Celebrating 25 years of music-making, the Atlantic Classical Orchestra, a fine, chamber-sized orchestra of 41 players, came to the Eissey Campus Theatre of Palm Beach Gardens State College from its Fort Pierce headquarters Tuesday to give the first of its four concerts scheduled there. The orchestra’s stated mission is to broaden its outreach, and by using an all purpose name … [Read more...]
Youthful Parker Quartet dazzles in Flagler opener
Running out of superlatives to describe the Parker Quartet is a hazard music critics must face after hearing their excellent performances. Tuesday saw them at The Flagler Museum at Whitehall in its music series season opener, which was sold out. Is it any wonder the public takes a liking to them after experiencing the ho-hum attitude presented by some of the older established … [Read more...]
Magnificent Bruckner was PB Symphony at its best
The Fourth Symphony of Anton Bruckner, subtitled Romantic, conveys the ecstatic, uncompromising intensity the composer strove to achieve in his lifetime, using a new way of developing the symphonic form. Palm Beach Symphony director Ramon Tebar led his 70-piece orchestra through a thrilling performance of this symphony Monday night at the DeSantis Family Chapel, transforming … [Read more...]
A splendid afternoon of PB Opera on the waterfront
Saturday saw huge crowds braving the “cold” 70-degree weather and troublesome winds that blew sheet music everywhere at the outdoor Meyer Amphitheatre in West Palm Beach for Palm Beach Opera’s second winter concert on the waterfront. On the stroke of 2 p.m., conductor Greg Ritchey brought down his baton for a rousing National Anthem, like you’ve never heard before, from … [Read more...]
Escher Quartet plays Haydn, Beethoven with warmth, dazzle
Of the many string quartets that have visited Palm Beach in the past 10 years, the Escher String Quartet has accolades a-plenty: the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant, artists-in-residence at the BBC and the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. Close on 10 years old as a group, they take their name from the celebrated Dutch graphic artist M.C. Escher. This very … [Read more...]
A refined Chopin from Anievas at PB Symphony
The stage at the Society of the Four Arts for Wednesday’s Palm Beach Symphony concert had but a few chairs and a concert grand piano on display. “No percussion, no brass, no winds,’’ said the young couple behind me, sotto voce, before the concert began. Their keen observation spoke volumes. Ramón Tebar, after five years at the helm of the orchestra, has cleverly matched his … [Read more...]
Russian State SO, with Feltsman, glitters in Mozart, Rachmaninov
I think it’s safe to say the Kravis Regional Arts Concert Series, now celebrating its 40th year, has more visiting orchestras than any other venue in the world. There are seven this season, starting with the Russian State Symphony Orchestra on Wednesday evening with two Russian pieces and a Mozart piano concerto. This 90-piece ensemble opened with Glinka’s overture to his … [Read more...]
New opera company triumphs with ‘Bluebeard’
All Hallow’s Eve gave birth to a new opera company for South Florida. Oct. 31 saw the launch of Opera Fusion at Lake Worth Playhouse in a well- presented, well-sung mounting of Bartók’s Duke Bluebeard’s Castle. The group’s mission is to get opera to the people; it’s an artist-driven startup offering a new approach. Less stodgy, as proven by the very young audience who came … [Read more...]
DuoSF musically dazzling, but needs more show biz
Christopher Mallett and Robert Miller, who call themselves DuoSF, are no ordinary self-taught hotshot young guitar players. Appearing in the Young Artists Series at the Rinker Playhouse of Kravis Center on April 7, they brought their gentlemanly and highly cultured approach to this string strumming art we all associate with Spain. Andres Segovia was the leader, Miller and … [Read more...]
PB Symphony finale shows Tebar’s orchestra-building success
Ramón Tebar must be exhausted. Twinning conductorships of Palm Beach Symphony and Florida Grand Opera in Miami would sap the energy of another man. Not so the 35-year-old Tebar. He must have the strength of Hercules. Drawing on reserves of a champion soccer player last Sunday afternoon, April 6, he conducted a superb concert at the Kravis Center with the Palm Beach Symphony. … [Read more...]