As the second semester begins at the University of Illinois, its Krannert Center for the Performing Arts begins as well with some late January offerings. One of those wonderful returns from the outside world of performing artistry is Tango Argentina. Twelve of Argentina’s finest Tango dancers are touring the United States and Urbana’s Krannert Center gets to host one of those tour stops on January 27.
Originating in the 1880s in the Rio de La Plata region of Uruguay and Argentina (Both countries claim its origin.), this unique dance was once confined to low-life establishments. But over the years it not only went mainstream but world-wide. Yet, reputation has it that nobody does it better than the Argentinians and on January 27th at 7:30pm in the Colwell Playhouse you can experience the real thing from the home country.
On January 29th, the Sinfonia da Camera returns to Krannert with a concert of mid-19th century music that ranges from Rossini to Schubert to Mendelssohn. The program opens with Rossini’s overture to “The Barber of Seville”. Maestro Ian Hobson will conduct Schubert’s 6th Symphony and then finish with a flourish of Felix Mendelssohn’s finest. We will hear excerpts from the incidental music to “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and Maestro Hobson will sit at the keyboard and conduct Mendelssohn’s Piano Concerto #1.
Photo courtesy of Krannert Center.
The following day, Sunday, January 30, a great tradition returns to the Krannert Center, the Sunday Salon concert. Here ticket holders may opt for the more expensive stage tickets and sit on the stage of the Foellinger Great Hall and hear a young artist making the rounds. This time it is pianist Albert Cano Smith.
His program offers a variety of traditional piano fare from J. S. Bach and Robert Schumann as well as some lesser known works from Orlando Gibbons and Stephen Hough. Note that stage tickets include light snacks and drinks, and this concert, like all such Sunday Salon concerts, begins at 3pm.
As the new month starts, a new image of the University of Illinois Quartet-in-Residence begins as the Jupiter Quartet teams with the Imani Winds for a concert in the Foellinger Great Hall. This unique blending of the classical tradition with the sounds of a jazz wind quintet should make for an extraordinary evening on February 1.
All performances, except the Sunday Salon concert on January 30th, begin at 7:30pm. All tickets must be purchased on-line in advance and all patrons must show proof of Covid vaccination or a recent negative test. Face masks must also be worn throughout the performance. Intermezzo is still open only from 8am to 3pm, Monday through Friday.
For more information on these performances, head to Krannert Center’s website.