By Robert Croan Thanks to the scholarly research of Florida Atlantic University faculty member Barbara Salani, Amalia e Carlo, an opera by the all-but-unknown Italian composer Pietro Carlo Guglielmi will have a revival — possibly the first since its world premiere in Naples in 1812 — in the University Theater at FAU on Friday at 7 p.m. The current performance is the … [Read more...]
The season in classical music, 2025-26: New and familiar faces on tap for robust concert offerings
Although the upcoming season in classical music does not resemble in breadth of offerings the South Florida seasons of 30 or even 20 years ago, its core, centered around a few key venues, has remained solid and reliably compelling. The same is true of the 2025-26 season, which sees the return of major orchestras and soloists on tour, and absorbing offerings from homegrown … [Read more...]
The season in pop, 2025-26: Eilish, King’s X, Sting and Byrne offer bright spots in a tribute-band time
Even if you’re old enough to remember the 1980s, you might not notice modern popular music’s visual similarities to that bygone decade. For most, in an era where licensing is now practically a prerequisite to attract viewers over listeners, they’re more covert than overt. The ’80s actually started promisingly. Artists who’d emerged in the late 1970s (U2, Prince, The … [Read more...]
Delray’s The Flyers isn’t just your average cover band
Going to a nightclub to see a cover band is practically a time-honored rite of passage, especially in a tourist-driven market like South Florida. And in many cases, what you’ll witness is unsurprising and reasonably well-played renditions of classic rock material, since most patrons are conditioned to think they want to hear and see only what they already know. Which is … [Read more...]
Musicfor America string orchestra pleases in light summer program
By Robert Croan Musicfor America is a Florida-based not-for-profit corporation — part of the Musicfor International alliance founded by Italian conductor-composer Lorenzo Turchi-Floris, with the mission of supporting music education in disadvantaged areas worldwide. The 14-member string orchestra has toured South Florida in the summer months for several years, with … [Read more...]
Guitarist Noy and trio bring modern jazz muscle to Boca
Like clockwork every three years, Israel-born, New York City-based jazz/fusion guitarist Oz Noy’s trio comes back to the Funky Biscuit in Boca Raton for early and late shows. And like 2019 and 2022, its Aug. 21 concert featured a different accompanying rhythm section. In 2019, it was French phenom bassist Hadrien Feraud and longtime Chick Corea drummer Dave Weckl. In … [Read more...]
Careful with that ax: The Who launches another ‘farewell’ tour, starting in South Florida
Sixty-one years after forming in London, England, The Who (www.thewho.com) will perform the first show of its The Song Is Over: North American Farewell Tour at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise on August 16. It’s what amounts to a local dress rehearsal, something touring acts sometimes do as beachside tuneups in our cylindrical coastal state, where the road toward the … [Read more...]
Oz Noy’s Boca return will include spotlight for young bassist
Israel-born, Manhattan-based jazz/fusion guitarist Oz Noy likes to play the field. Musically, that is. Noy is a recurring fixture with his trio every few years at the Funky Biscuit in Boca Raton, where he appears again for two shows on August 21. In his 2019 debut at the venue, that trio was rounded out by young French bass virtuoso Hadrien Feraud (whose credits include … [Read more...]
Beautifully executed Bach, Dvořák wrap SFSO’s chamber summer
By Robert Croan I love Bach! Full disclosure. We don’t get enough Bach on the local music scene. Johann Sebastian Bach, who lived and worked in five German cities from 1685-1750, was to become the father of modern classical music. Without polemics or academics, his music set the rules and esthetic principles of the three centuries of Western music that followed him. … [Read more...]
Local piano legend Copeland Davis holds court at West Palm café
When it comes to Florida natives who are still performing in the Sunshine State 50-plus years after starting their careers here, the list is very short. Unlike West Palm Beach-born jazz/fusion guitarist Scott Henderson — who wowed area crowds with the bands Pure Hell and Paradise before moving to Los Angeles; touring and recording with Chick Corea, Jean-Luc Ponty, and Joe … [Read more...]