South Florida Classical Review

17/06/2024

The closing event of the Frost Chopin Festival brought a bevy of scintillating performances Sunday night.

Eric Guo performed Chopin’s Variations on “La ci darem la mano” at the closing concert of the Frost Chopin Festival Sunday night at Gusman Concert Hall. Photo: Shawn Clark

10/06/2024

The Frost Chopin Festival opened Sunday with three artists and the premiere of a new piano arrangement of a major Szymanowski score.

Liana Peng premiered a new keyboard arrangement of Szymanowski’s ballet Harnasie Sunday at the Frost Chopin Festival. Photo: Inesa Gegprifti

26/05/2024

Alexandra Segal showed an individual touch in music of Brahms and the Schumanns Saturday night for Miami Piano Festival.

Alexandra Segal performed a recital Saturday night in Miami Beach for Miami International Piano Festival. Photo: Michael Pavia

20/05/2024

Avery Gagliano made a triumphant return in a recital for the Miami International Piano Festival Sunday in Aventura.

When Avery Gagliano, then an 18-year-old student at Philadelphia’s Curtis Institute, won the top prize at the National Chopin Competition in March, 2020 in Miami, it was obvious that she was exceptionally gifted. An all-Chopin recital in 2021, prior to competing in Warsaw’s International Chopin ...

12/05/2024

Stephane Deneve wrapped the New World Symphony season with a searing performance of Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring," prefaced by a pre-Rite prelude in the form of a world premiere by Guillaume Connesson. James Ehnes performed John Williams' Violin Concerto No. 1 on the first half.

One repeat 2 p.m. Sunday.

The final program of the New World Symphony’s season on Saturday night epitomized the new Stéphane Denève era. Innovative programming, first-rate performances that display the orchestral academy’s fellows at their best and a sheer sense of excitement have characterized the artistic director’...

03/12/2023

Along with a world premiere by Lansing McLoskey, Gerard Schwarz and the Frost Symphony Orchestra marked the centenary of Peter Mennin Saturday with a rare performance of the American composer's "Moby Dick."

Gerard Schwarz is one of the few conductors who have paid any consistent attention to American composer Peter Mennin, with recordings of some of Mennin’s orchestral music when he was director of the Seattle Symphony.

20/11/2023

A world premire and Bronfman's majestic Brahms open Palm Beach Symphony's season in style.

Yefim Bronfman performed Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 2 with Gerard Schwarz conducting the Palm Beach Symphony Sunday at the Kravis Center in West Palm Beach. Photo: IndieHouse Films.

20/11/2023

New World Symphony and Cleveland Orchestra members joined forces for Sunday's chamber concert, which was highlighted by a shattering performance of Shostakovich's String Quartet No. 9.

In a weekend during which the collaboration between the New World Symphony and the Cleveland Orchestra reached a high point with the performance of Strauss’ Alpine Symphony, members of the Cleveland ensemble joined the academy’s fellows for a chamber music concert on Sunday afternoon.

19/11/2023

The Ehnes Quartet brought its distinctive brand of stylistic artistry to Miami Saturday night in a concert presented by Friends of Chamber Music.

The Ehnes Quartet is one of the most skilled and reliable chamber music groups performing today. Their annual visits to Miami’s Friends of Chamber Music have produced outstanding concerts and Saturday night’s offering at Florida International University’s Wertheim Performing Arts Center was no...

18/11/2023

Stephane Deneve and the Cleveland Orchesta (with some NWS players) reached the summit of Strauss’s epic ”Alpine Symphony” Friday night at the Arsht Center.

Pablo Ferrandez was the soloist in Schumann's Cello Concerto on the first half.

https://southfloridaclassicalreview.com/2023/11/deneve-cleveland-orchestra-conquer-strausss-epic-alpine-symphony/

16/11/2023

Frost Opera Theater presented “Night in the Next Whiskey Bar,” a clever operatic potpourri set in a club Wednesday night.

One repeat on Thursday.

Jeffrey Marc Buchman conceived and directed Frost Opera Theater’s “Night in the Next Whiskey Bar,” presented at UM Wednesday night.

12/11/2023

Florida Grand Opera opened a transition season Saturday night with an impassioned, freshly conceived performance of Verdi's "La Traviata."

Cecilia Violetta López stars in Florida Grand Opera’s production of Verdi’s La Traviata. Photo: Matthew Staver/ Opera Colorado

06/11/2023

Thrilling Mascagni topped Miami Lyric Opera's mixed double bill. Sunday afternoon.

Verismo was an operatic movement in the late 19th and early 20th century that moved the art form away from costume dramas to present more realistic and naturalistic stories. Likewise, the music of verismo composers was more intense and declamatory, though often lyrical. The last remnants of bel cant...

05/11/2023

Jukka-Pekka Saraste's objective style drew a vividly realized Mahler Sixth from the New World Symphony Saturday night.

One repeat on Sunday.

Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 6 is a tormented and disturbing work. Replete with sinister motifs capped by the final hammer blows of fate, the score is strangely appropriate for this era of wars and sometimes violent divisiveness.

03/11/2023

Seraphic Fire made a fascinating journey into the French Baroque Thursday night with music of Rameau and Mondonville.

Three repeats this weekend.

Music of the French Baroque is too rarely heard on this side of the pond. Rhythmically and harmonically adventurous for its era, these Gallic scores differ greatly from the works of their Italian and German counterparts.

02/11/2023

The Robert and Judy Prokop Newman Recital Hall was inaugurated with a celebratory concert Wednesday night at UM.

The Robert and Judy Prokop Newman Recital Hall was inaugurated with a concert Wednesday night at the University of Miami. Photo: UM

31/10/2023

Carlos Miguel Prieto led the Orquesta Sinfónica de Minería in a colorful program of Latin music Monday night at the Kravis Center.

Carlos Miguel Prieto conducted the Orquesta Sinfónica de Minería Monday night at the Kravis Center in West Palm Beach. Photo: Benjamin Ealovega

29/10/2023

Gerard Schwarz led the Frost Symphony Orchestra in a kaleidoscopic, superbly realized performance of Ravel's "Daphnis et Chloe" Saturday night.

Since 2019 when Gerard Schwarz became director of orchestral studies and artistic director of the Frost Symphony Orchestra at the University of Miami, the already-high artistic standards of the student ensemble (instilled by the late Thomas Sleeper) have risen exponentially.

28/10/2023

The Master Chorale meditated on last things Friday night in Fort Lauderdale with Gabriel Faure's Requiem and contemporary works.

One repeat Sunday in Boca Raton.

A focus on death may not be the sunniest approach to an opening-season concert. But the Master Chorale of South Florida produced an absorbing evening of music Friday night in Fort Lauderdale, anchored by a strong contemporary work and one of the choral repertory’s gentlest requiems.

28/10/2023

Mezzo-soprano Katalin Karolyi finds charm in Ligeti song-cycle with New World Percussion Consort.

Mezzo-soprano Katalin Károlyi was the soloist in Ligeti’s song-cycle With Pipes, Drums, Fiddles, performed with the New World Percussion Consort Friday night.

26/10/2023

Florida Grand Opera has named Maria Todaro as interim general director. She succeeds Susan Danis who resigned last month.

Maria Todaro has been named interim general director of Florida Grand Opera. She succeeds Susan Danis, who resigned last month after helming the Miami company for the past 11 years.

25/10/2023

From Handel to Adès, Vadym Kholodenko served up a memorable evening of keyboard artistry for Friends of Chamber Music Tuesday night in Coral Gables.

Vadym Kholodenko performed a recital for Friends of Chamber Music Tuesday night in Coral Gables. Photo: Jean-Baptiste Millot

24/10/2023

Reed Tetzloff's Schumann was the highlight of the concerto trifecta program at the Miami International Piano Festival on Sunday.

Reed Tetzloff performed Schumann’s Piano Concerto Sunday in Aventura for the Miami International Piano Festival. Photo: Steve J. Sherman

24/10/2023

Miguel Harth-Bedoya led the New World Symphony in a high-stepping program of Latin and American music Saturday night.

West Side Story has proven to be Leonard Bernstein’s most enduring score. The modern adaptation of Romeo and Juliet signaled a new level of sophistication for the Broadway musical. In the early 1960’s, orchestrators Irwin Kostal and Sid Ramin (working under Bernstein’s supervision) adapted exc...

15/10/2023

Powerful Prokofiev and a compelling new work from Stephane Deneve and the New World Symphony Saturday night.

One repeat on Sunday.

Gabriela Montero performed Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with Stéphane Denève and the New World Symphony Saturday night. Photo: Alex Marlow

09/10/2023

Mozart's wind ensemble masterpiece, the "Grand Partita" was performed by New World musicians led by Stephane Deneve on Sunday.

Wind band concert repertoire is largely a product of the 20th century but Mozart and Beethoven were creating wind ensemble scores as entertainment for celebratory occasions during the 18th and 19th centuries. In 1781, Mozart penned the Serenade No. 10 in B-flat Major (“Gran Partita”), the first ...

08/10/2023

Ensemble Ibis opened the door to three bracing contemporary works Saturday night at UM.

Shawn Crouch conducted Ensemble Ibis in music of Pintscher, Hindman and Temsittichok Saturday night at Gusman Concert Hall.

07/10/2023

Countertenor Reginald Mobley was joined by colleagues for a program titled "The Art of Protest" Friday night in Miami.

Two repeats this weekend.

Countertenor Reginald Mobley and friends performed “The Art of Protest” Friday night at Corpus Christi Church in Miami.

01/10/2023

Leif Ove Andsnes returned to deliver an electrifying performance of Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5 with Andrew Grams leading the New World Symphony Saturday night.

Leif Ove Andsnes performed Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5 with Andrew Grams conducting the New World Symphony Saturday night. Photo: Gregory Hohenberg

24/09/2023

Gerard Schwarz opened the Frost Symphony Orchestra's season with probing Brahms and an American classic Saturday night.

William Schuman was one of America’s most important figures in classical music during much of the twentieth century. He was best known in his lifetime as president of the Juilliard School (where he co-founded the renowned Juilliard String Quartet) and founding president of Lincoln Center for the P...