Natalie Zhu plays Mussorgsky

Even in the thoroughbred world of concert pianists, very few have what it takes to play the piano version of "Pictures at an Exhibition" in concert. But Natalie Zhu took the piece beyond virtuosity to something approaching the mystical.

Natalie Zhu, piano recital. November 15, 2006, at Fleisher Art Memorial. Presented by Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, (215) 569-8080 or www.philadelphiachambermusic.org.

Dan Coren

Nov 22, 2006 · Articles · 4 minute read

Opera Company's 'Cinderella' (1st review)

The Opera Company has updated Rossini’s 1817 farce to the 1950s, with multi-screen pop-art images that should appeal to all those 21st-Century multi-taskers in the audience. The problem is that most of the farcical elements are pointless. The production is redeemed not by its gimmicks but by the sonorous tenor voice of Lawrence Brownlee as Prince Ramiro.

Cinderella. Opera by Gioacchino Rossini. Directed by Davide Livermore; conductor Corrado Rovaris. Opera Comp

Dan Rottenberg

Nov 14, 2006 · Articles · 4 minute read

Orchestra sans Muti

The Orchestra's heralded Muti concerts went on without Muti, but Neeme Järvi proved a most capable replacement. What he lacked in hair power, Järvi made up for in maestro-strokes, eliciting forceful elegance from the full orchestra.

Philadelphia Orchestra. November 2, 2006 concert at Kimmel Center, Verizon Hall, Broad and Spruce Sts. 215-893-1900 or www.philorch.org.

Lewis Whittington

Nov 08, 2006 · Articles · 1 minute read

Dylan the Romantic

What is Romanticism, really? If you won’t listen to the song cycles of Schubert or Schumann, you can find the answer in the song cycles of Bob Dylan.

Dan Coren

Nov 08, 2006 · Articles · 6 minute read

Shostakovich in New York

Valery Gergiev wraps up his Shostakovich symphony cycle in New York, and reveals a composer on whom the 20th Century set its seal as on no other.

Robert Zaller

Nov 07, 2006 · Articles · 6 minute read

Orchestra's thin skin

Peter Dobrin, it appears, really does get under the skin of the Orchestra's management after all.

Dan Coren

Oct 30, 2006 · Articles · 4 minute read

OCP's 'La Bohème'

OCP has settled into a groove of predictably pleasant productions: If they don’t blow you away, neither do they go up in flames. And what could be more realistic than an opera about sruggling artists performed by struggling artists?

La Bohème. By Giacomo Puccini; directed by Robert Driver. Opera Company of Philadelphia production through Nov. 11, 2006 at Academy of Music, Broad and Locust Sts. (215) 893-3600 or www.operaphi

Dan Rottenberg

Oct 29, 2006 · Articles · 3 minute read

Eschenbach bows out

Christoph Eschenbach’s departure from the Philadelphia Orchestra, just five years after he arrived, reflects a planning deficiency reminiscent of the war in Iraq. It leaves the Orchestra’s board with the sort of succession headache it hasn’t suffered since 1912. The good news is: That crisis turned out very well indeed.

Steve Cohen

Oct 23, 2006 · Articles · 4 minute read

Survival in the digital age

Bob Dylan’s career arc— from records to movies to DVDs to books to the Internet— is a tribute to the power and versatility of modern media. Other modern composers like Luciano Berio— not to mention old stalwarts like Beethoven— weren’t so fortunate. But whose work will survive the next time the electric power grid fails?

Dan Coren

Oct 18, 2006 · Articles · 9 minute read

Philadelphia Orchestra with André Watts

While maestro Eschenbach kept the symphonic gush poised and understated, Watts dispatched the Brahms Second in a manner reminiscent of Olivier playing Hamlet. Poor Pyotr Tchaikovsky wasn’t so lucky.

Brahms Piano Concerto #2, Tchaikovsky Symphony #6 (Pathetique). Philadelphia Orchestra with piano soloist André Watts. Oct. 5-10, 2006 at Verizon Hall. 215-293-1900 or www.philorch.org.

Lewis Whittington

Oct 17, 2006 · Articles · 1 minute read