Chamber Orchestra plays Beethoven et al.

The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, under Ignat Solzhenitsyn, established a benchmark for the interpretation of Classical repertory that will be hard for anyone to beat, unless it’s Solzhenitsyn himself.

Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia: Schubert Fifth Symphony; Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 2 (Fabio Bidini, piano); Haydn Symphony No. 16 and 102. Ignat Solzhenitsyn conducting. October 28-29, 2007 at Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Sts. (215) 545-5451 or www.chamberorchestra.org.

Dan Coren

Oct 30, 2007 · Articles · 3 minute read

Juilliard Quartet at the Perelman

The Juilliard Quartet has known better days. Its first of two Chamber Music Society concerts at the Perelman Theater this year, while serviceable enough in Haydn, fell short of the scope and intensity needed for Shostakovich’s Thirteenth Quartet and Beethoven’s First Rasumovsky.

Juilliard Quartet: Haydn E-Flat Quarter; Beethoven First Rasumovsky Quartet; Shostakovich Thirteenth Quartet. October 24, 2007 at Perelman Theater, Kimmel Cen

Robert Zaller

Oct 27, 2007 · Articles · 3 minute read

French music: Three concerts

Three musical organizations explore French music and French influence on American music from the Baroque to the present. How many American cities could team a fully professional chorus with a violist like Roberto Diaz and a percussionist like Don Liuzzi?

Philadelphia Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra: Ravel Mother Goose Suite; De Malaret Chants D’Auvergne (Leslie Johnson, soprano); Debussy Petite Suite; Ravel Bolero. Daniel Spalding,

Tom Purdom

Oct 27, 2007 · Articles · 5 minute read

Opera Company's "Rigoletto' (2nd review)

The Metropolitan Opera tenor Matthew Polenzani is the biggest name the Opera Company of Philadelphia has cast recently. But his interpretation of the Duke of Mantua in Rigoletto is totally wrong for the character.

Rigoletto. Music by Giuseppe Verdi; directed by Robert Driver. Opera Company of Philadelphia through Oct. 17, 2007 at Academy of Music, Broad and Locust Sts. (215) 732-8400 or www.operaphilly.com

Steve Cohen

Oct 16, 2007 · Articles · 3 minute read

Those slow introductions to symphonies

In Dan Coren’s third essay on sonata-form, he examines the way symphonies begin. Using the slow introduction of Mozart's 36th Symphony as a point of departure, he builds the first elements of a road map of a full-scale sonata-form movement.

Dan Coren

Oct 16, 2007 · Articles · 3 minute read

Orchestra's "Discovery' concert

How to reach a younger audience? The Orchestra is currently trying a policy that puts unfamiliar music in front of people who actually want to give it a try. At this concert, the crowd was definitely coffeehouse age.

Philadelphia Orchestra: Rihm, Verwandlung 2; Reinecke, Flute Concerto in D Major (Jeffrey Khaner, flute); Stravinsky, The Rite of Spring. Christoph Eschenbach, conductor. September 27, 2007 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center. (215) 893-1900 or

Tom Purdom

Oct 13, 2007 · Articles · 5 minute read

"Countess Maritza' by Concert Operetta Theater

A star is born

An unknown tenor and a forgotten operetta combined for a performance that knocked me out. Keep your eyes open for Cody Austin in the future.

Countess Maritza, Operetta in three acts by Emmerich Kálmán. 
Original book and lyrics by Julius Brammer and Alfred Grünwald; 
English version by Nigel Douglas. James Batt, music director and piano. Concert Operetta Theater production October 6 -7, 2007 at Helen Warden Theater, 1920 Spruce St. (215) 389-0

Steve Cohen

Oct 13, 2007 · Articles · 4 minute read

Dolce Suono: Trios by four composers

Dolce Suono spotlights the creativity of four Philadelphia composers and the potential of an unfamiliar form: the trio for flute, cello and piano. Are we living in a second Baroque period without realizing it?

Dolce Suono: Rorem Trio for Flute, Violoncello, and Piano; Cacioppo Snake Dance Trio (Soyohim Kachina); Abramovic Beasts; Crumb Vox Balaenae (Voice of the Whales). Mimi Stillman, flute; Yumi Kendall, cello; Charles Abramovic, pia

Tom Purdom

Oct 13, 2007 · Articles · 5 minute read

"Countess Maritza' by Concert Operetta Theater

An unknown tenor and a forgotten operetta combined for a performance that knocked me out. Keep your eyes open for Cody Austin in the future.

Countess Maritza, Operetta in three acts by Emmerich Kálmán. 
Original book and lyrics by Julius Brammer and Alfred Grünwald; 
English version by Nigel Douglas. James Batt, music director and piano. Concert Operetta Theater production October 6 -7, 2007 at Helen Warden Theater, 1920 Spruce St. (215) 389-0

Steve Cohen

Oct 13, 2007 · Articles · 5 minute read

OCP's "Rigoletto' (1st review)

Verdi’s 1850 masterpiece has always progressed as a complete piece, not a bilious framework of its arias. But Robert B. Driver’s kinetic direction keeps it completely involving, every element framing a finely tuned vocal production.

Rigoletto. Music by Giuseppe Verdi; directed by Robert Driver. Opera Company of Philadelphia through Oct. 17, 2007 at Academy of Music, Broad and Locust Sts. (215) 732-8400 or www.operaphill

Lewis Whittington

Oct 09, 2007 · Articles · 3 minute read