From established artists to newbies, Art Basel is a place where one can see the innovators of contemporary art, and the annual Miami Beach version of this European art stalwart gets under way formally tonight. But the action associated with the festival started up at the beginning of the week, and on Wednesday afternoon, VIPs were lined up at the Miami Beach Convention Center … [Read more...]
‘Brothers’ a shattering story of the cost of war
The release date couldn’t be more fortuitous. Hitting theaters nationwide the week Barack Obama announced his plans to send an additional 34,000 troops to secure Afghanistan, Jim Sheridan’s family drama Brothers is at once timely and transcendent. An explosive and sobering reminder of the emotional and mental cost of war at home and abroad – and particularly this war, in its … [Read more...]
Florida Stage move to Rinker raises artistic questions
I remember arriving in West Palm Beach in early 1994 to become the theater writer for The Palm Beach Post and being given a personal tour of the Kravis Center. I was told all the pertinent facts about Dreyfoos Hall, how it had the same stage dimensions as the Metropolitan Opera House (for some indiscernible reason) and soon realized that it was programmed like most other major … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: Nov. 27-29
Art: Sculptor Bethany Krull's technical expertise is matched by the strength of her intellectual concepts, which focus on the relationship of humans to the natural world. This Saturday evening, Mulry Fine Art in Palm Beach hosts the opening of a solo show by Krull called Dominance and Affection. "It seems that the most intimate connection we have with nature is with those … [Read more...]
Composer Danielpour first built musical dreams in Palm Beach County
When Richard Danielpour was a student at Twin Lakes High School and thinking about being a musician, he used to go down each week to Spec’s Music at the Palm Beach Mall and go trolling for LPs. One day he bought a recording of the Rachmaninov Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, in a performance by a French pianist named Philippe Entremont, accompanied by the Philadelphia … [Read more...]
Morikami’s kettles, prints evoke classic Japan
Readers of Yasunari Kawabata's novel Thousand Cranes will have some idea of the significance of the tea ceremony in Japanese life, of how each element of the ritual, from kettle to the tea itself, is fraught with meaning. An exhibit at the Morikami Museum west of Delray Beach offers a glimpse into the rituals of tea over the past few centuries through a display of more than … [Read more...]
Pianist Baczewska enlightens in Bach-Chopin recital
FORT LAUDERDALE -- One of the great ironies of the reception that has been given to the work of Frederic Chopin is that it often is founded on the belief that here was a composer who was content to sing out pretty melodies and leave the density of counterpoint to other people. But Chopin's great idol was J.S. Bach (he also idolized Mozart and admired Bellini), and there are … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: Oct. 23-25
This weekend, the south end of Palm Beach County has what you need for your art fix. Opening Friday night at the Urs Art Studio Gallery in Boynton Beach is an exhibit featuring eight artists: George Cheskes, Portland Jastram, Vera Rekstad, Naomie St. Amand, Maxine and Herman Schreiber, Stella White and Suzette Urs. Maxine Schreiber’s tropical landscapes are oils on canvas, … [Read more...]
ArtsPreview 2009-10: The season in opera
The coming opera season has been scaled back somewhat in both of the major local companies, but opera devotees will still have plenty to look forward to. In addition to the seven local productions, there will be five others from two different trunk companies, and 11 high-definition broadcasts of live performances from New York’s Metropolitan Opera, screened at the Society for … [Read more...]
ArtsPreview 2009-10: The season in classical music
Some things will be absent or reduced in the upcoming classical music and opera season, but overall, the coming supply of concerts will be relatively robust, and well worth investigation. Here’s an overview of the season by genre – orchestral, solo, chamber and choral – with the proviso that this is a selective list and not a comprehensive one. Orchestras: Fans of … [Read more...]