PhilaCulturati

Sunday, March 1st, 3 pm, The Philadelphia Chamber Music Society presents the Brentano Quartet w/ Hsin-Yun Huang, viola, at the Independence Seaport Museum (Penn’s Landing, Columbus Blvd at Walnut Street). $18 tickets (Orig. $23). 

Named after Antonie Brentano, whom many scholars believe to have been Beethoven’s “Immortal Beloved,” the Brentano String Quartet has been singled out for its performances since its inception in 1992. “Passionate, uninhibited and spellbinding,” raved the London Independent; the New York Times praised its “luxuriously warm sound and yearning lyricism,” and The Philadelphia Inquirer extolled “these players could well be the best of the next generation. Their level of individual technique was superb.”

• Haydn, String Quartet in G Minor, Op. 20, No. 3
• Hyla, Howl (Philadelphia Premiere)
• Mendelssohn, String Quintet in B-flat Major, Op. 87

Tickets for PhilaCulturati readers are ONLY $18 (reg. $23). To purchase discounted tickets, call 215-569-8080 or www.pcmsconcerts.org.

PCMS has additional Special Deals for PhilaCulturati members:

Enjoy a 3 course, $30 prix fixe dinner at Keating’s Grill at the Hyatt at Penns Landing, adjacent to the Independence Seaport Museum, before of after the March 1st concert and receive 4 hours of FREE parking in the hotel garage.

OR PCMS has arranged for $10 parking in the lot adjacent to the Independence Seaport Museum.

If you are taking public transportation, the Independence Seaport Museum is not a far walk from the El stop at 2nd St. 

Thursday, February 26th, 5:30-7:30, Gallery Openings at The Print Center and the Center for the Emerging Visual Artist, FREE. Rittenhouse Square.

Dinner: Devon Seafood Grill. See PhilaCulturati home page or click for special offer.

Yes, you can avoid the First Friday crowds and craziness, and still enjoy multiple, nearby art openings on the same night!

This Thursday, Feb 26th, the Rittenhouse Square area will be host to two quality art openings at non-profit galleries. The Print Center at 1614 Latimer between Spruce and Locust and The Center for the Emerging Visual Artist (CFEVA) at 237 South 18th Street in The Barclay, Suite 3A. Both receptions run from 5:30 to 7:30pm. The Print Center’s Curator John Caperton will be speaking at 5:30, so you may want to hit there first. Not two blocks away, CFEVA will have an artist reception at their opening and Devon Seafood Grill is just next door, making it a perfect place to finish for dinner and impress your companions with your impressions on the evening’s art.

The Print Center is debuting “Pulling from History: The Old Masters,” a group exhibition bringing together the work of contemporary artists whose work has been influenced by old master prints. Exhibiting artists include: Jennifer Bornstein, Ernesto Caivano, David Fertig, Sarah McEneaney, Norm Paris, Andrew Raftery, Kiki Smith and Anton Würth.

The Center for the Emerging Visual Artist gives out travel grants to its alumni and will be exhibiting the work produced during the grant recipients’ travels in “Alumni Travel Grant Exhibition by Michael Froio, Jill Greenberg, James Mundie, and Ann Northrup.” The four local artists travelled to different parts of the world and were inspired by extremely different experiences. This exhibition features prints, photographs, and installations of their work.

DINNER: Located in the prime real estate of Rittenhouse Square, Devon Seafood Grill offers an extensive menu of large-portioned entrees, a well-ranged wine list, eclectic cocktails, elegant seating (intimate booths or stylish bar seating), all without the noise and chaos of other Rittenhouse bars and restaurants.

First Hand: The only other restaurant where I’ve enjoyed such good tuna tartare is the original Bookbinders. The waitress appropriately recommended some wine choices in our price range. We were able choose our fish to-order. And the dessert portions were so generous, a) we could’ve shared and b) we had enough carrot cake to take home for dessert-seconds (you know what I’m talking about).

For a great review written by Elizabeth Halen, check out www.foodaphilia.com.

Wednesday, February 25th, 6pm @ Rosenbach Museum & Library, $10, 2008 Delancey Street (between Pine and Spruce). 

Dinner: Devon Seafood Grill, $10 off a purchase of $20 or more, or $20 off a purchase of $50 or more. Valid Wed through Fri, Feb 27th. 225 S 18th on Rittenhouse Sq.  To use print out coupon on PhilaCulturati homepage.

In celebration of Abraham Lincoln’s 200th birthday, the Rosenbach Museum & Library created 21st-Century Abe, a web project that combines historic documents, commissioned artistic interpretations, and visitor-generated content. But more importantly it’s witty, comical, artsy, snarky and intellectual. 

This Wednesday, Curatorial Assistant Kathy Haas and 21st-Century Abe Project Coordinator Nick Schonberger will be available for an in-depth walk-through of the online site and discussion on how you can be a part of the online project. Along with the site demonstration, Nick and Kathy will talk about the process of creating the site and about the relationship of art and history, modes of alternative storytelling, and the opportunities and challenges of web 2.0.!

The talk is free with museum admission ($10/$8 students) and the museum will be open on Wed until 8pm. If you have not yet had a chance to check out the historic house and especially the Maurice Sendak (Where the Wild Things Are author) exhibition, you should– it’s awesome and closes May 3rd. And be sure to check out the 21st Century Abe website (also on Twitter!).

19 South 22nd Street, Mütter Museum, 215 563-3737‎

When it comes to being “disturbingly informative” there’s weird and then, there’s Mütter weird. Quirky, slightly eccentric and 100% unique, the Mütter Museum is basically the Marilyn Manson of the museum world. Boasting some of the world’s strangest medical pathologies, the museum was once a surgery professor’s personal collection (aka Dr. Mütter). Building on his collection, the museum now has some 20,000 + objects including anatomical specimens preserved in fluid (think: baby in a jar), archaic medical tools (before laser surgery it was approximate-and-cut surgery) and plain old weirdness.

Want to see the world’s largest colon? A lady who decomposed into soap? Conjoined twins attached at the chest? Yeh, they’ve got that.

Well before I oversell it with tantalizing facts about the body’s abnormalities and medical wonderment, let me pass one more tidbit by you: the museum is open late every Friday evening. With normal hours of operation M-F 10 to 5, the Mutter has decided to accommodate all of the Friday weird-date-night business by staying open until 9pm.

So make a date of it! The Mütter Museum is on 22nd St between Market and Chestnut (easy access from the trolley stop at 22nd and Market). Ideas: walk a half block south to Sansom St and check out the Helium Comedy Club (2031 Sansom St.) and hit up the Rum Bar or Monkey Bar both easy-going bars with a hip vibe on Walnut St just before 20th.

315 Chestnut St., 215-925-2222, chemheritage.org

The words “chemical” and “heritage” don’t usually get us excited — and let’s face it, the combination is worse. But the Chemical Heritage Foundation, which opened the doors to its 17,000-square-foot museum and conference center in Old City earlier this month, is definitely worth a visit. Ten years in the making, this $20 million project uses contemporary art, history, current events, artifacts and technology to examine science in our everyday, beaker-phobic lives.

“A museum is a visual place, and we really wanted this one to be captivating,” says curator Erin McLeary. “Even if you don’t know what something scientific is, you’ll find it interesting here.” From birth control to computers, explosions to pasteurization, the permanent exhibit conveys the roles science has played — and continues to play — in shaping modernity. The first of the changing exhibits, “Molecules That Matter,” takes a look at 10 organic molecules that have influenced the world, including familiar faces such as nylon, DNA and aspirin. “We’re not as interested in teaching science as much as we are exploring how it occurs in our world,” says McLeary.

If the science doesn’t draw you in, the striking renovation of the First National Bank (built in 1865) is worth a look. The large arching windows let in plenty of natural light — a rarity in the museum world — and the eco-friendly construction included wall tiles and floors made from recycled materials. Then, of course, there are our favorite two words: free admission.

When Visiting: so the museum will be closed from Jan 19 – 23rd for construction. Normal hours are Monday to Friday 10-4. Not exactly conducive for a “night out” but listen up: It won’t take you more than an hour to go through the exhibits, so aim to be there around three o’clock and then march over to Second St, do some shopping and hit up the bars for happy hour! Old City is chock full of great places to go for food and libations. Some PhilaCulturati favorites include the church-turned-bar National Mechanics, a local brewery with a contemporary vibe, Triumph Brew Pub,  and the Khyber the city’s best hipster hangout.