Composers are not like Athena, who burst fully formed and armed for battle from the head of Zeus. Forging an individual style is in part a reflection of who the composer is, but also who that composer has studied and listened to. Even someone as miraculous as Mozart had plenty of models for his work, and the Miami concert choir Seraphic Fire goes in search of those musical … [Read more...]
Kristalova at the Norton: A dark, necessary Wonderland
Better than looking at art is to be part of its history and development or, better yet, to have a personal association with it. Since we cannot all be muses, we take the next best thing: being the first to see it. An ongoing exhibition at the Norton Museum of Art offers that opportunity through March 29. A strong personal voice fills the galleries housing porcelain and glazed … [Read more...]
A splendid afternoon of PB Opera on the waterfront
Saturday saw huge crowds braving the “cold” 70-degree weather and troublesome winds that blew sheet music everywhere at the outdoor Meyer Amphitheatre in West Palm Beach for Palm Beach Opera’s second winter concert on the waterfront. On the stroke of 2 p.m., conductor Greg Ritchey brought down his baton for a rousing National Anthem, like you’ve never heard before, from … [Read more...]
Palm Beach Pops readies return to local concert life
When Palm Beach Pops founder Bob Lappin died suddenly at age 78 in August 2013, the orchestra he had founded 22 years earlier went silent. There were those who argued that the last thing in the world Lappin would have wanted for his orchestra was for it to go out of existence, but the orchestra’s new executive director, Charlotte Laurent-Ottomane, said the organization was in … [Read more...]
Norton’s 500 years of prints a true master’s course
To the large crowd that attended his recent talk while still holding their magnifying glasses, Norton Museum curator Jerry Dobrick said the museum was incredibly lucky. And he was not talking about a large monetary donation. Dobrick, the museum’s curatorial associate for European art, was referring to the 43 works by old and modern masters that make up Master Prints: Dürer to … [Read more...]
Seraphic Fire presents fine feast of contemporary American music
It’s heartening to hear the evidence of the continued good work being done in new American art music composition, much of it by composers just barely out of their studies, presented on Reincarnations, a recording released earlier this month by Seraphic Fire. The Miami-based concert choir opened its 13th season of concerts with selections from that disc, plus two other works, … [Read more...]
Lynn Phil’s best-ever opener hints new era for school, orchestra
It’s hard to know whether a change as simple as a rehearsal strategy can make all the difference in the world for a performing organization, but in the case of the Lynn Philharmonia, this much can be said: Its opening program this past weekend was easily the finest opening concert of the season the conservatory orchestra has ever given, and in its freshness, maturity and … [Read more...]
FAU Summer Rep: A kinder, gentler ‘Bonnie and Clyde’
By Dale King Bonnie and Clyde, the Musical, may not be the most memorable show ever staged at Florida Atlantic University. But it could easily be the most unusual. It certainly prompts the cast to overcome a sluggish script and sometimes intrusive backstory with their excellent acting and exceptional vocal skills. The tuneful recollection of the famed outlaws who achieved … [Read more...]
Amernet’s Dvořák, Mozart shine at Mainly Mozart
Although technically it takes place in the very last days of spring, the Mainly Mozart Festival shares with the best summer festivals the idea that a sweltering month is just as good as a frigid one for pursuing music of the utmost seriousness and high caliber. This past Sunday, at the Danielson Gallery on the grounds of the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables, the veteran Miami … [Read more...]
PB Opera wraps season with well-sung, entertaining ‘Hoffmann’
Opera’s long history means that today’s audiences are treated to entertainment conventions from several different eras, and when it gets into pre-Industrial Revolution territory, viewers generally have to make something of a leap to get to full enjoyment. But Les Contes d’Hoffmann (The Tales of Hoffmann) was composed by Jacques Offenbach for a late 19th-century urban … [Read more...]