Hallowed Ground
El Paso
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The Road Less Traveled
Fort Worth When is a symphonic concert more than just a musical performance? When it transports you to another world. The Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra’s presentation of Caminos del Inka this month aims to do just that by exposing audiences to the sounds, yes, but also the sights of Peru’s historic Inca Trail, an extensive network of paths that once covered some 14,000 miles (today, hiking through the Andes Mountains to see Machu Picchu is on any serious traveler’s to-do list). For the past fifteen years, music director Miguel Harth-Bedoya, who joined the FWSO in 2000, has been collecting compositions from his native Peru in an effort to preserve his homeland’s musical heritage. Now works that might have been forgotten or left to collect dust in South American homes and museums are being published and revived as new arrangements here. The FWSO will open the evening with “El cóndor pasa,” a traditional Peruvian song that will sound familiar to Simon and Garfunkel fans (the duo covered it in 1970), and follow it with Leyendas: An Andean Walkabout, a six-part string quartet written by composer-in-residence Gabriela Frank (herself of Peruvian ancestry). Complementing the melodies will be a slide show of stunning images of the people and landscapes of Peru, many of which were snapped by photographer Fabiana van Lente, who was born in Lima and is now based in Fort Worth. (The program closes with a non-Peruvian Brahms piano concerto performed by Roberto Plano, a Van Cliburn International Piano Competition finalist.) Of course, no culture—especially one as significant as the Incas’—can be fully captured in only a few hours’ time, but this concert should go a long way in piquing your interest in this far-flung region. And wait, there’s more: Harth-Bedoya has unearthed so many gems that a second Caminos del Inka installment is slated for February. Nov 16—18. Bass Performance Hall, 4th & Calhoun; 817-665-6000; fwsymphony.org
Buxom Bronze
Dallas “Muse” may be too weak a term to describe the wife of Gaston Lachaise. The French sculptor met Isabel Nagle, a married American ten years his senior, in Paris along the banks of the Seine in 1902, and as they say, that was that. Despite a budding career in his home country, he followed her back to Boston in 1906 and pursued his love until she eventually divorced her husband and they were married in 1917. She was his singular obsession and—with few exceptions—the only subject worthy of his artistic attention. “Woman: The Art of Gaston Lachaise,” opening at the Nasher Sculpture Center this month, illuminates his fixation with the female form. Many of the forty-plus sculptures on view are blushingly personal and sexually charged, molded to accentuate ample hips, slim waists, and full breasts. Limbs, if there are appendages at all, are delicate and nimble. Torso, a bronze relief completed in 1930, for example, is merely a muscular back that curves down to an improbably slender waist before exploding into an enormous bottom. (Lachaise’s ideal woman was no waif, though Isabel was a mere five feet two and 110 pounds.) His later works were increasingly erotic. In fact, several of the pieces shown here were not even cast in the artist’s lifetime because he thought them too scandalous for public view. In 1935 he became the first living artist to be honored with a solo exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art, in New York. (He died later that year, when he was, arguably, at the peak of his career.) And though “Woman” may be long overdue (this is the first major museum retrospective of his work to be shown in Texas), the potency of Lachaise’s art—and the legacy of the love affair that inspired it—has not diminished. Nov 17—Feb 17. 2001 Flora, 214-242-5100, nashersculpturecenter.org
Holding Court
Dallas, San Antonio, Houston The Dallas Mavericks may have been the most exciting team to watch last season, but—once again—the San Antonio Spurs proved they were the team to beat. After finishing with the best record in the league, the Mavs looked as if they were going to give Mark Cuban the one thing money can’t buy: a championship. But after a first-round drubbing by the Golden State Warriors (not to mention season MVP Dirk Nowitzki’s major-league meltdown), all eyes—and wagering—turned to the Spurs, who went on to win their fourth title with predictable efficiency. Meanwhile, the Houston Rockets had another up-and-down year: Stars Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming both missed considerable playing time due to injuries, and after a first-round playoff loss, coach Jeff Van Gundy was fired. Don’t be surprised if the 2007—2008 season plays out the same way for all three squads. Nothing lights a fire under a team’s Nikes like the “can’t win when it counts” flub that the Mavs suffered, so expect another strong run from a familiar lineup (Cuban did very little tinkering over the summer). The big question, of course, is whether the ghost of playoffs past will come back to haunt them in the postseason. The Spurs, on the other hand, will just get better, with Tim Duncan dominating at both ends of the floor and Tony Parker (that’s Mr. Eva Longoria to you) becoming more consistent with each drive into the lane. The Alamo City should prepare for another victory parade down the San Antonio River. And the Rockets? Well, new coach Rick Adelman has a bit of a project on his hands, but if the players can stay healthy and Yao and T-Mac get the support they need (the returning Steve Francis should help in the backcourt), they might just surprise us all. Dallas Mavericks. Nov 3: Sacramento Kings. Nov 5: Houston Rockets. Nov 13: Philadelphia 76ers. Nov 15: San Antonio Spurs. Nov 17: Memphis Grizzlies. Nov 20: Toronto Raptors. Nov 26: Washington Wizards. Nov 28: Minnesota Timberwolves. Nov 30: Portland Trailblazers. American Airlines Center, 2500 Victory Ave; 214-747-6287; nba.com/mavericks. San Antonio Spurs. Nov 2: Sacramento Kings. Nov 7: Miami Heat.Nov 11: Milwaukee Bucks. Nov 13: Los Angeles Lakers. Nov 16: Houston Rockets. Nov 21: Orlando Magic. Nov 23: Memphis Grizzlies. Nov 28: Washington Wizards. AT&T Center, AT&T Center Pkwy & E. Houston; 210-225-8326; nba.com/spurs. Houston Rockets. Nov 3: Portland Trailblazers. Nov 6: San Antonio Spurs. Nov 9: Milwaukee Bucks. Nov 14: Los Angeles Lakers. Nov 17: Phoenix Suns. Nov 21: Dallas Mavericks. Nov 24: Denver Nuggets. Toyota Center, 1510 Polk; 713-758-7200; nba.com/rockets 
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