South Florida Classical Review

South Florida Classical Review is the pioneering site in the Classical Review network. Established in June 2008 by Lawrence A. Johnson, SFCR aims to address the lack of classical music journalism in the area, which arose due to reduced arts coverage in local newspapers.

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Palm Beach Symphony wraps season with virtuosic Chopin, stirring Beethoven

2 weeks ago | southfloridaclassicalreview.com | David Fleshler

The Palm Beach Symphony ended its season Monday with a program that contained nothing that would have surprised an audience in 1890. After a season that abounded in contemporary and American works, the orchestra stuck to the classics for its final concert: Brahms’ Academic Festival Overture, Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2 and Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony.
McDermott’s Beethoven proves a highlight with Palm Beach Symphony

1 month ago | southfloridaclassicalreview.com | David Fleshler

Symphony orchestras have been justly criticized for excessive reliance on music from the 19th century. For its second-to-last concert of the season, the Palm Beach Symphony hopscotched over that century entirely in a concert that included an early Beethoven concerto, two pillars of French impressionism and a 20th-century American work. The highlight was a performance by the American pianist Anne-Marie McDermott of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No 1.
Palm Beach Opera wraps season with a stylish and delightful “Figaro”

2 months ago | southfloridaclassicalreview.com | David Fleshler

A stylish and witty production of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro opened Friday night in Palm Beach Opera’s last set of performances for the season. A strong cast, clever sets and imaginative stage direction brought out the essence of the work, without any of the cloddish slapstick that often mars productions of operatic comedies.
Tilson Thomas bows out of second NWS week; will still lead final local concerts in March

2 months ago | southfloridaclassicalreview.com | Lawrence A. Johnson |Lawrence Budmen

Michael Tilson Thomas has bowed out of the second week of his upcoming concerts with the New World Symphony (April 5 and 6).The artistic director laureate has been battling brain cancer since 2021. He will be replaced by former NWS principal guest conductor Alasdair Neale, who will lead the originally announced program of Rossini’s La Gazza Ladra Overture, Haydn’s Symphony No. 98 and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6 (“Pastoral”).
Schwarz provides stellar advocacy for neglected American works with Palm Beach Symphony

Mar 3, 2025 | southfloridaclassicalreview.com | David Fleshler

American music of the 20th century is a tougher sell for audiences than the works of Tchaikovsky, Dvořák and other composers whose output helps symphony orchestras keep the lights on. But it can be hard to fathom why, considering the two composers whose pieces were performed Sunday by the Palm Beach Symphony at the Kravis Center in West Palm Beach.
Palm Beach Opera serves up impassioned singing, sumptuous visuals with “Traviata”

Feb 22, 2025 | southfloridaclassicalreview.com | David Fleshler

For sheer spectacle, few productions at Palm Beach Opera have equaled this week’s staging of Verdi’s La Traviata. The interiors of great 19th century Parisian houses came to life with elaborate chandeliers, oil paintings and tapestries – scenes of musty grandeur inhabited by women in gowns and men in white tie and tails. The sets, from Lyric Opera of Chicago, served as backdrop for an effective performance of Verdi’s tragedy Friday night at the Kravis Center.
Palm Beach Symphony delivers inward Beethoven, explosive Mahler

Feb 7, 2025 | southfloridaclassicalreview.com | David Fleshler

The Palm Beach Symphony’s concert Thursday in West Palm Beach yielded a surprisingly lightweight Beethoven performance and an explosive one of Mahler. Violinist Gil Shaham’s approach to the Beethoven Violin Concerto emphasized speed, lightness and a disposition to step back and let the orchestra take the leading role.
Lewek shines in Palm Beach Opera’s impassioned “Romeo et Juliette”

Jan 25, 2025 | southfloridaclassicalreview.com | David Fleshler

Palm Beach Opera opened its season Friday with a passionately sung, traditionally staged performance of Charles Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette, with the warmth of the dramatic action almost compensating for frigid temperatures that brought people to the Kravis Center in furs and long coats. As Juliette, the soprano Kathryn Lewek gave an affecting performance. Dark-haired and diminutive, she came off as shy and vulnerable even as she belted out world-class coloratura.
Arsht series opens with the blazing virtuosity of Muti, Chicago Symphony

Jan 17, 2025 | southfloridaclassicalreview.com | Lawrence Budmen

Endless repetitions of standard symphonic repertoire can sound tiresome and routine. When a great conductor and world-class orchestra assay familiar fare in top form, however, the results can be revelatory. Such was the case Thursday night when the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under Riccardo Muti opened the Arsht Center’s 2025 classical concert series. At 83, the ensemble’s emeritus conductor for life cuts a vigorous and charismatic figure on the podium.
Seraphic Fire pays tribute to an illustrious Spanish predecessor

Jan 17, 2025 | southfloridaclassicalreview.com | David Fleshler

In addition to ruling Spain, central Europe and much of the Americas—as well as making war against the Ottoman Empire and confronting the Protestant Reformation—the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V founded a highly regarded choral ensemble. The emperor brought the elite singers of Capilla Flamenca with him from the Netherlands when he traveled south to take the Spanish throne, and they set the standard for choral performance at a time when singing was at the heart of classical music.