Seth Rozin's "Two Jews Walk Into a War'

But seriously, folks…

Seth Rozin's Two Jews Walk Into a War is cleverly titled, signaling that it's a comedy. But make no mistake, he has written a thoughtful examination of faith and a yearning for tradition in a changing world.

Steve Cohen

Apr 23, 2011 · Articles · 2 minute read

Stravinsky and Shostakovich at the Perelman

Together at last

Pianist Ignat Solzhenitsyn brought his fellow Russians Igor Stravinsky and Dmitri Shostakovich together for a rare conversation in a Chamber Music Society concert that also featured violinist Jennifer Frautschi and cellist Efe Baltacigil. They should speak more often, especially when given voice by musicians of this caliber.

Robert Zaller

Apr 23, 2011 · Articles · 5 minute read

Naoto Nakagawa's 'Earth Wave' in New York

Terror in the Garden of Eden

“Earth Wave,” the latest cycle of painting by the Japanese-American artist Naoto Nakagawa, arrives just in time to confront the disaster that has overwhelmed his native country, and also to challenge our headlong collision with the natural world.

Robert Zaller

Apr 19, 2011 · Articles · 4 minute read

Octavio Solis's "Lydia,' by Amaryllis

Are Hispanics really different?

In Lydia, Octavio Solis captures the mixture of poetry, magic and dysfunction that characterize Hispanic-American families. But he also borrows heavily from America's most celebrated Anglo playwrights.

Jim Rutter

Apr 19, 2011 · Articles · 3 minute read

Chamber Orchestra's "Histoire du Soldat'

Puppetmasters of Paris

The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia presented Philadelphia's first full-dress version of L'Histoire du Soldat in 20 years— and the first to attract a decent audience.

Tom Purdom

Apr 19, 2011 · Articles · 4 minute read

BalletX and Wilma re-imagine Apollinaire (2nd review)

Where's the beef?

Apollinaire and the surrealists reveled in the absurd. But these performers aren't surrealists— they're modern-day artists performing an old piece of surrealist art. It's a treat for the senses, but there's not much here for the mind to chew on.

Madeline Schaefer

Apr 19, 2011 · Articles · 4 minute read

Orchestre National de France at Verizon Hall

The French impression

Is spring really as violent as Stravinsky imagined? Whatever— 98 years after its premiere, his Rite of Spring provoked not a riot but a standing ovation.

Richard da Silva

Apr 19, 2011 · Articles · 2 minute read

A few suggestions for the Orchestra

To save the Orchestra, expand the audience

Balancing the books is a pointless exercise if the Philadelphia Orchestra's audience is eroding. Here are a few other questions and suggestions that might be more helpful.

Vincent Rinella

Apr 19, 2011 · Articles · 2 minute read

Orchestra confronts Berg, Mahler— and bankruptcy

A good night for music, a bad one for the Orchestra

Bankruptcy, once a moral disgrace, has become just another way of doing business. Or perhaps you thought the Philadelphia Orchestra was more than a business. This strategy may work in today's de-unionized business world; it works less well when the affected employees are not tool and die workers but world-class musicians openly coveted by other orchestras.

Robert Zaller

Apr 19, 2011 · Articles · 6 minute read

Rennie Harris Puremovement's hip-hop "Heaven' at the Perelman

A hip-hop Stravinsky

A muddy narrative undermined an otherwise memorable work that included some sterling and riveting hip-hop dance, choreographed by a legendary pioneer of the art form.

Jonathan M. Stein

Apr 18, 2011 · Articles · 2 minute read