Jurowski ignites the Orchestra (1st review)

The answer to the Orchestra's problems?

Maestro Vladimir Jurowski attracted a full house to the Philadelphia Orchestra and generated wild enthusiasm by the end. This charismatic young conductor could hold the key to the struggling Orchestra's future.

Steve Cohen

Mar 20, 2010 · Articles · 2 minute read

Shostakovich's "The Nose' at the Met

What The Nose knows (and William Kentridge doesn't)

After 80 years, Dmitri Shostakovich's early satirical opera, The Nose, is at last getting its premiere at the Metropolitan Opera. The cast and orchestra perform with élan, but William Kentridge's overbearing production threatens to hijack the proceedings.

Robert Zaller

Mar 17, 2010 · Articles · 5 minute read

Elaine Mack's "Black Classical Musicians'

Musicians who crossed the color line

Does classical music belong only to whites of European descent? Elaine Mack's interviews with black classical musicians, past and present, are at once inspiring and dismaying.

Maria Thompson Corley

Mar 16, 2010 · Articles · 3 minute read

Man Ray: The undefined artist (in New York)

The man who lacked a center

Philadelphia-born Man Ray was the Zelig of 20th-Century art, a man who knew everyone and did everything except define himself.

Robert Zaller

Mar 16, 2010 · Articles · 3 minute read

Straight talk about "Romeo and Juliet' (2nd review)

Overblown emotions? Surely. A great love story? Give me a break

I wish I could tear up over Romeo and Juliet like everyone else. And I have— when I was 14. But a more adult perspective on partnership has squelched my enjoyment. Why have we enshrined the fickle, maudlin, airheaded young Romeo as the ultimate synonym for “lover”? Romeo and Juliet. By William Shakespeare; directed by Matt Pfeiffer. Through April 11, 2010 at Arden Theatre, 40 N. Second St. (215) 922-1122 or www.ardentheatre.org.

Alaina Johns

Mar 16, 2010 · Articles · 5 minute read

Choral Arts Society sings Castaldo's "Ancient Liturgy'

Beyond religion, beyond language

Can the rituals of an obsolete religion teach us anything about the relationship between music and the classic Western religious texts?

Tom Purdom

Mar 16, 2010 · Articles · 4 minute read

Solzhenitsyn in a chamber trio

Solzhenitsyn minus Orchestra

Playing piano in a trio (instead of conducting an orchestra), Ignat Solzhenitsyn's big revelation was the sensitivity and control he brings to chamber music.

Tom Purdom

Mar 16, 2010 · Articles · 1 minute read

"Language Rooms' at the Wilma (1st review)

Immigrant angst: The sorrow and the comedy

Language Rooms, Yussef El Guindi's fierce comic fantasy, tackles many realities of Arab”“American life. It would be funnier if it moved faster.

Lesley Valdes

Mar 16, 2010 · Articles · 4 minute read

Three Finns and Liszt, by the Orchestra

A Finn's fresh take on Sibelius

The Sibelius Second Symphony is almost the Philadelphia Orchestra's signature piece, but visiting conductor Osmo Vänskä brought a refreshing perspective. The program also included the local premiere of Kalevi Aho's busy Minea, and a fine-tooled performance of the Liszt Second Piano Concerto by young French soloist Jean-Frédéric Neuburger.

Robert Zaller

Mar 13, 2010 · Articles · 4 minute read

'Crazy Heart' vs. 'The Wrestler'

Jeff Bridges vs. Mickey Rourke: Kinder, gentler, and less effective

Crazy Heart is yet another “performer on the skids” story, but one with a killer soundtrack and masterful acting by Jeff Bridges. But the film lacks the gut-level truthfulness the less accomplished Mickey Rourke brought to every frame of The Wrestler. Crazy Heart. A film directed by Scott Cooper, based on a novel by Thomas Cobb. At Ritz at the Bourse, Fourth and Ludlow Sts. (215) 925-7900 or www.landmarktheatres.com, Also Bryn Mawr Film Institute, Ambler Theater, and local chains.

Judy Weightman

Mar 13, 2010 · Articles · 3 minute read