Best of the week

Published on September 21, 2007

 On World Car Free Day tomorrow, leave your car at home and walk or ride a bicycle, or take the skytrain, subway, river taxi or bus.

Bangkok Governor Apirak Kosayothin will kick off events with a "critical mass" bicycle ride starting at 6am from National Stadium, heading to China Town with a stop at city hall for lunch before heading back to the stadium at around noon.

Afternoon events include exhibitions of classic bicycles and mountain bikes, a bike clinic and sales of bicycles and accessories, as well as the Greenpeace Climate Change clinic. There will be ample parking - for bicycles. Don't forget to bring your bike lock.

The ride, organised by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration and Bicycle for Health Society, is part of the city's effort to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, which are believed to be contributing to global warming and climate change.

For details, see www.worldcarfree.net and www.bangkokcarfreeday.com.

Russian artistry

Russia's oldest opera company, the Ekaterinburg State Opera Theatre, brings "Eugene Onegin" to the Thailand Cultural Centre tomorrow night, the first time Tchaikovsky's tragic opera has been performed in in the Kingdom.

Part of Bangkok's Ninth International Festival of Dance and Music, the production is backed by the Ekaterinburg Symphony Orchestra and features lavish sets and costumes, with 180 singers and musicians.

The Ekaterinburg orchestra takes the stage again on Sunday. Under the direction of Mikhail Granovsky, the orchestra will perform Beethoven's "Symphony No 9 in D Minor, Op. 125" in honour of His Majesty Bhumibhol's 80th Birthday on December 5. Other works include "Scheherazade Op. 35" by Nikolai RimskyKorsakov.

Both shows start at 7.30pm. Tickets range from Bt600 to Bt4,000, and are available at Thaiticketmajor.

For more details, call (02) 262 3456.

Mixed messages

Media art in Thailand over the past two decades will be explored in the exhibition, "From Message to Media" at Bangkok University Gallery.

Works include video, digital, film and audio, and will show how media arts have developed in principle, ideas, discipline and style. There is emphasis on art embedded in cultural contexts and how local practitioners negotiate the gap between local and global society. Participants include Apinan Poshyananda, Kamol Phaosawasdi, Araya Rasdjarmrearnsook, Vasan Sitthiket, Amrit Chusuwan, Dansoung Sungbornveshapan and Porntaweesak Rimsakul.

The exhibition opens tomorrow and runs until November 10.  The gallery is at the university's Kluay Nam Thai campus and is open from 9.30am to 7pm Tuesdays to Saturdays.

For more information, call (02) 350 3500.

PanAsian players

The Asean Japan Festival Orchestra returns to the stage on Wednesday at Thailand Cultural Centre for the ninth in its yearlong "Tribute to the Supreme Artist by Great Artists of the World" series of performances to celebrate the 120 years of JapaneseThai diplomatic relations and the 80th birthday of His Majesty the King.

Comprised of musicians from Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam and Japan, the orchestra is conducted by the Bangkok Symphony Orchestra's Hikotaro Yazaki. Four soloists will be featured: Worapon Kanweerayothin on flute, Hidetaka Nanasawa on oboe, Jun Komatsu on piano and Lertkiat Chongjirajitra on trumpet.

Works include the overture to Mozart's "The Marriage of Figaro", Salieri's "Flute and Oboe Concerto in C major", Shostakovich's "Piano Concerto No 1, Op 35" and Beethoven's "Symphony No 8 in F major, Op 93".

Tickets range from Bt400 to Bt1,500 and are available at Thaiticketmajor.

For more information, call (02) 262 3456.