A scene from Battleship Potemkin.By Greg StepanichRamón Tebar has worked with demanding sopranos, played as a soloist and chamber musician, and conducted orchestras in symphony, ballet and opera.But for the 30-year-old Spanish conductor, directing an orchestra as the accompaniment to a soundtrack is the hardest thing he's ever done."The main reason is that, as a conductor, I … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: Jan. 8-13
Palm on Sprite Hood, by Judy Flescher. Art: This month at the Mos’Art Theatre in Lake Park, the featured artist is Judy Flescher, an accomplished abstract painter and collage artist who has received many awards for her unique style and imaginative material. She works primarily in mixed media, including acrylic with collage on canvas, paper and copper, monoprints with collage, … [Read more...]
Music review: Delray Quartet makes another advance with fine Ravel
Maurice Ravel (1875-1937), seen in 1912.By Greg StepanichIn presenting a fine performance of one of the supreme masterworks of the 20th-century literature, the Delray String Quartet on Saturday night showed it is an ensemble that continues to grow and deepen, and that its current multi-venue concert series has been more than beneficial for it.The quartet's second program of the … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: Jan. 1-3, 2010
Art: If you haven’t bought your 2010 calendar yet, consider buying one that supports local artists. Twelve local artists bared all to artist/photographer Durga Garcia in her first annual Palm Beach Artists Uncovered calendar.The artists, who range in age from their mid-30s to mid-80s, are all members of the Clay Glass Metal Stone Gallery in downtown Lake Worth. Proceeds from … [Read more...]
Weekend picks: Dec. 25-28
A scene from the Moscow Classical Ballet's The Nutcracker.Dance: This is normally the time of year when we'd expect to see Ballet Florida's Nutcracker in Marie Hale's indelible, lovely production. Ballet Florida, sadly, is no more, but there is still a Nutcracker at the Kravis over Christmas. The Moscow Classical Ballet's version of Tchaikovsky's immortal 1892 ballet opened … [Read more...]
Music feature: Sunday’s ‘Messiah’ last for Masterworks founder
Jack W. Jones at the Royal Poinciana Chapel. (Photo by Greg Stepanich)By Greg StepanichThis Sunday afternoon, crowds will gather in force at the Royal Poinciana Chapel on Palm Beach, as they do every holiday season, for a singalong performance of the so-called Christmas portion of George Frideric Handel's Messiah.It will be the 32nd such performance since Jack W. Jones … [Read more...]
Music review: Zukerman’s Haydn shines with Israel Philharmonic
Amanda Forsyth and Pinchas Zukerman.By Greg StepanichTwo sides of the art of Pinchas Zukerman were on view Thursday night at the Kravis Center, and it was the Classical side that came out better than the Romantic, even though most of the time he was leading a big orchestra capable of all the emotive bells and whistles.Zukerman, joined by his wife, the Canadian cellist Amanda … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: Dec. 18-20
Elizabeth Dimon, Christopher Oden and Colin McPhillamy, in Copenhagen. Theater: Opening tonight is Palm Beach Dramaworks’ much-anticipated production of Michael Frayn’s Tony Award-winning Copenhagen, a cerebral look back at a mysterious 1941 meeting between two nuclear physicists that may have changed the course of World War II. Based on fact, but then stretched into … [Read more...]
Music review: Teen violinist Hoopes commanding at Stage West
Violinist Chad Hoopes.By Greg StepanichYoung violin virtuosos aren't exactly a dime a dozen, but there seem to be quite a few more around these days interested in making names for themselves.A case in point is Chad Hoopes, an earnest 15-year-old from suburban Cleveland who opened the new season of chamber music concerts at the Duncan Theatre's Stage West, on the Lake Worth … [Read more...]
Music review: Conductor Tebar impressive in PB Symphony evening
Conductor Ramón Tebar.By Greg StepanichThe young Spanish conductor Ramón Tebar has been working as Palm Beach Opera’s assistant conductor for the past four seasons, and now with the new title of conductor-in-residence at the Palm Beach Symphony, his local profile is likely to rise.Tuesday night at the Society of the Four Arts, an appreciative audience saw Tebar open the … [Read more...]