Miami City Ballet dancers in Twyla Tharp’s In the Upper Room. (Photo by Gene Schiavone) By Tara Mitton Catao This past weekend, Miami City Ballet closed its second program of the 30th anniversary season with well-attended performances at the Kravis Center. The strong and varied program was nicely balanced, flowing smoothly from one work to the next as well as highlighting … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: July 17-19
Film: You’ve got to wonder whose idea it was to release Bill Condon’s first-rate, literate and cerebral Sherlock Holmes tale, called simply Mr. Holmes, in the middle of the summer when it is bound to be crowded out by superhero blockbusters and dazzling animation. Had it been released in the fall, it would surely be vying for Oscars and other awards, particularly for Ian … [Read more...]
MCB opens first program in impeccable style
By Tara Mitton Catao Miami City Ballet’s Friday evening program began with George Balanchine’s Ballo Della Regina. Within just a few seconds, it was clear that this was a perfect opener to not only this evening’s program and the first of four programs to be presented at the Kravis, but also to the first season that is fully under the leadership and vision of Artistic Director … [Read more...]
Chanticleer impressive in program of old, new love songs
By now, the 12-man vocal band known as Chanticleer has sung and recorded pieces in almost every imaginable genre, a long way from the Renaissance group its founder had in mind back in the late 1970s. But Chanticleer has managed in its career of nearly 35 years and multiple personnel changes to bring the same kind of polish and quality to everything they do, and that makes … [Read more...]
MCB’s Program I electrifies at Kravis
Miami City Ballet opened its 26th season at the Kravis Center this weekend with a rousing performance of four diverse, contemporary works that ended with a standing ovation Friday night from a near-capacity crowd. The evening began with George Balanchine’s Square Dance. This high-energy, technically challenging ballet was perfectly danced: Jeanette Delgado was the … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: May 13-15
Music: The instruments most musicians work with today are survivors or variations of the sonic armaments they had in other eras. Gone, for the most part, are the ophicleide, the serpent, the sarrusophone. Most of the viol family, with the exception of the double bass (and its modern derivative the bass guitar), also is gone, heard today only in specialist concerts. But then … [Read more...]
French-accented chamber program brings vigor to Ibert trio
At its most important, the Palm Beach Chamber Music Festival is about discovery, in hearing something worthwhile that its musicians have brought out of the libraries or fresh off the stocks for its loyal audience of nearly two decades. In the first installment Friday of its third week of concerts, the musicians returned in a largely French program to the work of Jacques Ibert, … [Read more...]
First PB chamber festival concert shows group establishing canon
Pieces of music come and go, sometimes just once before disappearing, sometimes aired out only every once in a while like an unfashionable sweater found in the depths of Grandfather’s closet. But many of these works are pieces of real merit, and it’s up to performing organizations to start turning old and new rarities into repertory. The musicians of the Palm Beach Chamber … [Read more...]
Distinctive program marks Platt’s farewell to Boca Symphonia
Alexander Platt’s final concert over the weekend as the principal conductor of the Boca Raton Symphonia was a good example of the kind of event that has distinguished his three-year tenure: fresh programming, young, rising soloists, and an affection for canonical works that allows him to see well-established pieces with new eyes. He’s been able to pass his sense of engagement … [Read more...]