A tiny walled town on a hilltop near Montepulciano, Monticchiello is a quiet, lazy place which makes for an excellent lunchtime stop-off on a tour of the area. La Porta, true to its name, is just inside the old gate to the town and has a lovely terrace with views across the valley to Pienza. You can tuck into a major Tuscan lunch here including thick, home made ‘pici’ with pesto or meat sauce, potato-stuffed ravioli or steak, or go for a lighter snack of bruschetta, salads, vegetable flans, grilled vegetables or local cheeses. Wash it down with a bottle of local, full-bodied Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. Booking is advisable.
Rob Birza January 15, 2010
‘Cold Fusion’ is an overview of the last 10 years’ work by Rob Birza, a Dutch artist of global stature who employs a diversity of media and styles to define beauty in terms of passion and emotion. For instance, one can wander in his ‘Cold Fusion Zone’ between towering mythical figures made of ceramic while absorbing video images from India, or enter an installation piece called ‘Buddha’s Horizon/View of Light’ which reflects the raw powers of Nature as they would occur in a 1960s lamp shop.
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His Wife’s Diary January 13, 2010
Already set to be submitted as Russia’s entry for the Academy Award’s best foreign film category, ‘His Wife’s Diary’ is one of the few real quality Russian films of the last few years. Focusing on Russian émigré writer Ivan Bunin and his troubled personal life in the South of France in the 1930s and 1940s. Bunin, who won the Nobel Prize in 1933, is portrayed as part-tyrant, part-child in his dealings with his unusual household – he lived with both his wife and his lover. In Russian.
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Rachmaninov + Rimsky-Korsakov + Scriabine January 12, 2010
Better known for its extraordinary collections of 19th-century art, the Musée d’Orsay is also a thriving venue for chamber music and solo recitals. Its current season puts the spotlight on Russian composers. On November 30 soprano Urszula Kryger and alto Jadwiga Rappé sing duets by Shostakovitch, Rimsky-Korsakov, Tchaikovsky and others, while on Dec 5 pianist Daria Fadeeva gives a recital featuring Scriabine’s ‘Fantaisie’, Rachmaninov’s Sonata No 2 and gripping ‘Variations on a Theme’ by Corelli.
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Hong Kong Holistic Fair 2000 January 11, 2010
From Aromatherapy to Shiatsu massage, salination techniques and reflexology, Hong Kong people are embracing alternative therapies. It is hardly surprising since the Chinese still use acupuncture and traditional herbal remedies which have existed for centuries. At this fair, complementary medicine and bodywork practitioners get the chance to show what they can do for you – and in stressful Hong Kong, any therapy is welcome.
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Colin Currie January 9, 2010
Young Scottish percussionist Currie gives a solo lunchtime recital of contemporary music, featuring works by Schmidt, Norgard, Reich, Kopetski and the world premiere of a new work by Dave Maric.
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O Brother, Where Art Thou? January 7, 2010
The Coen brothers re-write Homer’s The Odyssey as a screwball comedy with George Clooney leading a trio of escaped convicts across America’s Depression era Deep South.
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Richard Ashcroft January 4, 2010
The former Verve frontman brings his wistful country/indie wash to Barrowland for the first of two shows.
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Les Bons Génies de la vie domestique January 3, 2010
Beaubourg takes on the allure of a folk museum as the tools and gadgetry that have transformed domestic life since 1900 replace a shadowy display of primitive pots and instruments. Arranged in roughly chronological style-groups come irons, fires, electric fans, washing and sewing machines, cameras and TVs, hairdryers and telephones and gramophones, alongside pieces of archive footage and some superb advertising posters. All fun enough, but it sorely lacks a few pointers – which were the innovative ones, the first, the most technical, the best-sellers, the failures – to render the sheer cacophony of objects more intelligible.
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