February 8, Tuesday
Lecture by Sculptor Michael Singer
4:30 P.M., New Library, Harman Periodicals Reading Area
Michael Singer, sculptor and designer of Garden of the Seasons, discusses his new sculpture at Middlebury. Cosponsored by the Department of History of Art and Architecture, Environmental Studies, and Atwater Commons. Free
February 11, Friday
Vienna Piano Trio
Wolfgang Redik, violin
Matthias Gredler, cello
Stefan Mendl, piano
8:00 P.M., Centerfor the Arts, Concert Hall
The Vienna Piano Trio, formed in 1988, has become one of the leading piano trios of our time, playing in major venues throughout Europe and North America and making a number of highly regarded recordings. Their Middlebury program comprises two masterpieces of the piano trio literature, Schubert's trio D. 898 and Beethoven's Archduke Trio. Sponsored by the Middlebury College Performing Arts Series. Reserved Seating. Tickets: $12/$10/$5; buy tickets online
February 12, Saturday
The Dreamers
3:00 and 8:00 P.M., Dana Auditorium
The tumultuous political landscape of Paris in 1968 serves as the stage for Bernardo Bertolucci's (The Conformist, Last Tango in Paris) film about three young people drawn together through their passion for film. "An ardently romantic love song to sex, cinema and the spirit of the 60s."—A. O. Scott, New York Times. [France, 2003, 115 minutes] Sponsored by the Hirschfield International Film Series. Free
February 12, Saturday
Dick Forman Jazz Group
8:00 P.M., Center for the Arts, Concert Hall
Sparkling, straight-ahead mainstream jazz, celebrating the music that's been called America's national treasure. Some of the region's top players offer a program of great jazz—from ballads to blues to bebop—sure to warm up a winter evening. The band features Don Stearns, saxophone; Dick Forman, piano; Jim Daggs, bass; and Steve Wienert, drums. Once again, for this performance, guitarist Paul Asbell joins the group. Both Asbell and Forman are members of the College's applied music faculty. Free
February 13, Sunday
Bad Play Festival
7:00 P.M., Center for the Arts, Room 232
Staged readings of dreadful new plays by students whose first classroom assignment was to write "a very bad play." Our guarantee: no script will last more than 6 minutes! Come watch, and maybe read a part or two. For information, contact resident paywright Dana Yeaton '79 at dyeaton@middlebury.edu. Free
February 18, Friday
Paul Lewis, piano
8:00 P.M., Center for the Arts, Concert Hall
Like Mozart's operas, Shakespeare's plays, and Michelangelo's sculptures, Beethoven's piano sonatas comprise an oeuvre so vast and varied as to challenge our effort to comprehend it. Visionary pianist Paul Lewis returns to Middlebury to begin a historic series of eight recitals over the next three years, during which he will play all of Beethoven's 32 piano sonatas. This first program will consist of the three sonatas from op. 31 and Piano Sonata no. 24 in F-sharp Major, op. 78. Sponsored by the Middlebury College Performing Arts Series. Reserved seating. Tickets: $12/$10/$5; buy tickets online
Pre-performance dinner: Rehearsals Cafe, 6:30 P.M. Reservations required.
February 19, Saturday
The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara
3:00 and 8:00 P.M., DanaAuditorium
Errol Morris's (The Thin Blue Line; Fast, Cheap and Out of Control) riveting documentary about the former secretary of defense presents an interview with McNamara, accompanied by film clips from World War II and Vietnam. Academy Award, Best Documentary. [U.S., 2003, 107 minutes] Sponsored by the Hirschfield International Film Series. Free
February 19, Saturday
Gerald Elias, violin
8:00 P.M., Center for the Arts, Concert Hall
Gerald Elias is a violinist, teacher, and composer; associate concertmaster of the Utah Symphony since 1988, first violinist of the Abramyan String Quartet, and adjunct professor of music at the University of Utah, he is also the father of Kate Elias '06. In this recital of 20th-century music, Elias and pianist Cynthia Huard present works for violin and piano by Elias, other works for the same two instruments by David Crumb, and works for violin and electronics by Morris Rosenzweig and Peter Hamlin'73 of the Middlebury College Department of Music. Free
February 20, Sunday
Olli Mustonen, piano
3:00 P.M., Center for the Arts, Concert Hall
Pianist Olli Mustonen visits Middlebury between recitals in New York and Cincinnati. (Brainerd Commons Rising Stars Series Organizers, Paul and Jennifer Nelson, were delighted to learn that Mustonen would rather spend his extra time in Vermont than in New York—Vermont is more like his home north of Helsinki than Manhattan is.) A group of the sparkling, flying Scarlatti sonatas and the huge First Sonata by Rachmaninoff highlight his recital. Rarely performed, the First Sonata is vintage Rachmaninoff: a long feast of sound. Free
February 22, Tuesday
Electronic Music Performance
7:30 P.M., Center for the Arts, Concert Hall
Students composers show off new electronic music pieces as part of a winter-term course taught by Peter Hamlin '73. Free
February 24, Thursday
Winter Carnival Cultural Gala
7:00-9:30 P.M., Center for the Arts
This annual kickoff to the Middlebury College Winter Carnival includes a fireworks display, live performances by Riddim, The High Road, and a break dancing group, along with refreshments and other fun activities. Families welcome. Free