By Márcio Bezerra Palm Beach Symphony ended its 50th anniversary season April 25 with an ambitious all-Beethoven program at the Kravis Center. Under the direction of Gerard Schwarz, the group started the evening with an early work, the Piano Concerto No. 2 (in B-flat major, Op. 19). This sunny concerto (actually the first the composer wrote, despite its misleading number) … [Read more...]
PB Symphony satisfies with Rimsky, Zwilich, Grieg
By Márcio Bezerra The Palm Beach Symphony continued its 50th anniversary celebration Feb. 5 with a satisfying concert at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts. Under the music direction of the competent Gerald Schwarz, the local ensemble has bloomed into a serious musical organization and its increasingly audacious programming is proof of that. On Monday, the main … [Read more...]
2023-24 Season in Classical: Season looks abundant across genres and venues
Even with the loss of one orchestra’s Palm Beach County concerts (the Atlantic Classical Orchestra, which will stick to Stuart and Vero Beach this time around), the upcoming classical season is hard to complain about, with its roster of major ensembles and performers, several world premieres, and a deep lineup of compelling music across the genre spectrum. Here’s how that … [Read more...]
Pires makes stellar showing at PB Symphony’s finale
By Márcio Bezerra After a disappointing cancelation last year, the audiences of the Palm Beaches finally were able to hear the esteemed Portuguese pianist Maria João Pires perform with the Palm Beach Symphony. The ensemble — completely reinvented since the arrival of Music Director Gerard Schwarz — presented its last performance of the season Monday night to an unusually … [Read more...]
Chang disappoints in uneven PB Symphony opener
By Dennis Rooney The Nov. 6 concert by the Palm Beach Symphony at the Kravis Center was the opening of the orchestra’s 49th season. Music director Gerard Schwarz was on the podium and violinist Sarah Chang was the soloist. The first work on the program was the afternoon’s best performance; an alert and sprightly account of Rounds for String Orchestra by David Diamond. … [Read more...]
Season Preview 2022-23: The season in classical music
There has been a profound change in the world of classical music over the past two or three years when it comes to programming. Although South Florida will still welcome touring orchestras bearing gifts of symphonic favorites, the post-George Floyd world has had a bracing effect on the kinds of music presented to today’s concertgoers. Programs now feature more Black and … [Read more...]
Palm Beach Symphony’s closing concert satisfies with Midori, Schuman
By Dennis D. Rooney The final program of this season’s Palm Beach Sympony Masterworks Series, which took place April 10 in the Kravis Center's Dreyfoos Hall, was well-balanced and enjoyed by the (largely un-masked) audience. Among the many important commissions made by conductor André Kostelanetz is William Schuman’s New England Triptych, subtitled "Three Pieces for … [Read more...]
PB Symphony’s Mahler and Beethoven a mixed bag at Kravis
By Dennis D. Rooney Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 is no longer a rarity in the concert hall, but some orchestras have yet to perform it, and that included the Palm Beach Symphony until its concert March 7 at the Kravis Center as this season’s fourth Masterworks program. The audience assembled in Dreyfoos Hall was expecting to hear the Portuguese pianist Maria João Pires … [Read more...]
Clarinetist, Palm Beach Symphony pay sublime tribute to Mozart
Into this crazed COVID world of variants popping up ad infinitum, there came a sublime evening of music-making given by the Palm Beach Symphony under the leadership of conductor Gerard Schwarz on Dec. 2 at their permanent new home: The Kravis Center. It was dedicated to four works written by Mozart in his last year of life, 1791. Each of the four pieces selected had special … [Read more...]
Season Preview 2021-22: The season in classical music
The classical season looks mostly normal this year, with COVID protocols in place and venues opening back up. There are a host of major artists and groups coming to the county this year, from established veterans to exciting new talents. Although some usual season players are missing as of this writing (the Flagler Museum has not yet said whether its chamber music series … [Read more...]