By Dennis D. Rooney Mozart may not have written the very first piano quartet, being preceded in a way by J. C. Bach, Schobert and others, but he definitely was the first to write piano quartets in which all the voices are equal, and the indicated keyboard instrument is a pianoforte in the modern sense. In 1785, Mozart received a commission from the Viennese publisher … [Read more...]
PB Symphony percussion concert challenging, innovative
Only six players constituted the Palm Beach Symphony on Feb. 8, in a case of staffing to suit the venue: the concert was in the acoustically ripe room housing Henry Flagler’s personal railway carriage. About 500 people attended. Moving from the rear of the orchestra where they always play, the daunting six percussionists were front and center and made up in volume what they … [Read more...]
Lyricism, energy distinguish Belgian violin-piano duo at Flagler
By Dennis D. Rooney Sitting in the Music Room of Whitehall, the 1902 stately home of Henry M. Flagler at Cocoanut Row and Whitehall Way in Palm Beach, and now the museum that bears his name, reminds me a little of hearing a concert at the Frick Collection in New York. Henry Clay Frick and Flagler, were both tycoons (steel and oil, respectively) whose residences became … [Read more...]
At Flagler, ‘Harem’ shows us the alluring side of ignorance
Paintings of lustful Muslim women bathing and dancing, exposed ankles and flirtatious silky skirts, might have done wonders for the Western male of the 19th century, but as the subject of an art exhibit today, they expose his fears. Don’t let truth ruin a perfectly beautiful picture. Do let high demand and market taste drive your creative voice. This seems to be the … [Read more...]
Telegraph Quartet makes superb music at Flagler
Named for Telegraph Hill, an artsy neighborhood of San Francisco, Calif., the four young players of the Telegraph Quartet came to the Flagler Museum on Jan. 24 to demonstrate their winning ways. Founded in 2013, after barely a year together they won the Fischoff Chamber Music Competition. In 2016 they carried off the Naumburg Chamber Music Competition, a prize that helped … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: Jan. 28-29
Film: Oscar winner Matthew McConaughey has come a long way from his lightweight romantic comedy days, taking on increasingly challenging roles and no longer concerned about how handsome he looks on screen. Take his performance in Gold as contemporary prospector Kenny Wells, a pot-bellied, balding, snaggle-toothed schemer who bets everything he has — and everything he can steal … [Read more...]
Dover Quartet opens Flagler season in brilliant fashion
The Dover String Quartet opened the Flager Museum Music Series on Jan. 10 with a bright, intense sound that was refreshing, lean and passionate. Founded in 2008 by four young graduates of Philadelphia’s Curtis Institute of Music, they were catapulted to international fame with their stunning sweep of Canada’s Banff International String Quartet Competition in 2013. … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: Dec. 30, 2016-Jan, 1, 2017
Film: In 1981, composer-lyricist Stephen Sondheim and director Harold Prince adapted a Depression-era play on the ironies of show business success, Merrily We Roll Along, and opened it on Broadway to such critical and popular indifference that it destroyed their much-acclaimed string of musical collaborations. Now, 35 years later, original cast member Lonny Price looks at the … [Read more...]
Erin Manning: In search of the Flagler spirit
Erin Manning took over as executive director of the Flagler Museum earlier this year from the retiring John Blades, coming to Henry Flagler’s 1902 Whitehall mansion from the Historical Society of Princeton in her home state of New Jersey, where she was executive director for nine years. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Middle Eastern and North African studies from the … [Read more...]
At the Flagler, an astonishing look at a vanishing civilization
Imagine you are a daunting century-old sepia image holding the secrets of a lost civilization. What more could you possibly want? A little credit for your creator, perhaps. When, at age 32, American photographer Edward S. Curtis set out to urgently document the many rituals and faces of the Native Americans up close and personal, languages had already vanished and most of … [Read more...]