By Robert Croan Seraphic Fire’s third annual Enlightenment Festival – two weekend programs each performed in four South Florida venues – is devoted to the church cantatas of Johann Sebastian Bach, some of the most sublime music in the Western civilization canon. It’s also some of the most difficult music for present-day performers, technically and stylistically, but with … [Read more...]
Violinist Porter brilliant, stylish in wide-ranging Flagler recital
By Ava Figliuzzi By the close of violinist Simone Porter's Feb. 14 debut at the Flagler Museum, she had developed a warm rapport with the audience. Alongside pianist Rohan De Silva, well known for over two decades as Itzhak Perlman's accompanist, the duo presented a delightful blend that spanned all corners of the repertoire. A sparkling rendition of Beethoven's first … [Read more...]
Jussen Brothers show off technical wizardry at Four Arts
By Márcio Bezerra From the Mozarts to the Mendelssohns, from the Kontarskys to the Labèques, there have been many famous sibling piano duos throughout music history. The reigning fraternal team of the moment, Dutch brothers Lucas and Arthur Jussen, were in recital Feb. 6 at The Society of the Four Arts in Palm Beach. Despite their somewhat cutesy and over-choreographed … [Read more...]
Viano String Quartet opens Flagler series scrupulously — maybe too much so
By Ava Figliuzzi An impeccable attention to detail by the members of the Viano String Quartet was complemented well Feb. 7 by the pin-drop acoustics of the Flagler Museum's West Room as the group opened the museum's 2023 music series. The young Philadelphia-based ensemble holds a residency at the Curtis Institute of Music and won first prize in the 2019 Banff … [Read more...]
Violinist Porter heads for Flagler recital with focus on spontaneity
By Ava Figliuzzi Caught between two days of Barber Violin Concerto performances with the Modesto (Calif.) Symphony, Simone Porter says she embraces her inner spontaneity when playing the same work two nights in a row. "I try to make an entirely fresh performance. If I try to re-create anything that happened the previous night, that's where the danger starts happening," … [Read more...]
Christie spoof offers reliable laughs at Delray Playhouse
By Dale King If you manage to snag a ticket to the very view-worthy comedic musical mystery Something’s Afoot at the Delray Beach Playhouse before it drops the final curtain Feb. 12, lend an ear to a song called “I Owe It All,” which should provide an overview of where this production is coming from. The bouncy melody, shared in mutual musicality by most everyone in the … [Read more...]
Curator found ‘Contemplating Character’ images on ‘scholar’s salary’
By Sharon Geltner The man behind the exhibit Contemplating Character: Portrait Drawings & Oil Sketches from Jacques-Louis David to Lucian Freud, which opened Saturday at The Society of the Four Arts, has led as an interesting a life as many of the artists who created the fascinating 81 portraits in his collection dating back 250 years. And with R. Crumb and Lucian Freud in … [Read more...]
LW Playhouse’s ‘Guys and Dolls’ winningly shows off large, able cast
By Dale King After recently toying with a variety of theatrical genres, Lake Worth Playhouse has chosen to kick off the 2023 portion of its 70th season with a tried-and-true classic, Guys and Dolls. This stage staple centers on Depression-era gamblers and their women, referred to without objection as “dolls” and “broads,” whose major goal in life is to marry and raise … [Read more...]
PBO’s non-edgy ‘Butterfly’ nice, but not challenging
By Márcio Bezerra A 15-year-old geisha is bought in marriage and later abandoned by an American naval officer in — of all places — Nagasaki. The storyline of Giacomo Puccini’s Madama Butterfly is ripe with political and gender-related controversies. Yet, most traditional productions avoid tackling the problematic subjects head-on. That was the case with Palm Beach … [Read more...]
At Four Arts, Calidore String Quartet turns in knockout performance
By Ava Figliuzzi Name any major U.S. chamber music competition, and it has likely been won in the past by the Calidore String Quartet. The New York City-based ensemble was the recipient of a 2018 Avery Fisher Career Grant, a 2017 Lincoln Center Emerging Artist Award, and the winner of the 2016 M-Prize International Chamber Music Competition. Their 2022-23 season balances … [Read more...]