Vita Paladino, right, Director of the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center, with Max Ascoli's son and granddaughter: Peter Ascoli, center, and Elizabeth Ascoli Tsapira, left. (Photo by Christopher Gately)

The Boston University Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center and the Consulate General of Italy in Boston recently hosted an evening honoring some of the great Italian thinkers and reformers whose papers are held at the Center.

The event marked the opening of a new exhibit of artifacts from their collections entitled "The Indelible Italian Spirit: Profiles of Max Ascoli, Danilo Dolci, Oriana Fallaci, and Niccolò Tucci."

The program featured a talk entitled, "Max Ascoli: Antifascist, Intellectual, Journalist," by Professor Renato Camurri, a renowned expert on Max Ascoli's importance and influence.

Other speakers included the Director of the Gotlieb Center, Vita Paladino; the Consul General of Italy in Boston, Liborio Stellino; Dr. Rosaria Campioni, representing the Emilia Romagna Region; Professor Charles Maier of Harvard University; and Professor Spencer DiScala of UMass Boston.

Among the special guests were Peter Ascoli, son of Max Ascoli; and Maria Tucci, Niccolò Tucci's daughter--both of whom spoke about their fathers' lives.

The Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center at Boston University seeks to capture and document history by collecting the manuscripts from individuals who play significant roles in the fields of journalism, poetry, literature and criticism, dance, music, theater, film, television, and political and religious movements.

The Center strives to preserve the documents and make them readily available to researchers while administering all legal copyrights and restrictions. The Center also presents extensive exhibitions, seminars and tours for students, parents, alumni, various visiting groups and members of the public. For more information, visit www.bu.edu/archives.

BSO Discounted Tickets Available for Young Music Enthusiasts

The Boston Symphony Orchestra will offer $20 concert tickets to patrons under the age of 40 to BSO concerts for the remainder of the 2008-2009 Symphony Hall season, thanks to a generous contribution by an anonymous underwriter who will pay the difference between the full and discounted ticket prices.

Four thousand $20 tickets, normally priced from $29 to $115, will be made available to more than 45 Boston Symphony concerts throughout the remainder of the season. The generous underwriter of this special gift, a BSO concertgoer for many years, hopes to ensure that the next generation of music enthusiasts can attend BSO concerts as often as they like and enjoy the thrill of a live concert at a relatively low cost.

Eligible patrons may purchase up to two tickets per show and must provide proof of age in order to receive the discount. All programs and artists are subject to change.

This new offer complements the BSO's ongoing effort to bring the live concert experience to young music enthusiasts by making it more accessible and affordable. The BSO is devoted to reaching out to young audiences, from extensive education programs targeting children and young adults; to the college card and repartee programs focused on college and post-graduate aged patrons; to Symphony +, a series of pre- and post-concert events designed to enhance the overall concert experience by offering social and educational opportunities to concertgoers.

Patrons who take advantage of this special offer can purchase $20 tickets to 13 different BSO programs including two programs under the direction of James Levine --Verdi's "Simon Boccanegra" on January 29 and 31 and February 3 and the world premiere performance of Gunther Schuller's "Where the Word Ends" on February 5, 6 and 7; Kurt Masur leading and all-Mendelssohn program on January 22, 24, and 27; Alan Gilbert leading a program of the music of Sibelius, Rachmaninoff, and Ives on March 5, 6, 7 and 10.

Also: Hans Graf conducting Brahms and Bruckner in a program featuring violinist Janine Jansen and cellist Alisa Weilerstein on March 19, 20, 21 and 24; Charles Dutoit leading a program of music by Ravel, Prokofiev, and Stravinsky on March 26, 27, and 28; and Sir Colin Davis leading Berlioz's "Te Deum" on April 30, May 1 and 2.
Dates not included in this special offer include January 23, and April 10 and 16, among others. All ticket offers are subject to availability.

Tickets may be purchased by phone through SymphonyCharge (617-266-1200 or 888-266-1200), in person at the Symphony Hall Box Office (301 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston), or online through the BSO's Web site, www.bso.org.

For current program information, dial 617-CONCERT (266-2378). For further information, call the Boston Symphony Orchestra at 617-266-1492.

"Jersey Boys" Are Coming to Boston this Summer

The hit Broadway musical "Jersey Boys" is scheduled to play at the Shubert Theatre in Boston from July 23 to August 30.

The winner of the 2006 Best Musical Tony Award and the 2006 Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album tells the story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons (Frankie Valli, Bob Gaudio, Tommy DeVito and Nick Massi), and how a group of blue-collar boys from the wrong side of the tracks became one of the biggest American pop music sensations of all time.

They wrote their own songs, invented their own sounds and sold 175 million records worldwide - all before they were thirty.

For more information, call 866-348-9738.

Enjoy!

In addition to events covered and reported by the columnist, "The Scene..." 
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