Dutoit and the Orchestra: Breathing easy

The case for self-effacing conductors

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.

Nov 05, 2011 · Articles · 3 minute read

Met's new "Don Giovanni' in HD Live

Revolt of the peasants? Not just yet

In this age of complaints about “class warfare” and widening gaps between the “top one percent” and the rest of us, Don Giovanni takes on new meaning. But only two singers the Met's production seemed perturbed about the Don's debaucheries.

Steve Cohen

Nov 01, 2011 · Articles · 4 minute read

Julian Rodescu: A life in the arts

The courage to take risks: Julian Rodescu's rich life in the arts

My late friend Julian Rodescu was a cellist who became an opera singer, a teacher who became an impresario, a Romanian who became an American, and a New Yorker who became a devoted Philadelphian. His talent opened doors for him, but so did his willingness to try new things and push new limits.

Miriam Lewin

Nov 01, 2011 · Articles · 6 minute read

Philadelphia Singers discover Mendelssohn's sister

The sister also rises

As composers go, Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel may have been as talented as her brother Felix. The Philadelphia Singers reminded us that she deserves our attention.

Tom Purdom

Nov 01, 2011 · Articles · 4 minute read

Heath Brothers: Vintage jazz at the Perelman

Good riddance to jazz clubs?

Even in their 80s, the jazz legends Jimmy and Tootie Heath still make terrific sounds together. They differ on just one issue: Does jazz sound best when served in clubs or in concert halls?

Lewis Whittington

Oct 29, 2011 · Articles · 2 minute read

Andrew Bird in Wilmington

Love me, love my sound equipment

Has technology changed the nature of musical performance? If a concert involves recordings, in what sense should it be considered a “live” performance?

Judy Weightman

Oct 25, 2011 · Articles · 3 minute read

Classical Symphony's "likeable music'

Do I hear a saxophone?

Karl Middleman presented five pieces, including a world premiere, that prove the music of the last 70 years can be just as likeable as any divertimento penned by Mozart and Haydn.

Tom Purdom

Oct 25, 2011 · Articles · 4 minute read

Mendelssohn Club with Orchestra 2001

From Poland to Istanbul

The Mendelssohn Club and Orchestra 2001 presented a joint concert that spanned a broad range of modern musical styles.

Tom Purdom

Oct 25, 2011 · Articles · 4 minute read

The end of the Orchestra?

Enjoy it while you can

The Philadelphia Orchestra under Charles Dutoit featured Lang Lang's mannered performance of the Liszt First Piano Concerto between Faure's wistful Pavane and Shostakovich's epic Tenth Symphony. The Orchestra was in good form, but the looming question remains: for how long?

Robert Zaller

Oct 25, 2011 · Articles · 6 minute read

Ama Deus Ensemble at the Perelman

Mozart Ó la Radu

Valentin Radu opened an ambitious series of concerts at the Perelman Theater with a program that includes his own uninhibited half-sitting, half-standing approach to playing and conducting Mozart's 23rd Piano Cconcerto.

Tom Purdom

Oct 18, 2011 · Articles · 2 minute read