Vanessa Perez.By Greg StepanichIn an ambitious and wide-ranging recital Saturday night at the Steinway Gallery in Boca Raton, pianist Vanessa Perez brought poetry and power to music from Mozart to Villa-Lobos.It was in the music of South America and Spain that Perez, a native of Venezuela, made the strongest impact, though in the six years since I last saw her at the … [Read more...]
Music review: Shevchenko’s survey of Brahms, Chopin deeply satisfying
Margarita Shevchenko.By Greg StepanichMargarita Shevchenko’s program at the Steinway Gallery in Boca Raton on Saturday night was as core-Romantic as it could get, with much-loved music by Brahms and Chopin making up the bill of fare.But while these works were twice- and thrice-familiar, the Russian-born resident of North Miami Beach brought a deep, mature vision to … [Read more...]
Music review: Pianist Weisman brings meaty program to Piano Lovers series
Assaff Weisman.By Greg StepanichAssaff Weisman leads a busy life as a pianist, teacher at the Juilliard School, and chief of an international chamber ensemble whose debut disc arrives later this year.To put it another way, he’s a thorough, expert musician, the kind on whom the classical world depends to keep the art form relevant and fresh for audiences and … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: April 22-24
Jason Edelstein and Rick Pena in Blood Brothers.Theater: In only two seasons, Boca Raton’s Slow Burn Theatre Company has forged a reputation for producing edgy musicals outside the mainstream. The show that got its co-founders, Matthew Korinko and Patrick Fitzwater, interested in creating and running their own troupe is Blood Brothers, the cult hit that opened in … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: Sept. 18-20
Emma Stone in Easy A.Film: When Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote The Scarlet Letter, he never imagined it would become the inspiration for a high school comedy such as Easy A, but screenwriter Bert V. Royal plants his tongue firmly in cheek and comes up with a wise, wise-assed morality tale set at Ojai (Calif.) High, about a misfit named Olive who lies about losing … [Read more...]
Music review: Works by Tower, Vine enliven Atzinger recital
Christopher Atzinger.By Greg StepanichFor an instrument that has been such a central part of music-making for the past 200 years, it’s interesting to hear that there are new compositional things that can still be done with the piano.In his Piano Lovers recital Sunday afternoon at the Steinway Gallery in Boca Raton, the pianist Christopher Atzinger, a St. Olaf College professor … [Read more...]
Music review: In semi-darkness, a good recital of Schumann, Tchaikovsky
Pianist Yang Shen.By Greg StepanichEven the most devoted of piano fans could have been forgiven Saturday afternoon for taking a raincheck on a recital at the Steinway Gallery in Boca Raton.Moments before Lynn University pedagogue and pianist Yang Shen took the stage in the small recital room, a lightning strike took out the power, leaving the gallery in a semi-darkness that … [Read more...]