Michael Tilson Thomas conducts Four Preludes on Playthings of the Wind at the New World Center on Saturday. (Photo by Gregory Reed) When the music had finished and the audience in the New World Center had risen to its collective feet, Michael Tilson Thomas knelt down on one knee and kissed the garment of his soloist, soprano Measha Brueggergosman. And well he might: … [Read more...]
Weak Handel, strong Rimsky at Lynn Phil’s final season concert
The Arabian Nights, by Anton Pieck. By Greg Stepanich The current season of the Lynn Philharmonia, which ended April 17 with a concert at the Wold Performing Arts Center, has been largely triumphant. Continuing on its path of notable improvement under the direction of conductor Guillermo Figueroa, the students of the Lynn Conservatory have displayed impressive chops and … [Read more...]
Three-nation youth orchestra to perform in Delray
A youth orchestra concert with roots in a rural Mexican library comes to Delray Beach’s Crest Theatre on Sept. 19. The concert, called “Harmony Without Borders,” will feature children from the Imagina Symphonic Orchestra in León, Mexico; 24 children from the Siman Orchestral Foundation in Miami; and 10 children from the Pequeñas Huellas cultural project in Turin, Italy. They … [Read more...]
‘Three Hearts’: Star-cross’d lovers, in a triangle
A Parisian tax inspector misses his train home, finds himself stranded in a French province, meets a young lady for a memorable night, agrees to rendezvous with her in a week’s time, misses their date but somehow, through the magic of the movies, winds up marrying the sister he never knew she had. That’s the 30-second pitch of Three Hearts, the engaging if implausible romantic … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: Dec. 19-21
Music: The Symphonia Boca Raton has a busy season ahead of it, and it begins tonight and this weekend with three performances of Baroque music led by David Kim, concertmaster of the Philadelphia Orchestra. He’ll lead a performance of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons on a program that also includes the Double Violin Concerto of Bach (with violinist Mei Mei Luo) and the Christmas Concerto … [Read more...]
Unusual repertoire stands out at chamber fest’s final fall concert
By Donald Waxman Music quiz: You are presented with a single page of an upcoming chamber music concert in South Florida listing the titles, composers and instrumentation of the works to be played, but no mention of the name of the chamber music series or who are the performers. The program consists of Tomaso Albinoni’s Concerto in C for trumpet, oboes and bassoons; André … [Read more...]
Touring show does Man in Black proud
By Dale King The song Ring of Fire marked a milestone in the life of legendary vocalist Johnny Cash. Recorded in March 1963, it rose to Number 1 and stayed there for seven weeks, the longest a Cash song would top the charts. Minnesota-based Troupe America Inc. has gathered a talented eight-person cast for a national tour of Ring of Fire: The Music of Johnny Cash, the jukebox … [Read more...]
Three blues masters find the jamming is easy as a supergroup
Bandleaders in general, and blues bandleaders in particular, are notorious lone wolves -- stereotypical alpha males who often seek stardom by being songwriters, lead vocalists and their band’s primary soloists and dominating the spotlight. So how is it that three of them, all rising young blues stars with their own bands, combined forces to create a regional all-star group? … [Read more...]
Theater roundup: ‘Sylvia,’ ‘Madman,’ and ‘Wife’
Playwright A.R. Gurney turned 65 the year he wrote the canine comedy Sylvia, so it is completely understandable that he had male menopause on his mind. Taking a break from his usual pre-occupation with the cultural peculiarities of WASPs, he gives us a peculiar romance ― between a guy mired in the crisis of midlife and a stray mixed-breed mutt. Now on view at the Boca Raton … [Read more...]
Silence helps abstract masterworks reveal themselves
No matter what museum in the world one visits, there is always a crowd and with it comes murmuring. The museum experience then becomes like watching a movie with the director’s commentary on. Some weeks ago something highly unusual happened. I found myself alone with three creations by two American masters of painting: Clyfford Still and Joan Mitchell. The miracle took … [Read more...]