COMMON MAN, MYTHIC VISION:
The Paintings of Ben Shahn
Profile
JULY 25- OCTOBER 31
Post Notes
A former conductor for the Israel Philharmonic
Orchestra travels to Michigan for two concerts.
SUZANNE CHESSLER
Special to the Jewish News
A
Bookshop: Hebrew Books, Holy Day Books, 1953;
The Detroit Institute of Arts
© Estate of Ben Shahn/Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY
BEN S H A H N championed social justice and made paintings that communicate
the shared experiences and concerns of humanity. His art expresses our joys and
sorrows, reflects his Jewish heritage, and celebrates the strength of the human spirit.
This exhibition is sponsored by Ernst &Young LLP. Major support was received through the ,_generosity of The Henry Luce
Foundation. Additional fording was provided by the National Endowment fiv the Arts, a federal agency. Organized by The
Jewish Museum, NY
In Detroit the exhibition is made possible with support from the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural
Affairs and the City of Detroit.
Nit
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THE DETROIT INSTITUTE OF ARTS
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90 Detroit Jewish News
rthur Post has not yet con-
ducted in Michigan, but he
soon will be making up for
lost time. With two differ-
ent concerts on tap, Post will show his
enthusiasm for both the classics and
pops.
His first performance opens the
1999-2000 season for the Ann Arbor
Symphony Orchestra on Sept. 25 and
features a program of Russian music.
The second program is a month later
with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra
and presents James Taylor and his sig-
nature songs.
If everything goes well in Ann
Arbor, this engagement could mean
some long-term Michigan ties. The
concert is part of the selection process
for the music director of the orchestra,
which has narrowed its search to five
candidates.
"The Ann Arbor orchestra put the
program together, and they chose
from my repertoire," explains Post, 40,
the newly appointed resident conduc-
tor of the New World Symphony,
which is based in Florida. "The pro-
gram, 'Czars and Commissars,' offers
a spectrum of Russian music from the
early, nationalistic music of Borodin
(Prince Igor Overture) to the very acad-
emically controversial work of
Shostakovich (Symphony No. 5)."
Post, who recently completed a
two-year appointment as associate
conductor of the Israel Philharmonic
Orchestra, brings experience with
Russian musicians to the concert of
Russian music, which will be played
by pianist Robert Conway.
"In the Israel Philharmonic, maybe
one-third of the musicians are former
Russians, and I actually talked with a
number of them about their impres-
sions of the music that I'm going to be
performing," says Post, who visited
Ann Arbor when the Israel
Philharmonic toured there with Zubin
Mehta conducting.
"I have some of their personal ideas
of what Shostakovich meant to them
as they were growing up in the Soviet
Union in the '60s, and I've had access
to a lot of background information.
The famous string sound of the Israel
Philharmonic is partly a Russian
sound, and it's something that
be
looking to re-create with the Ann
Arbor Symphony."
Post's musical interests started when
he was 9. He chose to study the bass
so he could play along with his dad,
an amateur pianist. After years of pub-
lic school and private lessons, he went
on to Yale and then earned a master's
degree at the Juilliard School. He fur-
thered his studies at the Tanglewood
Music Center, the Salzburg
Mozarteum and Hamburg's
Arthur Post: From Shostakovich to
James Taylor.
Hochschule fur Musik, where he
worked on the operatic repertoire.
"My first really big break was win-
ning an audition with the Pittsburgh
Symphony with Music Director Lorin
Maazel," Post says. "I became assistant
conductor and resident conductor for
three years, 1994-97. Along the way,
I've had various guest conducting
appearances.
Besides leading orchestras across the
country and appearing on PBS spe-
cials with Marvin Hamlisch, he has
lifted his baton in Helsinki, Singapore
and Berlin.
Post's work with the New World
Symphony, which calls itself America's
musical academy, builds on his experi-
ence with youth orchestras in
Connecticut and New Jersey. The
Florida orchestra schedules a 16-pro-
gram subscription series, as well as
33