Critics' Picks: Pianist Barnatan's 'Gaspard de la nuit' on new CD

The Short List
Critics' Picks: Pianist Barnatan's 'Gaspard de la nuit' on new CD

Classical

Inon Barnatan

If, as I did, you missed Israeli-born pianist Inon Barnatan (above) performing Ravel's "Gaspard de la nuit" at the Summer Festival of the Seattle Chamber Music Society, do not despair. It's included on his new CD, "Darknesse Visible," and it's a revelation. Barnatan goes beyond the mellifluous surface of Ravel's masterpiece to lure you into a whole plush keyboard world. In the closing "Scarbo" movement, he captures the delicate whiplash volatility of the music with a freedom so exquisite and precise that it gives the piece's enchantment has all the room it needs to roam.

Michael Upchurch,

Seattle Times arts writer

TV/DVD

'Midsomer Murders'

After more than a decade solving 208 of the most intricate, gruesome and devilishly absurd homicides in picturesque rural England, Chief Inspector Tom Barnaby has retired. That's a big loss for fans of the vastly entertaining British TV series "Midsomer Murders," in which the witty, unflappable Tom, played to droll perfection by John Nettles, was the Sherlock Holmes of bucolic villages infested with arch-killers. Tom's cousin John (Neil Dudgeon) now walks the Midsomer beat, but you can bid a fond adieu to Nettles in his final four episodes, just out on DVD.

Misha Berson,

Seattle Times arts writer

Movies

Valley 6

Pull on your jammies, throw the sleeping bags in the back of the station wagon and head to Auburn's Valley 6 for a rite of summer: A drive-in double feature. On a recent weekend, "The Amazing Spider-Man" was paired with "Men in Black 3"; tickets were $9 adults and just $2.50 for kids. Even with gas at nearly $4 a gallon, the Valley 6 is the family entertainment deal to beat (253-854-1250 or valleydriveins.com).

Lynn Jacobson,

Seattle Times features editor