Eugene Weekly : Calendar : 09.29.05

The Oregon Mozart Players' season-opening concerts on Oct. 1 and 2 feature music that conjures images in your mind. Shostakovich's music of the 1930s often accompanied opera and other stage works, and his brilliant Piano Concerto No. 1 (featuring pianist Lisa Leonard, pictured above) is an especially delightful romp for piano and trumpet. We seldom think of Russian music as fun, but in this period, at least, Shostakovich (along with Prokofiev) definitely provoked smiles. Aaron Copland didn't intend his 1925 Music for the Theater to accompany a particular dramatic production, but rather wanted to evoke the moods and images of works that appear on stage. Anyone who thinks of Copland as merely a purveyor of classical cowboy tunes should give this one a go. The third major work on this terrific program, Benjamin Britten's Suite on English Folk Tunes "A Time There Was," finds a more melancholy vein, yet still carries the rhythmic bounce of the old English dance tunes Britten transformed. The opener, Mozart's overture to his opera The Abduction from the Seraglio, vividly paints a picture of a Turkish harem, using instruments associated with that then-exotic culture. See Saturday Calendar. — Brett Campbell

This weekend, the Eugene Glass School puts on its sixth annual Art Glass Auction and Benefit Dinner, a fund-raiser that helps finance the operations of the nonprofit school. On Friday night, meet the artists at the Auction Preview, where featured artist Karen Willenbrink-Johnsen speaks and shows slides of her work. On Saturday, stop in at the afternoon artist demo at the Glass School before heading out to the Valley River Inn for the dinner and auction (both silent and live). More than 130 donated works of glass art will be auctioned over the course of the evening, so there's sure to be something that strikes your fancy. See Calendar.

As September draws to a close, it's once again time for the Last Friday ArtWalk, the monthly self-guided tour of galleries, studios and sometimes living rooms around Eugene. This month there are 23 stops ranging from the Fire House Studio, where work by Don Rich (including 333X, above) ends its run, to the Owl and Moon Gallery, where a new exhibit by Halo Jones opens. At Shady Pines, collaborated yard installations and indivudual works by Grant Hoddle, Collin Janke and Julie Hoffener are on display. Stop by Colette to catch Marilyn Kent giving away pieces of an art dress that's on exhibit. For a full listing, go to www.lastfridayartwalk.org See Friday Calendar.