of the Magic Flute. O Albion was the one familiar melodic movement and the piece closed with Lethe giving Eric Byers a brief but haunting cello solo. After intermission we heard Schubert’s String Quartet No. 13 in A minor with the familiar and melodic Andante. The work took us from dark to light with many modulations and in the last movement Byers, on cello, picked up the refrain. After three curtain calls, guests had an opportunity to meet the artists. 
