Brooke Wyatt Trio

AS TOY-PIANO VIRTUOSO Schroeder hollers in Merry Christmas Charlie Brown, “Whaddya mean Beethoven wasn’t so great?!!” Real recognizes real, and Dec. 4-16, DACAMERA presents Beethoven For All, a free, six-concert series of 20 of Ludwig Van Beethoven’s piano sonatas performed by some of the city’s leading classical pianists.

Keep Reading Show less
Art + Entertainment

'The Montefiore Mainz Mahzor,' c. 1310– 20, German in origin; and late 18th- to early 19th-century Torah crown, Polish in origin

IN 2018, THE Museum of Fine Arts, Houston acquired a rare and unusual object — an illuminated medieval manuscript, or mahzor, consisting of 299 leaves of prayers to be recited in synagogue on Jewish holidays. At that time, the museum had more than 60,000 Christian, Buddhist, Muslim, Hindu and Confucian objects in the collection, but only two objects that reflected Jewish culture. “And so, the big question was, ‘Why don’t we have more?’” says MFAH director Gary Tinterow.

Keep Reading Show less
Art + Entertainment

'Caribbean Blues' by Baptiste

AT THE OPENING of Haitian-born Mathieu JN Baptiste’s exhibit Dyaspora, currently on view at The Jung Center of Houston through Dec. 21, Baptiste’s good friend and fellow Haitian Jean Michel Celestin surprised the gathering with a blessing he played on a shofar, an ancient instrument typically made of a ram's horn and used for Jewish religious activities. Celestin chose the shofar for its similarity to the cylindrical trumpets blown in Haiti to celebrate Batay Vètyè, or Battle of Vertières Day, which commemorates the last major battle of the Haitian Revolution, and the end of colonial rule in Haiti (then Saint-Domingue).

Keep Reading Show less