1807 & Friends play Brahms and Mozart

Dan Coren's mania for chamber music was more than satisfied by the Mozart and Brahms performed by 1807 & Friends. Our critic also believes he may have found the secret behind the mysteriously unchanging demographics of Philadelphia's chamber music audiences.

1807 & Friends: Brahms C minor Piano Quartet, Op. 60, and Mozart E-flat major Piano Quartet, K. 493. January 22, 2007 at Academy of Vocal Arts, 1920 Spruce St. w

Dan Coren

Jan 27, 2007 · Articles · 5 minute read

Kim and Denk play Charles Ives

Soovin Kim and Jeremy Denk have never sung hymns in church or attended a Protestant revival. Yet they played the sonatas with the understanding of people who carried 19th Century New England in their genes. Perhaps we American have more of a common culture than we sometimes think.

Philadelphia Chamber Music Society: Four violin sonatas by Charles Ives. Soovin Kim, violin; Jeremy Denk, piano. January 18, 2007 at Fleisher Art Memorial, 719 Catherine St. 215-569-8080 or

Tom Purdom

Jan 27, 2007 · Articles · 3 minute read

The Orchestra plays "Lady Macbeth'

Have you ever heard the Shostakovich opera Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District? Neither have I. But James Conlon’s performance of his suite from that work was one of the events of the season.

Philadelphia Orchestra: Mozart Overture to The Impresario; Mozart Piano Concerto No. 21 in C Major with Jonathan Bliss; Shostakovich/Conlon Suite from Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District. James Conlon conducting. January 11, 2007 at Verizon Hal

Tom Purdom

Jan 20, 2007 · Articles · 4 minute read

Conductors Marin Alsop and JoAnn Falletta

Instead of scouring the globe for a music director with a big reputation, the Philadelphia Orchestra might do well to look at promising young talent closer to home. Two such prospects recently passed this reviewer’s test with flying colors— both of them women.

Philadelphia Orchestra: Wagner Prelude to Act 1 of Tristan and Isolde; Harbison Concerto for Bass Viol and Orchestra with Harold Robinson; Copland Symphony No. 3. Marin Alsop conducting. January 9, 2

Tom Purdom

Jan 20, 2007 · Articles · 7 minute read

Eschenbach conducts Vivaldi and Bruckner

Vivaldi and Bruckner don’t jibe at all; they represent not only different styles but different sonic universes. This is why programming is best left to music directors. But if the Bruckner Ninth is the standard by which Eschenbach’s successors are measured, their work is cut out for them.

Philadelphia Orchestra: Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, Bruckner’s Ninth Symphony. Christoph Eschenbach conducting. Jan. 17-20 at Verizon Hall. (215) 893-

Robert Zaller

Jan 20, 2007 · Articles · 4 minute read

The Orchestra's loopy substitution

The Philadelphia Orchestra is substituting Vivaldi’s inappropriately cheerful Four Seasons for Mahler’s neurotic Kindertotenlieder. What on earth were they thinking?

Dan Coren

Jan 16, 2007 · Articles · 1 minute read

Peter Gelb: Fresh Air At The Met

Peter Gelb, the Metropolitan Opera’s new general manager, is bound and determined to reach new audiences. Which explains how I wound up, on a recent Saturday afternoon, watching a live telecast of a Met performance of The Magic Flute at a movie theater in Neshaminy Mall. On the basis of this evidence, Gelb is off to an impressive start.

Diana Burgwyn

Jan 05, 2007 · Articles · 9 minute read

Maneval improves on Brahms

The Philadelphia Chamber Music Society’s first public performance of Philip Maneval’s variation on a Brahms trio was one of the big moments in my decades of concertgoing. If you like the Brahms, you will like the Maneval because it exudes the same poetry and passion, plus something more: Unlike Brahms, Maneval makes the horn an equal partner.

Trio for Piano, Violin and French Horn,
by Philip Maneval. Thomas Sauer,

Tom Purdom

Jan 05, 2007 · Articles · 4 minute read

Why classical audiences don't boo

Why are classical concert audiences so much more staid than their operatic counterparts? The answer may lie in the difference between a church service and a battle of gladiators at the Roman Coliseum.

Dan Coren

Jan 03, 2007 · Articles · 3 minute read

Why opera audiences boo

Why are opera singers so touchy and opera audiences so rowdy? Blame it on the instrument— the human voice— and the art form. Opera audiences are a lot like opera itself— that is, lacking in subtlety and excessively emotional.

Diana Burgwyn

Dec 24, 2006 · Articles · 9 minute read