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...]
Weekend arts picks: July 8-10
Jade Master, left, winner of last year’s Palm Beach Idolscompetition, with events producer Eileen Weissmann at the Maltz Jupiter Theatre.Theater: Many of Palm Beach County’s professional theaters are idle this summer, but the Maltz Jupiter Theatre has a few special events, like this Saturday night’s talent competition, called -- what else? -- Palm … [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 Uryvayeva makes good showing in complete Chopin Etudes
Sofiya Uryvayeva, in a photo from her website.By Greg StepanichFrederic Chopin created art amid exercise when he wrote his two collections of Etudes (Opp. 10 and 25, and not counting the three he wrote in 1839 for Fetis), and with the exception of Liszt’s Transcendental Etudes, they far outdistance every other such pedagogical work of their … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: June 10-15
Nick Thurston and Geoffrey Wigdor in White Irish Drinkers.Film: Writer-director John Gray (credited with creating TV’s Ghost Whisperer) grew up in Brooklyn and his latest feature film, White Irish Drinkers, feels like it has autobiographical elements in its coming-of-age tale of a young, sensitive artist trying hard not to sucked into the world of crime of his … [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...]
Music roundup: A fine young violist, two admirable quartets
Peijun Xu.(Photo by Greg Stepanich)Peijun Xu (Feb. 10, Steinway Gallery, Boca Raton)If the concertgoing world doesn’t fully appreciate the variety that a viola can bring to a recital, that won’t be the fault of Peijun Xu.The Shanghai-born musician performed two local recitals this week for the Kronberg Academy, an organization based in that German town near … [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...]
Weekend arts picks: July 2-5
Marisa Berenson, Pippo Delbono, Tilda Swinton,Alba Rohrwacher, Mattia Zaccaro, Flavio Parentiand Maria Paiato, in I Am Love.Film: There is an alternative to the vampires and werewolves of The Twilight Saga: Eclipse and the sci-fi fantasy of The Last Airbender. It’s I Am Love, a sensuous film from debuting Italian director Luca Guadagnino with a starring performance by Oscar … [Read more...]