Michael Tilson Thomas, co-founder and artistic director of the New World Symphony. It is not often that Gustav Mahler’s “Das Lied von der Erde” (“The Song of the Earth”) makes a stop in Miami. In 1990, in the times of the Lincoln Theatre, Michael Tilson Thomas conducted his recently formed New World Symphony in performances […]
Article · April 21, 2016 by Sebastian Spreng
Above: “The Passenger.” From whatever angle you approach it, tackling a subject as sensitive as the Holocaust in opera format takes courage. That is the case with Mieczyslaw Weinberg (1919-1996), for whom the work served as a form of catharsis and conciliation. Born in Poland, the young composer escaped on foot from the German invasion […]
Article · April 8, 2016 by Sebastian Spreng
Jeffrey Buchman and choreographer Rosa Mercedes. Opera stage director Jeffrey Buchman will be overseeing a double bill of one-act operas at the University of Miami’s Gusman Hall this month: Igor Stravinsky’s “Mavra” and Osvaldo Golijov’s “Ainadamar” (“Fountain of Tears”), both under the musical direction of Alan Johnson. Here, Buchman discusses the upcoming April 14 and […]
Article · April 5, 2016 by Sebastian Spreng
Jean-Yves Thibaudet. This week will not be the first time that Jean-Yves Thibaudet will perform in Miami, but it will be the first time he plays with the Cleveland Orchestra (a Knight Arts grantee) at the Adrienne Arsht Center’s Knight Concert Hall. Thibaudet, the most outstanding French pianist of his generation, has long been a […]
Article · March 15, 2016 by Sebastian Spreng
Above: Julia Bullock. “Good things, when short, are twice as good,” philosopher Baltasar Gracián once said. I expect that these words will apply to soprano Julia Bullock’s upcoming performance as part of the New World Symphony’s Chamber Music Series. The New World Symphony introduced Miami to then-ascendant sopranos Christine Goerke, Barbara Hannigan and Karina Gauvin, […]
Article · February 25, 2016 by Sebastian Spreng
The Philadelphia Orchestra. Photo by Chris Lee. Miami is to be visited by a centenarian. She is 115 years old and represents the best of the American orchestral tradition. Perhaps the most venerable among the “big five” orchestras (though Bostonians may disagree), the Philadelphia Orchestra is scheduled to grace the stage of Knight Concert Hall […]
Article · February 22, 2016 by Sebastian Spreng
The Turgeon Duo. A very special concert–a musical rendezvous for Latin-music lovers–is scheduled to take place at the New World Symphony’s New World Center on Feb. 21, a week after Valentine’s Day. The event, sponsored by the Dranoff International Two Piano Foundation, is titled “Two Pianos Love Latin.” The idea for the concert originated in […]
Article · February 17, 2016 by Sebastian Spreng
“Steal Away,” a new recording by Seraphic Fire. The voice of the African-American spiritual is incomparable. A fascinating, unequivocally American fusion, it is at once searing and soothing. And whether sung in church or in a concert hall, it occupies a select place in the history of music. In the text that accompanies a newly […]
Article · February 9, 2016 by Sebastian Spreng
Above: The New World Symphony. There are a number of reasons to suggest that the New World Symphony’s Jan. 30 concert in Miami, with James Gaffigan conducting and Jeffrey Kahane on the piano, was perhaps the best of the season. Though it wasn’t perfect, the hits far outnumbered the misses. Of the latter, there were […]
Article · February 8, 2016 by Sebastian Spreng
Arturo Toscanini and Gustav Mahler, among others, are credited for saying, “There are no bad orchestras, only good or bad conductors.” This statement was borne out on Friday, Jan. 15 at the Wertheim Performing Arts Center at Florida International University, before a large audience that braved traffic, wind and rain to be present. British conductor […]
Article · January 26, 2016 by Sebastian Spreng
Violinist Gil Shaham, who performed at Knight Concert Hall in Miami on Jan. 9. Photo courtesy of Opus 3. Separated by mere days, two great orchestras performed at the Adrienne Arsht Center’s Knight Concert Hall in downtown Miami. Attending both concerts was well worth the effort, for valid reasons beyond their artistic merit. For one, […]
Article · January 20, 2016 by Sebastian Spreng