South Florida has a remarkably active and diverse classical music season in general, and this year some of the younger musical organizations are showing some real depth and growth. Both the Boca Raton and Palm Beach symphonies have challenging, fresh programming throughout their seasons in Palm Beach County, and chamber music is well-represented in the Duncan, Flagler and Four … [Read more...]
Composer brings passion for stories to new Maltz children’s musical
Ask John Mercurio about way he approaches his craft as a composer of musicals, and one word keeps coming back: Storytelling. Partly that’s because he writes book and lyrics as well as music, but the idea also is central to his creative process. “I think for me, the way in, whether it be book writing, music writing or lyric writing, is always telling a story. That’s my thing. … [Read more...]
Music roundup: A night of Waxman; Trillium kicks off St. Paul’s series
Lynn New Music Festival: Donald Waxman (Oct. 4, Lynn University, Boca Raton) The composer Donald Waxman turns 87 later this month, but his compositional muse shows no sign of slowing down. The special guest last week for the New Music Festival at Lynn University, founded by pianist Lisa Leonard and now in its seventh year, Waxman has had a long, distinguished career in … [Read more...]
Season Preview 2012-13: New leadership at MCB raises dance stakes
Although Ballet Florida is now long-gone, the world of South Florida dance is seeing other big changes, most notably the arrival at Miami City Ballet of a new director following the sidelining and then departure of the company’s founder, Edward Villella. But there are small, scrappy companies hereabouts making their marks in the dance world, and the major area venues are … [Read more...]
Composer Waxman to get world premiere at Lynn
Time was when Donald Waxman was proud of his pen-and-ink hand, because the notes he wrote out for his manuscript scores were legible and performers found them easy to read. That all changed a few years ago at the hands of a student who dragged the composer into the digital notation era. “He said, ‘Mr. Waxman, I can’t do this anymore. I’m going to teach you how to use … [Read more...]
Dance troupes join forces for Eissey show
When Ballet Florida shut its doors in 2009, it left a hole in the local dance world. But it didn’t disrupt the network of dancers, choreographers and enthusiasts who wanted to see the art of Terpsichore continue under the palms. Jerry Opdenaker, a 47-year-old performer and choreographer who danced with for 22 years with Pennsylvania Ballet, the Kansas City Ballet and Ballet … [Read more...]
Palm Beach Symphony commissions composer Muhly
The Palm Beach Symphony has commissioned one of the most celebrated young composers in the country to write a fanfare for the ensemble’s 40th anniversary in 2013. Nico Muhly, 30, a Vermont-born composer who studied at the Juilliard School, is perhaps best-known for his score for The Reader, the 2008 Stephen Daldry film starring Kate Winslet and Ralph Fiennes. He’s written … [Read more...]
Fine Brahms ends chamber festival in affirmative fashion
One of the joys of the annual Palm Beach Chamber Music Festival is its array of fresh programming, bringing little-known music out of the libraries and into the harsh light of the stage, there to make its way or not, as the case may be. And this 21st season of the festival has been no exception, with rarely heard works dominant, and the familiar making itself known only very … [Read more...]
Personable ‘Contrasts’ stands out in festival’s 3rd week
When Béla Bartók went into the Austro-Hungarian countryside starting in 1906, the folksongs he brought back underlay his compositions in different ways: Some were harmonizations, tart and otherwise, of Christmas carols and the like, while in other works he drew stronger stuff from the melodies he distilled. In a work such as Contrasts, written in 1938 for Benny Goodman, Joszef … [Read more...]
Chamber concert offers fine 20th-century discoveries
Over the years, some of the better Palm Beach Chamber Music Festival concerts have presented a good blend of discovery and tradition. And so it was with the second concert in the festival’s 21st season this past weekend. The festival musicians sounded well-rehearsed and crisply confident at the Crest Theatre on Sunday, and delivered a fine afternoon of masterworks and obscure … [Read more...]