Regional Arts Classical Concert Series at Kravis Center Brings the Best to West Palm Beach
Rock stars are coming to the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, but they won’t be hauling amplifiers. The 2017–18 Regional Arts Concert Series will feature some of classical music’s biggest names: Perlman, Mehta, and Bell, performing music by Mozart, Tchaikovsky, and Stravinsky, among others. Talk about the Rolling Stones of classical music—only the Kravis stars are younger.
A Kravis Center evening spent with Beethoven’s 7th or Handel’s Water Music, is complemented by a glass of red and Bistro Teatro bite catered by the Breakers. And listening to live classical music offers an antidote to the daily cacophony, like a spa treatment for the ears, mind, and heart. Powerful yet soothing music performed by the world’s best musicians, accented with good wine and interesting conversation: what’s not to love?
This is not our grandparents’ music anymore. A growing audience of new listeners continues to gravitate toward classical music, drawn by the intensity, the craftsmanship, and the potential to, let’s face it, drown out the outside din for a few opulent hours. Watch a live performance of 25 or 70+ musicians produce one totally live, acoustically rich composition and you can’t help but feel a palpable excitement and optimism resulting from the production.
The Kravis Center’s 2017/18 Regional Arts Concert Series is without parallel. The 43rd season launched with Maestro Zubin Mehta, who conducted the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. The Moscow State Symphony Orchestra, one of the world’s great musical ensembles, will feature pianist Dmitry Masleev performing the Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 and Rachmaninoff’s The Rock, Op. 7, two extraordinary pieces that routinely leave audience members speechless.
Upcoming
Check out the full schedule for Music at 2 and Music at 8 here.
Pinchas Zukerman, conductor, violinist, and another perennial classical all-star, leads the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 and Violin Concerto. Riccardo Muti steers the Chicago Symphony Orchestra through Stravinsky and Brahms, as well as Jennifer Higdon’s Concerto for Low Brass violinist. Legendary violinist Itzhak Perlman, organist Cameron Carpenter, and Joshua Bell – Bell will conduct and perform with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields Orchestra – are all in the house this season as well.
In short, this is a huge lineup. But, as with any musical genre, discovery is also part of the fun. Ranging from the Orpheus and Zurich Chamber Orchestras, to the National Symphony Orchestra of Cuba, the ensembles are not only well known, but they are sure to “bring it” to the Dreyfoos Hall stage at the Kravis Center. Individual tickets are available, but the Regional Arts Concert Series begins at just $114 and $171 for 6-concert matinee and 9-concert evening performances, respectively. Checking out a show for less than $20 per ticket is, frankly, a no-brainer.
Few arts genres carry as many tales or come to life as vibrantly as classical music. There’s the harrowing story of the first performance—upon its Paris debut Stravinsky’s “Rite of Spring” ignited a riot!—or, as we see from biopics of Mozart’s short life, some familiarity with the composer’s biography can be compelling.
Classical music listeners who attend performances at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts are fortunate that they can supplement their evening by attending “Beyond the Stage.” This pre-concert talks series is presented by Sharon McDaniel, a leading classical music critic and Kravis Center Programming Associate. Ms. McDaniel speaks before each Regional Arts Concert Series performance, 6:45 p.m. for MUSIC “At Eight” and 12:45 p.m. for MUSIC “At Two.”
“As a pre-concert facilitator for the Kravis Center’s classical music series, I guide the audiences through the music on the program they are about to attend, providing entertaining insights into the composers as well as the concert’s performers.”
Trained as a classical pianist, Ms. McDaniel received her BM in Music Theory from the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and her MA in Music from Boston University College of Fine Arts. She began her career as an arts journalist when a post-graduate student at the prestigious Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. She has written extensively as a classical music and dance critic for Rochester’s Democrat and Chronicle newspaper and for The Palm Beach Post. As a result of her talent, skills, and training, Ms. McDaniel received fellowships to the Knight Center for Specialized Journalism and the National Arts Journalism Program.
Ms. McDaniel’s “Beyond the Stage” annotated talks have become a requisite addition these highly recognized performances. She presented her first pre-concert talks in 2009 and has seen her audience grow every year.
“My 45-minute talks offer something for everyone, from the experienced aficionado to the first-time concertgoer. Each composition is described in its social, historical, and artistic context. Audio excerpts are sprinkled throughout to highlight specific elements in the music and to support the storytelling. Taken together, the aim of the talks is to enhance the listener’s enjoyment and understanding of the concert itself.”
An intriguing pre-concert talk coupled with wine, conversation, and stunning performances within a magical ambience sets up an incredible year of discovery of the power of classical music. Subscription tickets for the six-concert matinee series begin at $114 and the nine-concert evening series start at $171, less than $20 per performance! Ms. McDaniel’s “Beyond the Stage” talk for MUSIC “At Eight” and MUSIC “At Two” is complimentary.
Subscription tickets for the 2017/2018 season start as low as $114 for the six-concert 2 pm series and $171 for the nine-concert 8 pm series. Subscriptions are on sale now. Call the Kravis Center Box Office at 561.832.7469 or visit www.kravis.org/boxoffice to purchase.