Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, in an unfinished portraitby his brother-in-law, Joseph Lange.By Greg StepanichA sweetly radiant reading of the Mozart Clarinet Quintet added a poignant touch to the closing half of the third concert in the Palm Beach Chamber Music Festival’s current summer season.The quintet (in A, K. 581) was dedicated to the memory of the Rev. Perry … [Read more...]
Music review: Recent American brass trio proves smart switch at chamber fest
American composer Lauren Bernofsky.By Greg StepanichThe second concert of the Palm Beach Chamber Music Festival’s 20th season underwent a programming change, but its tried-and-true finale, which didn’t change, worked its customary magic.A large audience at the Crest Theatre on Sunday afternoon warmly applauded that last work, the Death and the Maiden Quartet … [Read more...]
Music review: Chamber fest’s Schoenberg falls short of transfiguration
Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951).By Greg StepanichAs one of the Palm Beach Chamber Music Festival’s performers rightly said in her remarks from the stage, the name of Arnold Schoenberg is “box office poison” for a lot of people, but that really shouldn’t apply to his early string sextet, Verklärte Nacht.This important, beautiful work was one of the major events … [Read more...]
Theater feature: For ‘Millions of Miles,’ fourth time might be the charm
Sally Bondi and Avi Hoffman in Millions of Miles. By Hap ErsteinGreenacres playwright Elliott Taubenslag knows how to write roles that attract major names.More than 20 years ago, he wrote a bittersweet romantic comedy called Millions of Miles for Kay Medford, the late character actress who originated memorable mothers in Bye Bye Birdie and Funny Girl. Although she toured in … [Read more...]