You could look a long time and you’d be hard-pressed to find a whole lot of musical ensembles with a mission statement. But Anderson and Roe, the two-piano sensation that formed at Juilliard a dozen years ago, have that staple of business culture right on the News page of their website: “To make classical music a relevant and powerful force in society. To connect with others; … [Read more...]
Forte tenor Valera grateful for ‘America’s Got Talent’ opportunities
When the operatic tenor trio Forte gives its first full-length orchestral concert in Mizner Park on March 15, it will be another milestone in a brief but blazing career for three young men thrown together for the reality show America’s Got Talent. But for Fernando Varela, it also will be a return to the area where he first saw his future path while a member of Palm Beach … [Read more...]
Music, science link arms for Max Planck lecture series in Jupiter
If you were to list the names of prominent scientists who also were interested in music, you’d be at it for some time. Along with the more or less well-known examples of chemist-composer Alexander Borodin, physician-organist Albert Schweitzer and physicist-violinist Albert Einstein, you could find any number of physicians, chemists, botanists, surgeons, astronomers and the … [Read more...]
Oscar predictions: ‘12 Years’ for picture, McConaughey for actor
Several of the acting categories in the 86th annual Academy Awards appear to be locked up, but the top statuette for Best Picture is headed towards a photo finish this Sunday evening. By most accounts, 2013 was a solid year at the movies, with an array of first-rate releases. Nine films received the required 5 percent of first-place votes and, therefore, are in the running to … [Read more...]
Commentary: A day for consumer sports
By Myles Ludwig What best defines an American Legend? Why, it’s Chrysler, of course. The car company (a division of Fiat, by the way) has now placed itself firmly in the pantheon of American idols — movie stars and musicians — with its Super Bowl commercials spieled by first Clint, now Dylan, people so famous they need be known by only one name, like Picasso or Madonna. Or … [Read more...]
Symphonia makes fine showing at Eissey with Platt, Schubert
It was a pleasure to see Alexander Platt back at the helm of The Symphonia Boca Raton last week, and to see the orchestra trying out a new venue at the Eissey Campus Theatre in Palm Beach Gardens. But seeing the conductor who led the band for three of its nine seasons would not have been as pleasurable had the music not been as good as it was, in particular in his choice of a … [Read more...]
Good year for movies means good contest for Oscars
What would the Academy Awards be without nomination snubs? Just ask Robert Redford, Tom Hanks, Oprah Winfrey and Emma Thompson, some of the prominent stars expected to be in this year’s Oscars race who were missing in action when the dust cloud from Thursday morning’s announcements settled. By most accounts, it was a good year at the movies, with a diverse crowd of popular and … [Read more...]
A new, exciting chapter opens for Master Chorale
Something very important happened here last week for the classical music scene in South Florida: One of its performing organizations came into its own. The Master Chorale of South Florida, which rose out of the remains of the Florida Philharmonic some 10 years ago, has presented some fine programs over that time and enjoyed regular gigs backing Italian poperatic singer Andrea … [Read more...]
For Deborah Voigt, a time of giving back and looking ahead
On Deborah Voigt’s Twitter feed, amid the family and dog pictures and shout-outs to friends, you’ll find the occasional reference to her most familiar public identity. “The women of the young artist program sang me the hojotohos!!” she writes about her late October visit to South Florida to be honored as the special guest of the Florida Grand Opera. “Hojotoho” is the cry … [Read more...]
Stepping in for Mozart, composer forges a fresh connection with the past
The first thing Gregory Spears wants you to know is that he’s not trying to complete the Mozart Requiem. Even though he has. The American composer sees his three new movements for the iconic work, which have their world premiere Friday, less as a solution to a Mozart puzzle then as a continuation of a dialogue with Mozart and with the continuum of Western sacred music. But … [Read more...]