Alan Gilbert conducts the Philadelphia Orchestra

Taking nothing for granted

Alan Gilbert's guest appearance with the Philadelphia Orchestra combined two Philadelphia premieres with one of the all-time champions of the orchestral repertoire. Like Yannick Nézet-Séguin, he seems to understand how to reach today's music audience.

Tom Purdom

Jan 25, 2011 · Articles · 2 minute read

"Suor Angelica' and 'Il Tabarro' by AVA

Justice for Puccini

Puccini's music, often taken for granted, is best displayed when his operas are performed with the instrumentalists on stage, as the Academy of Vocal Arts did in this double bill.

Steve Cohen

Jan 25, 2011 · Articles · 2 minute read

Philadelphia Orchestra's "Inca Trail' concert

Fresh air from very far south of the border

For one magical evening, the varied music of South America's Inca Trail spilled out of Verizon Hall and into the Kimmel's usually vacant lobby. Is his the long-awaited formula for breathing life into Philadelphia's underachieving cultural center?

Steve Cohen

Jan 25, 2011 · Articles · 3 minute read

Lipkin plays Beethoven at Curtis

A veteran jockey riding a tough mount

Pianist Seymour Lipkin's technique is not what it once was, but there was still much to be culled from an artist who has devoted a lifetime's study to Beethoven's keyboard literature.

Robert Zaller

Jan 25, 2011 · Articles · 4 minute read

Pianist Mitsuko Uchida at the Perelman

Restless explorer of the keyboard

When the bruisingly intense pianist Mitsuko Uchida sits down at her instrument, you sense that not only will the audience hear the music in some new way, but also Uchida herself will make discoveries along the way. It's a brave and exciting way to make music, and fraught with risk.

Jan 22, 2011 · Articles · 3 minute read

Natalie Zhu with Ricardo Morales

A useful tip, a timely reminder

Without musicians like these three, conductors would just be well-dressed exhibitionists waving their arms. Oh, and keep your eye on the pianist Natalie Zhu.

Tom Purdom

Jan 18, 2011 · Articles · 3 minute read

Noseda conducts Orchestra's DvoÅ™ák

The pinch-hitter also rises

Gianandrea Noseda, pinch-hitting for Donald Runnicles, put his own stamp on a seemingly innocuous program. His aggressively dramatic interpretation of the DvoÅ™ák Eighth Symphony was unlike any I've heard before.

Dan Coren

Jan 17, 2011 · Articles · 3 minute read

Yannick and the Orchestra: Mozart's "Requiem' (2nd review)

Let us now praise obscure composers (and Yannick too)

The Philadelphia Orchestra's stellar performance of Mozart's Requiem reminded this listener that great music isn't merely the work of a few giants. Consider the forgotten Franz Xaver Süssmayr, who selflessly finished Mozart's work while others around the master engaged in a post-mortem feeding-frenzy.

Victor L. Schermer

Jan 11, 2011 · Articles · 4 minute read

Yannick and the Orchestra: Mozart's "Requiem' (1st review)

The chorus and the Orchestra: The real Yannick finally stands up

Yannick Nézet-Séguin cut his teeth as a choral director but has bent over backwards to avoid being typecast as an opera maestro in Philadelphia. But his dazzling Mozart/Debussy concert displayed his love of vocal music, and the likelihood that Philadelphians can expect much more.

Steve Cohen

Jan 08, 2011 · Articles · 5 minute read

Blue Man Group: An "80s relic

Growing up and selling out

Blue Man Group was quite avant-garde in the '80s. But this male trio can't seem to accept that modern society has outgrown the group's message and even its form. Flashing lights on stage screens just don't do it any more.

Madeline Schaefer

Jan 04, 2011 · Articles · 3 minute read