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...]
Sheng concerto proves admirable feature of Lynn Philharmonia concert
By Dennis D. Rooney South Florida is extremely fortunate to have the Lynn Conservatory of Music. The all-scholarship school attracts outstanding students internationally. Their studies are punctuated by participation in public concerts. The Lynn Philharmonia is the institution’s student orchestra. It offers six programs per season under the musical directorship of … [Read more...]
New American violin concerto satisfies at Lynn Philharmonia opener
By Dennis D. Rooney In its initial concert of the current academic year, the Lynn Philharmonia and its conductor, Guillermo Figueroa, offered a satisfyingly meaty program of standard repertoire and a novelty. The latter was a violin concerto by American composer Richard Sortomme (b. 1948). Elmar Oliveira commissioned the work and premiered it in Savannah last year. In … [Read more...]
Figueroa’s Bartók, Robertson’s Elgar end Lynn Phil season in strong fashion
During the current concert season, Guillermo Figueroa has made two big statements about repertoire for the student orchestra at Lynn University that he directs. In February, he presented the Roméo et Juliette of Hector Berlioz, his favorite composer, and a work almost never encountered in full in area concert halls (to say nothing of any of its constituent parts). And this … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: April 21-23
Art: This Saturday, there will be demonstrations across the country in defense of science and the environment, both of which progressives think are under attack by the new administration in Washington. Whatever your political leanings, giving a thought or two to Mother Earth on Saturday is a laudable thing to do, and a small Lake Worth art shop, the Clay Glass Metal Stone … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: March 18-19
Music: Florida Grand Opera continues its remake of itself as more of a cutting-edge company today as it opens the first of five presentations of Before Night Falls, the 2010 opera by Cuban-American composer Jorge Martín, which is based on the memoirs of the dissident Cuban writer Reinaldo Arenas. The opera tells the story of Arenas’s talent, his homosexuality and suffering from … [Read more...]
Late review: Despite flaws, Berlioz ‘Roméo’ marks a Lynn milestone
Guillermo Figueroa has been an advocate of the music of Hector Berlioz for decades, and in his time as the conductor of the Lynn Philharmonia, he’s pursued that advocacy with presentations of major works by the composer. A season ago, it was the song cycle Les Nuits d’Éte, and on Feb. 25, it was his hard-to-classify “dramatic symphony,” Roméo et Juliette. Joined by three … [Read more...]
Violinist Oliveira launches international competition at Lynn this month
Elmar Oliveira knows a thing or two about music competitions. As an American violinist competing in Moscow in the 1978 Tchaikovsky Competition — where he won the Gold Medal, the first and still only American violinist to do so — Oliveira was thrust into a “cutthroat” environment in which the only goal was the top prize. “It was like an ocean with 100 sharks in it,” Oliveira … [Read more...]
Debussy, Beethoven performances showcase impressive Lynn Philharmonia
I had to miss out on the first Lynn Philarmonia concert in late September because of a family emergency, but this past Saturday night at the Wold Center for the Performing Arts, I was able to make it to the second concert, and I found that there’s a lot to be excited about. Director Guillermo Figueroa, who has recently added a regular gig with the Santa Fe Symphony to his … [Read more...]
Weak Handel, strong Rimsky at Lynn Phil’s final season concert
The current season of the Lynn Philharmonia, which ended April 17 with a concert at the Wold Performing Arts Center, has been largely triumphant. Continuing on its path of notable improvement under the direction of conductor Guillermo Figueroa, the students of the Lynn Conservatory have displayed impressive chops and discipline in their concerts this year, which have been … [Read more...]