Art of Time Ensemble presents Shostakovich: A Portrait February 12, 2010

Art of Time Ensemble presents
Shostakovich: A Portrait

Featuring actor R.H. Thomson,
dancer Andrea Nann,
filmmaker Peter Mettler
and musicians of the Art of Time Ensemble

FEBRUARY 12 & 13, 2010 - 8PM
Enwave Theatre | 231 Queens Quay West
Tickets: $19, $39 and $49 ($25 - Student/Senior/Artist)
Box Office: 416-973-4000
Information: www.artoftimeensemble.com

The acclaimed Art of Time Ensemble, under the Artistic Direction of Andrew Burashko, is pleased to present Shostakovich: A Portrait - a celebration of Dmitri Shostakovich, one of the greatest composers of the 20th century - on Friday February 12 and Saturday February 13, 2010 at Harbourfront Centre's Enwave Theatre.

Acclaimed Canadian stage, screen, and television actor R.H. Thomson provides an introductory narration.

Performed by leading musicians on the Canadian classical and jazz scenes, the program features two of Shostakovich's greatest chamber works - 8th String Quartet and 2nd Piano Trio - and his rarely performed Jazz Suite #1.

Accompanying the monumental 2nd Piano Trio, Canadian filmmaker and interdisciplinary artist Peter Mettler presents a new work of live cinema while dancer and choreographer Andrea Nann, Artistic Director of Dreamwalker Dance Company, creates and performs a new work.

Shostakovich is one of the most celebrated composers of the 20th century. While working in the Soviet Union under the patronage of Leon Trotsky's chief of staff Mikhail Tukhachevsky, Shostakovich developed a hybrid style influenced by Prokofiev and Stravinsky. Despite achieving fame, Shostakovich had a troubled relationship with the Stalinist bureaucracy, resulting in his music being denounced twice in 1936 and 1948, and it was periodically banned. Nevertheless, his extensive collection of work was popular and well-received.

Previous Art of Time productions have met with high praise. Robert Everett Green of the Globe and Mail compares the performances to "a game of artistic hopscotch, in which everyone is invited to jump over the notional barriers between music, dance, and visual art, and between high art and low. It's a game worth playing." John Terauds of The Toronto Star calls the group "a delicate balance between classical expression and modern sensibility... the performances were as memorable as the creativity behind them."

Celebrated Canadian author Michael Ondaatje remarks that "some of the best evenings that I have witnessed in Toronto have been performances by Andrew Burashko's Art of Time Ensemble - a caravan of classical and popular musicians. Art of Time leaps over the usual barriers of culture. So Schumann and Tolstoy can rub shoulders with Ginsberg and our best contemporary musicians. The result is entertainment that is often thrilling, often full of insights - as in the old values of art that delight and instruct."

Envisioned and crafted by Artistic Director and founder Andrew Burashko, Art of Time Ensemble concerts are provocative, engaging and accessible to people unfamiliar with classical music, but also immensely fulfilling to aficionados. Art of Time provides a unique musical experience that breaks down barriers between artistic and musical disciplines, and reveals the vibrancy of classical music as a contemporary artistic expression, appealing to a range of audiences.

Official Website: http://www.artoftimeensemble.com