By Robert Croan A bravura rendition by cellist Zuill Bailey of Camille Saint-Saëns’ Cello Concerto No. 1 in A Minor (Op. 33) was the highlight of South Florida Symphony’s season opener at The Parker on Nov. 5. It was an all-19th-century program, which also featured Johannes Brahms’s Symphony No. 1 in C minor (Op. 68) — solidly traditional in a season that has to be … [Read more...]
The blues haunts Zwilich’s fine new cello concerto
By Dennis D. Rooney Two world premieres opened the third program of the South Florida Symphony Orchestra’s 22nd season. Zuill Bailey was soloist in the Concerto for Cello and Orchestra by Ellen Taafe Zwilich, one of two premieres on the program, both dedicated to founding Music Director Sebrina María Alfonso. Zwilich (b. 1939), a native Floridian, is a distinguished … [Read more...]
Palm Beach Symphony struggles in season finale
By Dennis D. Rooney The Palm Beach Symphony closed its 44th season April 17 at the Kravis Center with a most ambitious program. Too ambitious, as it happened. American cellist Zuill Bailey was the soloist in Edward Elgar’s 1919 Cello Concerto (in E minor, Op. 85), taking the place of the previously announced Romanian cellist, Răzvan Suma. Playing the “ex-Schneider” … [Read more...]