For the past two weeks, 30 of the world’s elite competitive classical pianists between the ages of 18 and 30 have been battling it out on stage at Fort Worth’s Bass Hall (525 Commerce St.) for the title of 14th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition gold medalist. After two grueling…
In 1967, when two astrophysicists picked up regularly recurring radio signals from the heavens, they didn’t really think the signals were coming from little green men in outer space. But the thought did cross their minds. What else could it be? The rhythms they detected were so accurate and musical,…
Last night the Dallas Symphony Orchestra went out with a song and a bang. This weekend marks the final performance in the orchestra’s 2012/2013 classical season and they chose a showy finale, maxing out the Meyerson’s stage with the apocalyptic, hedonistic music of Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana. Carmina Burana is…
On Wednesday morning, the lobby of Bass Hall in Fort Worth was crammed with photographers, reporters, and news crews buzzing around the 30 young pianists gathered from around the world to compete in the 14th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition Guide starting tomorrow. A shiny pink Cadillac glimmered in the…
Apocalyptic drumbeats and blazing brass are quickly followed by the hushed, pulsing chants of a choir as Carl Orff’s darkly seductive masterpiece begins. The opening notes of Carmina Burana, performed live by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and Chorus on Saturday, are an instantly recognizable and menacing soundtrack. You’ve heard its…
The audience swelled with pride as Alex McDonald took his seat at the grand piano and lifted his long, slender fingers to the keys. Tall, blonde and clean-cut, 30-year old McDonald carries himself like the kind of man your mom wishes you’d marry. And that handsome face is a familiar…
It’s been three years since composer Jennifer Higdon won both a Grammy and a Pulitzer for her music, but she stills seems a little shocked by the onslaught of attention and fame those awards inevitably garnered her. In fact, she still seems surprised that she ended up composing classical music…
The 14th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition kicks off with preliminary rounds in Fort Worth in just two weeks. On Friday, the organization tweeted this teaser video in anticipation of the high-stakes, high-pressure event…
Last year you took your mom out to brunch on Mother’s Day. You did that the year before, too. In fact, everybody does that, every year. And while brunching is undeniably one of life’s best things, brunching on Mother’s Day is one of its worst. So many moms, so many…
The Dallas Opera has been keeping the identity of its new Music Director under top-secret lockdown. While waiting for the big reveal, we started daydreaming about this newest addition to Dallas’ classical music scene and compiling a wish list. The big reveal came yesterday at TDO’s Winspear offices. After sitting…
Dominick Argento’s haunting opera The Aspern Papers takes place in a crumbling villa on the banks of a remote Italian lake. It’s the kind of eerie setting where the past is present and old secrets hang heavy. The stunning, sparse sets of The Dallas Opera’s current production are perfect for…
It is impossible to understand what Scott Hutchison is saying, but that’s part of the charm. On Saturday night at Trees, the Frightened Rabbit front man bantered with the audience between songs, but unless you managed to squeeze your way to the front of the sold out room, his thick…
Fresh off a successful European tour, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra is back in the Meyerson this weekend with a dramatic, sexually charged program of Romantic music. Jaap van Zweden won’t be back in Dallas until May, so the orchestra is performing sans their fearless leader. For good reason, the DSO…
There are always elements of Turandot, the famous Puccini opera, that are hard to swallow: overt sexism, implied rape, uncomfortable racist elements and a disturbing, implausible conclusion. Ideally, the strange beauty of Puccini’s music and the extravagance of the spectacle are redeeming. But in the Dallas Opera’s opening performance Friday…
Over the next two months, the Dallas Opera and the Fort Worth Opera will present a combined total of six operas with some 20-plus performances. From classic Italian masterpieces to modern American works sung in English, there’s a lot of variety from north Texas’ opera companies this spring. For the…
When it comes to playing hard to get, the title character in Puccini’s Turandot takes the game to a whole new, more deadly level. If potential suitors don’t answer the beautiful queen’s three riddles correctly, well, it’s off with their heads. You can catch opening night of The Dallas Opera’s…
Chamber music is classical music at its most intimate and naked. With only a handful of musicians creating live, acoustic sounds in a small space, each sound is on display in high definition. Last night, the Wyeth Quartet’s performance, presented by the Dallas Chamber Symphony as part of its inaugural…
What’s better than the intimacy of chamber music in a small, acoustically alive space? If the spot in question is the new Dallas City Performance Hall (2520 Flora St.), the answer is nothing. At 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, the Dallas Chamber Symphony continues its impressively diverse and limited season of concerts…
Think you have an ear for talent? Check yourself against the pros at The Dallas Opera Vocal Guild’s 25th Vocal Competition. On Saturday, 19 hopeful young singers compete on the Winspear’s stage (2403 Flora St.) for $20,000 in cash prizes, bragging rights and a chance to launch their operatic careers…
You don’t have to buy tickets, put on a tie or step foot in a concert hall to hear some great classical music in Dallas this week. In fact, half of these eclectic concerts take place outdoors, so you can soak up the fleeting Texas spring and catch some stunning…
With the Van Cliburn piano competition approaching and the recent death of its namesake, there’s a lot* of talk in North Texas these days about classical piano competitions. This week the Dallas Chamber Symphony gets in on the action with its first annual “DCS International Piano Competition.” All rounds are…
The Fort Worth Opera just got more dramatic. It’s joining the eclectic ranks of talent at this year’s Out of the Loop Fringe Fest. On Thursday, the company’s Young Artists will present a showcase at WaterTower Theatre, 15650 Addison Road in Addison. Whether you’re an opera fan or an opera…
