Mezzo-soprano Kelley O'Connor.By Greg StepanichArtsPaper has been around only a little longer than a month, but the e-mails are starting to pile up. Here are three recent notes from my musical inbox about upcoming events:Walter Salas-Humara, solo: The frontman for the band The Silos, which has gotten a bunch of good press in the past from outfits such as Spin magazine, returns … [Read more...]
Music review: Trio shines in Beethoven Triple Concerto
By Greg StepanichPALM BEACH — It's true, as the program notes indicated, that the Triple Concerto of Beethoven gets slight respect from scholars, but the Goldstein-Kaler-Peled Trio made as a good a case for this hybrid work Tuesday night as you could hope to hear.Appearing at the Society of the Four Arts with the Palm Beach Symphony, the three players — pianist Alon Goldstein, … [Read more...]
Opera review: Yuan, Shagimuratova stand out in ‘Rigoletto’
By Greg StepanichWEST PALM BEACH — A moving portrayal of a man done in by his desire for revenge and a soprano of great promise added distinction to a compelling evening of entertainment as the Palm Beach Opera opened its 46th season Friday at the Kravis Center with Verdi's Rigoletto.This is a production that looks good, sounds crisp, moves along smartly, and was distinguished … [Read more...]
Music preview: Delray Quartet to launch first CD
By Greg StepanichDELRAY BEACH — The Delray String Quartet will launch its fifth season this Sunday afternoon with music by Antonin Dvorak and Mozart in the first of five concerts that will include, in February, the world premiere of the String Quartet No. 3 by the Miami-based composer Thomas Sleeper.But there will be another milestone to mark on that first concert: The release … [Read more...]
Music review: Chiara Massini, harpsichordist
By Greg StepanichDELRAY BEACH — In a brief American debut before a small audience Saturday night at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Delray Beach, the Italian harpsichordist Chiara Massini offered a program of 17th- and 18th-century music that showcased a strong technique and a freewheeling interpretive approach.Massini's recital included music by J.S. Bach, J.J. Froberger, … [Read more...]
Music feature: FAU scholar revives important Jewish operetta
(Left to right: Justin Rust and Aaron Kula of the Florida Atlantic University Libraries have created a new performing version of Avrom Goldfadn's Shulamis.)By Greg StepanichBOCA RATON -- Nine days into the bright new year of 1908, Avrom Goldfadn, "the Yiddish Shakespeare," died in New York City.A vast crowd … [Read more...]
Music calendar: ‘Messiah,’ times four
By Greg StepanichAlmost since the day it was premiered in a long-ago Irish spring in 1742, George Frideric Handel's Messiah has been a staple of professional and amateur music-making organizations.Along with Vivaldi's Four Seasons and the Brandenburg Concerti of Bach, Messiah is one of the three most popular and accessible works of the Baroque era. These three pieces more than … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks
Theater: The world premiere of William Mastrosimone’s Dirty Business, a none-too-veiled fictional version of the political and private life of Sen. John F. Kennedy, ends its run at Manalapan’s Florida Stage this weekend. It deserves to be seen, if only for Gordon McConnell’s performance as charming mobster Sam Giancana. Tickets are $42-$45, available by calling (561) 585-3433. … [Read more...]
Music review: Michael Unger, organist
By Greg StepanichThere are many neglected rooms in the mansion of music, when it comes to the average listener, and one of those rooms holds music for the organ.This is unfortunate primarily because there is a rich and fascinating literature for the instrument, and on Sunday afternoon one of its rising young practitioners showed an audience at the First Presbyterian Church in … [Read more...]