world

At the January Arts Presenters Conference in NYC, the Japan Society seized anyone wearing a Philly tag. Their mission: to make sure everyone knew about Hiromitsu Agatsuma's show at the Art Museum. The guy's that important to modern Japan. Agatsuma, now on his third international CD release tour with Eternal Songs (Domo), is a beloved pop artist. Traditional music fans also revere him for making the tsugaru shamisen, the centuries-old three-string lute, come alive in contemporary music. The new CD has something for everyone—which means, of course, there's also something that'll make you squinch up your face like something smells bad, too. There are romantic pieces so sweet they sound like a Hollywood impression of Japan. Others, with Agatsuma's taiko drummer leading the way, make us wonder if Gene Krupa hadn't been listening to a lot of taiko before he made "Sing, Sing, Sing." Still other shamisen passages ring of surf guitar on three strings.

Fri., Feb. 3, 5:45 and 7:15 p.m., $8-$12, Philadelphia Museum of Art, 26th St. and the Parkway, 215-763-8100, www.philamuseum.org.