Results tagged “classicalmusic”

Are You Experienced?: The Erotic Literary Salon invites you to share your original or favorite erotica at L’Etage (624 S 6th), 8:30. $10 (registration required: 215-840-5830)

Fun around town, for $10 or less:

Fun around town, for $10 or less:

Fun around town, for $10 or less:

Fun around town, for $10 or less:

Fun around town, for $10 or less:

Lyric Fest is slowly but surely perfecting the solo voice recital. Their concerts are always well-programmed—thematic and insightful. This past weekend’s concert, “Old City - New Song,” featured works written by composers who have spent some or all of their lives in Philadelphia, ranging from Curtis alumni Samuel Barber and Leonard Bernstein to the Philadelphia Library’s orchestral music curator Kile Smith. The concert culminated in the world premiere of organist/composer Nicolas White’s , featuring soloists and the Pennsylvania Girlchoir. The breadth, depth, and quality of the music featured in this program made me proud to live in a city with such a wonderful musical heritage.

Fun around town, for $10 or less:

Fun around town, for $10 or less:

Leonard Bernstein has long held a place in our hearts as one of America's great composers and conductors. In honor of the 90th anniversary of his birth, the Philadelphia Orchestra, along with world- renowned soloists such as Joshua Bell and Jennifer Koh, has put together some truly timeless and innovative programs together for its Bernstein Festival, taking place from now until early February. In addition to celebrating Bernstein's music, the Philadelphia Orchestra also recognizes his influence on current composers with world premieres of works by one of today's great American composers, Jennifer Higdon. Even if you only know a few works by Bernstein, this festival has some wonderful gems that showcase all that American classical music has to offer.

Nothing puts me in the holiday spirit like Handel's Messiah. Despite the fact that much of Messiah's subject matter is better-suited for Easter, it has made itself a Christmas-time staple of choirs around the world. Because of its length (three hours), it's not too often that you hear Handel's Messiah in its entirety, much less on period instruments. Some argue that modern instruments fill Handel's texture out, but I find that they detract from the refined, yet passionate nature of Baroque music. Early music group Vox Amadeus' performance of Handel's unabridged Messiah on period instruments at Holy Trinity Church was therefore a rare treat.

Fun around town, for $10 or less:

Dame Kiri Te Kanawa stops by Philadelphia for a recital of Mozart, Strauss, Poulenc, Puccini and Copland on her Farewell Tour. This may be your last chance to hear the world-renowned New Zealand soprano.

The main problem with Shakespeare is that he wrote so darn much. Any group tackling this monstrous body of work in any form is certainly in for a ride. LyricFest's "Biography in Music - Shakespeare" was a fairly successful attempt. The amount of material covered by the program - the life of Shakespeare, readings from his works, and song settings of his works - certainly presents a problem for even the most dedicated programmer. LyricFests's solution of a continuous cycle of biographical reading, play reading, and song was a bit too disjointed and detracted from the overall flow of the concert. I would have preferred a higher ratio of song to reading and more continuous singing. The readings tended to relate somewhat to the upcoming song, but it was not always entirely clear how. The repertoire was well-chosen for the most part and included a wide range of Shakespeare-setters from Verdi to Finzi. I was a bit surprised that the the most famous Shakespeare song, "It was a lover and his lass," only made it into a truncated version in a reading.

Remember to pack your bottled water and bug spray. Most of the concerts this week are outdoors.

A Fine Frenzy Giveaway
6/15/07-6/18/07

Philly's classical music community seems to be back from its Memorial Day break as well.

We always get a little sad when the main classical music season ends and all the musicians go to their fun summer festivals. But, this can only mean that the Mann Center's season is just around the corner!

What a great week in classical music for Philly! Anonymous 4 comes to Philly on Thursday. Sunday appears to be the perfect storm of concert scheduling - you can't go wrong on Sunday even if you pick a concert blindfolded.

Still looking for the perfect Valentine's Day gift? Nothing says I love you like an evening of classical music. Best bets include the timeless tale of love, Porgy and Bess, which continues at the Philly Opera, as well as some great chamber concerts around the city.

There’s not too much going on this week in the classical music universe. It seems like most of the smaller groups around town are waiting until at least next week to start up with concerts again. Nevertheless, there are still shows to be seen!

Philly’s classical music scene is really in full swing this week, only taking a break off for Halloween (but who isn’t?). Stay tuned for Phillyist’s review of La Bohème, which continues at the Academy of Music through Sunday.

This week’s classical music events seem to cluster during the weekend, but no matter. There’s plenty to see and hear with the Opera Company of Philadelphia’s La bohème and an assortment of chamber music concerts.

A big editorial welcome to another new Phillyist blogger, Sydney de Lapeyrouse, who, as you'll see below, is taking on an aspect of Philly that has, until now, been sadly neglected by us...