Brentano Quartet's Frank premiere

The Brentano Quartet’s recent concert offered a Beethoven sandwich with a delicious Philadelphia premiere by Gabriela Lena Frank in the middle.

Brentano Quartet: Beethoven and Frank. Ignat Solzhenitsyn, piano. Presented by Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, February 4, 2008 at Convention Center Auditorium, 13th and Cherry Sts. www.philadelphiachambermusic.org

Be'eri Moalem

Feb 05, 2008 · Articles · 4 minute read

Chamber Orchestra's two Randalls

In the wrong hands, this could have been a so-so concert, since none of the pieces on the program could be considered major attractions. Two Randalls— Scarlata and Fleischer— turned it into one of the most enjoyable Chamber Orchestra concerts I’ve attended.

Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia: Mozart, Symphony No. 28 in C Major; Ravel, Trois Poèmes de Stéphane Mallarmé; Stravinsky, Deux Poèmes de Paul Verlaine (Randall Sc

Tom Purdom

Feb 03, 2008 · Articles · 2 minute read

Tempesta di Mare revives Janitsch

Five pieces by one of Frederick the Great’s court composers received their first performances in two centuries and warmed the hearts of 21st-Century Philadelphians. You couldn’t hear these pieces without visualizing the private, cultivated setting they were written for.

Tempesta di Mare: Janitsch Sonata die Chiesa in A Minor, Sonata da Camera in C, Sonata da Camera in E-flat, Sonata da Camera in G Minor, Quadro in G. Gwyn Roberts, flute and recorder; Geoff

Tom Purdom

Feb 02, 2008 · Articles · 3 minute read

Israeli Jazz and Pierre Boulez

Jazz and Pierre Boulez— the perfect antidote for a classical musician’s malaise.

Anat Cohen Quintet. Israeli Jazz Festival 2008, January 24, 2008 at World Café Live, 3025 Walnut St. (215) 222-1400 or www.worldcafelive.com.

Orchestra 2001: Boulez, Le Marteau Sans Maitre. James Freeman, conductor. January 26, 2008 at Independence Seaport Museum, 211 S. Columbus Blvd.

Dan Coren

Jan 29, 2008 · Articles · 4 minute read

Jennifer Higdon Festival (third review)

Both Jennifer Higdon works premiered at the Philadelphia Orchestra’s Leonard Bernstein Festival were seriously flawed. Her song sequence Bentley Roses, on the other hand, was a pure delight.

Philadelphia Orchestra: Higdon, The Singing Rooms. Jennifer Koh, violin; Philadelphia Singers Chorale; Christoph Eschenbach, conductor. January 17 and 23, 2008 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center. (215) 893-1900

Tom Purdom

Jan 27, 2008 · Articles · 5 minute read

Higdon, Bernstein and the Orchestra (2nd review)

What was Jennifer Higdon thinking when she wrote The Singing Rooms? For that matter, what was Leonard Bernstein thinking when he wrote Jeremiah?

Philadelphia Orchestra: Bernstein Jeremiah Symphony, Schumann Second Symphony, Higdon The Singing Rooms. Christoph Eschenbach, conductor. January 17-19, 2008 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Sts. (215.) 893-1900 or www.philorch.org.

Steve Cohen

Jan 22, 2008 · Articles · 4 minute read

Tunes in sonata-form (Part 5)

In the fifth in his series on sonata-form, Dan Coren corrects some common misconceptions about the role of tunes in a sonata-form. Along the way, he re-introduces Haydn at his wittiest and most sophisticated.

Dan Coren

Jan 22, 2008 · Articles · 8 minute read

Music or performers? (Critic's reply)

Corbin Abernathy, of Voces Novae et Antiquae, complains in a letter that my recent review of For So The Children Come focused solely on the poet and the composer, to the neglect of the performers. He’s right, and he deserves a response.

Tom Purdom

Jan 22, 2008 · Articles · 2 minute read

Orchestra plays Bernstein and Higdon (1st review)

As the Philadelphia Orchestra’s Bernstein festival proceeds, his youthful Jeremiah Symphony, and Schumann’s Second, framed the world premiere of Jennifer Higdon’s The Singing Rooms. It’s one of the few works I’ve heard in recent years that deserves not only the occasional performance but also a place in the permanent repertory.

Philadelphia Orchestra: Bernstein Jeremiah Symphony, Schumann Second Symphony, Higdon The Singing

Robert Zaller

Jan 19, 2008 · Articles · 5 minute read

"Rain: The Beatles Experience' (2nd review)

The late lamented Beatles were introspective (or stoned) and fearful of crowds. These Beatles imitators are extroverted and determined to please the audience, which they certainly do. But what we have here is the louder sound that the public has become accustomed to since the Beatles disbanded.

Rain: The Beatles Experience. Through January 20, 2008 at the Academy of Music, Broad and Locust Sts. (215) 893-1999 or www.kimmelcenter.org.

Steve Cohen

Jan 19, 2008 · Articles · 4 minute read