Guillermo Figueroa directed the largest bicentenary celebration in the United States of the work of Hector Berlioz back in 2003 when he was director of the New Mexico Symphony. Saturday night, he brought his regard for his favorite composer to a concert by his current charges, the Lynn Philharmonia Orchestra, which he led in an all-French program at the Wold Center for the … [Read more...]
Sparkling Weber, gritty Nielsen at Lynn Philharmonia
I have heard many student orchestras in my time. The Lynn Philharmonia’s third program this past weekend, which began with Dvořák’s Othello overture and ended with Carl Nielsen’s Fourth Symphony, surpassed all the others with disciplined playing that sounded very professional. Granted the enthusiasm of youth, with its high energy output, has much to do with what we heard, but … [Read more...]
Lynn Philharmonia reaches new level in opening concerts
Every season, South Florida gets visited by touring big-name orchestras from northern climes worldwide that for some reason find this part of the country particularly urgent to see in February. One of the benefits of our gentle weather is that we can see these major orchestras up close, but another less appreciated benefit for us local concertgoers is that these visits provide … [Read more...]
Lynn Phil’s ‘Eroica’ caps off strong concert in vivid style
Longtime patrons of the Lynn Philharmonia will be aware that the group has enjoyed large audiences for years, even in the days before the Wold Center was built and the student orchestra was somewhat smaller. But it was good this past weekend to hear that pointed out on stage by Edward Atkatz, a Lynn professor and former principal percussionist with the Chicago Symphony … [Read more...]
Lynn Phil’s best-ever opener hints new era for school, orchestra
It’s hard to know whether a change as simple as a rehearsal strategy can make all the difference in the world for a performing organization, but in the case of the Lynn Philharmonia, this much can be said: Its opening program this past weekend was easily the finest opening concert of the season the conservatory orchestra has ever given, and in its freshness, maturity and … [Read more...]
At Lynn, the sound of an orchestra transformed
Someone over at the Lynn Conservatory of Music got the memo. After three very middling concerts in which the student orchestra at Lynn University’s music school sounded haphazard, unfocused, and in its brass section, something shy of competent, the orchestra turned it all around Feb. 8 and gave a rousing performance of three well-known orchestral virtuoso pieces. Not … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: March 23-25
Music: Contemporary classical music has a surprising number of champions in South Florida, and that includes Tim Thompson of Palm Beach Atlantic University, who every year offers concerts of new pieces by faculty members, students, and guests. This year’s festival, called Frontwave, began last night with a concert by the piano team of Duo Gastesi-Bezerra, and tonight is the … [Read more...]
Lisitsa, Lynn Philharmonia stand out at Boca fest
Last week, the Boca Raton Symphonia gave a respectable performance at the Festival of the Arts Boca 2012 of the soundtrack for Casablanca as it accompanied a well-attended screening of the movie. But the Lynn Philharmonia, which appeared Wednesday with the Ukrainian-born pianist Valentina Lisitsa, is a much larger orchestra, and has this year performed the First Symphony of … [Read more...]
Music roundup: Adventures in new music at Lynn, Arts Garage
New Music Festival: Thomas McKinley (Nov. 10, Lynn University) For six years now, Lynn University’s Lisa Leonard has been running a weeklong fall-season festival devoted to new music and to the work of a featured composer. Past composers have included Gunther Schuller and Kenneth Frazelle, but this year, Leonard stayed close to home by choosing Thomas McKinley, a Lynn … [Read more...]
Lynn Phil’s Mozart, Mahler mark important step forward
Since the Florida Philharmonic’s disappearance eight years ago, the local listener’s need for big orchestral ensembles has been filled by guest orchestras from outside Florida or overseas, the New World Symphony orchestral academy in Miami Beach, and the larger college groups such as the Frost Symphony at the University of Miami. Although Palm Beach County has several fine … [Read more...]