Wallis Giunta. Image from her website Today’s young singers are a different breed, as are most classical musicians generally. It’s no longer the case that people who perform art music sneer at popular forms; indeed, it’s now almost a requirement that a classical performer show his or her range by making sure to branch out […]
Article · March 26, 2014 by Gregory Stepanich
One of the moons of Jupiter, from NASA’s images for Holst’s “The Planets.” If you want to go big in orchestral repertoire, this is your weekend to stop by the Knight Concert Hall. Begin with the Cleveland Orchestra, which wraps its Miami residency on Friday and Saturday nights with Gustav Holst’s The Planets, accompanied by NASA […]
Article · March 19, 2014 by Gregory Stepanich
Reginald Mobley. There once was a time when the best-paid, most famous singers in Europe were men who had been surgically altered before puberty to retain their youthful voices. These were the castrati, and their heyday was in the 18th century, when the biggest opera composers of the day, particularly George Frideric Handel and Johann […]
Article · March 12, 2014 by Gregory Stepanich
Jordi Savall. This week, the 15th Tropical Baroque Festival got underway at Miami Beach Community Church. It lasts through March 6 for a total of 11 concerts, one each day. On the lineup this year are a number of leading early music performers, such as gamba specialist Jordi Savall and cornett master Bruce Dickey, and […]
Article · February 26, 2014 by Gregory Stepanich
The Blue Mice get ready to stir up some trouble. In his tale of the star-bellied sneetches, Dr. Seuss made a compelling and lasting case against racism and discrimination, and made it fun to read and look at all the while. The arts are ideal for getting complex ideas across, especially to young people, and […]
Article · February 5, 2014 by Gregory Stepanich
Gil Shaham, who appears with the Cleveland Orchestra at the Knight Concert Hall from Jan. 24-25. Photo by Christian Steiner The Cleveland Orchestra returns this month to the Arsht Center’s Knight Concert Hall for its annual residency, and over three months will present four subscription concerts featuring artists including baritone Simon Keenlyside, violinists Gil Shaham […]
Article · January 15, 2014 by Gregory Stepanich
Suliman and Jamila Tekalli. The Tekalli Duo, a brother-and-sister violin-and-piano partnership from Winter Park, Fla. have been playing music together since they were children, and while there were the inevitable sibling tensions, today they are busily building a career. “There were pencils flying at some point,” said pianist Jamila Tekalli. “But no major injuries,” said […]
Article · January 10, 2014 by Gregory Stepanich
Itzhak Perlman and Cantor Yitzhak Meir Helfgot. Photo by Lisa Marie Mazzucco Itzhak Perlman has left the building for Florida’s west coast, where he’ll be working in Sarasota for two weeks with talented young string players in the Perlman Music Program. But even though he’s done with the three recitals he gave this week in […]
Article · December 20, 2013 by Gregory Stepanich
Florida’s Singing Sons Boychoir. If you’re anything like me, the late Thanksgiving this year has meant that Christmas has crept right up on you and caught you nearly unawares. Musically, that has meant a great pile-up of holiday concerts in the past couple weeks, but even though the window is closing fast, there are still […]
Article · December 18, 2013 by Gregory Stepanich
“Coffee Cantata.” Call it pop-up Bach. This week, as the world comes to South Florida to absorb all the haute and the happening in contemporary visual art at Art Basel Miami Beach, other enterprising artists are taking advantage of the gathering to call attention to their work in other fields. On Saturday night, a specialty […]
Article · December 5, 2013 by Gregory Stepanich
Miloš Karadaglić at Le Poisson Rouge for Yellow Lounge. (From the Yellow Lounge website) The “indie classical” crowd doesn’t do things the same way as their predecessors did, when a career in this art form was defined by an elite management agency and carefully chosen appearances in major venues. While that world certainly hasn’t disappeared, […]
Article · November 21, 2013 by Gregory Stepanich