News & Blog
The year in review: music
Date: 12/27/2010 By Olin Chism, Special to the Star-Telegram
"This year saw no shortage of high-quality musical performances on area stages.
Here are our critics' picks for the best in local classical and pop music, from young piano phenoms to rock 'n' roll legends.
Classical music
In a year notable for variety, the Van Cliburn Foundation continued to contribute significantly to Fort Worth's musical life. Three of the Cliburn competition's gold medalists and one of its featured composers were prominently spotlighted, and the Cliburn Concerts series brought more top-ranked artists.
The Fort Worth Opera and Symphony Orchestra and smaller organizations such as the Chamber Music Society of Fort Worth and the Fort Worth Classic Guitar Society made valuable contributions. Here are the top 10 local classical-music performances of the year:
Read more and the original article on Star-Telegram here.
Date: 12/27/2010 By Olin Chism, Special to the Star-Telegram
"This year saw no shortage of high-quality musical performances on area stages.
Here are our critics' picks for the best in local classical and pop music, from young piano phenoms to rock 'n' roll legends.
Classical music
In a year notable for variety, the Van Cliburn Foundation continued to contribute significantly to Fort Worth's musical life. Three of the Cliburn competition's gold medalists and one of its featured composers were prominently spotlighted, and the Cliburn Concerts series brought more top-ranked artists.
The Fort Worth Opera and Symphony Orchestra and smaller organizations such as the Chamber Music Society of Fort Worth and the Fort Worth Classic Guitar Society made valuable contributions. Here are the top 10 local classical-music performances of the year:
- Haochen Zhang (Bass Hall, Sept. 14) The co-gold medalist of the 2009 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition confirmed the soundness of the judges' decision with a brilliant performance of Chopin, Brahms and Ginastera that balanced subtle lyricism and heroic musical statements. In an age of theatrical mugging, his lack of histrionics was a decided plus.
- Fort Worth Opera Festival's The Elixir of Love (Bass Hall, May 28) Donizetti's cutest opera was the charmer of the Fort Worth Opera's annual late-spring festival. Tenor Michael Fabiano and soprano Ava Pine, the endearing leads, were backed by a solid cast, with strong support from conductor Stewart Robertson and the orchestra and chorus. Sets, lighting and stage direction consistently complemented the musical performance.
- Dallas Symphony Orchestra's Mahler (Meyerson Symphony Center, May 20) At its grandest moments, Mahler's Resurrection Symphony practically levitated the hall, but conductor Jaap van Zweden's sure artistry made it a well-balanced performance, with lyrical beauty as prominent as bold statement. The huge chorus and two vocal soloists were valuable assets.
- Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra's Latin tribute (Bass Hall, Oct. 29) Miguel Harth-Bedoya introduced Peruvian composer Celso Garrido-Lecca's Retablos Sinfonicos, an eloquent, lyrical work leavened with catchy Latin rhythms, and contrasted that with Joaquin Rodrigo's graceful Concierto de Aranjuez. Jason Vieaux was the excellent guitarist. Ravel's ghostly La Valse rounded out the program.
- Vladimir Feltsman (Bass Hall, Nov. 16) The season's second superb set of Chopin ballades (Haochen Zhang's was the first) highlighted a strong program by the veteran pianist. A Mozart fantasia and four Schubert impromptus made the Cliburn Concerts recital an unusually consistent display of the highest-quality music.
- Carlos Barbosa-Lima (Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Oct. 21) A true aristocrat of the guitar, Barbosa-Lima gave an elegant and personable program that included no fewer than 22 pieces, every single one of which held interest. His Fort Worth Classic Guitar Society recital was a gold mine of pleasant music -- not all of it well-known.
- Chamber Music Society of Fort Worth (Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Dec. 11) Cliburn gold medalist Jon Nakamatsu joined a pool of local musicians who demonstrated that you don't have to look far to find top-quality performers. Ravel's Sonata for Violin and Cello, played by Robert Davidovici and Karen Basrak, was a highlight of a program that included some little-known music by well-known composers.
- John Musto (Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Oct. 30) Musto, a formidable pianist as well as composer, is the author of Improvisation and Fugue, which Nobuyuki Tsujii played to win the most recent Cliburn competition's new-music award. Tsujii returned to play it again as one of the highlights of this Cliburn at the Modern program of Musto's music. These often bluesy works held interest throughout.
- Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra with cellist Daniel Müller-Schott (Bass Hall, Feb. 27) The young German cellist's warm tone and impeccable artistry made Dvorak's cello concerto one of the season's highlights. Guest conductor Giancarlo Guerrero was not as impressive, but his bold though not terribly subtle performances of Mozart, Strauss and Liszt were always vivid.
- Fort Worth Opera Festival's Before Night Falls (Bass Hall, May 29) The Fort Worth Opera took an important and bold step by introducing this new work that focuses on political and sexual persecution. Unfortunately, Jorge Martín's opera is an uneven work, strong orchestrally but uneven vocally. Still, the Fort Worth Opera's production made effective theater."
Read more and the original article on Star-Telegram here.
