By Mary Elizabeth Nordstrom

Kennebunk, ME, 19 February 2011. Under the auspices of Chamber ME Music, violinist Dean Stein introduced his fellow guest artists, The Atlantic Chamber Players, right after Executive Stephen Joffe of River Tree Arts welcomed the sunny winter morning audience, inviting them to partake of more and more of RTA’s new programs. He mentioned that the DaPonte String Quartet will be performing a series at RTA this coming summer.

By Bevan Davies

Lewiston, ME, 11 February 2011. Olin Arts Center.   In the middle of a frigid winter, on the weekend of February 11th, with ice and snow on the ground, the Auryn Quartet quietly arrived at Bates College, in Lewiston, for a three-day series of concerts to complete the entire cycle of string quartets by Ludwig van Beethoven.  This was the third year in a row they had performed at Bates while on tour in the United States.  The Saturday this reviewer had the pleasure of hearing them, there was an open rehearsal in the morning during which they went over that evening’s program consisting of Op. 130 in B flat-major, and the Op. 18, no. 6 in B flat-major. And, for a pleasant surprise, they rehearsed the second movement of Schubert’s, Der Tod und das Mädchen (Death and the Maiden), a piece they are playing in an upcoming concert.   This was breathtakingly beautiful, with the cello soaring through the middle section.  The spectacular acoustics of the Olin Arts Center opened up every facet of this music, making it seem fresh and new.

By Mary Elizabeth Nordstrom

Springvale, ME, 30 January 2011. Sanford/Springvale Historical Society.  Pianist Michal Harris, wearing beautiful blue-green beads against “orchestra black,” sat informally at the piano for her promotional photograph: the matching posters, postcard invitations and other advertising were stunning and would have engaged a full house for the concert even before it became a memorial event. The program had been planned in advance as a regular offering of the Sanford/Springvale Historical Society concert series. However, the planning committee did a quick segue into its presentation as a memorial celebration of the life of a teenager that had been lost from their midst unexpectedly.

By Emily Parkhurst

Portland, Maine, 25 January 2011. Living in a small city with a big arts scene, it’s easy to see – but hard to admit – when something is only so-so. The audience applauded and, after a few minutes, stood at the end of the Portland Symphony Orchestra’s From Russia with Love concert Tuesday night. But, like the performance, it was less than enthusiastic.The opening work, the world premiere of Maine composer Elliott Schwartz’s Diamond Jubilee, a work commissioned by the symphony and commemorating the composer’s 75th birthday, was mediocre. Is it something the composer will be remembered for years from now?