The Palm Beach Symphony’s last concert this season April 10 suffered from a much-changed program, keeping the group’s largest public ever of 1,200 souls guessing. New insert programs lay in piles undistributed by the volunteer ushers at the Kravis Center. Lola Astanova, the highly regarded Russian-American pianist, was scheduled to play three solo pieces after her Mozart … [Read more...]
PB Symphony takes its place with the majors in Benjamin Hall
Like a top-league soccer coach, Ramón Tebar has gotten his team to World Cup level. The Palm Beach Symphony, playing Jan. 27 at the new auditorium of Benjamin High School in Palm Beach Gardens, sounded like a major orchestra from Europe or the Americas. In my time covering this ensemble, Tebar has taken it from a refined chamber music ensemble of 35 players to a well-crafted … [Read more...]
SoFla Symphony gets needed lift from Master Chorale in Beethoven 9
By Kevin Wilt Sunday afternoon, the South Florida Symphony stopped by the Carole and Barry Kaye Auditorium at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton to play a pair of symphonies by Mozart and Beethoven. This performance was third in their January tour, beginning in Key West, and ending with their debut at the Adrienne Arsht Center in Miami. The first half of the concert … [Read more...]
Toronto Symphony opens Florida tour
You know the season has arrived in South Florida when you start seeing cars with license plates from Canada joining you on the road. And starting tonight, a group of accomplished visitors from the Great White North comes to West Palm Beach as the Toronto Symphony Orchestra begins its first Florida tour in five years. Joined by the 20-year-old Canadian pianist sensation Jan … [Read more...]
Symphony of the Americas joins Austrian orchestra for Summerfest
For nearly 25 years, the musicians of the Symphony of the Americas have presented Summerfest, a series of concerts and cultural exchanges that take the Fort Lauderdale-based group to other parts of the Americas as well as venues across the tri-county area and Treasure Coast. This summer, the group’s string section is joined by the Arpeggione Chamber Orchestra of Hohenems, … [Read more...]
PB Symphony and Astanova end season in magnificent Russian style
The great, the good and the fashionable gathered at Mar-a-Lago for a stunning night of music making by the Palm Beach Symphony and pianist Lola Astanova on March 18, their last concert of this season. Astanova, tall, slim, very model-like in her black, short, backless, sequined, glittering evening gown, played superbly: as gifted as Lang Lang but without the showmanship, with … [Read more...]
A refined Chopin from Anievas at PB Symphony
The stage at the Society of the Four Arts for Wednesday’s Palm Beach Symphony concert had but a few chairs and a concert grand piano on display. “No percussion, no brass, no winds,’’ said the young couple behind me, sotto voce, before the concert began. Their keen observation spoke volumes. Ramón Tebar, after five years at the helm of the orchestra, has cleverly matched his … [Read more...]
Slatkin, Detroit Symphony ready to show what they’re made of
The big industrial cities of the Midwest — Minneapolis, Detroit, Chicago, Cleveland, St. Louis — grew up with the country in the mid-19th century, and added cultural institutions as they moved into the Gilded Age and the early 20th century. The symphonic ensembles their prominent citizens brought into being have long been prized institutions, and gained importance as this … [Read more...]
PB Symphony in fine form for 40th season launch
The Palm Beach Symphony is celebrating 40th year, which means that the numbers 4 and 40 will appear regularly in this season’s programs. For any arts organization to have lasted this long, the credit belongs to its members, supporters, donors, management and yes, the wonderful players. Instrumentalists come and go, but the cohesive body of musicians that made up this orchestra … [Read more...]
PB Symphony’s Spanish evening ends season sensationally
The Palm Beach Symphony closed its 39th season in stunning fashion Tuesday night at the Kravis Center with a night of music inspired by Spain. The orchestra had 87 players, double its usual size, with a pianist, Tao Lin, and eight percussionists. The ensemble was led by its conductor, Ramon Tebar, a native son from Valencia, Spain, a city that can be justly proud of his recent … [Read more...]