Music

1916 results
Page 139
Portrait of the artist as a young man in an awkward transition.

Yannick and the Orchestra: a dissent (4th review)

His missing ingredient: maturity

Yannick Nézet-Séguin can wow a crowd, but can he keep them? Haydn seemed closer to his own sunny disposition in his debut performances, but it's far too early for judgment yet. In the meantime, the Philadelphia Orchestra's Dutoit semi-era continues.
Robert Zaller

Robert Zaller

Articles 6 minute read
Harding: A need to dig deeper.

Dresden Staatskapelle's "Brahms Requiem'

Brahms and the magic carpet ride

Guest conductor Daniel Harding led a massive ensemble with firm control, but he sounded overly reverential and insufficiently emotive.

Articles 3 minute read
Mahler's vigor enthralled audiences, too.

Yannick and the Orchestra (3rd review)

Mahler and Yannick: Two peas in a pod?

Yannick Nézet-Séguin's choice of Mahler for his introductory concert with the Philadelphia Orchestra was no accident: The two musicians share a great deal in common. In the process, Nézet-Séguin demonstrated why the sometimes-scorned Mahler deserves a place among the great symphonic composers.
Victor L. Schermer

Victor L. Schermer

Articles 6 minute read
The extrovert passes the crucial Haydn test.

Yannick and the Orchestra (2nd review)

A child shall lead them, or: 'You've got to see this guy conduct!'

Yannick Nézet-Séguin's childlike enthusiasm transformed his post-appointment debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra into one of the most joyous nights of music making I've ever seen or heard.
Dan Coren

Dan Coren

Articles 5 minute read
Danielpour: This time it's personal. (Photo: Susan Unterberg.)

Dolce Suono plays Danielpour's trio

Danielpour remembers his roots

Dolce Suono premieres a new trio by Richard Danielpour that successfully navigates the rocky territory where art meets politics.
Tom Purdom

Tom Purdom

Articles 4 minute read
Rudderless no more?

Yannick and the Orchestra: So far, so good (1st review)

Yannick, the hopeful one

In his first test since his appointment, music director-designate Yannick Nézet-Séguin's rhythmic freedom and steady pulse gave the Philadelphia Orchestra the confidence to bloom a bit more than usual.

Articles 3 minute read
Stone: Masculine touch.

Lyric Fest's tribute to Barber's songs

Samuel Barber, songster

Samuel Barber liked to sing, but his songs are often given short shrift. Lyric Fest ably presented the most extensive look at his song output most of us will ever encounter.

Articles 1 minute read

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Heimes: Regal greeting.

Piffaro's 1616 baptism and ballet

Once upon a time, in Stuttgart

Piffaro's historical productions can't create a full reproduction of the events they're based on. But this simulation of a 17th-Century royal baptism provided some sense of the way their music felt when it was part of the day-to-day life of the court and the street.
Tom Purdom

Tom Purdom

Articles 4 minute read
Pape as Boris: A Russian Macbeth. (Photo: Nick Heavican.)

Met “Boris Godunov” and its critics

Boris, we hardly knew ye (until now)

The Met's new production of Boris Godunov has been criticized because it's so long. Nonsense. At last we have a restoration of this epic of Russian history as Pushkin put it in words and as Mussorgsky transcribed it into music theater.
Steve Cohen

Steve Cohen

Articles 5 minute read
Blythe, Terfel: Henny Youngman had a word for it. (Photo: Ken Howard.)

The Met's "Das Rheingold' in HD-Live (2nd review)

Here's the gold. Where's the magic?

Das Rheingold scored only a middling success when I saw its live transmission in High Definition. The staging looked expensive but failed to achieve the magic of Lepage's earlier productions.
Steve Cohen

Steve Cohen

Articles 3 minute read