Son of Saul is a symphony of genocide in surround-sound. Trucks heave and chug, carrying the cargo of lives soon to be incinerated. Death machines hiss and pound and whir, and metal scrapes metal. Gunfire and bombs resound from the very near distance. Dogs bark at everything. There are wails, protests and prayers in Yiddish that are untranslated, because why bother? The … [Read more...]
Firm of Schwarz & Son lifts Boca Symphonia
Surely one of the best pieces of local musical news to be heard this past weekend is that Gerard Schwarz will be returning at some future date to lead a concert by the Boca Raton Symphonia. Schwarz, who led the Seattle Symphony from regional to stellar status in his 26 years as its music director, demonstrated in the Symphonia’s concert Sunday afternoon at the Roberts Theater … [Read more...]
Until the end, mother, son bonded over books
Mary Anne Schwalbe and her son Will shared a longtime passion for books. She had been a dean at Harvard and Radcliffe and he was editor-in-chief of a major New York book publisher. When Mary Anne was diagnosed with terminal cancer in 2007, the two decided to read books together in what he later dubbed “The End of Your Life Book Club.” Will Schwalbe describes his growing … [Read more...]
First-time filmmaker Hyde-White takes on ‘Hamlet’ – and father’s legacy
Which is a more foolhardy mission? Rehearsing Shakespeare’s greatest play, Hamlet, in only three days or making your directing debut by filming those rehearsals on a ramen-noodle budget? Judge for yourself by checking out Three Days (of Hamlet), screening Friday evening, April 13, at the Palm Beach International Film Festival. As Alex Hyde-White, who directed the production as … [Read more...]