The Fine Arts Department is pleased to present a recital of rare piano works by Franz Liszt and others given by pianist Jay Krasnow on October 18th, 2008 at 4PM. The recital will take place on the 3rd floor lobby of Main Library (Fine Arts and Special Collections) and will last approximately an hour. This recital is free and open to all ages!

In late 2006, Mr. Krasnow commenced a series of recitals of rare late-period piano works by Ferenc (Franz) Liszt and his Hungarian colleagues from the 1860's onward. Some of the pieces bear the influence of ‘gypsy' (Hungarian ‘cigany') folk songs and dances and/or may not have been recorded, published, or even performed until the early 1990s at earliest.  One such performance may well have been the US premiere of the complete cycle of ‘studies for the left hand alone' by count Géza Zichy, a friend of Liszt. 

Please join us on October 18th, 2008 for a wonderful afternoon of piano music!

"Ralph M. Kovel, a nationally known writer on antiques who for more than half a century put prices on the stuff of life, from baseball cards to bottle caps to Barbie’s lucrative girdles, died on Aug. 28 in Cleveland. He was 88 and lived in Shaker Heights, Ohio, in a house outfitted with midcentury enamelware, vintage board games, Mission and Egyptian Revival furniture, Biedermeier cabinets and a fully re-created 19th-century general store in the basement. With his wife Terry, Ralph published 97 books, the most recent of which, “Kovels’ Antiques & Collectibles Price Guide 2009”, is scheduled to be published in October, 2008." Read the rest of this New York Times obituary here.

Attached to this post is an Excel file containing recent additions to the Fine Arts Department. Once you open the file you will see links to the online catalog that will facilitate item requests. Be sure to visit our blog regularly to be the first to check out these new items!

Anxious periodicals seek curious patrons.  Must love chess (or any other subject).  Enjoy scenic trips from 8th floor vault to Special Collections Department.  See librarian for details.

Located eight stories above the sidewalk, on massive moveable shelves, placed among books hundreds of years old, are some very special periodicals from the Cleveland Public Library's John G. White Collection.  They are most often found with their issues bound together to make a single book and when you open them up they will creak and moan as if stretching from a long and whimsical nap.  But do not be fooled.  They want to be opened and are ready to work.  Inside periodicals such as Boy's Own Magazine, The Hampshire Magazine, and Southern Literary Messenger you can discover unique glimpses into the world of chess.

Spectrum: The Lockwood Thompson Dialogues presents Politics & Propaganda: Designing the President featuring Donna Brazile (CNN) & Frank Rich (NY Times) and moderated by Dan Moulthrop (WCPN). This event will be held on Monday, October 6, 2008 @ 6pm in the Cleveland Public Library Louis Stokes Wing Auditorium. It is FREE and open to the public, but seating is limited. To reserve tickets call 216-621-5330 or email contactus@clevelandpublicart.org before Sept. 24, 2008.

Spectrum delves into a dialogue of how the campaign process has evolved in order to sell presidential candidates. This year, America faces an historic candidacy and many firsts, but are things really so different?

Dona Brazile authored Cooking with Grease: Stirring the Pots in American Politics, is an adjunct professor at Georgetown University, and contributor and political commentator on CNN's The Situation Room and American Morning. Frank Rich has won numerous awards, is a columnist for the New York Times, and has years of experience working as a film, television, and theatre critic. This event will be moderated by Dan Moulthrop, host of WCPN ideastream's show The Sound of Ideas.