Sonata Rising
February 15, 2017 in TheaterJones
“Dallas – The Feb. 12 concert presented by Blue Candlelight Music Series sported the biggest crowd of the season. These concerts are usually sold out, but this time they kept adding seating as if we were all in a production of The Chairs by Eugène Ionesco. The cause of all this activity was the widely anticipated appearance of the brilliant and controversial Italian pianist Alessandro Deljavan. Experiencing his recital, it is difficult to match up the word “controversial” with his technically immaculate and musically sensitive performance.” Read full review.
Violinist Ilya Kaler shows how it’s done in the latest concert from Blue Candlelight Music Series.
March 25, 2016 in TheaterJones
“On March 13, The Blue Candlelight Music Series concert series presented a legendary violinist, a well-known name but not a frequent concertizer: Ilya Kaler. He is a graduate of the Moscow Conservatory and took three gold medals in the world’s most prestigious international violin competitions: Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow (1986), Sibelius Competition in Helsinki (1985), and the Paganini Competition in Genoa (1981). He is also active as a teacher in equally prestigious institutions such as the Eastman Conservatory of Music and DePaul University.” Read full review.
November 17, 2015 in TheaterJones
“Let’s start with a joke: “The Blue Candlelight Series would be great, if only that great music didn’t distract me from the gorgeous art in the room.” It’s true—although Sunday’s concert by violist Michael Klotz, violinist Gary Levinson and pianist Christopher Guzman, held in the intimate setting of Richard and Enika Schulze’s Preston Hollow home, gave a capacity crowd of about 50 people such an intense musical experience that I doubt they even noticed the décor.” Read full review.
May 22, 2015 in TheaterJones
“How many of us, in our lives, find the vocation for which we are ideally suited? Those who both find that thing and are capable of greatness in it become the Shakespeares, the Mozarts, the Bill Gates and Steve Jobs of the world—those for whom there is near-perfect correlation between their genius and what the world needs in their particular moment. But how many of the rest of us were handed paintbrushes when computers would have been our strength, or encouraged to read Newton and Darwin when Proust and Dostoyevsky was our true calling?” Read full review.
January 14, 2015 in TheaterJones
“The concerts presented by Blue Candlelight are an elegant evening of music chamber presented in a beautiful home. A buffet of delicious finger foods and some respectable wines add to the experience. On Jan. 4, Enika and Richard Schulze welcomed us to their stunning and acoustically resplendent home to hear a trio made up of flute, violin and piano. We heard two premieres and works by two prominent women composers: Victoria Bond, who’s of our era, and Clara Schumann, a name from the past.” Read full review.
October 22, 2014 in TheaterJones
“The Blue Candlelight Music Series opens a season dedicated to women composers, with an outstanding program featuring women musicians. The Blue Candlelight Music Series consistently does many things well: they select their programs with care, find outstanding musicians to perform those programs, and create a spectacular ambience by presenting their concerts in the elegant home of Richard and Enika Schulze. Additionally, this season they’ve chosen to showcase the work of women composers, which is an exciting and much-needed initiative.” Read full review.
November 18, 2013 in TheaterJones
“Sunday evening’s Blue Candlelight Music Series concert was a family affair in more ways than one. First, two members of the string quartet that delivered the performance are a husband-and-wife team, Dallas Symphony Orchestra violinist Alexandra Adkins and principal cellist Christopher Adkins. (Joining them were DSO violinist Bing Wang and principal violist Ellen Rose.) Secondly, the music itself had a family connection. The quartet played two pieces by Antonin Dvořák as well as one by his son-in-law Josef Suk, plus one by his student Louis Gruenberg, for good measure.” Read full review.
January 21, 2012 in TheaterJones
“The Blue Candlelight Music Series is always a different experience. Held in the Baron House, one of Dallas’ grandest mansions, there is an elegance about the whole evening that we ordinary mortals rarely get to experience. From the valet parking to the hand-served hors d’oeurves and quality wines, guests are pampered even before the music begins. The great room of the Baron House is exquisitely decorated with stunning art. Folding chairs are squeezed in-between the existing furniture to allow the sold out crowd seating. Many are dressed to the nines but a more casual polo shirt doesn’t seem out of place.” Read full review.
January 18, 2011 in TheaterJones
“The Blue Candlelight Music Series continues to present performances on the highest level in fascinating venues. Monday night was no exception. The concert took place at the Baron House; probably one of the most luxurious mansions in the city. Concerts like this were a fixture of a bygone era when the well-to-do would have musicales and invite their circle of friends to enjoy their hospitality and a soirée concert. Well, Blue Candlelight strives to recreate this intimate and classy way to hear music for us regular folks and they certainly succeed.” Read full review.
October 26, 2010 in TheaterJones
“The first Blue Candlelight Music concert of the season is boffo with Brahms. Eager valet parking attendants met the car, waiters served wine and served tasty bites on trays, chairs were set up in the mansion’s great room, guests mingled, well-known local musicians and local arts board members were spotted, and three Brahms works received spectacular performances. Where was this? New York? Nah. Right here in Dallas. The Blue Candlelight Music is a series of chamber music concerts that are usually held at the Baron Mansion in Preston Hollow, one of the premier estates in Dallas.” Read full review.