Full seven-concert series subscriptions to the 2014-15 Broward Center Classical Series, curated by the distinguished conductor James Judd, are now on sale. Featuring a broad range of textures and styles, the series features: acclaimed violinists Itzhak Perlman and Joshua Bell; holiday celebrations with Seraphic Fire performing Handel’s “Messiah” and Broadway star Brian Stokes Mitchell performing with the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra; a solo recital by American pianist Jonathan Biss; renowned clarinetist Martin Fröst and the Australian Chamber Orchestra; and national treasure The Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra.
“What excites us most is the diversity of our offering,” says Judd. “Music is music, created without labels and aiming only to communicate and inspire. We intend to facilitate a bond not only between performer and listener, but also to create a three-way connection that includes the composer as well.”
Grammy Award-winning violinist Joshua Bell with Alessio Bax on piano opens the series in a recital program that will dazzle and delight on Saturday, November 1 at 8 p.m. in the Au-Rene Theater. Called by The New York Times “one of the world’s most popular classical musicians,” Bell is that rare musician and performer who is both highly regarded by his peers and also widely-known and admired by the general public. Known for his charm and musical passion, Bell is also an acclaimed conductor and music director of the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields.
Holiday favorites and contemporary classics featuring one of the world’s most appealing pops ensembles create a seasonal treat all its own when the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra’s Holiday Pops tour conducted by John Morris Russell comes to the festively decorated Broward Center on Monday, December 8 at 8 p.m. in the Au-Rene Theater. One of the concert world’s most popular ensembles, the orchestra occupies a treasured place in American concert life with 56 albums that traversed the Billboard charts, hugely successful international tours and a dynamic repertoire. The exciting and captivating holiday concert features Broadway sensation Brian Stokes Mitchell, the Tony Award-winning “super baritone” who the New York Times called “Broadway’s last leading man.”
Seraphic Fire, South Florida’s most dynamic and eclectic vocal ensemble, brings the season alive with a chorus, orchestra and the unforgettable music of Handel’s “Messiah” on Friday, December 19 at 8 p.m. in the Au-Rene Theater. From chart-topping recordings to eclectic performances praised by The Miami Herald for its “consistent polish and excellence,” Seraphic Fire dazzles music lovers with its uncanny ability to allow music of the distant past to speak with fervent urgency in the present. Artistic Director Patrick Dupré Quigley’s performances of “Messiah” have become a holiday tradition for many breathing fresh life and clarity into the work and creating a listening experience that is both familiar and excitingly new.
Jonathan Biss brings his extraordinary insight and talent to a stunning, intimate recital in the Amaturo Theater on Friday, January 16 at 8 p.m. Called “a young virtuoso and poetic pianist of the first order” by the Chicago Sun-Times, Biss performs a program featuring Berg’s “Sonata, Op. 1;” Schumann’s “Waldszenen, Op. 82;” Schoenberg’s “Sechs Kleine Klavierstücke, Op. 19;”; and Beethoven’s “Sonata in F minor, Op 2 no. 1” and “Sonata in A Major, Op. 101.” Equally invested in performing, teaching and writing about music, Biss is one of the most acclaimed and dynamic young pianists in the world and his performance promises to be the piano event of the season.
Hailed as “The best-known, most recorded and arguably most popular orchestra in the United States,” by The New York Times, The Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra conducted by Keith Lockhart performs on Monday, February 9 at 8 p.m. in a concert presented by Fidelity Investments in the Au-Rene Theater. The Boston Pops has explored the remarkable richness and variety to be found in American music for nearly 130 seasons. The fun and excitement of the February Pop-stravaganza will include Lockhart’s trademark mix of classics, show tunes, film music and more.
Itzhak Perlman, undeniably the reigning virtuoso of the violin, returns to the Au-Rene Theater for a recital filled with his trademark combination of warmth, enthusiasm and celestial playing on Monday, March 23 at 8 p.m. Perlman’s great love has always been chamber music and it is in this role that he performs with pianist Rohan de Silva in a program of masterworks performed with his characteristic combination of sensitivity, technical mastery and, always, passion and joy.
The series closes in style with an evening of extraordinary virtuosity and sensitivity with the Australian Chamber Orchestra with clarinetist Martin Fröst on Wednesday, April 22 at 8 p.m. in the Au-Rene Theater. When the Times of London says, “Until you have heard Martin Fröst, you really haven’t heard the clarinet,” it only echoes what has been said by critics in every major city around the world. With the exceptional Australian Chamber Orchestra, this Swedish clarinetist brings not only astonishing virtuosity, but also what the New York Times celebrated as a tone “lacking nothing in agility and power, (but) most astonishing in (its) beauty.”
Ticketholders are invited to join Broward Center’s Arts Ambassador Lyn Farmer one hour prior to the performances in which the music historian and James Beard Award-winning wine and food writer incorporates an art discussion, musical examples and wine tastings into entertaining free pre-concert presentations.
Series subscriptions to all seven concerts are on sale now and range in price from $296.25 to $472.50. Tickets to individual concerts went on sale June 30. For more information about how to become a member of the Broward Center, please call the ENTOURAGE membership office at (954) 468-2681 (option 2) or e-mail: entourage@BrowardCenter.org.
Subscriptions and tickets are available through the Broward Center AutoNation box office at (954) 462-0222 or BrowardCenter.org. The Broward Center for the Performing Arts is located in the Riverwalk Arts & Entertainment District at 201 SW Fifth Avenue in Fort Lauderdale.
