With next Wednesday’s “Seasons Project” featuring the Venice Baroque Orchestra and violinist Robert McDuffie performing both Vivaldi’s Four Seasons and Philip Glass’s “American” Four Seasons in Hill Auditorium, we thought you might enjoy the video trailer for the concert…

…And the opportunity to identify the seasons from Philip Glass’s concerto.  Robert McDuffie says, “I specifically asked Philip Glass for four large movements, originally thinking that we would be naming the movements as seasons — until we both disagreed on what was summer and what was winter. He said, this is a great opportunity actually… why don’t we just leave it up to the audience to decide?”

Many members of the UMS staff keep a watchful eye on local and national media for news about artists on our season, pressing arts issues, and more. Each week, we pull together a list of interesting stories and share them with you. Welcome to UMS’s Arts Round-up, a weekly collection of arts news, including national issues, artist updates, local shout-outs, and a link or two just for fun. If you come across something interesting in your own reading, please feel free to share!

Arts Issues

• 25-year-old Yulianna Avdeeva of Russia won the 2010 International Frederic Chopin Piano Competition, the first woman to win in 45 years…but the award did not come without controversy.

Artist Updates

• Sankai Juku just wrapped up their 2-week-run at the Joyce Theater in New York–see the Huffington Post review here.
• People are Watching: Our staff’s favorite video this week is this stunning clip of Hibiki by Sankai Juku.
• Need to get your jazz fix? Check out two clips from the Hot Club of Detroit’s new release here and here.
• Meet Vijay Iyer: last week’s feature on NPR’s Fresh Air.
• Dig into the music: New York Times Magazine interviews Arvo Pärt, whose music appears on the Tallis Scholars’ upcoming concert.

UMS News

• AnnArbor.com preview of Sankai Juku‘s Power Center performances this weekend.
• AnnArbor.com preview of the Venice Baroque Orchestra and Robert McDuffie, featuring Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons” and Glass’s “American Four Seasons” concerti next Wednesday’s performance.
• AnnArbor.com review of the Jerusalem Quartet concert.

Local Shout-Outs

• Follow tenor Nicholas Phan, U-M School of Music alum, Ann Arbor native, and a soloist in this season’s Messiah, on his way to his Carnegie Hall debut.

Just For Fun

• Where will he be in 20 years, let alone 10? Watch 3-year-old Jonathan conduct Beethoven in his living room!
• Something’s Rotten in the State of Facebook…an NPR spoof on Hamlet.