Brahms German Requiem by Chamber Orchestra (1st review)

Another challenge for the Chamber Orchestra (it's called the Perelman Theater)

The Choral Arts Society's performance of Brahms's German Requiem was in many ways a cornucopia of musical riches. But the acoustics of the Perelman Theater made it as frustrating as it was satisfying.

Dan Coren

Feb 17, 2009 · Articles · 5 minute read

Lyric Fest's "Music in the White House'

A White House variety show

Lyric Fest sampled the tastes of U.S. presidents, whose musical interests could be surprisingly sophisticated. In the process, “Music in the White House” inadvertently reflected another important aspect of American culture: our inherent cosmopolitanism.

Tom Purdom

Feb 10, 2009 · Articles · 5 minute read

"A Scandal in Bohemia,' by Orchestra 2001

Sherlock sings

This new opera about Sherlock Holmes creates a true Holmesian atmosphere, obviously written by someone who understands the Holmes legend. Thomas Whitman's music ranges from workmanlike to inspired.

Tom Purdom

Feb 10, 2009 · Articles · 4 minute read

Cleveland Orchestra plays Mozart and Shostakovich

Cleveland's odd couple at the Kimmel

With the Philadelphia Orchestra AWOL for the month of February, the visiting Cleveland Orchestra came to the Kimmel Center to pick up some of the slack. Conductor Franz Welser-Most has a habit of rushing fast passages and clipping end-phrases, but his reading of the Shostakovich Leningrad Symphony proved a crowd-pleaser.

Robert Zaller

Feb 10, 2009 · Articles · 5 minute read

Sonata-form (Part 10): Mozart's brilliant move

Inside Mozart's brain on the day he changed the music world

The development section of the finale of Mozart's “Jupiter” Symphony ends with a move as brilliant as a Bobby Fischer chess combination. In the tenth installment of his series on sonata-form, Dan Coren contemplates this passage.

Dan Coren

Feb 07, 2009 · Articles · 8 minute read

Astral's Saeka Matsuyama violin recital

Different times, different voices

A young violinist traverses 200 years of musical styles with the skill of a talented actor hopping through a series of costume changes and radically different characters.

Tom Purdom

Feb 07, 2009 · Articles · 2 minute read

Live opera vs. high-definition screenings

Opera at the movie house: I love the Met, but....

Which is better: Live opera at the Met in New York, or a high-definition transmission at your local movie theater? Maybe that's the wrong question. Why not get the best of both worlds, as I do?

Steve Cohen

Feb 03, 2009 · Articles · 4 minute read

AVA's "La Fiamma' (2nd review)

The good old days of witchcraft

The Academy of Vocal Arts presented three performances of Respighi's 1934 opera, La fiamma, that were a treat. Whether this rarely heard opera deserves to be added to the standard repertoire is another question.

Steve Cohen

Feb 03, 2009 · Articles · 4 minute read

A few words about adventurous programming

So you want adventurous programming? (A reply to Beeri Moalem)

BSR contributor Beeri Moalem has issued a plea for more performances of new music. But the Western art music repertoire is essentially a huge library containing more than six centuries of music that no one can explore all of in a single lifetime. Two recent concerts offer cases in point.

Tom Purdom

Jan 27, 2009 · Articles · 4 minute read

AVA's "La fiamma' (1st review)

Oh, those sexually repressed women

Ottorino Respighi as an opera composer? Yes, he wrote ten of them, and La fiamma, in a 75th-anniversary concert revival by the Academy of Vocal Arts, showed itself worthy of a place on the international stage.

Robert Zaller

Jan 27, 2009 · Articles · 4 minute read