By Robert Croan South Florida Symphony closed its summer chamber music series with two Central European works from the turn of the 19th to the 20th centuries --- one forward-looking, the other solidly in the Beethoven-Brahms tradition. It was a pleasant and brief evening that sent home the capacity audience in Fort Lauderdale’s Center for Spiritual Development [on July 24] … [Read more...]
J.P. Soars: Almost famous, and loving living la vida Boca
Success for performing artists in the music business comes in many forms, most of which fly decidedly under the familiar radar of current superstars like Taylor Swift or Bad Bunny, Beyoncé or Harry Styles. Case in point: South Florida-based blues singer, guitarist and songwriter J.P. Soars (jpsoars.com), leader of the Red Hots trio. He likewise has multiple album releases, … [Read more...]
Outing of rarely heard women composers a revelation at SFSO chamber concert
By Robert Croan When I was a graduate student in musicology at Columbia University in the 1950s, the only woman composer we ever studied — and only briefly — was Amy Beach (1867-1944). At that time, she was deemed the only successful American female composer. She had been married to one Dr. Henry Harris Aubrey Beach, and her music was published as composed by Mrs. H.H.A. … [Read more...]
Boca’s Funky Biscuit celebrates 15 years of music
When the Funky Biscuit opened in Boca Raton in mid-July of 2011, there were certainly no guarantees that the live music establishment and restaurant would still exist 15 years later. Creative music in general, and full-band live music in particular, were just starting to slide in what’s become their slow declines in tourist-heavy South Florida. And the club, situated in a … [Read more...]
Rising star Poiesis Quartet ends Mainly Mozart Festival in blazing fashion
The Poiesis Quartet made a sensational entry into the chamber music world at large after grabbing the top prize at the Banff International Chamber Music Competition last August. The foursome — which came together at Oberlin and has been in residence at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music — that was showcased in Alberta was a group of mind-melded musicians whose performances, … [Read more...]
Gay Men’s Chorus pays poignant tribute to Pulse victims
By Robert Croan To commemorate this year’s Pride Month and the 10th anniversary of the infamous Pulse massacre in Orlando, the Gay Men’s Chorus of South Florida commissioned Amor Eterno: A Requiem for Pulse from Saunder Choi, a 38-year-old Philippine-born composer currently based in Los Angeles. It’s an ample 45-minute opus, fitting the enormity of the tragic event, and … [Read more...]
Gingold Chamber Music Festival returns for third summer to Boca venues
“Music reminds us that we have far more in common than what separates us,” says Grammy-nominated violinist Andrés Cárdenes. He is the co-founder of the Josef Gingold Chamber Music Festival, which returns to Boca Raton for its third year in early July with seven free or low-cost performances including a number of community engagement events. Those community concerts will … [Read more...]
For July and August, Glazer Hall brings on the jazz
Summer is usually a dormant season for South Florida musicians. Especially jazz musicians, who frequently perform in establishments that sometimes eliminate live entertainment during summers because most tourists have left for cooler climates. Which means that area fans of one of America’s greatest audio art forms are also figuratively left out in the cold while bearing … [Read more...]
Met Live announces upcoming cinema season
By Robert Croan The Met: Live in HD, our premier opera company’s streaming in movie theaters worldwide of live performances from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York, closed its current season May 30 with El último sueño de Frida y Diego. The Spanish-language opera by Gabriela Lena Frank was a novelty for the Met, and timely, as the 53-year-old California-based … [Read more...]
A long partnership: Pop’s Joe Jackson counts on bassist Maby
British singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Joe Jackson (joejackson.com) has proven to be a musical amoeba since his masterful post-punk 1979 New Wave debut Look Sharp! (A&M). There have since been stylistic detours through reggae, cabaret, blues, pop and classical music as well as swing and traditional jazz, all as the 71-year-old Jackson refused to be … [Read more...]