South Florida Classical Review

When Mark Kosower takes the stage, or sanctuary, Thursday night at Coral Gables Congregational Church, his recital will offer fare by familiar names like Bach, Mendelssohn, and Poulenc.

But…

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By now Miami Lyric Opera regulars know what to expect. As with an eccentric but loveable, well-intentioned relative, you overlook the faults to focus on the positives. In the case…

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Puccini: La Boheme.
Anna Netrebko, Rolando Villazon, Nicole Cabell, Boaz Daniel
Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and Chorus
Bertrand de Billy (Deutsche Grammophon)

Puccini: La Boheme
Norah Amsellem, Marcus Haddock, Georgia…

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In May, Miami Lyric Opera presented a startlingly good Lucia di Lammermoor, in a production that was well sung and dramatically compelling. Raffaele Cardone’s fledgling company will tackle a…

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The Palm Beach Chamber Music Festival presents another distinctive program this weekend, featuring Mozart’s Duo for violin and viola, Max Reger’s Flute Trio, Martinu’s delightful Revue de Cuisine and the…

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Feldman: The Viola in My Life I-IV
Marek Konstantynowicz
Cikada Ensemble
Norwegian Radio Orchestra/Christian Eggen
(ECM)

The art of Morton Feldman, like the man himself, is a study in…

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The second program of the Palm Beach Chamber Music Festival continues its juxtaposition of rarely heard music with more standard items. Once again, the Helen K. Persson Hall at Palm…

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Part deux of the Palm Beach Chamber Music Festival spans the centuries with an emphasis on works inspired by or arranged for the salon, café, or dining hall. Telemann’s Tafelmusik…

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Peter Lieberson’s Neruda Songs comprise the most moving and unearthly beautiful song cycle since Richard Strauss’s Four Last Songs. Like Strauss’s valedictory work, these five settings based on the Chilean…

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A personal note about my friend Jack Zink, theater, music and cultural affairs writer at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. A fixture in the region’s critical community for nearly four…

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The Palm Beach Chamber Music Festival is the perfect answer for listeners feeling concert deprivation during the summer doldrums. Each of the four weekend programs is repeated at three

…

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Copland: The Tender Land Suite; Piano Concerto; Old American Songs, Sets 1 and 2.
Benjamin Pasternack, pianist
St. Charles Singers
Robert Hanson/Elgin Symphony Orchestra
Naxos

The Naxos label’s invaluable American Classics…

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Yes, it’s peak summer in South Florida, and, yes, there is scant classical music happening. But for those of us unwilling or unable to escape the godless seasonal humidity, there…

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Amazing Grace: A Gospel and Bluegrass Journey
Seraphic Fire
Patrick Dupre Quigley, artistic director

Folk, bluegrass and gospel normally fall far outside the Classical Review’s charge. But even if this…

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Hindson: Violin Concerto; Corigliano: Suite from The Red Violin; Liszt/Kennedy-St. John: Totentanz.

Lara St. John
Sarah Ioannides/Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (Ancalagon)

With her latest CD, Lara St. John serves up the…

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A timely, thoughtful piece by Martin Bernheimer in the Financial Times. http://tinyurl.com/6yrgwg.

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Today was my last as classical music critic of the Miami Herald, which means I am now free to devote my full attention to this blog and to building a…

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