Daniel Barenboim's all-Liszt piano recital

The astonishing Daniel Barenboim

Daniel Barenboim's all-Liszt recital of Italian-themed works combined scholarship, musicianship and technical brilliance in equal measure to make a forceful case for the problematic Hungarian master. I still can't tell you how Barenboim does it, but his performance was astonishing, and, for me, revelatory.

Robert Zaller

Dec 14, 2008 · Articles · 4 minute read

"It's a Wonderful Life,' at the Prince

Back to Bedford Falls, one more time

It's a Wonderful Life, an exercise in postwar nostalgia set in a radio station, is a pleasant holiday diversion. It could have been more, even without Jimmy Stewart.

Steve Cohen

Dec 14, 2008 · Articles · 4 minute read

Lantern's "The Government Inspector'

Terror on the Steppe: When the Government Inspector Calls

Nikolai Gogol's 1836 farce, The Government Inspector, was the first satire of modern bureaucracy— a precursor of Kafka and Beckett. David O'Connor's edgy production, with a fine cast headed by a rather astonishing Luigi Sottile, keeps the laughter coming while chills tug at the spine too.

Robert Zaller

Dec 14, 2008 · Articles · 3 minute read

A pianist and her memory

The pianist who recovered her memory

Concert pianists are expected to perform from memory. That was no problem for me until my psyche was permanently scarred in an auto accident. But over many years, as I was forced to cope with things far more crucial than missing a passage in a piece of music, I learned to trust my inner resources.

Maria Thompson Corley

Nov 26, 2008 · Articles · 6 minute read

Oliver Stone's "W'

A family worthy of Shakespeare (or at least Mario Puzo)

Oliver Stone is no Shakespeare but an amusing cartoonist who paints in broad strokes and loves a good villain. That leaves him at a loss in dealing with George W. Bush, who seems to have wrought far more evil than he was intellectually capable of.

W. A film directed by Oliver Stone. www.wthefilm.com/

Robert Zaller

Nov 26, 2008 · Articles · 7 minute read

Steven Baris: Urban works at Pentimenti

In the multi-dimensional city

Steven Baris has really looked at the urban towers we might love or hate but which we ultimately cease to notice. His fascinating works transform the buildings into living entities.

“Urban Compression” and "Ruse of Transparency": Paintings by Steven Baris. Through December 19, 2008 at Pentimenti Gallery 145 N. Second St. (215) 625-9990 or www.pentimenti.com.

Anne R. Fabbri

Nov 23, 2008 · Articles · 3 minute read

Theatre Exile's "dark play'

Fear and loathing on the Internet

Carlos Murillo’s dark play concerns the online manipulation of a fragile teenager. But the real abuses on the Internet are far more frightening than anything in Deborah Block’s tame production.

dark play, or stories for boys. By Carlos Murillo; directed by Deborah Block. Theatre Exile production through December 7, 20087 at Philadelphia Shakespeare Festival, 2111 Sansom St. (215) 922-4462 or www.theatreexile.org.

Jim Rutter

Nov 23, 2008 · Articles · 5 minute read

Opera Company's "Italian Girl in Algiers'

The lighter side of Islam

The Opera Company of Philadelphia takes few risks in its entertaining staging of The Italian Girl in Algiers, even though Rossini’s opera offers a potentially controversial ridiculing of Islam.

The Italian Girl in Algiers. Opera by Gioachino Rossini; libretto by Angelo Anelli; directed by Stefano Vizioli. Through November 23, 2008 at Academy of Music, Broad and Locust St. (215) 732-8400 or .www.operaphilly.com.

Jim Rutter

Nov 23, 2008 · Articles · 4 minute read

A therapist in the theater

Is there a therapist in the house?

In all my years as a family therapist, I’ve never seen a psychiatric diagnosis that explained the life longings and direction of one of my clients as well as a good play or movie. To be sure, as a theatergoer I’ve also encountered many actors who I believe have misunderstood their characters. Can art and therapy coexist? I’m about to find out.

SaraKay Smullens

Nov 19, 2008 · Articles · 5 minute read

Orchestra 2001 plays Carter and Copland

Rugged individuals

Orchestra 2001 looks at four pieces, each built around a distinctive framework, including two written by the durable Elliot Carter in his 90s.

Orchestra 2001: Piston, Divertimento for Nine Instruments; Carter, Asko Concerto; Carter, Dialogues (Emmanuel Arciuli, piano); Copland, Appalachian Spring. James Freeman, conductor. November 15, 2008 at Independence Seaport Museum. (610) 544-6610 or www.orchestra2001.org.

Tom Purdom

Nov 19, 2008 · Articles · 4 minute read