Orchestra plays "Alexander Nevsky' (1st review)

More than meets the ear, less than meets the eye

I've always loved Prokofiev's Alexander Nevsky cantata, drawn from Sergei Eisenstein's 1938 film after the fact. But hearing the music performed with this lugubrious film reminded me that propaganda rarely succeeds as drama.

Andrew Mangravite

Nov 17, 2012 · Articles · 3 minute read

Chamber music: Philadelphia's secret weapon

When musicians go moonlighting

What do Philadelphia Orchestra musicians do in their free time? Many of them provide a rich talent pool for the city's diverse chamber music groups.

Tom Purdom

Nov 13, 2012 · Articles · 5 minute read

"The Tempest' at the Met in New York

Good golly, Miss Meredith (and other lines that don't rhyme)

Shakespeare's psychologically-driven The Tempest isn't an ideal choice for the musical stage to begin with. The creators of this opera compounded the problem with a libretto that's an insult to the Bard's poetic language.

Steve Cohen

Nov 13, 2012 · Articles · 4 minute read

AVA's "Barber of Seville' (1st review)

A bouncy and brassy Barber

Rossini's major operatic innovation was the expansion of brass in his orchestra and the writing of loud orchestral sections in his stage works. Those notions were honored in the Academy of Vocal Arts' season opener, an extroverted performance of Rossini's Barber of Seville.

Steve Cohen

Nov 09, 2012 · Articles · 3 minute read

Chamber Orchestra's new face

Bach's secret formula

Some artists appeal to the mind, others to the heart— and then there's Bach. The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia made that distinction clear in the perceptive hands of guest violinist/conductor Adele Anthony.

Tom Purdom

Nov 06, 2012 · Articles · 4 minute read

Yannick's incomparable Brahms Fourth (3rd review)

Yannick: Surpassing Rattle, approaching Bernstein

Yannick Nézet-Séguin's interpretation of the Brahms Fourth Symphony was one of the most intense and profound performances of this work— or any work, for that matter— that I've ever witnessed.

Dan Coren

Nov 03, 2012 · Articles · 2 minute read

Yannick: The flair and (mostly) the subtlety (3rd review)

Yannick comes down to Earth

Yannick Nézet-Séguin may not be a messiah, but his first regular-season concerts indicate that he's the right person for the job at this turbulent moment in the Philadelphia Orchestra's history.

Tom Purdom

Oct 30, 2012 · Articles · 5 minute read

Orchestra plays Bernstein and Brahms

Bernstein's shadow

The first post-bankruptcy season of the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the first of Yannick Nézet-Séguin's tenure as music director, has begun. The Orchestra, happily, still holds, and Yannick seems determined to inject fresh energy into it. But will finances, and morale, keep up with the pace?

Robert Zaller

Oct 27, 2012 · Articles · 7 minute read

Mendelssohn Club's Cathedral program

The space is the thing

Some musical works are deliberately theatrical; others become theatrical in the right venue, as the Mendelssohn Club's recent program at Philadelphia's grandest cathedral reminded us.

Oct 27, 2012 · Articles · 3 minute read

Philadelphia Orchestra's Verdi "Requiem' (2nd review)

God (or Yannick) grant us eternal rest

Yannick Nézet-Séguin approached Verdi's Requiem much as Eugene Ormandy once did: revealing the warm sound of the Philadelphia Orchestra, accommodating his quartet of famous singers and paying close attention to the libretto's intimate thoughts about death.

Steve Cohen

Oct 23, 2012 · Articles · 4 minute read