At most classical concerts, there are program notes with information about the works and composers to give background and insight into the music.

The brilliance of an artist often shines brightest when they do the unexpected.

When a stage is set with just two pianos, it’s often for a duel. But Tuesday night’s performance from Ingrid Fliter and Katherine Chi was a delicate, and at times forceful, dance between equally matched partners.

• Kalamazoo
• Gilmore Keyboard Festival
• western michigan university
• Ingrid Fliter
• Katherine Chi

On Monday night, 1998 Gilmore Artist Award winner Leif Ove Andsnes astonished and delighted a modest crowd among the gilded trim and glittering chandeliers of Kalamazoo's Chenery Auditorium.

• Kalamazoo
• Gilmore Keyboard Festival
• Chenery Auditorium
• Leif Ove Andsnes

Celebrated conductor, humanitarian, educator, and the first American-born composer to receive worldwide fame, Leonard Bernstein was the inspiration for Sunday evening’s Gilmore Festival performance from the Bill Charlap Trio at Western Michigan University’s Williams Theatre, which was transformed into a jazz club with candlelit tables set up cabaret style while the exceptional musicians played a lovely 75-minute set of original jazz variations of Bernstein’s gorgeous and often dramatic works.

For one night only, the Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts is taking art “off the wall and into the space.”

Director Todd Avery particularly enjoys the “dark side” of Into the Woods, the hugely successful musical penned by James Lapine and composed by the iconic Stephen Sondheim.

When Vadim Gluzman was a young music student, he didn’t like playing the violin. Instead of practicing for hours on end, he wanted to play ice hockey with his friends.

Ultra-realistic sculptures. Picasso prints. Vintage motorcycles. Local 1950s racing photos. And masterpieces from the Edward Curtis: The North American Indian collection.

Local artisans are breathing new life into the art of glassblowing, and their efforts will be on display at this year’s Battle of the Glass Blowers.