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.

Had he not won a Gold Medal at the Stulberg International String Competition in 1979, Anthony Ross isn’t sure where his career would have gone.

There are plenty of musicians today who embrace showmanship and spectacle to make an impression. But in a society that barrages us with hollow messages and countless distractions, honest and refined music can offer due respite.

• Gilmore Keyboard Festival
• Nelson Freire
• Chenery Auditorium

Having spent his life spreading joy with his outlandish costumes and unique style of playing the piano in concert halls, on television and as the consummate Las Vegas act, Liberace has returned from the dead to set the story straight, so to speak, because he feels redundant in heaven where everyone’s just perpetually happy.

• Kalamazoo
• Gilmore Keyboard Festival
• Liberace
• Farmers Alley Theatre

Wei Luo, recipient of a 2018 Gilmore Young Artist Award, shares a music teacher with another Chinese pianist: Lang Lang, who also left his home country for America as a young teenager.

• Gilmore Keyboard Festival
• Wei Luo

Bell’s Eccentric Cafe was abuzz and looked a bit different than usual Thursday night. From the sounds of things, it could have been a club in Greenwich Village at any point in the 20th Century — but without the cigarette smoke and with better beer. 

• Kalamazoo
• Gilmore Keyboard Festival
• bell's eccentric cafe

Much like being named a Gilmore Artist, winning the International Frederic Chopin International Piano Competition carries much significance for a burgeoning concert pianist. 32-year-old Polish pianist Rafał Blechacz has claimed both accolades. Blechacz swept the Chopin Piano Competition in 2005 — the first Polish pianist in 30 years to win the top prize — and later won the Gilmore Artist Award in 2014.

• Grand Rapids
• Grand Rapids Symphony
• Gilmore Keyboard Festival
• Rafal Blechacz