Lucky us! Cooper Union is only a few blocks away. Saturday evening, damp but enthusiastic, we arrived at the Great Hall (where Lincoln gave his speech opposing Stephen Douglas on the question of federal power to regulate and limit the spread of slavery) to hear Idith Meshulam and Ensemble Pi’s exciting Concert for Peace and Civil Rights. Ensemble Π is a socially conscious new music group dedicated to performing the music of living and undiscovered composers (http://ensemble-pi.org/). Their concerts feature composers whose works seek a dialogue between music and ideas about the world’s current issues and stretch the imagination by offering new ways to experience music. For example, included in this concert was –Sofia Gubaidulina’s Dancer on a Tight Rope in which the pianist strums the strings with a filled water glass balanced on the strings, accompanied by Airi Yoshioka, violinist. Ensemble Pi’s next performance will be March 21 and 22 at the World Financial Center’s Winter Garden. 8pm
Biking throughout the city, Idith has been a model of the”green” New Yorker for years- well before Mayor Blumberg’s expanded bike lanes. Should you like to consider biking in the city, here is a current map of the dedicated bike lanes http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/pdf/bike/mapfront.pdf .
