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Peter Burwasser has been the classical music critic for the Philadelphia City Paper since 1981. He was also an editor and contributor for Philadelphia Music Makers, and he reviews recordings and videos for Fanfare Magazine. His other freelance writing activities have included CD program notes for the Music and Arts label, articles for the WRTI Radio Guide, articles for the annual report of the Philadelphia Music Project, and concert reviews for the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Peter serves on the board of directors of the Musical Fund Society of Philadelphia and the Presser Foundation, as well as the Wagner Free Institute of Science. He lives in Bella Vista, Philadelphia with his wife and two children.
More articles by Peter Burwasser, newest first
| Philadelphia Orchestra plays Ligeti (2nd review) |
May 21 2013 |
When was the last time you heard a Philadelphia Orchestra concert that included the crumpling of newspaper as a part of the score? Not to mention the audience laughing out loud throughout the performance?
Philadelphia Orchestra: Webern, Passacaglia, Op. 1; Berg, Three Fragments from Wozzeck; Ligeti, Mysteries of the Macabre; Beethoven, Symphony No. 6 in F, Op. 68 (“Pastorale”). Barbara Hannigan, soprano; Simon Rattle, conductor. May 16-18 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce St. (215) 893-1999 or www.philorch.org.
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| Dohnányi, the ‘non-Yannick’ (1st review) |
March 11 2013 |
Amid the well-deserved hoopla over Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Christoph von Dohnányi reminded Philadelphia audiences why many musicians venerated an old-fashioned Central European conductor like Wolfgang Sawallisch.
Philadelphia Orchestra: Lutoslawski, Funeral Music; Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor; Beethoven: Symphony No. 3. Rudolf Buchbinder, piano; Christoph von Dohnányi, conductor. March 8-10, 2013 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Sts. (215) 893-1999 or philorch.org.
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| Opera Philadelphia’s ‘Silent Night’ (2nd review) |
February 19 2013 |
Silent Night is a very effective new opera that could be made even better with some judicious tinkering. The drama exudes a raw energy that doesn’t shy away from the harrowing circumstances of war.
Silent Night. Opera by Kevin Puts; libretto by Mark Campbell; Eric Simonson directed; Michael Christie, conductor. Opera Philadelphia production ended February 17, 2013 at Academy of Music, Broad and Locust Sts. (215) 732-8400 or operaphila.org.
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| Hugo Wolf’s ‘Spanish Songs’: Dual recital |
February 09 2013 |
The charming British tenor Ian Bostridge and the pitch-perfect Austrian mezzo Angelika Kirchschlager make something of an odd couple. But they found their chemistry toward the end of a recital of Hugo Wolf’s delightful Spanish Songs.
Angelika Kirchschlager, mezzo-soprano; Ian Bostridge, tenor; Julius Drake, piano. Wolf, Spanisches Liederbuch. Presented by Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, February 5, 2013 at Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Sts. (215) 569-8080 or pcmsconcerts.org.
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| Sarah Shafer, shining new soprano |
December 09 2012 |
Which of today’s Curtis students will become tomorrow’s stars? In the case of the gifted and intelligent soprano Sarah Shafer, it seems obvious.
Sarah Shafer, soprano; Richard Goode, piano. Works by Schubert, Brahms, Mahler. December 7, 2012 at Benjamin Franklin Hall, 427 Chestnut St. (215) 569-8080 or pcmsconcerts.org.
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| Orchestra plays ‘Alexander Nevsky’ (2nd review) |
November 18 2012 |
This dusty old black-and-white film still packs a wallop, and the Philadelphia Orchestra deserves high praise for staging an exceptionally well prepared and powerfully executed production of this masterful mélange of art forms.
Philadelphia Orchestra: Prokofiev, Alexander Nevsky. Film directed by Sergei Eisenstein; Michelle DeYoung, mezzo-soprano; Stéphane Denève, conductor; Philadelphia Singers Chorale, David Hayes, music director. November 15-17, 2012 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Sts. (215) 893-1999 or www.philorch.org.
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| Mendelssohn Club sings Clearfield and Fauré |
May 05 2012 |
Andrea Clearfield’s ambitiously sprawling Tse Go La is the latest fruit of the composer’s musical field trips to Tibet and by far the most substantial: a fantastic amalgam of cross-cultural influences.
Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia: Clearfield, Tse Go La; Fauré: Requiem. Alan Harler, conductor. Sunday, April 29, 2012 at Church of the Holy Trinity, W. Rittenhouse Square. (215) 735-9922 or mcchorus.org.
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| Curtis Orchestra plays Higdon, Bartók and Brahms |
April 30 2012 |
Jennifer Higdon, as much as any composer of her generation, has solidified the permanent significance of the American populist school, once led by Aaron Copland. Even from this youthful ensemble, her blue cathedral was rich and satisfying.
Curtis Symphony Orchestra: Higdon, blue cathedral, Brahms, Double Concerto; Bartók, Concerto for Orchestra. Juliette Kang, violin; Efe Baltacigil, cello; Robert Spano and Kensho Watanabe, conductors. April 23, 2012 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Sts. (215) 893-7902 or www.curtis.edu.
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| New York Philharmonic with Joyce DiDonato (2nd review) |
February 28 2012 |
Joyce DiDonato, with her pitch-perfect, carefully modulated voice, sounded like one of the instruments— a haunting effect that would not have been possible without the wonderful chemistry between soloist and orchestra.
New York Philharmonic: Stucky, Son et lumière, Berlioz, Les nuits d’été; Mussorgsky-Ravel, Pictures at an Exhibition. Joyce DiDonato, mezzo-soprano; Alan Gilbert conductor. February 24, 2012 at Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Sts. (215) 893-7902 or kimmelcenter.org.
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| Curtis 20/21’s All-Stravinsky concert |
January 28 2012 |
Stravinsky throws an extraordinarily diverse range of influences— from early jazz to church hymns to folk music— into a breathtakingly concise package. I can’t recall hearing it performed with as much pungent clarity and disciplined vigor as this.
Curtis 20/21. All Stravinsky: Eight Instrumental Miniatures, Concertino for Twelve Instruments, L’Histoire du soldat. John De Lancie, narrator; David Effron, conductor; Bronwen MacArthur, choreographer. January 24, 2012 at Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Sts. (215) 569-8080 or pcmsconcerts.org.
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| Orchestre Révolutionnaire at Verizon Hall (1st review) |
November 19 2011 |
When this orchestra plays, the needle is always in the danger zone, lending a bracing, edgy quality to the performances that enhances the truly revolutionary spirit of Beethoven’s music.
Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique: Beethoven, Overture to “Egmont”; Symphony No. 3; Symphony No. 5. Sir John Eliot Gardiner, conductor. November 15, 2011 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Sts. (215) 893-1955 or www.kimmelcenter.org.
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| Dutoit and the Orchestra: Breathing easy |
November 05 2011 |
A conductor’s pacing works best when the audience notices it least. Charles Dutoit’s beat created a pace that’s akin to breathing, as opposed to the unvarying tick-tock of a metronome.
Philadelphia Orchestra: Elgar, “Enigma” Variations; Strauss, Le Bourgeois Gentillehomme; Schumann, Cello Concerto. October 28, 2011 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce St. (215) 893-1999 or www.philorch.org.
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| Henze's 'Phaedra' by the Opera Company (1st review) |
June 06 2011 |
Hans Werner Henze's Phaedra demonstrates convincingly that contemporary opera can deliver the wow factor. The Opera Company of Philadelphia took a huge chance in staging this new production, and it paid off.
Phaedra. Music by Hans Werner Henze; directed by Robert Driver; Corrado Rovaris conducted. Opera Company of Philadelphia production through June 12, 2011 at the Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Sts. (215) 732-8400 or www.operaphila.org.
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| Orchestra-Ballet’s ‘Pulcinella’ collaboration (1st review) |
April 11 2011 |
In a concert ballyhooed as an historic co-production of a ballet company and an orchestra, Falla’s Three-Cornered Hat was performed complete, but without the dancing. Which begs just one question: Why?
Philadelphia Orchestra: Falla, The Three-Cornered Hat. Pennsylvania Ballet: Stravinsky, Pulcinella. Jorma Elo, choreographer; Rossen Milanov, conductor. April 7, 2011 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Sts. (215) 546-7432 or www.pifa.org.
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| Jeremy Gill works at Settlement (1st review) |
March 01 2011 |
Jeremy Gill’s music is particularly concerned with sound qualities, to the extent that he’ll move his performers to different parts of the hall during the course of a work. It seems to be a signature for this promising young composer.
Music of Gill, Reich, Britten, Messiaen. ToniMarie Marchioni, oboe; Feifei Zhang, piano; Jeremy Gill, piano; Mari Yoshinaga, percussion; Gabriel Globus-Hoenich, percussion. February 24., 2011 at Settlement Music School, 416 Queen Street. www.jeremytgill.com.
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| Pianist Mitsuko Uchida at the Perelman |
January 22 2011 |
When the bruisingly intense pianist Mitsuko Uchida sits down at her instrument, you sense that not only will the audience hear the music in some new way, but also Uchida herself will make discoveries along the way. It’s a brave and exciting way to make music, and fraught with risk.
Mitsuko Uchida, piano. Beethoven, Piano Sonata in e minor, Op. 90; Schumann, Davidsbündlertänze; Chopin, Prelude in c-sharp minor, Op. 45, Piano Sonata No. 3 in b minor, Op. 58. Philadelphia Chamber Music Society program January 18, 2011 at Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce St. (215) 569-8080 or pcmsconcerts.org.
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| Khaner/Abramovic concert at Settlement |
December 18 2010 |
Flutist Jeffrey Khaner and pianist Charles Abramovic demonstrated what two superb musicians can do with music intended merely for gifted amateurs.
Jeffrey Khaner, flute; Charles Abramovic, piano: Krzywicki, Five Lyrics for Flute and Piano; Adam Wernick, Dream/Play; Cacioppo, Philadelphia Diaries; Arauco, Vistas. Presented December 9, 2010 by Philadelphia Chamber Music Society at Settlement Music School, 416 Queen St. (215) 569-8080 or pcmsconcerts.org.
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| ‘South Pacific’ revival on tour (2nd comment) |
November 30 2010 |
Has opera been replaced by the Broadway musical? If so, is that good or bad? The recent revival of South Pacific demonstrated the pros as well as the cons of this brave new musical world.
South Pacific. Music by Richard Rodgers; book by Joshua Logan and Oscar Hammerstein II; lyrics by Hammerstein; Bartlett Sher directed; Lawrence Goldberg, conductor. November 23-28, 2010 at Academy of Music, Broad and Locust Sts. November 30-December 5, 2010 at Hershey Theatre, Hershey, Pa. www.hersheytheatre.com.
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| Network for New Music’s ‘Trade Winds From Tibet’ |
November 26 2010 |
Four young American composers based their pieces on recent fieldwork conducted in Tibet by Philadelphia composer Andrea Clearfield. This self-consciously styled genre is too often laden with clichés— happily not the case in this concert.
Network for New Music Ensemble: “Trade Winds form Tibet.” Solitro, Passages; Moe, Spirit Mountain; Clearfield, Kawa Ma Gyur, Lung-ta. Djupstrom, Three Months; Jan Krzywicki, conductor. November 21, 2010 at Ethical Society, 1906 S. Rittenhouse Square. (215) 848-7647 or www.networkfornewmusic.org.
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| Dresden Staatskapelle’s ‘Brahms Requiem’ |
November 05 2010 |
Guest conductor Daniel Harding led a massive ensemble with firm control, but he sounded overly reverential and insufficiently emotive.
Dresden Staatskapelle: Brahms, German Requiem. November 2, 2010 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Sts. (215) 893-1955 or www.kimmelcenter.org.
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| Yannick and the Orchestra: So far, so good (1st review) |
October 30 2010 |
In his first test since his appointment, music director-designate Yannick Nézet-Séguin’s rhythmic freedom and steady pulse gave the Philadelphia Orchestra the confidence to bloom a bit more than usual.
Philadelphia Orchestra: Haydn, Symphony No. 100 ("Military"); Mahler, Symphony No. 5. Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor. October 29-30, 2010 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Sts. (215) 893-1955 or www.philorch.org.
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| Yo-Yo Ma at the Kimmel (1st review) |
October 19 2010 |
Yo-Yo Ma delivered beautiful tone but neither bite nor flashes of anger in his confusingly bland Brahms. Brahms wants his Sonata No. 1 to both shout and whisper; Ma chose to sit comfortably somewhere in between.
Yo-Yo Ma, cello. Kathryn Stott, piano. Morricone, Gabriel’s Oboe, from The Mission; Gershwin, Prelude No. 2; Mariano, Cristal; Brahms, Sonata No. 1 in e minor for Cello and Piano; Fitkin, L.; Rachmaninoff, Sonata in g minor for Cello and Piano. October 17, 2010 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce St. (215) 893-1955 or www.kimmelcenter.org.
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| PRISM’s five pieces for saxophones |
June 08 2010 |
You will almost always hear some jazzy, syncopated rhythms in a PRISM saxophone concert, and that was the case in a number of the pieces in this season closer, featuring five world premieres and one local one, all by composers named Dave.
PRISM Quartet: Little, Raw Power; Ludwig, Density 15.1; Lang, Revolutionary Etudes; Laganella, Leafless Trees; Rainero-de-Haan, As of this Moment: Beidenbender, You’ve Been Talking in your Sleep. Timothy McAllister, soprano sax; Zachary Shemon, alto; Matthew Levy, tenor; Taimur Sullivan, baritone. June 5, 2010 at Settlement Music School, 416 Queen St. (215) 438-5282, or prismquartet.com.
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| Variations on Beethoven’s Variations, by Network For New Music |
May 07 2010 |
Inspired by Beethoven’s Diabelli Variations, Network For New Music called for 25 new variations from 25 present-day composers. The result certainly didn’t sound like a single, cohesive work, yet it captured a range of drama, emotion and texture that honored Beethoven’s model.
Network for New Music: New variations on Beethoven’s Diabelli Variations, by 25 modern composers. Jan Krzywicki, conductor; Edward Schulz, flute/piccolo; Arne Running, clarinet; Jason Calloway, cello; Charles Abramovic, piano. May 2, 2010 at Settlement Music School, 416 Queen Street. (215) 848-7647 or networkfornewmusic.org.
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| New music and so-called music 'lovers' |
April 27 2010 |
Is it really true that most music lovers dislike "new music"? As a critic for the past 25 years, I can attest that new music is becoming more accessible, and its audiences are expanding. This is an encouraging development. It means that music lovers are opening their minds to the creative voices of our time.
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| Network For New Music plays Michael Hersch (1st review) |
April 13 2010 |
Michael Hersch’s A Forest of Attics is complex, ferocious and disturbingly dark— in short, very refreshing at a time when ebullient tonality is all the rage. Hersch writes with an emotional honesty that leaves him naked.
Network for New Music: Caltabiano, Lines from Poetry; Jaffe, Light Dances; Hersch, A Forest of Attics. April 9, 2010 at Ethical Society, 1906 S. Rittenhouse Sq. (215) 848-7647 or networkfornewmusic.org.
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| Marcantonio Barone piano recital |
March 09 2010 |
Barone’s exceptionally vivid and smart playing pulled a diverse program together, with music that sprang to life as if the composers were all vivacious and engaging guests at a really good party (even if one or two of them might have had too much to drink).
Marcantonio Barone, Piano: Haydn, Piano Sonata in E, Hob. XVI/22; Maneval, Lines from a Poem– Ten Bagatelles for Piano, Op. 39; Finko, Piano Sonata No. 2; Mussorgsky, Pictures At An Exhibition. March 3, 2010 at Benjamin Franklin Hall, 427 Chestnut St. (215) 569-8080 or pcmsconcerts.org.
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| Network for New Music tackles Darwin (1st review) |
February 23 2010 |
Take an exhibit of Darwin material at a small, erudite museum, mix with young poets and musicians, add an excellent new music ensemble, and you get some illumination about the complex nature of the theory of evolution.
Network for New Music: Nelson, Megathere, Multiplexing; Shapiro, The Monogamous Man; Litts, Transmutation; Carpenter, The Monogamous Man; Munro, Megathere, Multiplexing; Wright, Darwiniana. Jeremy Gill, conductor; Randall Scarlata, baritone. February 19 and 21, 2010 at Benjamin Franklin Hall, 427 Chestnut St. (215) 848-7647 or www.networkfornewmusic.org.
“Dialogues With Darwin.” Through October 17, 2010 at American Philosophical Society, 104 S. Fifth St. (215) 440.3442 or www.pachs.net/dialogues-with-darwin.
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| Richard Goode/Jonathan Biss piano recital (2nd review) |
February 19 2010 |
Yes, Richard Goode and Jonathan Biss conveyed the requisite precision. But it was the differences between them as artists that raised their recent duo piano recital to a higher level.
Richard Goode and Jonathan Biss: Piano recital. Works by Debussy, Schumann, Beethoven, Stravinsky and Schubert. Presented by Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, February 4, 2010 at Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce St. (215) 569-8080 or pcmsconcerts.org.
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