Philippe Entremont. (Photo by Alvaro Yanez)By Greg StepanichBoca Raton Symphonia (Sunday, March 20, Roberts Theater, Boca Raton)The Boca Raton Symphonia closed its most recent concert Sunday with one of its better recent performances, one that seemed well-suited to the orchestra’s current period of experimentation and expansion.Philippe Entremont, in his … [Read more...]
Music roundup: A powerful premiere at Lynn; evocative Ravel at PB Symphony
Composer Chiayu Hsu.Lynn Philharmonia/Gunther Schuller (Jan. 29, Wold Performing Arts Center, Boca Raton)“I am Chiayu!” the small woman wearing a red dress jacket almost shouted to the audience at the Wold Performing Arts Center as she took the stage at Lynn University in Boca Raton to introduce her new composition.Chiayu Hsu, a Taiwan-born composer who … [Read more...]
Music reviews: Fine new music for cello; PB Symphony charms; Delray Quartet advances
Justin Dello Joio.Carter Brey and Christopher O’Riley (Dec. 19, Kravis Center)World premieres are always special, but they don’t always suggest that they will make a lasting impact on the culture.But composer Justin Dello Joio’s Due per Due, which was given its debut by cellist Carter Brey and pianist Christopher O’Riley, is a worthy new work that … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: April 9-13
From left: Steven Strait, Dominik García-Lorido,Andy Garcia, Julianna Marguliesand Ezra Miller in City Island. Film: Fresh from the Miami International Film Festival comes City Island, an amiable look at a dysfunctional Bronx family, each of whom is harboring a secret. Cuban-born, South Florida-raised Andy Garcia gets a rare opportunity to flex his comic muscles as the prison … [Read more...]
Weekend picks: Feb. 12-16
You (2010), by Sibel Kocabasi.Next week, Upon a Time, an exhibition featuring collaboration between ceramic sculptor Brian Somerville and painter Sibel Kocabasi, opens on the Eissey Campus of Palm Beach State College in Palm Beach Gardens.Kocabasi, a Turkish-born artist who received the Hector Ubertalli Award in 2006 and exhibits widely, creates paintings that “reflect the … [Read more...]
Music feature: PB Symphony readies score for ‘Potemkin’
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...]
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...]
Weekend arts picks: Dec. 11-15
Ann Curry, before one of her photosat the Palm Beach Photographic Centre.(Photo by Bill Antaleck)Art: Emotionally moving and dynamic color and black-and-white photographs by NBC's Ann Curry are currently featured at the newly reopened Palm Beach Photographic Centre. The exhibit, titled Empathy, will be on display through Jan. 21. Curry was at the Centre last Friday and Saturday … [Read more...]
Music review: Organ-and-orchestra works make for diverting program
The American composer Craig Phillips (b. 1961). By Greg StepanichPALM BEACH -- One of the more original and interesting feats of programming came the way of local audiences Tuesday night when the Palm Beach Symphony presented an evening of nothing but music for organ and orchestra.That it was a good program that but for a pre-concert switch could have been a great program is … [Read more...]