Classical music continues to be a growth industry in Palm Beach County and South Florida generally, which is remarkable considering the depth of the current economic slump. Perhaps it’s the wealth of technology that makes it easier to get the word out about this music, and inspires small bands of enthusiastic players and singers to get out there and try to get their voices … [Read more...]
Archives for October 2011
The 2011-12 season in pop: Classic rockers in short supply for energetic season ahead
The 2011-2012 concert season in South Florida could conceivably signal that classic rock is dead as we once knew it. Unlike the past two seasons, which collectively featured ’60s- and ’70s-launched brand names like the Allman Brothers Band, Bonnie Raitt, Crosby, Stills & Nash, the Eagles, Roger Waters, Rush, and Earth, Wind & Fire, the next eight months look comparatively … [Read more...]
The winter season in film: Cooler months offer likely Oscar candidates
Sorry, fans of superheroes and special effects, the summer is over and Hollywood is ready to bring out its A-list (for “Adult”) fare. This is the season for films of substance, even if Tom Cruise is back with his fourth Mission: Impossible flick, director David Fincher is trying to remake a Swedish film noir into a domestic blockbuster and Martin Scorsese tries his hand at … [Read more...]
‘The Tree’: A lyrical, understated portrait of family and grief
We’ve barely been introduced to Peter O’Neill (Aden Young), the patriarch of a family of six in rural Australia, before a heart attack strikes him dead behind the wheel of his truck. With his daughter playfully atop the vessel, and assuming her father is simply having some fun, the truck careens slowly off the road and teeters, with an anticlimactic thump, into the enormous … [Read more...]
The 2011-12 season in Palm Beach art: Ghosts, gods, bodies and wildlife
The state of all things is pretty much still looking gray and uncertain, which makes the list of shows and exhibits you are about to read possibly the only piece of good and colorful news you hear in a while. By the time you are done reading this, I predict, there will be several shows competing for your attention. My advice? Write them down. The artists and creations hitting … [Read more...]
Cancer comedy ‘50’/50’ an odds-on winner
The idea of a comedy about cancer is hardly unheard of. After all, the cable series The Big C is based on exactly that premise. But the very savvy new film 50/50 -- named for the odds of surviving the cancer that young NPR radio segment producer Adam (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) contracts -- handles the precarious tonal balancing act with impressive ease. The film is written by … [Read more...]
Lynn Phil’s Mozart, Mahler mark important step forward
Since the Florida Philharmonic’s disappearance eight years ago, the local listener’s need for big orchestral ensembles has been filled by guest orchestras from outside Florida or overseas, the New World Symphony orchestral academy in Miami Beach, and the larger college groups such as the Frost Symphony at the University of Miami. Although Palm Beach County has several fine … [Read more...]
Norton unveils a congenial set of changes
“Visitor experience” is a phrase one hears a lot these days when museums are the topic of discussion. Now, more than ever before, many, as a direct result of cuts in government funding for the arts, are focusing on how to make changes that keep people coming back to the museum because it is an enjoyable place to be. This can also mean that museums must now find ways to … [Read more...]
The 2011-12 season in opera: Even in tough times, companies innovate
South Florida’s opera companies are keeping things busy and innovative this coming season even as the economy continues to take its toll on audiences, box office – and even a whole series of matinees. Still, there’s enough intriguing opera ahead to interest fans and casual attendees, and for them to see some bright new talent take some big steps. Here’s what’s happening on … [Read more...]