Marin Alsop Conducts the Shostakovich Fifth

'This game may end badly'

The Philadelphia Orchestra stepped through its paces as a chamber ensemble, a jazz band, and a full symphonic ensemble in its program with guest conductor Marin Alsop.

Robert Zaller

Nov 03, 2015 · Articles · 5 minute read

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

Oct 27, 2015 · Articles · 5 minute read

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

Oct 27, 2015 · Articles · 6 minute read

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

Oct 19, 2015 · Articles · 5 minute read

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

Oct 13, 2015 · 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

Oct 13, 2015 · Articles · 5 minute read

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

Oct 12, 2015 · Articles · 4 minute read

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

Oct 06, 2015 · Articles · 4 minute read

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

Oct 06, 2015 · Articles · 5 minute read

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

Oct 04, 2015 · Articles · 3 minute read