Music

1916 results
Page 79
Claude Debussy

Ticciati and Spano conduct the Philadelphia Orchestra

Debussy and his devotees

While the cat’s away the mice will play — Debussy, in this case. Guest conductors during two weeks programmed three compositions by Claude Debussy and two that were influenced by him.
Steve Cohen

Steve Cohen

Articles 3 minute read
Mahler: not just out to make a lot of noise.

Chamber arrangements of full symphonies

The fine art of downsizing

The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society presented a pair of small-scale transcriptions that produced a large-scale impact.
Tom Purdom

Tom Purdom

Articles 4 minute read
Peter Serkin plays pieces so demanding only he dares take them on.

Peter Serkin and the Orion Quartet

On the edge of musical revolt

The Orion players considered the Haydn masterworks worthy of the same attention as the Reger and Schoenberg. Their playing effectively countered the tendency to hear Haydn as a lightweight compared to those who followed him.
Victor L. Schermer

Victor L. Schermer

Articles 5 minute read
Yeah, yeah, that was great. (© European Union 2013 - European Parliament)

Reforming applause

The stuffiness of the modern classical concert must end, but the music must also be heard. Our best model would be rock performances in dive bars.

Michael Lawrence

Articles 4 minute read
A perfect backdrop. (Photo by Bryn Y.W. Shin, via Creative Commons/Wikimedia.)

Three chamber concerts

And the winner is....

The Philadelphia Chamber Music Society and the University of Pennsylvania presented three chamber music concerts that deserve awards in three important categories.
Tom Purdom

Tom Purdom

Articles 4 minute read
Go, Russia! Putin and Gergiev. (Photo credit: www.kremlin.ru)

Valery Gergiev conducts the Philadelphia Orchestra

Three Russian war symphonies

Valery Gergiev brought three Russian war symphonies to Verizon Hall, perhaps to make a political as well as musicological point on his controversial current tour. As always, he brought novel ideas dynamically expressed, with particularly good results in Prokofiev’s Fifth Symphony.
Robert Zaller

Robert Zaller

Articles 6 minute read
Flashy and complex: Simon and Várjon.

Musicians from Marlboro II at PCMS

A taste of the surreal, and a "ghostly" presence

These consummate musicians artfully employed the spectral appearance of otherwise hidden connotations to achieve a postmodern surrealism which, rather than disturbing the composers’ intentions, added to the interest and intrigue of the works.
Victor L. Schermer

Victor L. Schermer

Articles 4 minute read
Bosie (Luplau) and Oscar (Daniels) dance in a dream sequence. (© Opera Philadelphia; photo by Kelly & Massa)

'Oscar' at Opera Philadelphia

Is this how we treat our poets?

Oscar Wilde seemed the epitome of wit and decadence, but he spent two years in prison for loving “the love that dares not speak its name” and died poor and in exile. What makes us punish difference? And why are we still today mistreating people just because they’re different?
Naomi Orwin

Naomi Orwin

Articles 4 minute read

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Playing for himself, and his wife. (Photo by Cyberuly via Creative Commons/Wikimedia)

Music and killing

On his way to the airport, Kile Smith meets a fellow musician.
Kile Smith

Kile Smith

Articles 5 minute read
Hiroshige, "Heavy Rain on a Pine Tree"

Orchestra 2001 and the Mendelssohn Club

Encounters in space and time

Orchestra 2001 and the Mendelssohn Club presented concerts that captured the endless dialogue that shapes the classical tradition.
Tom Purdom

Tom Purdom

Articles 4 minute read