The check-this-out mentality of social media might at first blush seem antithetical to the very idea of classical concertgoing, but that’s not the way Ray Chen sees it. The young Australian violinist finds his most congenial digital home in the realm of Facebook, but he’s also a master of Twitter and micro-video on Instagram. All of it a means to a worthy end: Getting … [Read more...]
Flutist sparkles in challenging concerto at Lynn Phil
The folk styles of a people became the rallying musical cry during the nationalist upheavals of the mid-19th century, and while the politics have faded since then, what is left with today’s listeners is a sonic personality assembled from characteristic tones and rhythms. While we’re familiar with what those are in the case of the major European countries, it’s not so easy to … [Read more...]
Composer, PBO prepare for ‘Enemies’ world premiere
Ask composer Ben Moore about writing an “accessible” opera, and he’s not all that comfortable with the term. “I like to say melodic, lyrical and memorable. Those are good words,” Moore said. And for the people behind his newest project, Moore is the ideal person to bring to the operatic stage a musical language in which lyricism is the driving impetus. “I had known Ben for … [Read more...]
FGO’s Così: Strong singing, smart direction sell tricky story
For as many problems of interpretation that Mozart’s Così fan Tutte presents to its observers, there are at least as many options that this singular opera gives to its presenters. Given that its specific locale of Naples isn’t underlined in Lorenzo Da Ponte’s libretto, directors have felt free to reorient it everywhere else and every other time, and it rarely detracts from the … [Read more...]
PBO’s ‘La Bohème,’ Cast 1: A ‘Bohème’ to cherish
Because of its uninterrupted 119-year streak of popularity, Giacomo Puccini’s La Bohème can come dangerously close to paint-by-numbers opera: Fill in the blanks with some colorful voices, and the work performs itself. Happily for local audiences, the creative staff of Palm Beach Opera’s just-passed revival of the opera were interested in approaching it with fresh eyes, and the … [Read more...]
Seraphic Fire and chant: The music of faith, hypnotically sung
In its concert Saturday night of Gregorian chant and music associated with it, Seraphic Fire decked out Fort Lauderdale’s All Saints Episcopal Church with all the candlepower typical of a Catholic high Mass. That was entirely appropriate, because if you’re going to sing the music of Ritual, you might as well include the scenic ambience. And in this beautifully sung concert, it … [Read more...]
‘It’s just so human’: ‘La Bohème’ to open PB Opera season
If your task is to direct the most popular opera ever written, you might not have to stretch your conceptual-overhaul muscles all that much. “It’s a traditional opera that’s OK to keep traditional. You don’t get bored with it,” said Fenlon Lamb, who is directing Giacomo Puccini’s La Bohème, Palm Beach Opera’s season opener. “Coming to this and knowing it was going to be … [Read more...]
Conductor Schwarz, cellist son shine for Boca’s Symphonia
The eminent American conductor Gerard Schwarz, who has done so much for orchestra building and for American music of the 20th century, made a return appearance to Boca Raton on Sunday in the company of another returnee, his cellist son Julian. Schwarz led the Symphonia Boca Raton in the second concert of its current season, and he demonstrated not only his excellence as a … [Read more...]
Danielpour quartet makes strong impression at Delray SQ
The string quartet remains the vessel into which composers since the days of Haydn have poured their deepest thoughts, perhaps because there is something about the intimate, confessional sound of the four instruments that encourages it. On Sunday afternoon, the Delray String Quartet offered a fine contemporary example of serious string-quartet writing with a performance of the … [Read more...]
Pacifica Quartet took epic journey with Shostakovich
One of America’s finest string quartets, the Pacifica Quartet, opens the musical year with a performance Friday afternoon at the Kravis Center of music by Ravel and Haydn, as well as the Piano Quintet of Johannes Brahms, for which they will be joined by pianist Christopher O’Riley, familiar to public radio audiences as the host of From the Top. The performance should start … [Read more...]