June LeBell

Originally published in The Observer
Date: January 30, 2013
by: June LeBell | Contributing Columnist

Many American orchestras are in trouble, and they seem to be dropping like flies from coast to coast. But, there are some that are actually thriving, and the Sarasota Orchestra is, fortunately, among those that are flourishing, even booming.

What is it doing that’s so right? Well, among other things, versatility seems to be the name of the game these days and the musicians in the Sarasota Orchestra realize that and are doing something about it.

From last week’s flash mob of musicians at the Sarasota Airport to their brilliant “Bravo Broadway” program at the Van Wezel, Sarasota Orchestra musicians and management are keeping up with the times and, best of all, they’re not dumbing down the music or their talents.

Broadway is America’s “classical” music, and the Sarasota Orchestra seems able to go from the intricacies of Prokofiev, Mozart and Holst to the difficulties (don’t think popular equals easy!) of Rodgers, Porter, Bernstein and Webber without splitting a string.

Audiences are lapping up the music. The recent “Bravo Broadway” program was not only sold out, it was so popular it was sold-out twice, and audiences came away with a sense that this orchestra just can’t stop the beat.

Susan Egan, a Broadway and cabaret star whose roles included Sally Bowles in “Cabaret” and the title role in ‘Thoroughly Modern Millie”; Lisa Vroman who appeared for many years as Christine in “Phantom” and Fantine and Cosette in “Les Miserables”; and Doug LaBrecque, a terrific “bari-tenor” who made just one of his marks in the Hal Prince revival of “Showboat,” were the three soloists, and they brought their excellent musical talents and infectious enthusiasm to a beautifully crafted program that Andrew Lane conducted.
It’s not easy to take well-known Broadway shows and perform excerpts, one after another, without eventually seeming like an Ed Sullivan show gone awry. But, aside from the overly amplified soloists (no problem hearing this show!), the length and depth of this festive program were just right.

The orchestra strutted its stuff in the solo spotlight with overtures from “Funny Girl,” “West Side Story” and “Chicago,” but, then, pivoted professionally into the role of solid accompanist for such memorable performances with the singers as a gorgeous medley from “Showboat,” an almost operatic “Vanilla Ice Cream” from “She Loves Me,” sung by Vroman, and, as an encore, a hilarious rendition by everyone of “The Age of Aquarius,” complete with hippy costumes and demeanor that the singers shared. Lane showed his own versatility and humor by joining in the fun.

The soloists sang, danced and changed costumes as easily as they changed singing styles, going from the operatic sounds of early music theater (Lerner and Loewe, Cole Porter, Bernstein and Sondheim, Harnick and Bok) to the rock-like rhythms and percussive, throbbing sounds of ABBA and Kander and Ebb, and the recitative, repetitive pseudo-operatic style of Webber.

Versatility and talent are among the hallmarks of great performers, and the Sarasota Orchestra seems able to do just about anything asked of it with grace, fervor and all that jazz!

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Originally published in The Observer
Date: January 30, 2013
by: June LeBell | Contributing Columnist

+ Forks & Corks uncorks some winners
The Sarasota-Manatee Originals’ sixth annual Forks & Corks Food and Wine Festival is as ubiquitous as butter, but better for your heart. We’ve been hearing and reading about this for ages, and, back in December, the festival’s 16 wine experts gave a trio of wines “Best in Show,” with one each from New Zealand, Oregon and California. Alas, none came from those great wine regions of Sarasota and Manatee (or was that orange juice?), but the winners are being featured in various spots from Michael’s On East’s magnificent Wine Cellar to the gorgeous spaces (some inside, some out) at the Ringling Museum.

In fact, just a few days ago, Forks & Corks held a sumptuous four-day culinary festival featuring a variety of winemaker events we’re told was a Best in Show, itself.

+ Michael’s On East takes diners on culinary adventures
Michael’s On East has been celebrating Greek cuisine since the new year.

Missed out this month? Michael’s Epicurean Adventures present delicious journeys to a new destination every month. In February, it’s taking us to one of the world’s most romantic foodie countries, France. It promises Parisian gastronomic grandeur as well as “la petite” dishes from Provence and Burgundy.

Oh, did I mention there are wine pairings for all of these adventures? For an additional $10 at dinner and just $5 at lunch, this may be the best-priced gastronomic travel adventure of 2013.

+ Tea time at the Crosley
One of the great delights of living in my old hometown of Manhattan, N.Y., was taking visitors to afternoon tea at either the old Plaza Hotel or the refurbished St. Regis on Fifth Avenue. But now, the exquisite Powel Crosley Estate, on Sarasota Bay, is teaming up once again with Simply Gourmet for a traditional royal English tea service 2 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday afternoons in March in the exclusive upstairs living area of the mansion.

A “royal” English tea is, according to Chef Larry Barrett, president of Simply Gourmet Caterers, a tradition that began in 1860 with Queen Victoria. “It’s a grand and colorful affair,” he says. “Men wear suits or military uniforms, and women wear dresses with hats and gloves. The Crosley Estate offers the perfect ambience for our recreation of this royal event.”

Lest you think a royal tea is relegated only to great teas and scones, don’t have too much lunch and forget about a big dinner. This afternoon event includes cassis-marinated strawberry parfait, vanilla cream fruit tartlets, Devonshire cream to go with those flaky scones, double chocolate triangles and a variety of savories, from turkey/sundried tomato pinwheels to a royal tea sandwich medley.

“I see it as a type of culinary theater,” Barrett says.

+ Downtown Dining
We were dropping something off at the Opera House the other day and noticed that, once again, the restaurant around the corner seems to have bitten the dust. Maximo, the latest culinary attempt at 1296 First St., looks, from the for-rent sign on the gate, to be out of business.

How many eateries have tried that spot in the past decade? There were a couple of Italian restaurants, a chop house or two, a romantic bistro owned by a European couple, an all-American café — complete with dance music — and Maximo, which was South African, I believe. Many of these places have been terrific with excellent food and service, a really good bar and a fun-to-elegant atmosphere.

OK, there was one that was great in season and then cut back on everything (portions, quality and service) when the snowbirds flew home. But, aside from that one, we’ve really enjoyed the others. And the proximity to the Opera House and what’s now become the Florida Studio Theatre “campus” was wonderful.

We sincerely hope the landlord isn’t raising rents beyond the capacity of the restaurateurs. We just can’t imagine why so many good restaurants can’t seem to make it in that excellent space.

Thought: Wouldn’t it be nice if the landlord would offer it at a reasonable price to the opera? Imagine dinner there, walk through to the opera lobby and go back later for dessert. A fantasy, perhaps. Or not.

Gecko’s revives culinary history
The local firm behind Gecko’s Grill & Pubs is launching a new restaurant concept — with a hint of old Sarasota in the mix.

The new restaurant is S’macks Burgers & Shakes, a quick-casual eatery. Executives with Gecko’s Hospitality Group, the owner, say S’macks will incorporate two restaurant industry trends: the use of locally grown products and produce and a higher-end version of fast casual food. The restaurant will provide counter service.

They also wanted to do something historical. The name is a play on Smacks, which was a burger joint on Main Street in downtown Sarasota from 1930 to 1958. That place, Gecko’s Hospitality Group co-owner Mike Quillen and his business partners discovered, was the heartbeat of the Sarasota social scene. Says Quillen: “We are reviving a little bit of the history.”

S’macks, scheduled to open by the middle of the spring, is at the corner of Bee Ridge Road and Shade Avenue.

The company’s renovation of the property will include new landscaping, a patio and energy-efficient kitchen equipment and lighting. The menu will include old-fashioned frozen custard shakes, burgers, fries and hot dogs. A manager with the Gecko’s in the Landings in Sarasota, Alex Floethe, was named a managing partner of the new venture.
— Mark Gordon

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Originally published in The Observer
Date: January 23, 2013
by: June LeBell | Contributing Columnist

It was a historic moment last week when the Tokyo String Quartet and Jeremy Denk got together at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall. The Tokyo was in the middle of its farewell tour but, looking back, both the Tokyo and Denk got their starts in the music field on the roster of Young Concert Artists — the quartet in 1970 and Denk in 1997. In the years since, they each pursued their own careers, which skyrocketed them into the annuls of superstardom through their recordings and live appearances, yet neither had much to do with the other, until Brahms brought them together in Sarasota.

With little rehearsal, they brought off a beautifully sculpted, majestic reading of the Brahms F minor Piano Quintet, a popular, passionate piece that allows listeners to wallow in the gorgeous sounds of romanticism. Interestingly, Brahms wrote this work with some difficulty at first (it was revised several times), but what finally emerged has the sound of the future: askew, asymmetrical rhythms in the slow movement and a finale that has many of the composer’s folky moments mixed with a chromaticism that lays the foundation for what transpired several decades later.

Fascinatingly, Bartok’s Fourth String Quartet, written in 1928 — just 31 years after Brahms’ death —preceded the Brahms piece on the program. I don’t use “fascinating” lightly. I first experienced some of Bartok’s six String Quartets when I was a student at New York’s High School of Music and Art, and I have to admit they sent me and my best friend into teenage paroxysms of giggles that got us thrown out of Carnegie Hall more than once!

For years, all I heard in them was a bunch of angry, buzzing mosquitoes. Members of the Juilliard, Emerson, Takacs and Guarneri quartets played them on my WQXR programs and tried to teach me the joys of these Bartok works. They didn’t succeed. While I loved most other Bartok, with his folky themes and jazzy, exciting rhythms, I couldn’t take his quartets. So, seeing one of them on the program of the Great Performers’ Series of the Sarasota Concert Association did not exactly send me paroxysms of joy.

The Tokyo String Quartet, however, triumphed where others had failed. They made me a convert. I suddenly “got” what Bartok wrote, from the melodies and cross rhythms, to the humor and wit and, finally, the beauty of this work. Yes, the quartet played it with depth and understanding but, then, so did the other groups I’d heard. Perhaps it was the clarity and texture the Tokyo brought to it, the sexiness of their pizzicatos in the allegretto movement and the fervent fire of the why they treated the rhythms and melodies that got me. I’m indebted to them for making me hear the light … even if it did take more than half a century.

Unfortunately, the Mozart Quartet in D that opened the program, the “Hoffmeister,” didn’t fare so well. It sounded thin and pallid, and there were numerous pitch problems throughout the four movements. The intonation was the fault of the musicians, but the thin, pallid sound was probably because of the appalling acoustics in the Van Wezel. That hall is now a place solely for “shows” that are amplified. Anything acoustic, especially small ensembles attempting to play Mozart or Haydn, just doesn’t belong there. The sound is swallowed up, and there’s no help for it, no matter how far forward one sits on the (uncomfortable) seats. This is not a place for chamber music. It’s hardly a place for orchestras anymore, but that’s another story.

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Originally published in The Observer
Date: January 16, 2013
by: June LeBell | Contributing Columnist

+ Openings and Celebrations
It’s a new year and there are new restaurants popping up all over Sarasota!

The Blue Rooster, at 1525 Fourth St., has extended the yummy block of eateries along Fourth, between Orange and Lemon, in a gorgeous space of soaring ceilings, concrete floors and a bar in which to slurp mint juleps and sweet tea. Located in what used to be an antique store right next to Darwin’s on Fourth and a hop-skip-and-a-jump from Station 400, this boisterous bird specializes in down-home Southern comfort food, from biscuits and fried chicken to crispy waffles (the big Belgian type) and the now ubiquitous mac ’n’ cheese.

The executive chef, who spent more than a half-a-dozen years at Roy’s, is Michael Yoder and he’s got the right touch for collards and grits, catfish and even a sweet-potato pie that’s laced with maple bourbon.

There’s music, too. It’s the kind that goes best with Southern comfort food: blues, bluegrass, country and folk. It’s bound to be a hopping, fun, somewhat eccentric place with noise, excitement and the kind of food and drink you crave after a long day at work. Right now, the restaurant is open seven days a week starting at 5 p.m., but it may start serving lunch some time soon.

+ Darwin’s on Fourth Celebrates One Year
Right next door to The Blue Rooster, Darwin’s on Fourth is celebrating its one year anniversary with a humdinger of a party Thursday, Jan. 17, starting at 9 p.m.. Darwin’s, one of our favorites, has been busy racking up praise in the past year. It received the Florida Trend Golden Spoon award, hosted the prestigious James Beard Celebrity Chef Dinner, and Darwin Santa Maria was named Best Peruvian Chef in the United States!

Nicely done, thank you, this boat is rocking with an anniversary party that happens to coincide with the restaurant’s weekly Ladies Night, which features $2 drinks, dance music and a DJ. But to kick the celebration up a notch, Cindy Mejia, Miss Peru Universe 2012, is making an appearance; there’s a fashion show by J-Flo Boutique and Salon; and Darwin’s will donate a portion of the evening’s proceeds to Suncoast Children’s Charities, which is a cause cared about by both Miss Peru and executive chef Darwin Santa Maria.

+ The Ritz is Getting Dusty! Jack Dusty, that is
Down a few blocks from Fourth on U.S. 41 loom the ritzy towers of the Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota, where Jack Dusty is about to hoist its sails. Touted as “Sarasota’s modern seafood restaurant, lounge and marketplace,” the restaurant’s official opening is Monday, Jan. 21.

Jeff Thomas, a CIA grad (that’s Culinary Institute of America, not the undercover agency … ), who’s worked for Bobby Flay at Mesa Grille and, most recently, was executive chef at Anna Maria’s Beach Bistro, is at the helm of Jack Dusty. He’s known as “Gator,” and he says, “I’m excited to be a part of this new concept and look forward to working with the team to produce a fun restaurant … with great food, great drinks and great ambiance.”

The menu promises to be spectacular, serving American food with “a seafood sensibility.” Picture this: a vast raw bar; local caviar (from Mote Marine); crab and fried green tomatoes; grouper cakes with mango beurre blanc; and a magnificent seafood platter that serves two or four people and features a whole lobster, whole crab, peel-and-eat shrimp, oysters and “Jack’s ceviche.”

Patrick Bucko is part of Gator’s team. He’ll be general manager, after having served at local greats from Euphemia Haye and Cork to Beach Bistro and Eat Here. And that brings us to another opening.

+ Eat Here is ‘out there’ on Siesta Key
Eat Here, a restaurant staple on Anna Maria and, more recently, Sarasota’s Main Street, has opened a new branch in Siesta Key Village, at 240 Avenida Madera. Open seven days a week starting at 5 p.m., Sean Murphy’s newest incarnation offers what’s known as “chef-created” cookery with refreshing twists on old favorites from locally-caught seafood to pizza and tacos. There’s a “Killer Grilled Cheese” with muenster, Gruyère and caramelized onions, Island Ribs, a Gulf Coast Oyster Fry and to-die-for lobster cargot.

Along with great gourmet-style food, craft beers and wines, Eat Here offers fun, fruit-infused drinks, whipped up by a savvy bartender. Great drinks run in the family because Sean’s son, Ben Murphy, positively has a passion for cocktails.

He says, “My passion for creating cocktails is ultimately based on my passion for drinking them. I’ve always enjoyed having a drink with good company and as soon as I realized the type of beverage could enhance that experience, I became interested in beer, wine and cocktails. Part of the reason I’ve enjoyed bartending so much is that it gives me the opportunity to offer that same experience to our patrons.”

According to Ben: “Balancing quality ingredients. Adding or subtracting a quarter ounce of freshly-squeezed lemon juice can ruin a good drink or make an average drink excellent. Oh, and a smile on the face of the bartender putting the drink in front of you certainly can’t hurt.” That’s the Eat Here imbibing philosophy.

+ Avenida Madera UnofficIally Renamed ‘Eat Street’
Eat Here isn’t the only restaurant on Avenida Madera. In fact, there are so many good bistros lined up on both sides of the avenue, some folks are calling it “Eat Street.”

There are Beach Bites and Solorzano Brothers Pizzeria just across the street from Eat Here, which is next door to the fun breakfast/lunch place, Sun Garden. And now, (the official opening is Saturday, Jan. 19), there’s a brand new Sub Zero ice cream place at 219 Avenida Madera, in case you want something frosty when you come from the beach, are on your way for a manicure at Iris’ Nails and Skin Care or have a hankering for a second dessert when you waddle out of one of the other restaurants.

We told you about the Sub Zero that recently opened on Sawyer and Clark. Now, this clever chain specializing in flash-before-your-eyes ice creams, soft serve, yogurt and frozen custard with just about any mix-in combo you can dream up, has opened a branch on Siesta where it’s always time for something icy and smooth.

Each of these fun-filled franchises has a different owner, and Jill Sheeler-Shenk and her husband, Doug Shenk, run the new branch on Siesta’s Eat Street.

Sub Zero is an experience and this one may be accompanied by music because Jill’s parents, Don Sheeler and Lorraine Murphy, are well-known singers in the area. Maybe they’ll add a musical infusion to their vast array of ice-cream flavors.

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Originally published in The Observer
Date: January 16, 2013
by: June LeBell | Contributing Columnist

Anu Tali, the Estonian conductor who took over the Sarasota Orchestra for its third Masterworks program of the season, also seems to have taken over the hearts and musical minds of this city. And with good reason.
Tali, who conducted a program of works by Tchaikovsky and Sibelius a couple of seasons ago, brought us a beautifully-shaped concert that carried with it an energy and dynamism that produced sparks in the air. She has forward propulsion in her conducting style that takes the verticality out of the music and allows the musicians to be more cohesive and fluid than I’ve heard them in the past. In fact, she turned this excellent “regional” ensemble into a first-rate band, making us think this small-town orchestra now has a big-city sound.

Shape, intellect and heart are the three words that come to mind.

The shape, or contour, of the program began with the tonal, decidedly programmatic (although the composer claims it has no story) Overture No. 2 by Estonian composer Veljo Tormis. A cinematic landscape-of-a-work that reminded me of the background for a high-power spy thriller, this gorgeous (and well-written) piece has a beginning and ending filled with fire, and the middle section is filled with meltingly beautiful ice. Under Tali, the orchestra played it, not as just another overture, but as the worthy piece it is.

Beethoven’s “Emperor” Concerto, the Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat (not “C Minor,” as listed in the program … that’s the Symphony, not the Concerto), was given more care and definition in the orchestra than it normally gets but always deserves. Soloist Joyce Yang, a young powerhouse-of-a-pianist, is not only energetic and dynamic, but she and Tali proved that although every note was there, some were more important than others. Even the rests were part of the music, making the over-all concept musical, passionate and stylistically right.

The nine sections Tali put together from two of the three Suites from Prokofiev’s “Romeo and Juliet” were stunning. From the sarcasm and bite of the opening jousting between the Montagues and the Capulets to the tender, transparent innocence of Romeo and Juliet’s love scene, every note was thought out but kept within a sculpted, architectural line that always moved forward, propelled by the music and story.

The Death of Tybalt in Prokofiev’s hands is, of course, the turning point of this dramatic work. Games between the young Romeo and Tybalt that are never meant to be fatal, go horribly awry and, suddenly, the music is propelling us into Tybalt’s terrifying death throes, followed by the rending and tearing of garments by the shattered parents. It’s impossible to hear this music without shuddering. And the final death of the two lovers, as depicted by Tali and the Sarasota Orchestra, was positively devastating.

But, it’s the shape of the program we’re talking about, and Tali had a surprise for us at the end. Having led us from the bleak and icy beauty of the Tormis through the brilliant classicism of the Beethoven and the despair and agony of “Romeo and Juliet” and after receiving a thunderous ovation, she gave us redemption by leading the orchestra through one of the most transfiguring performances of “Nimrod,” from Elgar’s “Enigma Variations,” you could imagine.

Many of the adjectives I’ve ascribed to Tali have popped up in my past reviews but this conductor gives new meaning to them all. She also gives new meaning to the search for a new music director. She has obviously won the heart of the Sarasota music community. It will be fascinating to see what happens from here on.

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Originally published in The Observer
Date: January 2, 2013
by: June LeBell | Contributing Columnist

It’s almost laughable to think we can stuff all the music events for 2013 into a column. In 2012, we learned that, based on a recent national study, Sarasota was voted No. 1 in the arts in the U.S. for communities of its size. On top of that, a portion of the tourist tax here provides about $1.3 million dollars to arts organizations in Sarasota County every year. There’s more. Sarasota County has more than 5,500 people employed in the arts and living among us. And, more than $180 million a year is spent on the arts, in one way or another, including salaries, fees, tickets and revenue. Not bad for a place that also has the No. 1 beach in America!

So, what’s happening in music for the rest of the 2012-2013 season? A lot. Among the more exciting is the future of the Sarasota Orchestra. As you know, there is a search on right now to find the ensemble’s next music director, and, according to Gordon Greenfield, vice president of marketing, “We want an innovative music director with a respect for the classics, a great fundraiser and a strong leader who collaborates well.”

Greenfield admits, “That is a lot, and that’s why this isn’t a quick or easy search. Few cities our size can boast of an orchestra of this quality, and such passionate and generous community support. That makes this position attractive to exceptional conductors who might not otherwise consider a city our size as the next step in their careers.”

Meanwhile, great musicians from around the world are getting to work with the orchestra and they’re spreading the good word. This is a top-class ensemble and it deserves the best, just as its musicians are some of the finest I’ve heard anywhere. We’re blessed to have this ensemble here.

We’re also very fortunate to have some really first-rate choruses. Key Chorale, conducted by Joseph Caulkins, is a large community-based group that offers fascinating choral repertoire in unusual spaces. This March, for example, you’ll find them in collaboration with Sarasota Young Voices, Circus Sarasota and the Cirque Orchestra for a third season of “Cirque des Voix,” a star-studded circus-of-a-choral event.

Led by Dr. Joseph Holt (recently retired from the United States Army Chorus), Gloria Musicae is an all-paid, all-professional vocal ensemble that presents concerts of a variety of music, with guest soloists, in major halls in our area. In April, they’ll get together with jazz icon Dick Hyman for a concert at the Opera House called, “Reel Time Plus,” that will feature a world premiere written by Hyman for Gloria Musicae, along with songs arranged by Hyman for the movies, from Woody Allen favorites to “Moonstruck.” And, Belle Canto, a small chorus of some of the best female voices in town under the direction of Elizabeth Goldstein, is planning several concerts this season including “Music in Motion,” featuring vocal music and dance, this March in the beautiful new space of First United Methodist Church.

Also at First Church, you’ll find “Powerful Pipes,” the inaugural season of recitals by a pair of New York’s greatest organists bound to blow you away: Kent Tritle (organist with the New York Philharmonic and director of music at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine), and Kenneth Dake (organist and music director at Marble Collegiate Church on Fifth Avenue).

Sarasota also has several world-class chamber music festivals, starting with the illustrious winter residency of the (Itzhak) Perlman Music Program, which is going on right now and will culminate in a special concert this weekend at the Sarasota Opera House. Their enthusiasm, which is catching, can only be topped by their talent! La Musica, a long-lived chamber festival continues this April and the Sarasota Music Festival is back for its 49th season in June for more spectacular programming performed by top-notch students and their world-renowned mentors. The great thing about these festivals is that you’re also invited to sit in on many of the rehearsals, something invaluable to music lovers.

Sarasota Opera, one of the few companies in America to own its own house, opens its 54th season with “Turandot,” “Pearl Fishers,” “Of Mice and Men” and “A King for a Day,” in repertory over the next couple of months.

There’s a lot more, but I’m out of space. It makes me a little spacey to think I moved from Manhattan,N.Y., to Sarasota and have all this excitement right in my backyard without having to fight anyone for a taxi or a parking space.

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Originally published in The Observer
Date: December 26, 2012
by: June LeBell | Contributing Columnist

We recently attended NPR’s strange but fascinating “From the Top,” when it was recorded live at the Sarasota Opera House. I spent 30 years of my life on-air, live, recording, producing, hosting and even engineering radio programs similar to “From the Top,” at WQXR, in New York City, so my feelings about this program are very much from the backstage and production viewpoint.

“From the Top,” a wonderful concept and superb venue for young performers to be heard nationwide, is a strange mix of 21st-century technology with early 20th-century radio. The host, award-winning pianist Christopher O’Riley, does double-duty as interviewer and, at times, collaborative pianist with some of his guests. Either way, he’s never without his trusty iPad, which also does double-duty, serving as his script for the interviews and music score for his piano performances.

At the piano, O’Riley simply placed his iPad on the music rack and, when pages needed to be turned, pressed a lever on the floor with his foot and, voila, new page! We’ve read about various musicians using this technology, but it was the first time we’d seen it live. It’s wonderful (assuming the iPad doesn’t black out the way mine does at times while I’m reading emails or the New York Times) and is probably the future before our eyes.

But using pre-planned questions, whether they’re written on paper or an electronic device, brings this wonderful program back to the beginning of radio when William Pierce, the radio voice of the Boston Symphony, and the Met Opera’s Milton Cross were scripted within an inch of their lives. This is the radio of my mentors, who showed up to work every day wearing tuxedos and sounded like the voice of God. It was great in its time, and I have enormous respect for those who came before me, but times have changed and today we need to hear honesty that scripting doesn’t allow.

Another somewhat disconcerting moment came when the audience was chastised for coughing. Live audiences make noise. If you want an acoustically perfect radio program, record it in the studio. It’s the coughs and laughs — the unexpected — that make live radio exciting. If someone sneezes, look at the audience and say, “God bless you,” the way the ahead-of-his-time Victor Borge did. If a musically talented youngster doesn’t turn out to be as verbal as he is musical, joke with him. Do something! It will work if you’re not afraid of the unknown.

That said, “From the Top” is a national treasure. Youngsters with enormous talent and potential are chosen to perform and, stilted or not, O’Riley manages to get these kids to tell sometimes hilarious, often touching stories about themselves. Most important, though, are their performances.

On the program we attended, 14-year-old pianist Nadia Azzi played an exuberantly youthful rendition of a movement from Schumann’s youthful Sonata No. 2 in G Minor. Sixteen-year-old horn player Kaitlyn Resler, of Clearwater Beach, offered a musical “Nocturno,” the Opus 7 of Franz Strauss (father of Richard and a virtuoso horn player, himself) with O’Riley at the keyboard.

Kevin Zhu, an incredibly talented and poised 12-year-old violinist, knocked us out when he played the stuffing out of Franz Waxman’s not-so-great “Carmen Fantasie,” and guitarist Jennifer Kim, 14, offered a sensitive and technically gorgeous reading of Mangore’s “Un Sueno en la Floresta.”

There was another “kid” on the show — Sarasota Orchestra’s principal cellist, Abraham Feder. The graduate of Curtis made a return visit as an alumni guest artist who’d appeared on “From the Top” twice before, when he still qualified as a student. This time he offered the first movement of Brahms’ Sonata No. 2, in a profoundly musical performance with O’Riley. Understandably, when Feder appeared on stage, the audience in the Opera House went wild. We were, however, scolded and told to wait until we were “supposed” to cheer. I’m surprised they didn’t hold up cue cards telling us when to applaud.

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Originally published in The Observer
Date: December 19, 2012
by: June LeBell | Contributing Columnist

+ Sarasota restaurants receive Golden Spoons
Big news for Sarasota foodies! Many great restaurants have been named Golden Spoon winners this year. Among them are new spoon winners: Peruvian eatery Canta Rana (1813 Fruitville Road); the beautiful and fun Darwin’s on 4th (1525 Fourth St.); all-American and fun Eat Here (1888 Main St.); and the romantic and trendy Indigenous (239 S. Links in Towles Court).

The list also includes repeat spoon winners Libby’s Café (1917 S. Osprey Ave.); Derek’s (514 Central Ave.) known for its “casual new American” cuisine; Latin-inspired Selva Grill (1345 Main St.); Longboat Key’s Maison Blanche (2605 Gulf of Mexico Drive) and Pattigeorge’s (4120 Gulf of Mexico Drive); and what may be Sarasota’s answer to New York City’s Daniel, with a Western-Mediterranean twist, Mozaic (1377 Main St.).

Spanish eatery Ceviche (1216 First St.) took a “Best Brand Award,” as did neighbors Roy’s and Fleming’s (2001 Siesta Drive), and Carmel Café (8433 Cooper Creek Blvd.)

Three area restaurants, which are included in the “Hall of Fame” awards, are Holmes Beach’s Beach Bistro (6600 Gulf Drive); Longboat Key’s Euphemia Haye (5540 Gulf of Mexico Drive) and Sarasota’s Michael’s On East (1212 East Ave).

Of course, any of these great restaurants would make joyous and delicious places to ring in the new year. We suggest you add some other local restaurants that we highly recommend including The Table, the Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota and the Bijou Café.

+ ‘Haute’ Cocktails for cold days
For those wanting to get a jump start on the new year, Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar (2001 Siesta Drive), is extending a whole weekend of celebrations, from Friday, Dec. 28, through Monday, Dec. 31. They’ll be serving Gloria Ferrer Sonoma Brut by the glass or by the magnum, along with cheery “Haute Holiday” cocktails. But the menu (hey, with all that bubbly you’d better eat!) includes poached Gulf shrimp over Southern-style goat cheese grits, a choice of Delmonico steak with blue crab and Gruyere glassage, filet mignon and lobster-brioche bread pudding or a one-pound East Coast lobster tail roasted with champagne, sage and lemon butter, served with mac and cheese. Dessert is a chocolate budino: a rich chocolate tartlet with chevre-salted whipped cream and cocoa nibs. Best of all, it’s all à la carte so you may pick and choose. Head into 2013 stuffed or guiltless.

+ Home for the Holidays
Sometimes it’s a good idea to stay home for New Year’s Eve. No traffic, no hassles, no worries. And for those who also say, “no cook,” there are ways to bring great food inside for one, two or hundreds in the comfort of your own home.

A new European catering company, called La Table Du Chef, is offering complete holiday meals that can be ordered for delivery with just 24 hours’ notice. Just think, everything from a traditional turkey dinner, to braised beef short ribs can be yours, with arrays of smoked salmon and crab cakes, meatball kebabs and fluffy Parmesan biscuits to start, and Belgian chocolate cake and strawberry tiramisu to finish, without even heating your oven.

Belgian chef Stephane Pierre, who spent several years creating feasts for corporations in Dubai, as well as serving the royal family in his native Belgium, says, “I was inspired by traditional American favorites … adding a unique European sensibility to heighten the dining sensation.”

Ordering is simple. Just pick up the phone and call 377-2020 or go online to latableduchef.com for menus, ideas and photos to whet your appetite.

+ Morton’s pastry chef makes tempting treats
In case you’re planning a quiet New Year’s evening at home, just you or, you and a loved one, watching the ball drop in Times Square, there’s nothing like a light dinner followed by a midnight sweet treat and a glass — or two — of good champagne. To make it easy, Morton’s has added a new executive pastry chef who has a spectacular culinary background and a degree from the CIA, that’s The Culinary Institute of America in New York. Jami Holton is making those luscious-looking and tasty pies, cakes and tartlets even more tempting but, look at it this way: Without temptation at the end of the year, we wouldn’t have any resolutions to make (and break) in the days ahead.

+ Lollicakes make the perfect gift
Whether you’re home or out, dining in alone or with dozens, the place to visit before the holiday is The Lollicake Queen at 1821-A Hillview St. Owned and operated by sisters Amy Nichols and Erin Zolner, this fun little shop is the first and only one of its kind in Sarasota. “We call it ‘world headquarters,’” says Amy who, with Erin, is mighty busy these days.

Lollicakes are round balls of cupcakes, about the size of a ping-pong ball, iced and decorated and popped atop a white stick like a lollipop. Brilliant, but, simple idea. The great thing, though, is that, unlike some wonderful ideas that fall flat in the mouth, they’re delicious.

Nichols and Zolner turn out about 1,000 of the cutest little Lollicakes you can imagine every day. These young women went from being out of work to being way over-worked, but they’re not complaining. In fact, they’re just about to flip the switch on their website —thelollicakequeen.com — but, for the time being, they say their Facebook page is the most up-to-date place to get information.

Anyway, if you’re planning some quiet time or, better yet, if you’ve been invited to a friend’s home for a celebration and don’t want to bring yet another bottle of wine, offer up a tray of Lollicakes. They make great gifts.

Early in 2013, the Lollicake Queen will have company. Perq, a brand new coffee bar next door, will feature Lollicakes, other sweets and, perhaps, some savories. Although it’s difficult to break through the structure because the stores have been carved out of the old Hillview Fire Station, the spaces will connect and they’ll even share some outdoor space.

Whether you celebrate with a bottle of Cristal and Sevruga caviar, or a Lollicake and coffee, we wish you a happy, healthy and delicious 2013!

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Originally published in The Observer
Date: December 12, 2012
by: June LeBell | Contributing Columnist

It still amazes me that a lot of people don’t know about the Curtis Institute of Music. In musical spheres, it’s more illustrious than Juilliard because it takes only the top of the crème-de-la-crème of young musicians and they’re all on scholarship!

Curtis has had a long association with Sarasota. It started back in the 1930s when David Cohen, a child prodigy musician, attended the school in Philadelphia. He and his wife soon moved to Sarasota, founded what has since become the Sarasota Orchestra, brought conductor Paul Wolfe to town and went on to become one of the area’s most important cultural icons, even having a space in the Beatrice Friedman Symphony Center named after him.

Some of this Curtis-Sarasota history was told to us by another musical icon, Joseph Silverstein, at the recent Curtis chamber concert at the Historic Asolo, which was just one of a series of Curtis Alumni Performances in Sarasota. Although Curtis alums are world-renowned (Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland, Gian Carlo Menotti, Samuel Barber, Alan Gilbert, Hilary Hahn, Lang Lang, Boris Goldovsky, Judith Blegen, Juan Diego Florez ) to audiences, Curtis remains one of the best kept secrets of the music world. It’s a shame, because a group of avid Curtis supporters in our area have banded together to bring some of the finest young musicians here to play but, so far, Sarasota audiences have been sparse.

The most recent concert featured Silverstein (Curtis 1950) as violinist, pianist Amy J. Yang (’06), and a pair of Sarasota Orchestra members, cellist Abraham Feder (’08) and hornist Joe Assi (’07), in an all-Brahms program that included the G Major, Opus 78 Violin Sonata; the B Major, Opus 8 Piano Trio; and the E-flat Major, Opus 40 Horn Trio.

Yang, who has performed in venues from Asia and Europe to Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall and the White House, is an absolutely stunning pianist, playing with Brahms’ rich textures and weaving them among the various sounds of violin, cello and horn with sensitivity and commanding musicianship and technique.

In the Piano Trio, which opens with a gorgeously warm duet between piano and cello, Feder demonstrated why he was plucked out of Curtis by the Sarasota Orchestra for the head seat in the cello section even before he’d graduated! Since his first appearance here, he’s grown into a consummate musician with a slow grin and an appetite for musical fun on and off stage.

Assi, who makes one of the most difficult instruments sound like a breeze to play, seems to have lungs as big as the Gulf of Mexico. No … make that the Atlantic. His phrasing and attention to blend are exemplary, but it’s his mellow, musical sound that sets him apart from many (so far) better-known horn players. His palette of colors is vast and, just when you think he’s at the end of his breath and his dynamic range, there’s more to come.

There’s also more to come from Curtis in Sarasota this season. The next concert will take place Feb. 6 and will feature chamber works by Beethoven, Dohnanyi and Schubert played by Curtis faculty and students at the Asolo’s Cook Theater.

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Originally published in The Observer
Date: December 5, 2012
by: June LeBell | Contributing Columnist

In my many years of interviewing famous classical musicians, I’ve never met an instrumentalist who didn’t want to be a singer. Thomas Wilkins, with his incredibly clear conducting style, turned the entire Sarasota Orchestra into singers this past weekend, and even the crummy acoustics of the Van Wezel couldn’t muddy this performance.

Wilkins conducts music, not beats, and, in doing so, elicits a warm but transparent sound that is electrifying. There are lots of really fine conductors around ­— from Los Angeles’ Gustavo Dudamel to New York City’s Alan Gilbert ­— who are miles apart in style but manage to achieve the right results. Wilkins does it, stylistically and musically, with an understated musicianship that generates passion and excitement from his players.

As the music director of the Omaha Symphony, Wilkins has impeccable bi-coastal credentials as the principal guest conductor of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra and the Youth Concert Conductor of the Boston Symphony. But credentials mean zilch if that baton he wields isn’t eloquent.

In this weekend’s cleverly-aligned program of Mozart’s “Jupiter Symphony (No. 41)” and “The Planets,” by Gustav Holst, Wilkins brought out more than the best from the Sarasota Orchestra, an ensemble that is positively blossoming as it gets to play under new people with new ideas. Together, Wilkins and the Sarasota musicians became a true Mozartean ensemble, expansive ­­— even in the brisk finale of the Jupiter ­— but never rushing and always breathing and singing through phrases. Much of their performance, especially in the second movement’s gorgeous Andante cantabile, reminded me of a great Mozart recitative and aria such as “Dove sono,” from “Le Nozze di Figaro,” sung by a greatly capacious soprano, molding phrases with arcs that are inherent but too often missed in Mozart.

The Holst was accompanied by some truly magnificent photos of the planet and astounding visuals that brought this old friend-of-a-piece a freshness and vibrancy. Rather than detracting from the music, they added a new inspiration and showed how far ahead of his time Holst was with his musical dream of our solar system.

In this intense, visually popping, audibly exhilarating performance, just a few of the highlights included a brief but captivating euphonium solo in “Mars, the Bringer of War,” some masterful playing from concertmaster Daniel Jordan, cellist Abraham Feder and the great wind section of this ensemble throughout the piece. The majesty the orchestra and Wilkins brought to the famously flamboyant “Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity” was striking, particularly for the veddy British hymn that, in their hands, might transport the entire royal armada to the stars without a ripple. We can’t overlook the woman behind me who, when seeing that “Saturn, the Bringer of Old Age,” was next in line, whispered, “Yeah, we needed THAT!” And the offstage voices of the women of Gloria Musicae, under the direction of Joseph Holt, added just the right other-worldly manifestation to “Neptune, the Mystic.”

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