CHAMPAGNE TOAST AT MIDNIGHT
9PM — 1AM
traveled pianist."Soon after I moved
to the States, I was engaged to perform
with the Israel Symphony Orchestra
for the first time. This was a very suc-
cessful collaboration, and I have played
with them many times since."
Davidovich, who was 11 when she
played the Schumann concerto for the
first time, has a particular fondness for
romantic music.
"I had my first encounter with piano
at the age of 3',' she recalls. "I'd heard
the Chopin Waltz in C minor, walked up
to the instrument and played the entire
piece from memory When my parents
heard that, they immediately decided
that I must learn the piano [formally].
"I started taking lessons when I was
6, and at the age of 9, I played with an
orchestra for the first time. The piece
was Beethoven's First Piano Concerto."
Davidovich, who studied at the
Moscow Conservatory, became the
youngest pianist to win the Chopin
International Piano Competition
in 1949 Warsaw. "But [in the Soviet
Union], Jews are considered a lower
echelon," she once noted. "I received
my title of Deserving Artist five years
after friends who had won no competi-
tions:'
In the end, though, Davidovich left
her homeland not because of Soviet
repression but to be with her son. "I
couldn't live without seeing him',' she
has said.
She decides to place the child
with an affluent suburban couple
(Jason Bateman and Jennifer
Garner). The film's dialogue is so
sharp that most reviews focus on
29-year-old screenwriter Diablo
Cody rather than the film's direc-
tor, Jason Reitman (Thank You
For Smoking), the son of director
Ivan Reitman.
The San Francisco Chronicle,
however, noted that "[Reitman]
deserves credit for his careful
direction. Only 30, he already
knows that character tells and
character sells. He doesn't try to
jolly things up with a lot of tricky
camera angles or phony effects.
Instead, he focuses on the actors
and their performances, and no
director could ever wish for a
more able cast."
Films nominated for a Golden
Davidovich has recorded with her
son and independent of him. Their
collaborative studio work has included
sonatas by Grieg, Brahms and Ravel.
The mother and son were the first
Soviet emigre musicians to be invited
by the official state concert bureau to
play in the Soviet Union, in 1988. The
concerts were in memory of Julian
Sitkovetksy; the first, with the Moscow
Philharmonic, was televised.
"I can never get enough of working
with my son:' Davidovich says. "It's
always an immense pleasure and a tre-
mendous responsibility."
More relatives will enter the mix
when the mother and son perform
in Detroit. The audience will include
relatives of Sitkovetsky's wife, Susan
Roberts, a Jewish opera singer who
grew up in New York.
"Robert Gladstone, who was prin-
cipal bass.player with the DSO, was
Sitkovetsky explains.
my wife's
"I'm planning on visiting with several
cousins, and it will be nice to see the
family" I I
"A Midsummer's Dream" will be
performed Jan. 4-6 in Orchestra
Hall, 3711 Woodward, in the
Max M. Fisher Music Center in
Detroit. The program begins at 8
p.m. Friday, 8:30 p.m. Saturday
and 3 p.m. Sunday. $20-$123.
(313) 576-5111.
•
1VR
Saxophonist
Duane Parham
www.duaneparharn. -lez
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ewecir s- Eve Dar- EL
Jeiiikter
L ive jazz, -Hr— ive-L1--"ovrs-e N/ eals-,
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Globe for best foreign language
film include The Kite Runner and
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly,
both now in theaters.
Persian Jewish actor Shaun
Toub, who has a small part in the
current release Charlie Wilson's
War, has a large supporting role
in The Kite Runner, a story about
childhood friendship, betrayal and
ultimate redemption amidst the
tumult of Afghanistan's recent
history. The film's screenwriter is
David Benioff, husband of actress
Amanada Peet.
Famous painter Julian
Schnabel, 56, directed Diving
Bell, based on the true story of
a French journalist severely dis-
abled by a stroke. This is his third
film. Even though Schnabel is an
American, he insisted the film be
made in French. I
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at
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Entree:
Grilled Rack of Lamb Padova, Steak Wm) and Coconut Shrimp,
or Sea Bass with Lump Crab Cake saved whir ...
Salmon Millefeuille, Creme Sherry Potato Leek Soup & Bentley's Colorful Salad
Dessert:
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Pastries
with Fruit and Cheese
An
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5586 Drake Road
West Bloomfield, Michigan
243-592-'500
HOV's
48322
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Tuesday-Thursday 5pm-1 Opm • F.iday & Saturda ,,
Exceptional videotaping for..
Weddings, Anniversaries, Bar/Bat Mttvahs, Seminars, Speeches, Award Banquets
248 539.0800
December 27 • 2007
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