The European audiences of 300 years ago liked their singers to show off, and Jan. 8 at the second seasonal concert by the Symphonia Boca Raton, a local audience got a thrilling example of why that was. In all-Baroque program led by conductor Brett Karlin, who in November directed a strong account of the Mass in B Minor of J.S. Bach with his Master Chorale of South Florida, … [Read more...]
Archives for January 2017
Charles Simic’s happy obsession with writing poetry
Some of the most perceptive commentary written since the shock of the presidential election has come on the daily website of the venerable New York Review of Books, under the byline of Charles Simic, who, in his day job, is a former U.S. poet laureate and the winner of many top literary prizes, including the Pulitzer. Given that Simic’s most recent book, The Life of Images, … [Read more...]
‘West Side Story’: 60-year-old classic comes to The Wick
Sixty years ago, a remarkable collaboration of composer Leonard Bernstein, lyricist Stephen Sondheim, book writer Arthur Laurents and director-choreographer Jerome Robbins, took William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet onto the gang-dominated streets of New York City. The result was an enduring work of the musical theater, West Side Story, which kicked off the new year at Boca … [Read more...]
Composer Montgomery seeks the intersection of styles
A string quartet by Franz Joseph Haydn might not seem like the most obvious departure point for improvisation. But when the violinist and composer Jessie Montgomery was working with New York’s young PUBLIQuartet, that’s exactly what they did: Play Haydn, then riff on it. “I’ve always been interested in trying to find the intersection between different types of music, or … [Read more...]
Dramaworks to give ‘Domestic Animals’ its first audience encounter
Palm Beach Dramaworks has been serving up thought-provoking productions of classic plays for 17 seasons, but it also understands the importance of developing new works for the theater. So it created the Dramaworkshop, a program of staged readings, workshops and bare-bones productions, searching for material for its mainstage, plays that can vie side-by-side with Albee, Williams … [Read more...]
Delray SQ, guest give committed reading of contrasting quintets
By Dennis D. Rooney Delray Beach’s landmarked Colony Hotel has been home to the Delray String Quartet for all of its 13 years of existence. The group’s concerts take place in a meeting room on the hotel’s main floor. It’s an attractive space but acoustically rather small to encompass this foursome’s vibrant sound, which at several points became overwhelming. Their … [Read more...]
Philadanco founder on mission to make dance look like America
By Tara Mitton Catao Joan Myers Brown has been on a mission since she was 6 years old: to create equal opportunities for black dancers. An only child, Brown began dance class in the 1940s in the only dance school in her hometown of Philadelphia that would accept black children. Later, pursuing her love for classical ballet, she became the first black student to train at … [Read more...]
Arts buzz: Sarah Chang to play Boca Fest; new theater to open in Gardens
BOCA RATON – Violinist Sarah Chang will headline a March 10 concert at the Festival of the Arts Boca, festival officials said today. Chang, whose participation was kept under wraps until now, will perform the Violin Concerto No. 1 (in G minor, Op. 26) of Max Bruch at the concert, which will be held at the Mizner Park Amphitheater. Pianist Daniel Hsu will open the program … [Read more...]
Art fairs descend on West Palm Beach
By Sandra Schulman OK: It’s not really a battle of art fairs this month; it’s more like a visually gorgeous friendly skirmish, with established fairs, newcomers and pop-ups competing for art lovers’ eyes and wallets. What used to be a week has now expanded to almost the whole month as a major new fair, the Palm Beach Modern and Contemporary Fair, gets the jump on Art … [Read more...]
Classical notes: The comeback orchestra; Casals Istomin in Palm Beach
In all the election turmoil over the past year, it might have escaped general notice that an orchestra that had almost been given up for lost only three years ago has recovered in award-winning form. It’s been three years to the month since the 16-month musicians’ lockout of the Minnesota Orchestra ended, an experience that left that arts-loving community reeling but that … [Read more...]