By Myles Ludwig The cultural construct of the Other is a convenient paradox. On the one hand, the Other allows us to individuate ourselves and stake a personal claim on our own identity. One the other hand, in the best Talmudic tradition, it’s a pretty handy hat rack for our top-of-the-mind hates, prejudices, laments of every kind and description based on race, class, hair … [Read more...]
Pop and Jazz Happenings, March 2016: Sisters ditch pop for country; Okeechobee Fest debuts
Modern country music has increasingly featured elements of pop, yet it’s still ironic that one of Palm Beach County’s rising authentic country groups came out of an act influenced by the Disney World, bubble gum sect of that genre. Yes, before sisters Alisa and Laura Whitacre formed White Acres (www.whiteacresmusic.com) in 2012, they were in full Britney Spears mode with … [Read more...]
Exuberant Dohnanyi wraps chamber fest’s 22nd summer
A work of teenage exuberance was served up with high spirits and full-on late Romanticism on Sunday as the 22nd season of the Palm Beach Chamber Music Festival’s summer season came to a close at Delray Beach’s Crest Theatre. The very first published opus of Ernst von Dohnányi (or Ernö Dohnányi, to give him his Hungarian name), a powerful Brahmsian piano quintet, occupied the … [Read more...]
A compelling American quintet in chamber fest’s Week 2
It is one of the great mysteries of American musical life: Why, in a country that has produced so many fine classical composers, does the average person know nothing of their music? There are any number of reasons that are usually trotted out to explain this phenomenon, from the overwhelming dominance of American popular music worldwide to the lack of arts education in the … [Read more...]
Stravinsky, Schumann end chamber fest’s 20th summer in excellent style
Of the last concert in the 20th season of the Palm Beach Chamber Music Festival it need only be said that as the Crest Theatre audience sat there Sunday afternoon listening to L’Histoire du Soldat, the brilliance of Stravinsky’s conception became clear. Which is only a fancy way of saying that the musicians and actors of the festival did this little masterwork proud, ending … [Read more...]
Boca fest audience was wild about Jackie
Perhaps some were thinking of their own daughters, pre-teen rebellion, and others of their granddaughters, out of touch in distant states. Doubtless most had happier ideas in mind, though one thing was clear: The appearance Saturday of Jackie Evancho on the final night of this year’s Festival of the Arts Boca turned an audience of concertgoers into proud, teary parents. The … [Read more...]
Lauderdale film fest shorter, but movie quality is high
Now in its 24th year, the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival no longer talks about being the Guinness Book of World Records-sanctioned festival of longest duration. Cuts in state government arts funding, the dwindling of corporate donations and the economy in general makes this such a bad year that FLIFF is forced to fall back on touting the quality of its films. … [Read more...]
Schmitt suite, Septet violinist stand out at chamber fest
Florent Schmitt (1870-1958). A standout instrumental performance and two intriguing rediscoveries took pride of place Friday night as the Palm Beach Chamber Music Festival opened its second series of concerts. The finest of the two rediscoveries, the Suite en Rocaille, Op. 84, of French composer Florent Schmitt, reanimated a beautiful and unjustly forgotten work for an … [Read more...]