Podcast appearances and mentions of iva bittova

01 Iva Bittova & DJ Javas – Conjunction 02 Aid Kid – Something 4 082 03 Nika – Little spaces 04 Oldřich Janota – Pole na konci léta (feat. Bharata Rajnošek) 05 Beata Hlavenková – Race 06 Lukas Midub – Deep Sky Dub 07 I-One – Light Between Shadows 08 Ginkgo Lanugo – Aqua Mulier 09 Papalescu – Japanese Garden (rmx by Kora et le Mechanix) 10 Miroslav Posejpal – Wardenclyffe Tower 11 Ladbuch – Hle, jak poskakují...molekuly

The guitarist, composer, ethnomusicologist, and instrument builder Paolo Angeli is associated with traditional Sardinian music and has co-organized an international arts festival in Palau since 1996. He has collaborated with Pat Metheny (who uses Angeli's guitar in Orchestrion), Fred Frith, Hamid Drake, Iva Bittova, Zeena Parkins, and Derek Gripper. Paolo Angeli plays the prepared Sardinian guitar, a hybrid electro-acoustic instrument that looks like a guitar crossed with a cello, and has virtually orchestral capabilities. Angeli's custom creation has been fitted cross-wise and lengthwise with additional strings: cello strings and drone strings, and has numerous other inventions attached to it, including hammers, pedals, and some propellers at variable speed. Then there's his array of effects, controlled by both his feet and hands. These custom modifications enable him to become a crazy-awesome one-man band, as he draws on Sardinian folk music, jazz, flamenco, Arabic suggestions, post-folk and contemporary classical music in his compositions.  Paolo Angeli strums, bows, and hammers the instrument, and adds traditional Sardinian vocalizing, in a stunning performance of music from his latest, JAR'A, for this remote session, filmed on the island's northern shore. - Caryn Havlik Watch Paolo Angeli on the Sardinian shore:

1. (Sig) English Country Blues Band : The Italian Job from the CD Unruly (Weekend Beatnik) 2. Ruth Hazleton : Same Old Man from the CD Daisywheel (Ruth Hazleton) 3. Wayward Jane : Arkansas Traveller from the CD Old Train (Wayward Jane) 4. Rowan Rheingans : Lines from the CD The Lines We Draw Together (Red Dress) 5. Lady Maisery, Jimmy Aldridge & Sid Goldsmith : Heading For Home from the CD Awake Arise: A Winter Album (Ear Trumpet Music) 6. Che Apalache : La Milonga Del Cuis Empedernido from the CD Rearrange My Heart (Free Dirt) 7. Jontavious Willis : The World Is In A Tangle from the CD Spectacular Class (Kind Of Blue Music) 8. Tailcoat : Morgenhalling from the CD Tall Tales In Tiny Pieces (Go' Danish Folk Music) 9. Gangspil : Put i Hul from the CD Gangspil 2 (Go' Danish Folk Music) 10. Christy Moore : A Pair Of Brown Eyes from the CD Magic Nights (Sony/ Columbia) 11. Richard Thompson : Parchman Farm from the CD If You're Going To The City: A Tribute To Mose Allison (Fat Possum) 12. UDU : Tuøta - Khaldyn Khursa Nogoondo from the CD Buryatia • Lithuania (CPL Music) 13. Tautumeitas : Disgon Borgais Rudins Nuoca from the CD Songs From Auleja (CPL Music) 14. Jon Boden : Rigs Of The Time from the CD Rose In June (Hudson) 15. Sam Lee feat. Elizabeth Fraser : The Moon Shines Bright from the CD Old Wow (Cooking Vinyl) 16. Stick In The Wheel feat. C. Joynes : Georgie from the CD Against The Loathsome Beyond (From Here) 17. Gaia Duo : Gow's Lament from the CD Meditations & Laments (F-ire) 18. Mhairi Hall : Síleas from the CD Airs (Strath) 19. Cynefin : Y Fwyalchen Ddu Bigfelen from the CD Dilyn Afon (Astar) 20. Moirai : What Am I Here For? from the CD Framed: The Alice Wheeldon Story (Wild Goose) 21. Eliza Carthy : Down And Out from the digital single Down And Out (Eliza Carthy) 22. Iva Bittova & Paolo Angeli : Due Contro Tre from the CD Sul Filo (ReR Megacorp) 23. Thirty Pounds Of Bone & Philip Reeder : The Unst Boat Song from the CD Still Every Year They Went (Armellodie) 24. The Idumea Quartet : Falls of Richmond/ Grub Springs from the CD More Than One (Penny Fiddle) 25. Paolo Bonfanti, Martino Coppo : Pracina Stomp from the CD Pracina Stomp (Felmay) 26. Yorkston/Thorne/Khan : The Shearing's Not For You from the CD Navarasa : Nine Emotions (Domino) 27. James Yorkston : A Real Man from the CD Return To Y'Hup: The World Of Ivor Cutler (Citizen Bravo) 28. Spontus : Louloudéac from the CD L.A.B (Klam) Podwireless can also be heard streamed live on Mixcloud. You can find more details including past playlists and links to labels at www.podwireless.com Follow the links for the previous podcasts.

Čekų kompozitorė, vokalistė ir smuikininkė, laikoma viena svarbiausių Europos performanso artisčių. Laidos autoriai ir vedėjai Šarūnas Nakas ir Mindaugas Urbaitis.

Solénoïde (19.11.2018) - Solénoïde propose une 'Blender Session’ un peu spéciale puisque nous introduisons un nouveau critère de sélection : celui du partenariat international. L’idée est de s’intéresser à des productions réunissant des artistes de différentes nationalités collaborant aussi bien au sein de groupes établis que lors de réunions musicales éphémères. Cette volonté de s’associer entre musiciens d’origines très diverses est à la base de projets souvent osés et parfois géniaux !

Everyone is familiar with MIT and the university's reputation as a serious force in the world of science, tech, and research, but how many are aware of MIT's legacy in the arts? Did you know that MIT's founder had envisioned incorporating the arts from the very beginning?In this episode we speak with Leila Kinney and Evan Ziporyn of MIT's Center for Art, Science, and Technology (CAST) about MIT's culture of creativity and exploration, the institution's mission to humanize science and tech, and the exciting projects that have emerged from CAST, like Tomás Saraceno's Arachnid Orchestra.-About Leila Kinney-Leila W. Kinney is the Executive Director of Arts Initiatives and of the MIT Center for Art, Science & Technology (CAST), working with Associate Provost Philip S. Khoury, the School of Architecture and Planning (SA+P), the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (SHASS), the Creative Arts Council, the Council for the Arts at MIT, the MIT List Visual Arts Center, and the MIT Museum, to advance the arts at MIT in the areas of strategic planning, cross-school collaborations, communications and resource development.Kinney is an art historian with experience in both SA+P, where she was on the faculty in the History, Theory and Criticism section of the Department of Architecture (HTC) and SHASS, where she taught in the Program in Women’s Studies and in Comparative Media Studies. She specializes in modern art, with an emphasis on media in transition, arts institutions and artists’ engagement with mass culture. She is a member of the Executive Committee of a2ru (Alliance for the Arts in Research Universities) and of the Advisory Committees of the Catalyst Collaborative at MIT, the MIT List Visual Arts Center and the MIT Museum.-About Evan Ziporyn-Evan Ziporyn makes music at the crossroads between genres and cultures, and between East and West. He studied at the Eastman School of Music, Yale University, and UC Berkeley with Joseph Schwantner, Martin Bresnick, and Gerard Grisey. He first traveled to Bali in 1981, studying with Madé Lebah, Colin McPhee’s 1930s musical informant. He returned on a Fulbright in 1987.Earlier that year, he performed a clarinet solo at the First Bang on a Can Marathon in New York. His involvement with Bang on a Can continued for twenty five years. In 1992, he co-founded the Bang on a Can All-stars (Musical America’s 2005 Ensemble of the Year), with whom he toured the globe and premiered over one hundred commissioned works, collaborating with Nik Bartsch, Iva Bittova, Don Byron, Ornette Coleman, Brian Eno, Philip Glass, Meredith Monk, Thurston Moore, Terry Riley, and Tan Dun. He co-produced their seminal 1996 recording of Brian Eno’s “Music for Airports,” as well as their most recent CD, “Big Beautiful Dark & Scary” (2012).Ziporyn joined the MIT faculty in 1990, founding Gamelan Galak Tika in 1993, and beginning a series of groundbreaking compositions for gamelan & Western instruments. These include three evening-length works, 2001’s “ShadowBang,” 2004’s “Oedipus Rex” (Robert Woodruff, director), and 2009’s “A House in Bali,” an opera which joins Western singers with Balinese traditional performers, and the Bang on a Can All-stars with a full gamelan. It received its world premiere in Bali that summer and its New York premiere at BAM Next Wave in October 2010.As a clarinetist, Ziporyn recorded the definitive version of Steve Reich’s multi-clarinet “New York Counterpoint” in 1996, sharing in that ensemble’s Grammy in 1998. In 2001, his solo clarinet CD, “This is Not A Clarinet,” made Top Ten lists across the country. His compositions have been commissioned by Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road, Kronos Quartet, American Composers Orchestra, Maya Beiser, So Percussion, Wu Man, and the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, with whom he recorded his most recent CD, “Big Grenadilla/Mumbai” (2012). His honors include awards from the Massachusetts Cultural Council (2011); The Herb Alpert Foundation (2011); USA Artists Walker Fellowship (2007); MIT’s Gyorgy Kepes Prize (2006); the American Academy of Arts and Letters Goddard Lieberson Fellowship (2004); as well as commissions from Meet the Composer/Commissioning Music USA and the Rockefeller MAP Fund. Recordings of his works have been been released on Cantaloupe, Sony Classical, New Albion, New World, Koch, Naxos, Innova, and CRI.He is Kenan Sahin Distinguished Professor of Music at MIT. He also serves as Head of Music and Theater Arts, and in 2012 was appointed inaugural Director of MIT’s Center for Art Science & Technology. He lives in Lexington, Massachusetts, with Christine Southworth, and has two children, Leonardo (19) and Ava (12).-About MIT CAST-The MIT Center for Art, Science & Technology (CAST) creates new opportunities for art, science and technology to thrive as interrelated, mutually informing modes of exploration, knowledge and discovery. CAST’s multidisciplinary platform presents performing and visual arts programs, supports research projects for artists working with science and engineering labs, and sponsors symposia, classes, workshops, design studios, lectures and publications. The Center is funded in part by a generous grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Шостий епізод авторської програми Юрія Іздрика “П’ятдесят відтінків музики”.В епізоді звучать композиції із 1993 по 1997 рр: Iva Bittova, The Manhattan Transfer, Peter Gabriel, Mike Oldfield, Manfred Mann’s Earth Band, Alan Parsons, Matia Bazar, Bobby McFerrin, Sting “П’ятдесят відтінків музики” – це авторська програма поета, музиканта Юрія Іздрика. Приватна історія популярної музики останніх 50-ти років. […] The post Музика: 1993-1997 рр first appeared on Urban Space Radio.

This week I speak with Evan Ziporyn, composer and clarinetist, who makes music at the crossroads between genres and cultures, east and west. As a clarinetist he performs as a soloist and as a member of the Eviyan Trio (with Iva Bittova and Gyan Riley); he also works regularly with Yo-yo Ma's Silk Road Ensemble, and the Steve Reich Ensemble, with whom he shared a Grammy for Music for 18 Musicians. He is founder and director of Gamelan Galak Tika. His opera A House in Bali was featured at BAM Next Wave in 2010. From 1992-2012 he was a founding member of the Bang on a Can All-stars, finishing his tenure with the group with an appearance on an episode of PBS' Arthur. His compositions have been commissioned and performed by Kronos Quartet, Wu Man, the American Composers Orchestra, Steven Schick, So Percussion, and the Boston Modern Orchestra Project. He has collaborated with – among others - Brian Eno, Paul Simon, Ornette Coleman, Thurston Moore, Meredith Monk, Bryce Dessner, Philip Glass, Terry Riley, Louis Andriessen, Shara Worden, Cecil Taylor, Henry Threadgill, Matthew Shipp, and Ethel. His most recent project is the hour-long In My Mind & In My Car (w/Christine Southworth), for bass clarinet, electronics and video, His recording of Don Byron's Clarinet Concerto, which he commissioned, was named one of Downbeat Magazine's 2015 Albums of the Year. At MIT he is head of Music & Theater Arts and director of the Center for Art, Science & Technology. We discuss Evan's life, influences, career accomplishments and go deep into the recording session for the definitive version of Steve Reich's "New York Counterpoint" in 1996. This is a must listen episode for any new music fans. Links: Website: www.ziporyn.com Social Media: Twitter: @evanziporyn Facebook: EvanZiporynMusic Purchase Music: BandCamp: evanziporyn.bandcamp.com BandCamp: eviyan.bandcamp.com BandCamp: gamelangalaktika.bandcamp.com iTunes: iTunes Artist Page Discussion Topics: Calgary's year round snow Balinese Music Gamelan Fate and Spirituality Realizing the intent of the composer Don't mistake a bad performance for a bad piece What draws you to minimalist music? Bang on a Can All Stars Terry Riley - "In C" Steve Reich - Music For 18 Musicians Steve Reich - New York Counterpoint Recording New York Counterpoint Evan's First CD "This Is Not a Clarinet" The album as an art in itself Extended techniques (multiphonics, singing and playing) Lightning round questions David Bowie Tribute Concert People Mentioned: Josef Schwantner John Lennon Steve Reich Terry Riley Philip Glass La Monte Young John Cage Lightning Round Questions and Answers: If I were to walk over to your music stand right now, what would I find? An iPad (but it depends on which music stand!) What is your all-time piece of music? Rameau - Les Trois Mains and David Byrne - Marching Through The Wilderness If you could meet any musician throughout history would it be? Pythagoras What's your favorite book and why? Blindness by Jose Saramago and Go, Dog Go Is there anything else you'd like to share? Working on a new piece called "In My Mind and In My Car"

Hur påverkar romsk folkmusik den klassiska musiken och vice versa? Hur skildrar operorna romer? Franske gitarristen Django Reinhardt spelar ett tema ur Tjajkovskijs sjätte symfoni, Pathetique.Ungerske tonsättaren Franz Liszt komponerade Ungerska Rapsodier.Violinisten och tonsättaren Sándor Déki Lakatos komponerade Hommage a Franz Liszt.Ungerske violinisten Roby Lakatos spelar Ungersk Rapsodi Nr 2 av Franz Liszt och Ave Maria, tonsatt av Ilia II, den nuvarande patriarken för kyrkan i Georgien.Tyske tonsättaren Ludwig van Beethoven komponerade ett Rondo i "zigenarstil" i G-dur, Opus 129.Tjeckiska violinisten och sångerskan Iva Bittová spelar Bela Bartoks 44 Duetter för två violiner och Obrázek milého av Leos Janáek.Ungerske pianisten Robert Lakatos improviserar en kadens i Mozarts Pianokonsert nr 21.Spanske violinisten och tonsättaren Pablo Sarasate komponerade Zigeunerweisen. Rumänske violinisten Ion Voicu spelar den vackraste versionen av Zigeunerweisen.Tjeckiske tonsättaren Antonín Dvoák komponerade Zigeunermelodien Op.55.Österrikiske tonsättaren Joseph Haydn komponerade en sats i sin Piano Trio No. 39 i "Zigenarstil".Ungerske Kálmán Balogh spelar en långsam Czárdás på cimbalom.Italienske tonsättaren Giovanni Paisiello skrev den komiska operan I zingari in fiera.Ryske tonsättaren och pianisten Sergej Rachmaninov komponerade operan Aleko. Aleko lever med romer och utvecklas i operan till en svartsjuk mördare.Franske tonsättaren George Bizets opera Carmen är en fantasi om zigenare, det vill säga romer, och den romska kulturen har ofta fått representera det mystiska, erotiska och farliga i den västerländska konsten.Italienska tonsättaren Verdis opera Trubaduren skildrar en romsk kvinna, Azucena, som stjäl ett barn och tänker bränna upp det på bål.Brittiske operakompositören Michael William Balf skrev The Bohemian Girl eller Zigenerskan. Ännu en opera där romer spelar en kriminell och moraliskt förkastlig roll.Svenske tonsättaren Gunnar de Frumerie komponerade operan Singoalla. Om Singoalla-gestalten har det skrivits att porträttet av henne förenar en naiv och oskuldsfull sensualitet med en asocial och förbjuden erotik.Låtlista: 12:03 Esperanza Fernandez, David Pena - Djelem Djelem 12:05 Roby Lakatos - Ungersk Rapsodi Nr 2 (Arr) 12:09 Sándor Déki Lakatos & His Gypsy Band - Hommage À Franz Liszt 12:11 Iva Bittová - A Fair Tale 12:14 Iva Bittová - Teasing Song 12:17 Iva Bittova, Sång. Skampa Quartet - Obrázek Milého 12:17 Quintette Du Hot Club De France, - Medlemmar, Django Reinhardt, Stephane Grappelly, Gianni Safred, Carlo Pecori, Aurelio De Carolis, Quintette Du Hot Club De France - Symfoni Nr 6 H-Moll Op 74: Sats 1, Adagio. Allegro Non Troppo (Arr) 12:20 Jevgenij Kisin - Rondo A Capriccio För Piano Op 129 G-Dur 12:24 Ion Voicu, Heinz Bongartz, Dresdner Philharmonie - Zigeunerweisen (Op 20:1) 12:28 Magdalena Kozena, Malcolm Martineau - Ciganske Melodie (Op 55): Nr 4, Kdyz Mne Stara Matka Zpivat 12:31 Ciganski Diabli - Trio För Piano, Violin & Violoncell Hv Xv:25 G-Dur: Sats 3, Rondo All'Ongarese (Arr) 12:34 Kálmán Balogh - Mezosegi Ciganytanc Es Lassu Csardas 12:37 Robert Lakatos - Piano Concerto No. 20 In D Minor 12:42 Robert Lakatos - Piano Concerto No. 20 In D Minor 12:45 Cecilia Bartoli, György Fischer - I Zingari In Fiera: Chi Vuol La Zingarella 12:48 Joan Sutherland, Richard Bonynge, London Symphony Orchestra - The Bohemian Girl: Akt 2, "I Dreamt I Dwelt In Marble Halls" 12:51 Vladimir Grisjko, Volodymyr Sirenko, Ukrainska Radions Symfoniorkester (Kiev) - Aleko: Nr 12, "Vzgljani Pod Udaljonnym Svodom" 12:53 Yuri Ahronovitch, Stockholms Filharmoniska Orkester, Lasse Bergström, Anne Sofie Von Otter, Catharina Olsson, Inger Blom, Björn Haugan, Anders (1) Andersson, Per-Arne Wahlgren, Erik Saedén, Stig Tyskl - Singoalla 12:56 Roby Lakatos Gabriel Laufer Dominique Corbiau Bryssels Chamber Orchestra - Ave Maria

Möt tre internationellt hyllade musiker: violinisten Roby Lakatos, sångerskan och violinisten Iva Bittová och accordeonisten Lelo Nika. Lelo Nika bor i Malmö. Legendariske jazzpianisten Joe Zawinul, själv rom, kallade Lelo Nika en av världens främsta på sitt instrument, accordeon. Lelo Nika söker nya vägar i nutida klassisk musik som komplement till den traditionella, romska folkmusiken, som han spelat sedan barnsben. Under uppväxten i Helsingør i Danmark blev han kallad zigenare och mobbad av både lärare och skolkamrater. Han bad sin far om att få komma till familjens hemland Serbien. Där gick han i rumänsk skola och fick lektioner av sin stora förebild på dragspelet, Branimir Djoki. Sångerskan och violinisten Iva Bittová bor i New York. Hon är musikalisk sökare och ofta ensam med sin röst och sin violin. Hon medverkar i den rosade BBC-filmen till 60-årsminnet av Förintelsen Holocaust: A Music Memorial Film som spelades in i Auschwitz där hon tolkar sången Devleha, vilket betyder Adjö. Texten handlar om en mor som säger farväl till sin man och sina barn, vilka alla mördades i Auschwitz. Iva Bittová rör sig lika obehindrat på små obskyra avantgardscener som i Carnegie Hall i New York. Hennes musik är sofistikerad och stollig, nutida och nostalgisk. Under 40 år har hon komponerat, sjungit och spelat fiol. Tätt ihop. Iva Bittovás halvsyster är sångerskan Ida Kellarová. Ungerske virtuosen Roby Lakatos bor i Bryssel. Han är sjunde generationen violinister i den berömda Lakatosdynastin, en släkt ungerska romer som härstammar från violinisten János Bihari (17641827). Roby Lakatos blandar genrerna klassisk musik, jazz och traditionell romsk musik och kallas Djävulens spelman. Roby Lakatos har spelat in en personlig version av Vivaldis "De fyra årstiderna". För 25 år sedan brukade Roby Lakatos spela på restauranter och caféer i Bryssel. En dag steg den legendariske violinisten Yehudi Menuhin in i lokalen. Resten är historia. -Det är tack vare Yehudi Menuhin att jag har fått en karriär, säger Roby Lakatos i programmet.Låtlista: 12:03 Roby Lakatos - Djelem Djelem 12:05 Iva Bittova - Fragment 1 12:07 Lelo Nika - Hora Lautareasca 12:08 Lelo Nika - Balkanska Igra 12:10 Lelo Nika, Niklas Sivelöv - Falling Leaves 12:12 Lelo Nika - Intuition (2) 12:14 Lelo Nika - Intuition (2) 12:17 Lelo Nika - Intuition (3) 12:20 Branimir Djokic - Paklena Masina 12:21 Lelo Nika - Soldans 12:22 Iva Bittova - Fragment 1 12:23 Iva Bittová - Ples Upíru/Ball Of The Vampires 12:26 Iva Bittova - Fragment 3 12:28 Iva Bittová - Zeleny Vinecek 12:32 Iva Bittova - Hladce 12:34 Iva Bittova, Taraf De Haidouks - Dido And Aeneas: Nr 38, Akt 3, "When I Am Laid In Earth" (Arr) 12:37 Iva Bittova - Devleha 12:41 Roby Lakatos Brussels Chamber Orchestra - Summer - Ii Adagio E Piano, Presto E Forte 12:43 The Roby Lakatos Ensemble - Ungersk Dans Nr 5 (Arr) 12:45 Roby Lakatos Brussels Chamber Orchestra - Autumn - I Allegro 12:50 Roby Lakatos - Nana Love 12:54 The Roby Lakatos Ensemble - L'Alouette (Arr) 12:57 Roby Lakatos Brussels Chamber Orchestra - 12 Autumn - Ii Adagio Molto

BERTRAND BELIN. JE PARLE EN FOU – 4:05Cap Waller, Cinq7, 2015 MAHMOUD AHMED. TEZETA – 12 :35Éthiopiques 10 – Ethiopian Blues & Ballads, Buda Musique, 2002 MULATU ASTATQE. YEKERMO SEW – 4:00Éthiopiques 7 – Ethio Jazz & Musique Instrumentale, Buda Musique, 1998 GETATCHEW MEKURIA & THE EX. SETHED SEKETELAT – 4:25Moa Ambessa, Terp records, 2006 THE EX […] Cet article Errance #50 : De Bertrand Belin à Iva Bittova est apparu en premier sur Eldorado.

This weekend we're featuring the Eviyan Trio. The performers in the group are Iva Bittova, Gyan Riley and Evan Ziporyn. These three composers/musicians combine their influences from around the world to create a soundtrack for the 21st century global village. Hosted by Seth Boustead Produced by Jesse McQuarters Eviyan Trio – Odd Meeting Iva Bittova – Dos Kelbl (The Little Calf) Terry Riley and Gyan Riley – Turning Gyan Riley – Guitar Etude Evan Ziporyn – Tire Fire Eviyan Trio – Paper ConeListen– Kind of Nice

"World leaders need to answer to artists." This was the rallying cry of Natalia Kaliada, artistic director of the Belarus Free Theatre, at a benefit for the embattled dissident troupe organized by the PEN American Center that was held at Le Poisson Rouge on Wednesday. She added “politicians do not have steps; they have just words.” Belarus Free Theatre is the little theater company that could, and the media have been quick to pick up on its story. A few weeks ago the members of the company were either in jail or in hiding, the targets of a crackdown by Belarus’ government after recent election protests. Last week, they were in town for the Under the Radar festival at the Public Theater, but have used the trip as an opportunity to carry their battle into the public eye. The company spearheaded (not a lightly chosen verb) a protest rally at the U.N. Wednesday morning, and the PEN event was originally intended to celebrate the willingness of artists to join together to protest injustice, said Kaliada. But early that day, the group had received word, in the form of a terse text message, that the husband of one of the actors had been arrested. So it was a taut, tearful, and defiant face that they turned to an audience of supporters at Le Poisson Rouge’s cozy downstairs space. In times of trouble, we are counseled to find something to cheer about, noted Sir Tom Stoppard, the Czech-born playwright who hosted the evening’s event. For Stoppard, it was clearly the simple, unbelievable fact of the company’s existence. For the company, it may have been the warm support of the literary and theatrical community. For the event, put on at short notice (a more elaborate affair had been staged at The Public earlier in the week), resembled nothing so much as an old-fashioned jazz rent party, like the kind musicians used to put together when one of their number needed help meeting the bills.  In this case, the “session” started with some heartrending music by violinist and vocalist Iva Bittova, followed by readings of poems by imprisoned Belarussian poet Vladimir Neklyaev. Then, a scene from Stoppard’s disturbing “Cries From The Heart,” read by Billy Crudup and Margaret Colin, showed a government official training a lawyer in the delicate art of replacing all the words we recognize as dealing with torture, intimidation, cruelty, or repression with words for foods.  (“I want you to say,” taunts the chillingly reasonable official, “it’s not torture, it’s pizza.”)  Authors E.L. Doctorow and Don DeLillo read passages from books ("City of God," "Mao II") that touched on cruelty, war, or degradation. The evening concluded with a fierce performance by the Free Theater of the third part of a trilogy on life in Belarus called “Numbers.” Five actors moved through a rapid succession of scenes that enacted a range of damning statistics. The three cheerful men muttering hesitantly and throwing their arms up in confusion?  “70% of Belarussians have trouble expressing the idea of democracy.” The woman who gives birth to, and then pops, a balloon? The country has a high rate of abortion, stillbirths, and childhood diseases. The buckets full of empty shoes: “over 1,200 people vanish in Belarus each year.” As the demoralizing, often shocking, statistics succeeded one another on the video screen, the audience ought to have been left numb with despair on behalf of a country so defined by pain, loss, violence, and neglect. Instead, the performance—filled with a fierce energy and supple beauty—brought catharsis and epiphany, if the cheers and wild applause were anything to go by.  In Samuel Beckett’s “Waiting for Godot,” the work’s underlying nihilism is subverted by the sheer beauty of the language and the poignant souls of its characters. If you can write of the human condition, “Astride the grave and a difficult birth,” then you have already triumphed over death. In the case of the Belarus Free Theater, if your company’s brilliant work inspires others to stand for you and with you, in some sense no dictatorship can ever fully succeed. Click the link above to hear for selections from the benefit. (Unfortunately, much of “Numbers” was mimed and so is not featured here). Bon mots "We truly believe that the world leaders need to answer to artists...politicians do not have steps; they just have words."—Natalia Kaliada "If you believe in God's Judgement...then certain bacteria living in the anus of a particularly ancient hatchet fish at the bottom of the ocean are the recycled and fully sentient souls of Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Pol Pot."—E.L. Doctorow in "City of God." "I want you to say, it's not torture, it's pizza."—Tom Stoppard in "Cries from the Heart."