I have loved the sound of the cello since I heard a broadcast of Pablo Casals playing from the festival he founded in Puerto Rico. Subsequently I heard Sir John Barbirolli practicing the cello through an open window: we were neighbors in Manchester, England. At London’s Royal Festival Hall I was close enough to see every gesture of Jacqueline Du Pré, the day she rocketed to … [Read more...]
Dramaworks’ ‘Liaisons’ played to icy, venomous perfection
Fifty Shades of Grey is the current hot novel of a sado-masochistic sexual predator and his prey, but do not think for a moment that there is anything new about this steamy tale of dominance, submission and matters of the heart. You could draw a direct line between E.L. James’ contemporary best seller and Les Liaisons Dangereuses, a similar yarn of malice and deceit that curled … [Read more...]
Masterful Beethoven, Mozart from Aspen Trio at Flagler
Taking their name from the famous summer arts festival where they meet every year in Aspen, Colo., the Aspen String Trio is made up of David Perry, playing a 1711 Venetian Gobetti violin; Victoria Chiang, on a 1996 Paris viola specially made for her; and Michael Mermagen, with a 1774 Galliano cello — which was stolen from his car parked on 67th Street in New York City. The … [Read more...]
Hersch’s ‘My Coma Dreams’ vividly explores world between jazz life and death
An old, valid cliché says that art imitates life, but New York City-based jazz pianist Fred Hersch’s new DVD My Coma Dreams (Palmetto) artistically goes more than one step beyond that. The 90-minute video, filmed at the Miller Theatre at Columbia University in New York City, includes a conductor leading an 11-piece musical ensemble with Hersch, an actor playing dual roles of … [Read more...]
Fine discoveries, beautifully played, on Chamber Fest’s Week 1
A music series that employs a dedication to the rarer reaches of the repertory is necessarily about discovery, and when it all comes together, there’s a rich feeling of satisfaction when a well-programmed concert ends. The first series of concerts this past weekend in the 23rd iteration of the Palm Beach Chamber Music Festival fulfilled its mission of finding worthy, … [Read more...]
Contemporary American works add much interest to PBCMF’s second fall concert
By Donald Waxman The planets must have been in alignment last Thursday evening when the Palm Beach Chamber Music Festival players, with their accustomed professionalism and virtuosity, presented an uncommonly interesting program at Lynn University’s Wold Center for the Performing Arts auditorium, arguably one of South Florida’s most beautiful and comfortable new performing … [Read more...]
Rarities and masterworks, freshly played by Utrecht quartet
The city of Utrecht in Holland has a music conservatory that draws unto it teachers of high caliber. Students from all over the world cross its portals. Only two of the members of this version of the Utrecht String Quartet studied there, but they honor the school by taking its name. Renowned for searching for forgotten repertoire, the Utrecht opened the program at the Flagler … [Read more...]
Violinist Hou branches out into show creation
Crossover is something that Yi-Jia Susanne Hou believes in, and not just in music. The Shanghai-born Canadian violinist, who played a solo recital in the Flagler Museum’s music series in 2009, is perhaps best-known for her work as a featured member of Bowfire, a multimedia fiddle extravaganza founded in 2000 that’s sometimes referred to as “Riverdance with violins.” Hou … [Read more...]
Guitar master Beck’s SunFest set fights sound problems
Set to turn 67 next month, Jeff Beck is one of three famed British lead guitarists who played with 1960s pop/rock group the Yardbirds, the others being Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page. And each followed that stint by diving into heavy blues-rock: Clapton with Cream; Page with Led Zeppelin, and Beck with his self-titled group. But while Clapton left Cream to pursue simpler pop … [Read more...]