Curtis Opera's 'Cunning Little Vixen'

If we could talk to the animals

Janácek's The Cunning Little Vixen is so brimful with melodies and lush orchestration that it ought to be part of the standard operatic repertoire. Since that won't happen— philosophical allegories lack mass appeal—Curtis deserves our gratitude for reviving it.

Steve Cohen

Apr 03, 2011 · Articles · 2 minute read

Tempesta di Mare's "Characters of the Dance'

Dancing, from Bach to Stallone

Tempesta di Mare combined a first-class Bach performance with a lesson in Baroque dance forms, not to mention a mysterious connection to Sylvester Stallone's Rocky.

Tom Purdom

Mar 29, 2011 · Articles · 4 minute read

Astral Artists showcases Aaron Jay Kernis

Renaissance traps, successfully avoided

Aaron Jay Kernis finished his two-year stint as Astral Artists' first composer in residence with two spectacular pieces that starred a spectacular soprano.

Tom Purdom

Mar 22, 2011 · Articles · 3 minute read

Orchestra 2001 plays Hindemith

Orchestra 2001's odd couple

Hindemith and folk songs? It's an odd juxtaposition, but the two halves created a thoroughly enjoyable Saturday night outing.

Tom Purdom

Mar 22, 2011 · Articles · 4 minute read

Robert Levin deconstructs Mozart

Mozart's stumbling block

As the pianist/professor Robert Levin demonstrated, everything came easily to Mozart the young genius until he had to tackle fugue composition. For the first time, he had to push his imagination. From this process, Mozart's true voice emerged.

Mar 22, 2011 · Articles · 3 minute read

Piffaro at the court of Ferrara

When violinists roamed the streets

Philadelphia's own Renaissance wind band joins forces with a traveling violin band to recreate the first outbursts of the modern multi-section orchestra.

Tom Purdom

Mar 15, 2011 · Articles · 3 minute read

Orchestra's two flute concertos

Inspiration sans charisma

With Charles Dutoit sidelined, the Orchestra's principal flutist, Jeffrey Khaner, provided the necessary star power by performing premieres of two flute concertos, one of them nearly 400 years old.

Dan Rottenberg

Mar 08, 2011 · Articles · 1 minute read

Chamber Orchestra: Solzhenitsyn returns (2nd review)

Solzhenitsyn's balanced return

Ignat Solzhenitsyn returned to his old stomping ground to lead the Chamber Orchestra through two well-balanced classics and a moving mid-century experiment with 12-tone music.

Tom Purdom

Mar 08, 2011 · Articles · 3 minute read

My personal stake in "Boris Godunov'

Boris Godunov and my ancestors

To you, Boris Godunov is a convoluted opera about a power struggle among Russian madmen a long time ago. To me, it holds a possible key to my family's history.

Steve Cohen

Mar 08, 2011 · Articles · 6 minute read

Solzhenitsyn plays Mozart for non-purists (1st review)

What did Mozart really want?

Are Mozart's scores sacrosanct as they are written? Or are they an invitation to play 18th-Century jazz? Ignat Solzhenitsyn, appearing as piano soloist and conductor laureate with the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, left no doubt about his answer.

Dan Coren

Mar 08, 2011 · Articles · 3 minute read