Music
1932 results
Page 107
Wagner's "Parsifal' at the Met
No country for wise men
Wagner's Parsifal may lack much in the way of a story or singable tunes, but the new Metropolitan Opera production exquisitely captures the spirit of holy Christian reverence that lies at its heart.
Articles
5 minute read
Yannick at cruising speed (2nd review)
Memo to Yannick: You're my man, but please skip the gimmicks
I now await Yannick's Philadelphia Orchestra concerts with the same anticipation I felt for Leonard Bernstein in 1960. But were those visuals and the trapeze act grafted on to Le Sacre du Printemps really necessary?
Across 500 years: Piffaro teams with Orchestra 2001 (1st review)
Old wine in new bottles (and vice versa)
Although five centuries separate their music, Piffaro and Orchestra 2001 mounted a joint concert that celebrated two of Philadelphia's happiest cultural developments of the last 40 years.
Articles
5 minute read
Philadelphia Orchestra's "Rite of Spring' (1st review)
Six degrees of separation
What are Bach, Ravel and Stravinsky doing together on the same program? Old Philadelphia Orchestra devotees know the answer. And so, apparently, does the Orchestra's new music director, Yannick Nézet-Séguin.
Articles
4 minute read
Dolce Suono's dialogue with Debussy
If Debussy could talk….
Dolce Suono exploited an extra-special Old School Tie and continued its celebration of Debussy's 150th birthday with a program that included a composer Debussy didn't like.
Articles
4 minute read
Composing on deadline (Part IV)
With a little help from Frank Lloyd Wright, George Eliot and my daughter
My piece was pretty much finished when I sent it to both of the intended performing groups for feedback. They informed me that my high F's weren't playable on the shawms. What to do? Rewrite everything? No time for that.
Articles
7 minute read
Opera Philadelphia's "Silent Night' (2nd review)
The monster of war
Silent Night is a very effective new opera that could be made even better with some judicious tinkering. The drama exudes a raw energy that doesn't shy away from the harrowing circumstances of war.
Articles
4 minute read
East Coast Chamber Orchestra at the Perelman
A traveling town hall meeting for musicians
The East Coast Chamber Orchestra, an exceptionally talented and cohesive string ensemble, made a vivid impression with two masterworks of the war-haunted 1930s.
Articles
3 minute read
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Opera Philadelphia's "Silent Night' (1st review)
When the fighting stopped
Kevin Puts's Silent Night is based on a remarkable true incident during the first Christmas Eve of World War I, when enemy soldiers in adjoining trenches spontaneously agreed to a brief truce, in defiance of their commanding officers. It‘s the kind of compelling story that's too often missing from today's operas.
Articles
4 minute read
Orchestra's "Carmina Burana'
Who can argue with FrÓ¼hbeck?
Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos looks frail these days, and older than his 79 years, but he conducted Carmina Burana from memory in a gorgeously persuasive interpretation.
Articles
2 minute read