The American pianist Simone Dinnerstein made her mark on the concert scene with her peerless readings of the music of J.S. Bach, and the Goldberg Variations in particular. But her career has also brought attention to the music of a living composer, Philip Lasser, a Juilliard professor whose Twelve Variations on a Chorale by J.S. Bach was featured on Dinnerstein’s recording of … [Read more...]
Sundays: What made, and didn’t make, the Cloud in 2013
By Myles Ludwig The annual list of best and worst seems lame. I prefer a listicle of the Liked, UnLiked, ReLiked, Archived, Deleted, Spammed and Trashed. It seems more appropriate. As the pope noted, who am I to judge? But if not me, then who? Liked Edward Snowden Pope Francis Claire Danes Don Jon and Barbara Sugarman Michelle Obama Justin Timberlake Kate … [Read more...]
Strong singing makes for a rich ‘Traviata’ at FGO
South Florida has been a good place for the Mexican soprano Maria Alejandres. She has sung Lucia for Palm Beach Opera, Manuel de Falla for the Palm Beach Symphony, and Juliette for Florida Grand Opera, and Saturday night she returned to FGO as the best-loved of Giuseppe Verdi’s heroines, Violetta Valery, the doomed courtesan of La Traviata. She was joined by a very fine … [Read more...]
Radiant ‘Neruda Songs,’ zesty Beethoven Ninth close Cleveland residency
The five songs for mezzo-soprano and orchestra that Peter Lieberson composed in 2004 to the poems of Pablo Neruda have taken on something of a sacred aura since the death of Lieberson’s wife, Lorraine, in 2005. With Lieberson’s own death in 2011, also from cancer, the Neruda Songs wear a cloak of tragedy once you know their back story, much as Wagner’s Wesendonck Lieder … [Read more...]
Letter From Los Angeles 3: How I learned to stop hurting myself and get the win-win
Among my friends is a woman who moved here from Boston. Twenty-five years later, she still makes a point of putting Long Beach in her prayers. Our route to lunch often takes us along Alamitos Bay, where snow-capped peaks of purple mountains are a backdrop for the recreational waterway and its iconic red swim buoys. Before anyone picks up a fish taco, my friend thanks God for … [Read more...]
California Guitar Trio offers classic diversity in Jupiter show
The California Guitar Trio drew a near-capacity crowd to Florida Atlantic University's Lifelong Learning Society Auditorium in Jupiter on Saturday night, and entertained a diverse audience (with ages ranging from 20s to 80s) with an equally diverse song list. But diversity is a natural trait for a trio of acoustic guitarists made up of one American (Paul Richards, from Salt … [Read more...]