Piccolo 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 »
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 »
Piano Blockbusters? Piano Blockbusters!
SATURDAY’s Young Artist Series brought together an eclectic mix of style, fire, grace, and more than enough wonderful performances to satisfy even the stodgiest of listeners. Once again, Enrique Graf has assembled a program capable not only of lifting the spirit and providing food for thought, but also showcasing how these elements fit into... Read »
“Normel People” Packs the House at Footlight
WHEN A THEATRE PRESENTATION is funny and smart, fast-paced and wise, word spreads like wildfire, especially at Festival time. Judy and Thomas Burke Heath’s “Perfectly Normel People” has all those elements and more, resulting in SRO crowds at the Footlight Players Theatre for every performance of this Piccolo Spoleto world premiere. Saturday night, the... Read »
Young Artists Series Holds Rachmaninoff Weep-Fest
AS MAESTRO ENRIQUE GRAF likes to point out, Rachmaninoff always draws the big crowds. Thursday’s Young Artists Series was no exception: a nearly full theatre all chomping at the bit to hear these simple melodies fly when given their proper and oh-so-complex underpinnings. For this humble reviewer, that contrast holds the key to allowing... Read »
Young Artists Series Shows Off—and Delivers
WHEN ASKED what to expect for Wednesday’s Young Artists Series, Chee-Hang See replied with quiet firmness, “Oh, it’s showy!” The first few bars of his revelatory show opener proved that to be quite the understatement. Excellent programming and wonderful talent have always been hallmarks of Enrique Graf’s College of Charleston student showcase. If today’s... Read »
The Majestic Beauty of Bach’s Cello Suites
NOT SURPISINGLY, First Scots Presbyterian was even more full on Tuesday than it had been last Friday when Natalia Khoma played the first three suites for unaccompanied cello by J.S. Bach. And she certainly did not disappoint with the remaining three. Suite No. 4 in E flat Major marks a departure from the pleasantly... Read »
Piccolo Spoleto Literary Festival
FOR THE FIFTH consecutive year, the Charleston Library Society is sponsoring the Piccolo Spoleto Literary Festival, with five outstanding programs scheduled at 3 pm all this week in the elegant main reading room of the Society’s primary building at 164 King Street. The opening speaker Monday afternoon was Curtis Worthington, local neurosurgeon celebrated as... Read »
Tchaikovsky’s Piano Trio—to Perfection
PYOTR TCHAIKOVSKY’s music was never far from his life. It was inspired by and became an intensely personal commentary about his life that ineluctably (and thankfully) poured out of him. Such was the case (in this Piccolo Spoleto concert at Waterfront Gallery on Saturday) with his Piano Trio in a minor, Opus 50 subtitled... Read »
Young Artists Shine at the Simons Center
THE COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON Young Artists Series (YAS) has become a staple of Piccolo Spoleto, but not everyone knows that these concerts also take place during the school year. Hosted by Artist-in-Residence, Enrique Graf (whose piano students are among the performers), the YAS showcases some amazing young talent. Saturday’s program included a broad range... Read »
