Music: Pianists and lovers of Bach are in a high state of excitement over Sunday afternoon’s concert at the Arsht Center’s Knight Concert Hall featuring the great American pianist Simone Dinnerstein in a complete, uninterrupted performance of the Goldberg Variations. This is the work – a tremendously impressive display of compositional ingenuity ― that helped make Dinnerstein’s reputation as an artist of rare skill and depth, and a player of luminous purity. The concert at 5 p.m. Sunday is almost sold out, and there are no late entrants allowed, which is as it should be. Tickets start at $75; call 305-949-6722 or visit www.arshtcenter.org.
Earlier that day, the Kravis Center hosts the Tokyo String Quartet in one of its last appearances anywhere, because this is its farewell tour. On the program are the String Quartet No. 20 (in D, K. 499, Hoffmeister) of Mozart, Bartok’s Fourth Quartet and the Quartet No. 4 (in E minor, Op. 44, No. 2) of Mendelssohn. This is a most distinguished ensemble, with 30 albums to its credit and a world-class reputation virtually since its founding in 1969, and fans of the genre will want to be there to show them how much they’ll be missed. The concert starts at 2 p.m. in the Kravis Center. Tickets start at $25. Call 832-7469 or visit www.kravis.org.
Film: Add to the list of heart-rending documentaries on the Holocaust Nicky’s Family, about a young London stockbroker who helped get hundreds of Czechoslovakian children to safety in England, earning him the nickname of “Britain’s Schindler.” His name is Nicholas Winton, since knighted by Queen Elizabeth II and still alive (at 103) to tell his story. Much of the power of the film comes from the recollection of those saved children, now quite old and often frail. Included is lots of vivid archival footage and a thread of dramatizations of life in Eastern Europe as Hitler’s army begins its invasion. Opening this weekend at both Mos’Art Theatre in Lake Park and the Living Room Theaters in Boca Raton.
Theater: South Florida playwright Tony Finstrom unveils a new play with music, Back Stage Story, in a reading this Monday evening, kicking off a new workshop series at Lynn University’s Wold Auditorium in Boca Raton. That is reason enough to be interested, but also factor in that the reading will star Jan McArt ― yes, the first lady of South Florida theater ― as a celebrated stage star hired to appear in a play about a legendary stage star. Sounds like ideal casting to us. Tickets are a mere $13, available by calling (561) 237-9000.
Art: A dynamic preview exhibition of kinetic art opens today at the Cultural Council’s Lawrence A. Sanders Foundation Gallery, 601 Lake Ave., Lake Worth. Ralfonso, of West Palm Beach and Geneva, Switzerland, has designed interactive, light and sound sculptures that move with the environment ― such as wind and water ― for more than 40 years. Cork Marcheschi, of San Francisco, has been making kinetic, electric, illuminated art works since he was 18. Working with his material of choice, electricity, Cork draws on his knowledge of Tesla, high voltage, radio frequency and electricity to serve his kinetic sculptures. A large piece by each artist is featured in the exhibition, which runs through Feb. 3. Art by Ralfonso and Marcheschi will be on display in the 2013 International Kinetic Art Exhibit and Symposium in Boynton Beach in February. For more information, visit: www.intlkineticartevent.org.