Music

1916 results
Page 115
Fox: Polyphony, with a single instrument.

Tempesta di Mare's tenth birthday festival

Tenths for Tempesta's Tenth

For its tenth anniversary, Tempesta di Mare demonstrated that the Baroque repertoire is so rich and varied that you can assemble two meaty concerts even when you limit your selections with a gimmicky rule invented for a special occasion.
Tom Purdom

Tom Purdom

Articles 5 minute read
Radu: Surrounding music with atmosphere.

Vox Ama Deus plays Beethoven

A new way to hear Beethoven

Why would a small ensemble like Vox Ama Deus take on two pieces normally reserved for major orchestras? For a very good reason, it turns out.
Tom Purdom

Tom Purdom

Articles 4 minute read
Gerdes: Summer rain in Iceland.

Chestnut Street Singers and the "Midnight Sun'

Amateurs in the best sense

Philadelphia's newest volunteer chorus consists of 14 voices without a leader, a payroll or any accompaniment. This month they demonstrated that they're up to the challenge.
Tom Purdom

Tom Purdom

Articles 3 minute read
Ormandy (c. 1935) broke age barriers and race barriers, too.

Back to the future: Youth and the Orchestra

Back to the Orchestra's future: One musician's story

As the Philadelphia Orchestra's audience dwindles, much has been written about the need to reach out to young audiences. But how exactly does this process work? Let me demonstrate the long-range effect of vigorous youth music programs on a single individual: me.

Clarence Faulcon

Articles 4 minute read
Clearfield: Europe meets Tibet.

Mendelssohn Club sings Clearfield and Fauré

The sum of Andrea Clearfield's parts

Andrea Clearfield's ambitiously sprawling Tse Go La is the latest fruit of the composer's musical field trips to Tibet and by far the most substantial: a fantastic amalgam of cross-cultural influences.

Articles 3 minute read
Johnson: The price of narcissism.

Opera Company's "Manon Lescaut'

A vocal and visual knockout

The title role of Puccini's Manon Lescaut taxes even seasoned professionals. With just three weeks' rehearsal, the student Michelle Johnson carried it off with aplomb. Sumptuous costumes helped, too.
Steve Cohen

Steve Cohen

Articles 3 minute read
Mancasola and Mason: Marian the Librarian, but with character flaws.

Donizetti's "L'Elisir d'Amore' by AVA

Donizetti meets Mussolini

Donizetti's L'Elisir d'Amore is a melodramatic comedy about love. Nic Muni's current production sets the story in Mussolini's Fascist Italy, where the stakes are life and death, not to mention damnation.
Steve Cohen

Steve Cohen

Articles 3 minute read
Beam: Practice, practice!

Lyric Fest: Three operas for children

Opera for kids meets
‘Anxious Parent Syndrome'

Lyric Fest, run by three mothers, opted for a riskier format for its annual children's concert, introducing its young audience to three famous but abridged operas.
Tom Purdom

Tom Purdom

Articles 4 minute read
Gamelan dancers: It's all in the arms, hands and fingers.

Orchestra 2001 considers Bali (2nd review)

Flash and substance, by way of Bali

Orchestra 2001's recent Balinese music and dance program combined flash with substance, and crowd appeal with enlightenment— a rare achievement.
Steve Cohen

Steve Cohen

Articles 3 minute read
Higdon: Right time for a populist.

Curtis Orchestra plays Higdon, BartÓ³k and Brahms

The kids are all right

Jennifer Higdon, as much as any composer of her generation, has solidified the permanent significance of the American populist school, once led by Aaron Copland. Even from this youthful ensemble, her blue cathedral was rich and satisfying.

Articles 3 minute read