NO OTHER FILM from the silent era has continued to exert the fascination of Fritz's Lang's sci-fi epic Metropolis (1927). This sweeping look at a futuristic city, in which the workers are relegated to caves while the rich dally above ground and the seductive robot Maria gleams in her golden carapace, exists in multiple versions of various lengths and tints. Just a month ago, the German paper Die Zeit reported that large chunks of footage thought lost had been unearthed by the film museum in the Museo del Cine of Buenos Aires. The film has inspired a legion of musicians to write refreshed scores for theatrical screenings—from Giorgio Moroder to San Francisco's Club Foot Orchestra.

In the multimedia event of the fall season, Stanford Lively Arts shows Metropolis (in the 1995 Munich Film Museum version) with the Santa Rosa Symphony, conducted by Bruno Ferrandis, performing Argentine composer Martín Matalon's adventurous accompaniment. Matalon's score uses a full plate of sonic ingredients—including space-voyage electronics, ambient minimalism, industrial noise and frantic jazz—to mirror the visual rhythms and themes of the movie rather than just tagging along in a narrative mode. This one-of-a-kind performance takes place Dec. 6 at 8pm at Stanford's Memorial Auditorium.

 

Stanford Lively Arts

 

Campus venues, Stanford University; 650.725.ARTS. 

Branford Marsalisand members of the Philharmonia Brasileira—Oct. 5 at 2:30pm at Memorial Auditorium.

Soweto Gospel Choir—Oct. 7 at 8pm at Memorial Church.

Word for Word Performing Arts Company, a staged reading of Sonny's

Blues followed by a performance with Marcus Shelby—Oct. 10 at 8pm at Pigott Theater.

The St. Lawrence String Quartetwith pianist Claude Frank—Oct. 12 at 2:30pm at Dinkelspiel.

Emerson String Quartet, three quartets by Shostakovich—Oct. 15 at 8pm at Dinkelspiel.

Meredith Monk, Songs of Ascension— Oct. 18 at 8pm at Memorial Auditorium.

Turtle Island Quartetand the Assad Duo on guitars—Oct. 29 at 8pm at Dinkelspiel.

What Makes It Great? With Rob Kapilow and the Stanford Chamber Strings exposing the musical innards of Tchaikovsky's Serenade for Strings—Nov. 2 at 2:30pm at Kresge Auditorium.

The Urban Bush Women dance troupe and Compagnie Jant-Bi perform The Scales of Memory—Nov. 12 at 8pm at Memorial Auditorium.

Messiaen Centenarycelebration with St. Lawrence String Quartet and organist Robert Huw Morgan performing Quartet for the End of Time and selected organ works—Nov. 13 at 8pm at Memorial Church.

Imani Windsand the Miami String Quartet, includes West Coast premiere of Roberto Sierra's Concierto de Camara—Nov. 19 at 8pm at Dinkelspiel.

Boston Brass and the Brass All-Star Big Band perform A Stan Kenton Christmas— Dec. 3 at 8pm at Dinkelspiel.

Santa Rosa Symphony performing Martin Matalon's score to Fritz Lang's Metropolis— Dec. 6 at 8pm at Memorial Auditorium.

A Chanticleer Christmas—Dec. 9–10 at 8pm at Memorial Church.

MACLA

   

510 S. First St., San Jose; 408.998.ARTE

Summer Slumberfest, Slam poet champ Mike McGee reads for 24 hours straight with sign-ups encouraged for other versifiers; comfortable couches and lots of coffee for the audience—Starts Sep. 6 at noon.

Junot Diaz, reading from and signing copies of The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar War, in conjunction with the Center for Literary Arts at SJSU—Sep. 20 at 7pm at SJSU Theatre.

Cabaret Unkempt, a week's residency by Miami's Jennylin Duany and Elizabeth Doud, presenting a multimedia work about body image—Performances Oct. 10–11 at 8pm.

Ana Castillo, author of The Guardians speaks, in conjunction with Center for Literary Arts— Oct. 14–15 at SJSU and other venues.

Ama: The Memory of Time, a screening of a documentary about the peasants' revolution of the 1930s in El Salvador—Oct. 31 at 7:30pm.

International Latino Film Festival—Nov. 12–14, see www.latinofilmfestival.org for schedule.

Poetry Slam—Every second Monday at 8pm.

Montalvo Arts Center

   

14000 Montalvo Road, Saratoga; www.montalvoarts.org.

Kim Gordon Meets Phantom Orchard, with the Song Project, bassist Trevor Dunn and drummer Yoshimi—Sep. 26 at 8pm at the Carriage House.

Dave Benoit, a fundraiser dinner and show to help arts and education programs—Oct. 3 at 6:30pm at Carriage House.

Cypress String Quartet—Main Room, Oct. 26, Nov. 16 and Dec. 7 at 3pm.

UC–Santa Cruz Arts & Lectures

 

  Various locations at 8pm; 831.459.2159. 

Shanghai Quartet—Oct. 4 at UCSC Recital Hall.

David Sedaris—Oct. 26 at Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium.

Evenings of Cultural Arts

   

  Sponsored by Sunnyvale Parks & Recreation; Sunnyvale Theatre; Saturdays at 8pm; 408.730.7725. 

Fishtank Ensemble, Gypsy Music—Sep. 6.

Rupe and the April Fishes, eclectic world-music mix—Oct. 18.

Sourdough Slim, cowboy music—Nov. 29.

Kugelplex, klezmer music—Dec. 13.

South Bay Guitar Society

   

Le Petit Trianon, San Jose; 408.292.0704. 

Classical Stage performances at Tapestry Arts Festival—Aug. 30, 11:30am–4:40pm, Aug. 31, 11:30am–3:30pm, Almaden Boulevard and West San Carlos St., San Jose.

Triada Guitar Quartet—Sep. 13 at 8pm at Music Building, West Valley College, Saratoga.

Jerome Mouffe—Oct. 4 at 8pm.

Dale Kavanagh—Nov. 1 at 8pm.

Community School of Music and Arts 

 

  230 San Antonio Circle, Mountain View; free; 650.917.6800, ext. 314. 

Mark and Bob Applebaum, jazz piano— Sep. 12 at 7pm.

The Baguette Quartette, a family show— Oct. 5 at 2 and 4pm.

Word for Word Performing Arts Company, part of Stanford Lively Arts Informance Series—Oct. 9 at 6pm.

Yoko Owada, classical flute–Oct. 10 at 7pm.

The Avenue Winds, baroque and classical— Nov. 2 at 2 and 4pm.

The Urban Bush Women, introducing their piece from Lively Arts Series—Nov. 11 at 6pm.

Osama, a film showing—Nov. 19 at 6:30pm.

Jalliya, storytelling and drumming from Africa—Dec. 18 at 7pm.

Campbell Heritage Theatre

 

  1 W. Campbell Ave.; www.heritagetheatre.org or 408.866.2700. 

Momix, sculptural dance in multimedia setting—Oct. 24 at 8pm.

Late Night Catechism, an interactive comedy about Catholicism—Nov. 2 and 9 at 3pm.  

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