South Florida Classical Review

August 29

Seraphic Fire Presents
Music of Scott Joplin
Richard Dowling, pianist
4 p.m. Miami Beach Community Church
www.seraphicfire.org; 305-285-9060

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July 30

“Mostly Duets” recital
Susana Diaz, soprano. Anthony Zoeller, baritono. Ross Barentyne-Truluck, pianist.
7 p.m. Miami Beach Community Church

Donizetti: Trio for flute, bassoon and piano
Roussel: Duo for bassoon and double bass
Dahl: Concerto a tré for clarinet, violin and cello
McAlister: Odyssey for flute, clarinet and bassoon
Dvořák: String Quintet in G Major, Opus 77
8 p.m. Persson Recital Hall, West Palm Beach

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June 27

Mainly Mozart Festival
Ania and Piotr Filochowski, violins
Geoffrey Loff, pianist
Brahms: Violin Sonata No. 1
Concerto excerpts from Mozart, Pagannini and Tchaikovsky
Works by Chopin. Wieniawski and Szymanowski
4:30 p.m. Westin Colonnade Hotel,
Coral Gables
www.mainlymozart.com; 305-444-4755

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May 30

Mainly Mozart Festival
Bergonzi String Quartet
Maria Radyushina, piano
Debussy: String Quartet
Bartok: String Quartet No. 1
Dohnanyi: Piano Quintet
4:30 p.m. Westin Colonnade Hotel, Coral Gables

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April 30

New World Symphony
Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor
Debussy: Fantasie for Piano
Debussy/Matthews: Preludes
Debussy: Jeux
7:30 p.m. Lincoln Theatre, Miami Beach
http://nws.edu; 305-673-3331

Florida Grand Opera
Bizet: Carmen
Kendall Gladen, Adam Diegel, Elaine Alvarez, Mark Walters; Willie Waters, conductor
8 p.m. Arsht Center/Ziff Ballet Opera House

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March 31

Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra
Christoph Eschenbach, conductor
Lang Lang, pianist
Prokofiev: Symphony No. 1 Classical
Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 3
Brahms: Symphony No. 2
2 p.m. Kravis Center, West Palm Beach

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February 28

Palm Beach Opera
Mozart: Don Giovanni
Gezim Myshketa, Pamela Armstrong, Juliana Di Giacomo, Denis Sedov, Vale Rideout, Irene Roberts, Bradley Smoak, Peter Volpe/Bruno Aprea, conductor
2 p.m. Kravis Center, West Palm Beach

Florida Grand Opera
Rossini: The Barber of Seville
Frederic Antoun, Sarah Coburn, Roderick Williams/Gary Thor Wedow, conductor
2 p.m. Arsht Center/Ziff Ballet Opera House, Miami

Jupiter String Quartet
Roger Tapping, violist
Beethoven: Quartet in B flat, Op. 18, no. 6
Janacek: Quartet No. 1 Kreutzer Sonata
Brahms: String Quintet in B minor
3 p.m Society of the Four Arts, Palm Beach

Firebird Chamber Orchestra
Kathryn Mueller, soprano
Brandenburg Concerto No. 3
Brandenburg Concerto No. 5
Orchestral Suite No. 3
Cantata No. 84
4 p.m. Temple Emanu-El, Miami Beach
www.seraphicfire.org; 305-285-9060

Delray String Quartet
Puccini: Crisantemi
Mozart: String Quartet in D minor, K.421 Ginastera: String Quartet No. 1
4 p.m. St. David’s-in-the-Pines Episcopal Church, Wellington

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January 31

Florida Grand Opera
Donizetti: Lucia di Lammermoor
Eglise Gutierrez, Israel Lozano, Mark Walters
Ramon Tebar, conductor
2 p.m. Arsht Center/Ziff Ballet Opera House, Miami

Seraphic Fire
Kisses of his Mouth: Music of Ecstasy
4 p.m. Miami Beach Community Church
www.seraphicfire.org; 305-285-9060

Houston Symphony Orchestra
Hans Graf, conductor
Stravinsky: Scherzo fantastique
Dutilleux: Temps, espace, mouvement
Holst: The Planets (with NASA HD film)
7 p.m. Broward Center, Fort Laudedale

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December 21

Friends of Chamber Music
Elmar Oliviera, violinist; Andres Cardenas, violinist; Roberto Diaz violist, Andres Diaz, cellist, William De Rosa, cellist
Beethoven: String Trio No. 1 in G major
Dohnanyi: Serenade in C major for string trio
Schubert: Quintet in C major
8 p.m. Gusman Concert Hall
www.miamichambermusic.org; 305-372-2975

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November 28

Florida Grand Opera
Leoncavallo: Pagliacci
Puccini: Suor Angelica
Kelly Kaduce, Jay Hunter Morris, Mark Rucker; Andrew Bisantz, conductor
8 p.m. Arsht Center/Ziff Ballet Opera House
fgo.org; 800-741-1010

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October 30

Festival Miami finale
Jeff Hamilton
John Clayton
Henry Mancini Institute Orchestra
Frost Concert Jazz Band Miami
8 p.m. Gusman Concert Hall, Coral Gables
www.festivalmiami.com; 305-284-4940

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September 26

New World Symphony
Alasdair Neale, conductor
Free preseason concert
Adams: The Chairman Dances
Elgar: In the South
A. Schoenberg: Finding Rothko
Britten: Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra
7:30 p.m. Lincoln Theatre, Miami Beach
www.nws.edu; 305-673-3331.

Bizet: Carmen
Sondra Kelly, James C. Taylor, Nelson Martinez, Roseanne Ackerley
Miami Lyric Opera
8 p.m. Colony Theater, Miami Beach
www.miamilyricopera.org; 305-674-1040.

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August 30

Seraphic Fire Presents: Pianist Richard Dowling performs and discusses American ragtime, Rhapsody in Blue and other Gershwin works.
4 p.m. Miami Beach Community Church
www.seraphicfire.org; 305-285-9060.

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July 31

Palm Beach Chamber Music Festival
Saint-Saens: Fantaisie in A Major
Casella: Serenata
Mendelssohn: String Quintet No. 2
8 p.m.: Helen K. Persson Recital Hall, West Palm Beach
www.pbcmf.org; 800-330-6874

August 1

Miami Lyric Opera
Arrieta: Marina
Maruchi Urquiaga, Aurelio Gabaldon, Lilo del Campo, Ismael Gonzalez.
Alfredo Munar, conductor
8 p.m. Colony Theater, Miami Beach
www.miamilyricopera.org; 305-674-1040

Palm Beach Chamber Music Festival
Saint-Saens: Fantaisie in A Major
Casella: Serenata
Mendelssohn: String Quintet No. 2
8 p.m.: Eissey Campus Theatre, Palm Beach Gardens
www.pbcmf.org; 800-330-6874

August 2

Palm Beach Chamber Music Festival
Saint-Saens: Fantaisie in A Major
Casella: Serenata
Mendelssohn: String Quintet No. 2
2 p.m.  – Crest Theatre, Delray Beach
www.pbcmf.org; 800-330-6874

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June 18

Anne Akiko Meyers, violinist; Reiko Uchida, pianist
Miyagi: Haru no Umi (Sea in Spring)
Taki: Kojo no Tsuki (Moonlight over the Ruined Castle)
Beethoven: Violin Sonata No. 5  Spring              
Part: Spiegel im Spiegel 
Debussy: Beau Soir                                          
Schnittke: Stille Nacht               
Duke: Autumn in New York                                
Gershwin/Heifetz: Summertime  
8 p.m. Coral Gables Congregational Church                                   
www.communityartsprogram.org; 305-448-7421, ext. 33.

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May 31
Holocaust remembrance concert
Violinist Misha Vitenson; violist Michael Klotz; cellist Amit Peled; pianist Alon Goldstein
4 p.m. Gusman Concert Hall, Coral Gables
www.sundaymusicals.org. Ticketmaster: 305-358-5885; 954-523-3309; 561-966-3309.

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Renee Fleming was to appear in next season's FGO concert series

Florida Grand Opera is pulling the plug on its Superstar Concert Series, a project launched with much hype and lavish promotion this season, due to the company’s ongoing financial crisis.

 “The Superstar Concert Series had a deficit of $268,000 on a budget of $740,000 for the three concerts,” stated FGO general director and CEO Robert Heuer, in an emailed answer to questions about the series’ status.  “Both ticket sales and fund raising failed to achieve their goals.  Given the current difficult economic times, the Opera cannot take the risk of additional deficits next year.”  Heuer also indicated that the possibility of competition from the Arsht Center’s new classical series, to be announced shortly, was another factor.

 Dropping the concert series—a project Heuer hailed from the Knight Concert Hall stage just weeks ago— means Judy Drucker’s brief tenure as artistic adviser to FGO will end next month. 

 Founder and former president of the Concert Association of Florida, Drucker was hired by FGO to organize the new series and booked a starry trio of singers. The series was a clear artistic success, with rousing performances this season by Dmitri Hvorostovsy, Marcello Giordani and Bryn Terfel, which added cachet and vocal luster to a company whose main-stage productions tend to rely on young, lesser known singers.

Next season’s Concert Series lineup would have provided comparable vocal firepower with Drucker planning to bring in Renee Fleming, Angela Gheorghiu and Sondra Radvanovsky.

 With Florida Grand Opera cutting back to four productions next season, part of a thirty percent cut of overall expenses, Heuer said the company  “cannot justify taking more risk on something outside of its core mission.”  He stated that the FGO is projecting a deficit of $1.4 million this season, which includes the $268,000 loss from the Concert Series.

 While declining to be interviewed, Drucker said she is committed to ensuring that the three concerts featuring Fleming, Gheorghiu and Radvanovsky go on as planned under different auspices.

 Florida Grand Opera’s season-closing production of Puccini’s Madama Butterfly opens at the Ziff Ballet Opera House tonight.

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 Sunday Afternoons of Music will serve up yet another varied lineup of vocal, instrumental and chamber events in 2009-2010.

 Doreen Marx will open her 29^th season with a recital by acclaimed violinist Robert McDuffie (above) on September 13, a co-presentation with Festival Miami. Young Russian pianist Boris Giltburg will follow on Dec. 13, followed by series favorite, soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian on Dec. 20.

 Sunday Afternoons will start the new year with an unusual trio as the Cleveland Duo (violinist Steve Warner and pianist Carolyn Warner) are joined by saxophonist James Umble on Jan 10.  In a rare Saturday night event, the Eroica Trio will return for a concert on Feb. 6, followed by Russian pianist Olga Kern on March 21, and the Empire Brass on May 16. The season will close May 23 with the Amernet String Quartet and cellist Gary Hoffman. Program details for all events are yet to be announced.

Subscriptions are $250, $225 for seniors with individual events $40 and $32. Sunday Afternoons of Music will also offers its Chidren’s Series as well. Call 305-271-7150 or visit www.sundaymusicals.org.

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April 25
Florida Grand Opera: Puccini’s Madama Butterfly
Shu-Ying Li, Arturo Chacón-Cruz, Katharine Goeldner, Jake Gardner; Stewart Robertson, conductor
7 p.m. Arsht Center/Ziff Ballet Opera House
www.fgo.org; 800-741-1010

Master Chorale of South Florida
Florida’s Singing Sons
Bernstein: Chichester Psalms
Lauridsen: Lux Aeterna
Copland: Old American Songs
8 p.m. Congregational Church of Boca Raton/ United Church of Christ
954-418-6232; www.masterchoraleofsouthflorida.org

April 26
Palm Beach Opera Vocal Competition
Grand Finals Concert; conductor Eve Queler
3 p.m. Kravis Center, West Palm, Beach
561-833-7888; www.pbopera.org

New World Symphony chamber music
Ives: Largo for Violin, Clarinet and Piano
Tilson Thomas: Street Song for Symphonic Brass
Harrison: Concerto for Violin and Percussion Orchestra
Crumb: Voice of the Whale
Bernstein: Prelude, Fugue and Riffs
3 p.m. Lincoln Theatre. $12
305-673-3331; www.nws.edu.

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For a time, it looked like Orchestra Miami was going to fall victim to the recession, and join the growing list of  small classical ensembles that are either not mounting events this season or quietly folding their tent and disappearing altogether.

 Fortunately, that is not the case. Orchestra Miami has announced that they will present two concerts in May and June.

On May 15 at 8 p.m. the chamber orchestra will present a program in alliance with the Chopin Foundation at Miami-Dade County Auditorium. Artistic director Elaine Rinaldi will lead the orchestra in Brahms’ Symphony No. 1 and Beethoven’s Leonore Overture No. 3. Ning An, 2000 winner of the Chopin Competition, will be the solo protagonist in the evening’s centerpiece, Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1.

 Another pianist, Miami native Geoffrey Loff, will perform with Orchestra Miami June 13 at the Lincoln Theatre in Miami Beach.  Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 19 will be the vehicle and the program is filled out with Mozart’s Symphony No. 25 and Tchaikovsky’s Suite No. 4, Mozartiana.

 A two-concert subscription costs $40-$100. Call 305-274-2103 or go to www.orchestramiami.org.

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