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More comfortable, or a man who knows his audience?

Lupu and Yannick at the Kimmel (1st review)

Do clothes make the man?

Yannick Nézet-Séguin has apparently decided to forgo wearing a tie when he conducts. Is that disrespectful or the mark of a someone who’s tremendously connected?

Dan Rottenberg

Feb 03, 2014 Articles 2 minute read

Verdi rarely reached out to others— except in his operas.

Verdi at 200 (Part 2): A private life in public

Scorned by critics, adored by the masses

Between 1849 and 1871 Verdi composed a dozen remarkable operas, many of them drawn from his unconventional personal life. The Italian masses may have been drawn to Verdi’s rejection of bourgeois hypocrisy as much as to his music.

Steve Cohen

Feb 03, 2014 Articles 5 minute read

Renée Fleming sings the national anthem

Sacred melodies

Not everyone appreciates the liberties taken with "The Star-Spangled Banner" — or any other classic song, like "Danny Boy." What makes some embellishments "too much"?

Maria Thompson Corley

Feb 03, 2014 Articles 3 minute read

Tempesta di Mare presents music from the court of Louis XIV

In the chambers of Versailles

Tempesta di Mare showcases an impressive tenor and eavesdrops on the private artistic world of Louis XIV and his courtiers.

Tom Purdom

Jan 30, 2014 Articles 3 minute read

The Curtis Symphony Orchestra (photo by David DeBalko)

The Curtis Symphony Orchestra at the Kimmel Center

Report from a besieged city

The Curtis Symphony Orchestra is top-notch by any standard, as it proved again in a winter concert featuring Glinka, Bartók, and Shostakovich’s massive Seventh Symphony.

Robert Zaller

Jan 30, 2014 Articles 5 minute read

You don't have to be Thelonious Monk to improvise at the keyboard.

How I learned to improvise

In music, as in life, there's nothing worse than someone who talks all the time but never says anything.

Michael Lawrence

Jan 29, 2014 Articles 2 minute read

What was Muti's college major? Guess again.

What makes a composer great?

What Beethoven knew (and Muti and Charles de Gaulle, too)

Musicologists have long known that certain combinations of notes move our emotions in certain ways. So what, exactly, did Beethoven and Mozart bring to the table that, say, the purveyors of Muzak didn’t?

Dan Rottenberg

Jan 27, 2014 Articles 4 minute read

Randall Thompson (April 21, 1899 – July 9, 1984) was best known for his choral works, but his "Requiem" is seldom performed.

Philadelphia Singers perform Randall Thompson's 'Requiem'

A great requiem has its day

A difficult, neglected masterpiece by American composer Randall Thompson is brought to life in a magnificent performance. From the swirling, anguished tones of the opening "Lamentations," the music is utterly hypnotic, especially so when rendered with the focused passion of this wonderful band of choristers.

Jan 27, 2014 Articles 3 minute read

Orchestra 2001's Martin Luther King concert

New music for an old struggle

Orchestra 2001 observes our youngest national holiday with a new music program packed with unspoken statements.

Tom Purdom

Jan 25, 2014 Articles 4 minute read

Vic Morrow as Sgt. Saunders in "Combat!": The coolest TV character ever

When Vic Morrow meets Vaughan Williams

How Do I Love Thee?

The sounds of a composer's youth are still there, but transformed, as he tries again.

Kile Smith

Jan 21, 2014 Articles 5 minute read