Of all the jobs that computer-related technology has caused to disappear, one other may soon need to be added to the list: Page turner. Concertgoers are used to seeing a turner come on stage, trailing the pianist, then sit unobtrusively to his or her left, and rise to turn the pages of the music when the time comes. It’s a job that is small but vital for musical continuity, … [Read more...]
The 2011-12 season in jazz: A feast for discerning listeners
A struggling economy won’t impact a jazz concert season as much as it does pop music. That’s because jazz is used to struggling more than pop to succeed. Sure, it’s a case of supply and demand -- if you charged three figures for even marquee jazz artists, you’d be lucky to get three figures in attendance -- but there’s more to it. A jazz performer will usually have more in … [Read more...]
Women’s film saluted in first-ever Palm Beach festival
Last year, when Kathryn Bigelow won for The Hurt Locker, that marked the first Oscar to go to a woman for Best Director. Women have made strides in the film industry, however slowly, but to see the range of movies -- from deadly serious to downright frivolous -- that female directors and screenwriters are generating, there is now the Palm Beach Women’s International Film … [Read more...]
‘Source Code’ almost a masterpiece, save for flawed ending
‘Tis the season for romantic science-fiction parables about attractive young men prohibited, through their stories’ elaborate conceits, from accessing the brunette beauties who are ready and willing to jump their bones. In Source Code, which opens wide Friday, Jake Gyllenhaal and Michelle Monaghan are a lot like Matt Damon and Emily Blunt in The Adjustment Bureau, their … [Read more...]
Art world converges on Miami Beach for Art Basel ‘party’
Beginning Thursday, the contemporary art world will be in Miami Beach and its environs for the second largest art fair in the world: Art Basel Miami Beach. This includes artists, art critics, private dealers, advisers, galleries, curators, collectors, celebrities – and yes, mere lovers of art. The known, the not-so-known, the conservative and the bizarre — all will preen, … [Read more...]
ArtsPreview 2010-11: The season in books
The economy may still look scary, but for South Florida’s four major literary festivals, there will be no double-dip recession. Learning from last year’s challenges, each plans robust programs for the serious and casual book lover over the coming season. Take Miami Book Fair International (Nov. 14-21), the region’s oldest and biggest literary festival, and the first one on … [Read more...]
Account of nun’s death while fleeing Tibet proves riveting
Each year thousands of Tibetans attempt to flee their homeland by embarking on a perilous journey over snow-covered mountains. Some die along the way, and others are captured, jailed and tortured by Chinese soldiers. Most often their plight receives little international attention. But the case of Kelsang Namtso, a 17-year-old nun, was different because mountain climbers … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: Sept. 4-7
Art: One of the most revelatory, absorbing art shows I’ve ever seen was The Studio of the South, an exhibit exploring the relationship between Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin and the work they created while briefly living together in the French town of Arles in late 1888. I caught it at the Art Institute of Chicago in 2001, and it was remarkable to see the influence the two … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: March 19-21
Art: You don’t have to go to art school to be an artist, or even be working at it all the time. Such is the case with Anthony Calicchio, who finds his inspiration in his culinary education and background as a second-generation restaurateur. In Café Frankie, he fashions masterful dishes with his basting brush, and the bistro’s walls are adorned with paintings he has created with … [Read more...]
Sunday’s ‘Messiah’ will be last for Masterworks Chorus founder
This Sunday afternoon, crowds will gather in force at the Royal Poinciana Chapel on Palm Beach, as they do every holiday season, for a singalong performance of the so-called Christmas portion of George Frideric Handel's Messiah. It will be the 32nd such performance since Jack W. Jones inaugurated the local tradition in 1978 at what is now Palm Beach Atlantic University, and … [Read more...]