David Amado, director of the Delaware Symphony and the first of four conductors to be considered by the Atlantic Classical Orchestra as a successor to Stewart Robertson, led a concert Jan. 13 with the ACO whose quality was unsurpassable. The concert at the Eissey Campus Theatre in Palm Beach Gardens opened with the overture to Carl Maria von Weber’s Oberon, an opera … [Read more...]
Conductor Schwarz, cellist son shine for Boca’s Symphonia
The eminent American conductor Gerard Schwarz, who has done so much for orchestra building and for American music of the 20th century, made a return appearance to Boca Raton on Sunday in the company of another returnee, his cellist son Julian. Schwarz led the Symphonia Boca Raton in the second concert of its current season, and he demonstrated not only his excellence as a … [Read more...]
Conductor Falletta always searching for fresh challenges
Although it has had eminent leaders in the past, these days the name of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra is indelibly associated with that of its current director, JoAnn Falletta. It’s not just that, along with Marin Alsop, she is one of the top two female conductors in the country. It’s also that she’s a tireless seeker-out of new repertoire, and has the discography to … [Read more...]
Soloist, orchestra, conductor soldier on during a deluge
Rain dominated the Palm Beach Symphony’s performance Jan. 9 at the Flagler Museum. Just when I thought artistic director Ramón Tebar had gotten it right by choosing only string music for the acoustically ripe “Railway Hall” (aka the pavilion on the grounds that houses Henry Flagler’s private rail coach), pouring rain, of enormous volume, hit the glass roof incessantly … [Read more...]
Conductor Schwarz advocates for American music, cellist son
You can forgive Gerard Schwarz some special fatherly pride when he talks about his youngest son, Julian. They are, after all, in the same business. “He’s got tremendous gifts, and he’s had quite a bit of success already,” said Schwarz, an eminent American conductor who led the Seattle Symphony to major-league status over a 26-year directorship before stepping down in 2011. … [Read more...]
Conductor, guitarist happy to be touring with Sting
Pop music went through the beginnings of a seismic shift in late 1976, when the artist formerly known as Gordon Sumner decided to give up a teaching career in his hometown of Newcastle, England. The 25-year-old Brit was also a vocalist and bassist who'd taken on the stage name Sting, and he was preparing to move to London as Christmas approached. Playing a farewell Newcastle … [Read more...]
Conductor Tebar impressive in PB Symphony evening
The 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 symphony’s new season, and while one would … [Read more...]
ArtsPaper Interview: Alexander Platt, conductor
The Boca Raton Symphonia is, along with the Master Chorale of South Florida and the Delray String Quartet, one of the few area cultural institutions to have emerged and thrived from the demise of the Florida Philharmonic in May 2003. Since October 2007, the Boca Symphonia has been led by Alexander Platt, 43, a New York-born musician now resident in Chicago who, in the … [Read more...]