Verdi's "Oberto' by AVA

Before Verdi was Verdi

Verdi demonstrated amazing talent in this first effort, staged when he was 26 years old. Credit AVA's Christofer Macatsoris for beating Muti and Levine to the punch.

Steve Cohen

Feb 06, 2012 · Articles · 2 minute read

Nicola Luisotti leads the Orchestra

Leaping Luisotti, or: The return of the hyperkinetic conductor

Guest conductor Nicola Luisotti opened his debut performance with the Philadelphia Orchestra with the hokiest of Stokowski's Bach transcriptions. More substance emerged in the Shostakovich Violin Concerto and Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade, but Luisotti's podium antics didn't enhance his otherwise straightforward readings.

Robert Zaller

Feb 04, 2012 · Articles · 6 minute read

Leila Josefowicz at the Perelman

Unexpected pleasures

From de Falla to John Adams, the violinist Leila Josefowicz explored the world beyond the standard repertoire. I ended up getting my biggest satisfactions from the three pieces I had least looked forward to.

Tom Purdom

Jan 31, 2012 · Articles · 3 minute read

Orchestra 2001 at Trinity Center

What inspires composers?

Orchestra 2001 ranged across the spectrum of modern musical styles, with the usual hits and misses, depending on your personal biases.

Tom Purdom

Jan 31, 2012 · Articles · 4 minute read

Peter Serkin at Curtis

A family affair at Curtis

Beethoven's sublime Diabelli Variations, one of the summits of Western art, capped Peter Serkin's benefit recital at the Curtis Institute, his alma mater. With family members both in attendance and on the program, it was in every sense a successful homecoming.

Robert Zaller

Jan 31, 2012 · Articles · 3 minute read

Nézet-Séguin conducts Mahler (2nd review)

Yannick's first big test

Yannick Nézet-Séguin returned to his new Orchestra on a flying visit but with a weighty load: Mahler's titanic Sixth Symphony, which shared the program with Bach's Fifth Brandenburg Concerto. The lightly scored Bach was a bit swamped in Verizon Hall's cavernous spaces, but Mahler's mightiest score amply filled it in a disciplined and expressive reading.

Robert Zaller

Jan 28, 2012 · Articles · 4 minute read

Nézet-Séguin contemplates Mahler (1st review)

Yannick channels Stokowski (not to mention Mahler)

Yannick Nézet-Séguin sees next year's Philadelphia orchestra season as a homage to Stokowski's centennial here. But Yannick may be even gutsier than Stokowski in some respects. Consider his exuberant embrace of a Mahler work that Stokie avoided.

Steve Cohen

Jan 28, 2012 · Articles · 5 minute read

Curtis 20/21's All-Stravinsky concert

Learning from a master

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.

Jan 28, 2012 · Articles · 3 minute read

Met's "Enchanted Island' in HD-Live

Too much of a good thing, in your face

Big screen opera can be wonderful when its close-ups convey subtle gestures and notes. But as Enchanted Island demonstrates, the same proximity can make you gag when the characters are hamming it up to excess.

Steve Cohen

Jan 24, 2012 · Articles · 5 minute read

Blomstedt conducts Beethoven

What we hear vs. what Beethoven heard

Should Beethoven be performed in the grand Romantic style or in the tighter manner of Beethoven's own times? Herbert Blomstedt managed to straddle both sides of that fence.

Victor L. Schermer

Jan 24, 2012 · Articles · 4 minute read