24 THU • FILM Shortwave — We all know that Detroit has been in the limelight for music lately, but did you know that we are making movies to boot? The latest example is a new short film, written, directed and produced by locals Chris McElroy and Terry Young. Their Shortwave is a drama about a young college student in 1970s America who comes across a Pandora’s Box of information while fiddling with a ham radio. The local production — aided by a grant from the Public Benefit Corporation — premieres at the Century Club (inside the Gem Theatre) at 333 Madison Ave., Detroit. Call 313-963-9800 for more information. Get there early — it’s a 7:30 p.m. showing.
25-26 FRI-SAT • MUSIC Hélène Grimaud — After an 11-year absence from Detroit’s classical venues, French pianist and audio-visual phenom Hélène Grimaud returns to perform Bela Bartók’s Piano Concerto No. 3 with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra this weekend. Combining thrilling technique and exceptional sensibility, she has specialized in the Romantic and Impressionist repertoires. Though mostly known for her stellar recordings of Brahms, Chopin, Liszt, Rachmaninoff, Ravel and Schumann (as well as her big-screen good looks), Grimaud teams up with DSO music director Neeme Järvi this time around to send the passionately modern, exhilarating Bartók concerto into orbit. Also on the program are Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 3 (“Scottish”) and Zoltán Kodály’s “Peacock Variations.” Bartók and Kodály, both Hungarian, were modernists who found inspiration in their country’s folk melodies. Grimaud seems to get hers from piano works of breathtaking difficulty. Friday’s performances are at 1:30 and 8 p.m., Saturday’s is at 8:30 p.m. Call 313-576-5111 or order tickets at www.detroitsymphony.com.
25-26 SAT • MUSIC Mark Murphy — The curse of Mark Murphy is to be so lauded (Grammy nominations, Down Beat awards, 40 records) and so obscure (hands in the air if you’ve heard of him) and so talented. At 71, he’s the irrepressible hipster jazz singer and “the prince of nonconformists,” as one scribe swooned. His admirers have included Sammy Davis Jr. (discoverer), Steve Allen (booster), Kurt Elling (follower) and a couple of Viennese acid-jazz DJs (rediscoverers who reportedly got him signed to BMG in the ’90s). If you didn’t put your hands up, this is your rare chance to join a cult. At the Bird of Paradise (312 S. Main, Ann Arbor). Call 734-662-8310.
25-27 FRI-SUN • ART EXPO 2003 Michigan Modernism Exposition — Along with fashions, knick-knacks and a variety of memorabilia, home furnishings from the likes of Frank Lloyd Wright, Heywood Wakefield, Tiffany and Salvador Dalí are here for your perusing and purchasing. Looking for an old movie poster? Have your heart set on a 1950s dinette set? At the Southfield Municipal Complex (26000 Evergreen Road, Southfield). Call 248-948-0470 for more information.
26 SAT • ART Cranbrook Academy of Art Student Auction — If you’ve ever wondered what those Cranbrook Academy of Art students are up to, here’s your chance to take a look and maybe, uhm, acquire some art. Saturday, 4-6:30 p.m., the annual Student Art Auction offers works produced this past year in the architecture, ceramics, 2-D design, 3-D design, fiber, metalsmithing, painting, photography, print media and sculpture departments. Since the Cranbrook approach encourages much free thinking (without sacrificing craft and care), you’re bound to encounter pieces that surprise and seduce you. (If not, there’ll be beverages, delicacies and the sounds of Detroit saxophonist George Benson.) Use the entrance at 39221 N. Woodward Ave., Bloomfield Hills — check in at the Forum Gallery of the Cranbrook Art Museum (courtyard entrance off the lower museum parking lot). And enjoy! P.S.: Studios in all departments will be open for viewing 3-4:30 p.m.
