Music

1938 results
Page 73
Dawn or no, there is just the rooster. (A feral rooster on the Hawaiian island of Kauai: photo by jaybergesen via Creative Commons/Wikimedia)

On the importance of melody

Myth and melody

Music isn’t broken into the three parts of melody, harmony, and rhythm. It’s just melody.
Kile Smith

Kile Smith

Articles 5 minute read
Kosky's 'Magic Flute': What do 21st-century audiences want?

In search of Philadelphia operas

Kitty Foyle and yellow fever, set to music?

With all this operatic creativity, money, and synergy in Philadelphia nowadays, how come no one past or present has written an opera that takes place in Philadelphia?
Dan Rottenberg

Dan Rottenberg

Articles 6 minute read
Celebrating 70 years: The Borodin Quartet. (Photo by Keith Saunders)

PCMS presents the Borodin Quartet

Heavenly delights

The intimate collaboration between Shostakovich and the Borodin Quartet is one of the most remarkable relationships in musical history, and it would warrant the Borodin a special place in cultural memory even if it had long since disbanded. Instead, it's celebrating its 70th anniversary.
Robert Zaller

Robert Zaller

Articles 5 minute read
The love of his life: Yoncheva and Antonenko. (Photo by Ken Howard/ Metropolitan Opera)

Verdi's 'Otello' at the Metropolitan Opera

Is blackface necessary?

The ill-considered decision to use a white Otello in the Met's current production of Otello stole attention that should have been focused on the musical performance led by Yannick Nézet-Séguin.
Steve Cohen

Steve Cohen

Articles 4 minute read

Tom Lawton's 'Man Ray Jazz Suite'

Where the ear meets the eye

Tom Lawton's Man Ray Jazz Suite, performed in the main hall of the Art Museum, was a stunning musical evening that combined the intimate, spontaneous experience of a jazz club with the seriousness of a classical concert.
Victor L. Schermer

Victor L. Schermer

Articles 5 minute read
Gil Shaham: Crawling up Yannick’s sleeve. (photo via gilshaham.com)

The Philadelphia Orchestra plays Grieg, Bartók, and Sibelius

Dazzling Bartók, burnished Sibelius

The Philadelphia Orchestra is going from the sublime to the kitschy this year, with Mahler on the one hand and John Williams on the other, and few concerts that veer far off the beaten track. This week, the season’s second, offered two substantial works with a lollipop.
Robert Zaller

Robert Zaller

Articles 4 minute read
Hvorostovsky acknowledging well-deserved ovations. (photo by Marty Sohl/Metropolitan Opera)

Met Opera's 'Il Trovatore'

A grand operatic experience

The Met Opera season opener was an emotional and artistic triumph. Eight days later came a spectacular live performance simulcast on movie screens.
Steve Cohen

Steve Cohen

Articles 4 minute read
Oropesa and friends: The good old days, before antibiotics and therapy. (Photo: Kelly & Massa.)

Opera Philadelphia’s ‘La Traviata’

Violetta sans context

Verdi’s La Traviata is a 19th-century gift that keeps on giving, and therein lies its problem: Directors can’t resist the temptation to tinker with it.
Dan Rottenberg

Dan Rottenberg

Articles 5 minute read
Pianist Daniil Trifonov played orchestra fave Rachmaninoff.

The Philadelphia Orchestra opens the 2015-2016 season

Past, present, and future of a Philadelphia institution

The Philadelphia Orchestra’s past and present were on spectacular display, but the future is in danger. Nice words were exchanged while negotiations are at a perilous point.
Steve Cohen

Steve Cohen

Articles 3 minute read
Publicity photo of Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra from “The Dean Martin Show.” (Creative Commons via Wikimedia)

Philly Pops celebrates Sinatra centennial

It's Friday with Frank again! and Saturday with Dino!

The Great American Songbook has become a lasting part of our cultural heritage because of the constantly evolving interpretations of these standards. Sinatra and Martin recorded many songs multiple times throughout their long careers, each performance changing as their lives had changed. It is little wonder that new performers keep on finding new ways to sing and new arrangers find unique ways to present these songs.
Armen Pandola

Armen Pandola

Articles 6 minute read