What was Mahler thinking? (1st comment)

Can art foretell the future?

Mahler's First Symphony baffled its listeners, and he never explained it. But its meaning seemed clear to me, at least.

Dan Rottenberg

May 07, 2013 · Articles · 2 minute read

Lyric Fest's "Rosetta Stone'

Found in translation

Lyric Fest never does anything quite the way anyone else would do it. The group finished its season with another program on an odd theme: songs by composers who took their texts from foreign languages.

Tom Purdom

May 07, 2013 · Articles · 4 minute read

Verdi's "Masked Ball,' by AVA

Romance, fate, murder and a fresh crop of singers

A Masked Ball often gets lost in the crowd from Verdi's prolific middle period. The Academy of Vocal Arts production turned it into one of my most exciting evenings of music drama in recent years.

Steve Cohen

May 04, 2013 · Articles · 4 minute read

Rufus Wainwright at Verizon Hall

He did it his (relatively safe) way

Like many gay men, Rufus Wainwright relates to the struggles of Judy Garland and Maria Callas, but conveying angst isn't his strong suit.

Steve Cohen

Apr 30, 2013 · Articles · 3 minute read

Dolce Suono's "Debussy and The Baroque'

Time-tripping with Debussy

Leave it to Dolce Suono to find a connection between Claude Debussy (1862-1918) and Baroque composers: The man incorporated early music movements into his work, just as he absorbed the influence of jazz and Asian art forms.

Tom Purdom

Apr 30, 2013 · Articles · 4 minute read

The great debate: Sackbut or trombone?

Were the Dark Ages really dark? Or: Do musical instruments improve?

Is the modern trombone a better instrument than its Renaissance ancestor, the sackbut? That's like asking, "is Mahler better than Monteverdi?"

Kile Smith

Apr 30, 2013 · Articles · 4 minute read

Opera Philadelphia's "Magic Flute' (2nd review)

What should you expect from a dying composer?

If Mozart hadn't died two months after its 1791 premiere, his inconsistent and interminable Magic Flute might well have been remembered as a sideshow on the composer's path to greater achievements.

Steve Cohen

Apr 27, 2013 · Articles · 4 minute read

Piffaro showcases Laughing Bird

The faces (and voices) are familiar

Piffaro gave a younger early music group a helping hand and hosted a Saturday night musical party.

Tom Purdom

Apr 23, 2013 · Articles · 3 minute read

Opera Philadelphia's "Magic Flute' (1st review)

Mozart's last hurrah (and a few kind words for the Masons)

Mozart's The Magic Flute is a triumph of comic genius over turgid plot and Masonic mumbo-jumbo. Opera Philadelphia's highly entertaining production, first staged by the Canadian Opera Company, brings it off nicely.

Robert Zaller

Apr 23, 2013 · Articles · 6 minute read

Orchestra 2001 plays Crumb and Gorecki

From Hitler to Apollo, in just 30 years

Small music groups get short shrift in this year's Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts. Orchestra 2001 earned a spot by contriving a program that focused on two wildly different historic events.

Tom Purdom

Apr 16, 2013 · Articles · 4 minute read