Spoleto 2012
Impressive Pianists Conclude Young Artists Series
CHOPIN’s MUSIC, especially his piano music, has a signature quality that is hard to describe, but you know it as ‘Chopin’ (1810-1849) when you hear it. Which, of course, poses a challenge for pianists. Do they make it ‘the same’ or do they try to make it ‘their own’ and run the risk of... Read »
Shush Already at the Concerts!
GEEZ… when are people gonna figure it out? Isn’t it obvious that paper and plastic wrappers are a concert’s worst enemy? — though recording poles and paraphernalia—which are ugly and block our view—are starting to make a strong case. But it’s the noisemakers that really gotta go. And that includes the people making it!... Read »
Traces of Delight
THE MEMBERS of the 7 Fingers troupe from Montreal are surely the most likeable group at Spoleto this year performing in their show Traces, which is a delightful blend of acrobatics, dance, and circus arts with an urban flare. The urban flare accounts for the skateboarding and street dance that gets mixed into this... Read »
He Ain’t No Daisy, That’s for Sure
MIKE DAISEY, monologist extraordinaire, who performed on the College of Charleston Emmet Robinson Stage Wednesday night, is a one-of-a-kind storyteller, actor, raconteur, comedian, romantic, sentimentalist, philosopher, liar, truth-seeker, teddy bear, and daredevil. Audiences are drawn to his signature “events“ partly because of his improvisational inventiveness, but equally because they admire his rare combination of... Read »
Looking Through the Cracks of the Unusual
A CRACK IN EVERYTHING by husband and wife team Zoe/Juniper does indeed break apart our perceptions of space, time, and reality with a performance that magically blends video and movement. And though the artists are not the first to work this way, they handle this experience in a most inventive and unusual way which... Read »
Two Russian String Quartets
RUSSIAN COMPOSERS Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) and Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975) never knew each other, having lived in different periods of Russia’s turbulent history, but there was an evident link in their music Wednesday night at the City Gallery Waterfront Park. Violinists David Chernyavsky and Yuriy Bekker, along with violist Simon Ertz and cellist Philip... Read »
A Chamber Series Extravaganza
SPOLETO FESTIVAL USA’s Chamber Music Director and Host, Geoff Nuttall, promised an extravaganza for the ninth concert Wednesday afternoon at the Dock Street Theatre. He and his musical friends delivered. In a darkened theatre, Todd Palmer, clarinetist extraordinaire, performed contemporary Scottish composer James MacMillan’s haunting From Galloway. Without being in evidence, Palmer’s clarinet filled... Read »
The Mezmerizing Music of China
NOT EVEN IN AMERICA’S largest cities do you often have a chance to hear Chinese music played on original instruments by native virtuosos—four of them. At Intermezzo IV in the Cathedral of St. Luke and St. Paul, musicians Chen Yihan (pipa), Hong-Da Chin (dadi/dizi), Wang Guowei (erhu/goohu/zhonghu), and Wang Hong (guanzi/sheng) were no less... Read »
Chamber Series Hosts a Tarantella, Bach, and Teheran
THE EIGHTH Spoleto Festival USA chamber music concert opened Tuesday morning to a full Dock Street Theatre. It offered a diverse program, varied and complex as the compositions performed. Opening with Saint-Saëns’ Tarantella for Flute, Clarinet and Piano in A Minor, Op.6, Tara Helen O’Connor (flute), Todd Palmer (clarinet) and Pedja Muzijevic (piano) offered... Read »
Dynamic Ukulele Sells Out at Spoleto
JAKE SHIMABUKURO’s career as a ukulele soloist has taken him to new heights since his sold-out Spoleto appearance in 2009. The YouTube phenomenon (his rendition of George Harrison’s “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” has collected over 8 million views) continues to capture and enthrall international audiences and garner the admiration of well-known musicians. The... Read »
