By Hali Neal The first day of SunFest on Thursday saw some 1980s flair with an appearance by Living Colour (of “Cult of Personality” fame). Guitarist Vernon Reid had what appeared to be a solid gold guitar and lead singer Corey Glover’s hair was purple, his leather pants had a gold tint, and he wore blindingly white shoes that he’d probably bought for this occasion. Their … [Read more...]
New piano trio makes powerful impression at Breakers
By Dennis D. Rooney The inaugural concert appearance of a newly formed piano trio composed of three experienced chamber musicians gave the final concert April 25 in the Chamber Music Society of Palm Beach’s season a certain gala atmosphere. Cellist Colin Carr, at 60, is the veteran member (having played for nearly two decades in the Golub-Kaplan-Carr trio), and is … [Read more...]
FGO’s ‘Florencia’ takes pleasant journey down faux-Puccini river
Continuing with her effort to modernize and update her company, Florida Grand Opera general director Susan Danis closes the troupe’s 77th season with Florencia en el Amazonas, the 1996 magic-realist opera by the late Mexican composer Daniel Catán. Although set in the grandeur of the Amazon River as a boat wends its way to the city of Manaus in northwestern Brazil, Florencia … [Read more...]
Young pianist makes persuasive case for Medtner
Americans have had a long love affair with the music of Russia, particularly that of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Works by Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninov, especially, are guaranteed box office today as they have been for decades. But there are other, less well-known Russian composers whose work, while perhaps not as immediate as those two composers, offer rewarding … [Read more...]
Flutist Torres gives excellent account of charming new concerto
By Dennis D. Rooney The sixth and final concert of this season’s Lynn Philharmonia programs April 22 ended with rollicking Latin-American rhythms and gaudy colors after opening with the gentler tones and tints of Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony (No. 6 in F, Op. 68). Conductor Guillermo Figueroa achieved a solid exposition of the score and high-quality playing from the … [Read more...]
Palm Beach Symphony struggles in season finale
By Dennis D. Rooney The Palm Beach Symphony closed its 44th season April 17 at the Kravis Center with a most ambitious program. Too ambitious, as it happened. American cellist Zuill Bailey was the soloist in Edward Elgar’s 1919 Cello Concerto (in E minor, Op. 85), taking the place of the previously announced Romanian cellist, Răzvan Suma. Playing the “ex-Schneider” … [Read more...]
Pianist sparkles at South Florida Symphony, ‘Fantastique’ doesn’t
With several chamber orchestras filling the symphonic gap in this part of the state, the South Florida Symphony offers a full-size group, which gives it the opportunity to present the largest works of the repertoire. And so it was on Sunday night at the Spanish River Worship Center in Boca Raton that a huge orchestra sat on the stage for a performance of the Symphonie … [Read more...]
Danish String Quartet’s Beethoven superb at Broward Center
By Robert Croan There’s no getting around it. Beethoven’s string quartets are tough stuff: monuments of Western music, worth the effort to unravel their joys and depths and mysteries, but really tough stuff. They’re tough on the ears, on the intellect and on the psyche. Throughout his life, the iconic and complex composer sketched his musical thoughts first in his 32 … [Read more...]
Pärt’s ‘Passio’ gets rigorous Seraphic Fire reading
As we move further past the high-water mark of minimalism, the stature of its major practitioners can be seen more clearly in our rearview. A performance Saturday night of the Passio, a 1982 setting of the Passion according to St. John by the eminent Estonian composer Arvo Pärt, now 82, brought something particular about Pärt’s work into high relief: He is the purest and … [Read more...]
Strong premiere, solid Brahms stand out at ACO’s season closer
By Dennis D. Rooney The Atlantic Classical Orchestra concluded its 28th season and its second with Music Director David Amado on Wednesday with a program that balanced a new work with a standard symphony and a not entirely familiar 20th-century piano concerto. The world premiere of Facets of Motion, commissioned by the Atlantic Classical Orchestra and winner of the 2018 … [Read more...]