Music

1926 results
Page 81
Turning a blind eye: Anna Netrebko (center) stars as the titular blind princess in Tchaikovsky's opera “Iolanta.” (Photo: Marty Sohl/Met Opera)

Anti-Putin protests at the Metropolitan Opera

Raising one's voice in protest
Are political demonstrations at the opera to be applauded or deplored?
Steve Cohen

Steve Cohen

Articles 3 minute read
President Obama presenting Stevie Wonder with the Gershwin Award in 2009.

All-Star Grammy Salute to Stevie Wonder

Songs in the key of life
The winner of 25 Grammys and countless other awards, Stevie Wonder is the American voice of our times.
Armen Pandola

Armen Pandola

Articles 4 minute read
A clunky first impression. (Photo of Kirill Gerstein by Marco Borggreve)

The Philadelphia Orchestra with pianist Kirill Gerstein

Beginning with Beethoven
Yannick Nézet-Séguin celebrated his new contract with the Orchestra with Beethoven, and lighter Shostakovich brought up the rear of a somewhat oddly assembled program.
Robert Zaller

Robert Zaller

Articles 4 minute read
Detailed, direct, unfussy. (Photo of Jonathan Biss by Benjamin Ealovega via jonathanbiss.com)

Pianist Jonathan Biss at the Kimmel

Clash of the titans
Jonathan Biss presented an unusually wide range of material, beautifully arranged and performed, in his recital at Perelman, on his way to repeating the program at Carnegie Hall.
Steve Cohen

Steve Cohen

Articles 1 minute read
Look into my eyes: Jannings and Negri.

Relâche in Residence at the Penn Museum

Mummy movie music
I don’t know what effect Lubitsch’s film had on audiences in 1918, but in 2015 there was a fair amount of giggling. Though short on fright and mummies, the film and its thoroughly enjoyable score left no one disappointed.

Pamela J. Forsythe

Articles 2 minute read
The merry widow and her reluctant lover: Fleming and Gunn (Brigitte Lacombe/Metropolitan Opera)

'The Merry Widow' at the Met

Renée Fleming, Susan Stroman: What could possibly go wrong?
The Merry Widow looked as if it would be the big hit of this Metropolitan Opera season. But it disappointed me and most other critics. What went wrong?
Steve Cohen

Steve Cohen

Articles 3 minute read
Who would Heidegger root for? (Drawing of Martin Heidegger by aeneastudio via Creative Commons/Flickr)

Heidegger and the Super Bowl

Thinking football
It might be possible to argue that Patriots head coach Bill Belichick is the Heidegger of football, if anyone could actually figure out what Belichick is thinking.
AJ Sabatini

AJ Sabatini

Essays 5 minute read
'Meadow Elves' by Nils Blommér (1805)

All-Mozart program by the Chamber Orchestra

A well-balanced afternoon with Mozart
A pair of last-minute substitutes led the Chamber Orchestra’s latest visit to Mozartland.
Tom Purdom

Tom Purdom

Articles 2 minute read
Hamelin: An atypical insertion.

Philadelphia Orchestra’s Russian concerts

How Russians stay warm in January
To combat January’s frost, Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the Philadelphia Orchestra set Verizon Hall ablaze with glowing performances of lush compositions from the Russian Empire’s opulent days.
Steve Cohen

Steve Cohen

Articles 3 minute read
If you can’t model yourself after a great composer like Beethoven, you shouldn’t be in this business.

How to have a career as a composer, in 10 easy steps
If you’re a composer, or would like to become one, just follow these steps, and I’ll be content, knowing I’ve done my part to make life easier for at least one composer.
Kile Smith

Kile Smith

Articles 5 minute read