Hotbed of Intrigue

Top 10 of 2010

2010-12-20T11:24:00.004-05:00

The ten best performances I had the good fortune to attend in 2010, in chronological order.

Symphony in C with cellist Susan Babini, Aaron Jay Kernis’ "Colored Field," April 7, Perelman Theater at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts.

Counter)induction, George Crumb’s “Eleven Echoes of Autumn,” May 16, American Philosophical Society

The Crossing, Kamran Ince’s “Gloria (everywhere),” September 12, Bang on a Can Marathon at World Cafe Live

So Percussion and Matmos, music by Robert Ashley and others, same date and location as previous entry

Charles Curtis, Carol Robinson, and Bruno Martinez, Eliane Radigue’s "Naldjorlak," September 24, Christ Church

Princeton Symphony Orchestra with violinist Leila Josefowicz, Steve Mackey’s “Beautiful Passing,” October 3, Richardson Auditorium

Symphony in C (again) with pianist Adam Neiman, Rachmaninoff's Second Piano Concerto, October 9, Gordon Theater at Rutgers-Camden

Opera gala with singers from the Academy of Vocal Arts, October 17, Tomasello Winery

Treme Brass Band, October 27, Candlelight Lounge, New Orleans

JACK Quartet, music by Wolfe, Lachenmann and Gregory Spears, November 20, Icebox @ Crane Arts

It's mainly a list of Philly performances, with a few from New Jersey and an odd one not from the mid-Atlantic at all. You'll note there are few performances from early in the year, which I'll chalk up to weekends spent bartending and weeknights spent planning my April wedding. October appears to have been something of a mensis mirabilis; I only wish I could have taken in a concert during my trip to San Francisco. The Giants game was pretty cool, though.

I'd also like to add two honorable mentions, both of which I had the pleasure of performing in: a March performance with Choral Arts Philadelphia, with music by Pärt, Jonathan Harvey and a wild, woolly, unheard-for-20-years piece by the late Joseph Castaldo; and an a cappella rendition of "Seasons of Love" from the musical Rent , sung with old friends at my wedding, not long after my wife and I said "I do."

The humidity of other planets

2010-07-28T09:40:00.004-04:00

This month has been one of my busiest ever, I think. Late June and early July had me bartending at a furious pace during World Cup soccer matches, after which I immediately segued into a titanic, non-arts-related writing assignment.

Amid copious rewrites and explorations of several business-related fields about which I previously knew next to nothing, I found time to crank out several music-related assignments. Though it took away valuable time from a series of impending deadlines, writing about music did me quite a bit of good.

So, from Sunday, a preview of the Philadelphia Orchestra's presentation of Planet Earth Live, an evening-length, multimedia, music/video/nature documentary jawn, with both music and film images adapted from the BBC documentary Planet Earth. I'll be attending this on Thursday with my wife and several members of her family.

Also, a feature on Red KoolAde, a very talented jazz trio with two doctors among its members. The group's saxophonist provided me with a never-before-seen journalistic opportunity: he invited me over to his house for a party where the band was performing. It made for some observations that sitting in on a Sunday night practice session never would have afforded.

Finally, in my first non-Paperboy contribution to Phawker in several months, I put together a preview of this past Saturday's Non-Classical showcase, presented by Gabriel Prokofiev's far-reaching record label. The interview with GP went up on Phawker a scant couple of hours before the event, and I wasn't able to attend anyway, but GP's answers to my questions turned out to be very illuminating. I haven't heard any reports on Saturday's attendance, but I hope my preview encouraged at least a small boost.

Official business

2010-07-02T12:51:00.003-04:00

In today's Courier-Post, I had the pleasure of breaking the news that Camden's Symphony in C has appointed a new president. Krishna Thiagarajan -- I asked him several times for the correct pronunciation of his last name -- comes to the Symphony from the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, where his colleagues praised his leadership as director of education and community outreach and, for the last year, senior director of artistic operations.

Thiagarajan -- I'm told his former students called him "Dr. T" -- impressed me with his thoughtful approach to orchestral programming during unsteady economic times, as well as with his deeply-felt connection to classical repertoire and his willingness to try new things (he mentioned performing George Crumb's music -- possibly the Four Nocturnes (Summer Night II) -- and it was all I could do to refrain from gushing over Crumb and contemporary music in general). Following a season in which the Symphony performed at a high level, made its Carnegie Hall debut, and faced a daunting budget shortage due to delays in state funding, Thiagarajan comes into a situation with more potential than peril, but weaning the Symphony off of unreliable funding sources -- the state council on the arts included -- will be an immediate, pressing challenge.

He'll be on the job effective September 1, though he won't arrive in Camden until the 8th, owing to a long-planned trip to his native Germany. I look forward to many more conversations with him on the Symphony and its future, the classical repertoire, and, if possible, the contributions to the beer-drinking world from his hometown of Dortmund.

Brewing

2010-06-28T10:43:00.003-04:00

The twin passions of my adult life -- new music and beer -- have cropped up in my writing once again. Though it's late in coming to this forum, you can find my preview of Saturday's Garden State Beer Festival here. I was unable to attend; I was busy serving, rather than consuming, beer during the World Cup soccer matches.

In other weekend news, The Crossing, a local chamber choir dedicated to performing modern music, launched its second Month of Moderns festival yesterday, and I previewed the series and its adventurous programming here for the Courier-Post. From my discussions with director Donald Nally and several of the choir's members, the third MoM, as they call it, is already in the works. A greater presence between July and January is also planned, including a slot in Bang on a Can's Marathon, part of the Live Arts/Philly Fringe Festival and scheduled for September 12.

My rubric in highlighting Philadelphia events for a New Jersey audience is whether the attraction merits crossing the bridge, paying the toll, finding parking -- all factors for a suburban audience. This one, without question, does. I've written about the Crossing in the past, both for the Broad Street Review and here, and their performances have been consistently stirring and impressive. I was unable to attend the opener -- again, beer-dispensing duties are the reason -- but expect reports from the July 9 and 17 shows.

Breakthroughs

2010-05-27T10:44:00.003-04:00

A first: a short piece in Washington City Paper, made possible by a colleague and former editor who landed there after a paper here in Philly went belly-up (only to emerge in a different form, sans arts coverage). I used to pick up WCP on trips into DC from the Shady Grove Metro station, and I may have more bylines there in the future. Yes, I know I don't live in DC. I'll make it work.

A find: a piece in the Courier-Post that both previewed a concert and highlighted a remarkable church music program in Moorestown. The music ministry at First Presbyterian Church is surprisingly prolific -- I compared it to a top-level college athletics program -- and brings in a large number of passionately interested young people. I wasn't able to attend the Chapel Choir's May 23 performance of Mozart's Mass in C, but my experience attending the choir's rehearsal had me convinced that teenagers can connect with Mozart on a deep and meaningful level. It's rarely been my intent to crusade, but the classical-music-is-for-old-people-and-the-elite narrative is one I take pleasure in subverting.

Momentum

2010-05-17T09:47:00.006-04:00

Yesterday, I took in a concert by the NYC-based new-music group counter)induction. They appear several times yearly in Philadelphia, but this was the first time I'd had the opportunity to hear them. Their program, titled "The Child is Father to the Man," examined connections between composers and their pupils. The first half paired Xenakis with his student Dusapin; the second, George Crumb and two of his students at the University of Pennsylvania, Douglas Boyce and Kyle Bartlett.

The overall structure of the concert reminded me of a work by Ken Ueno, whom I met at a Philadelphia Music Project panel in January. "Kaze-no-Oka," his concerto for traditional Japanese instruments opens with two bars of fast, loud music; he says, in his program note, that this quick burst of notes "merely functions to introduce potential energy." In similar fashion, there were a few direct echoes of Xenakis' string trio "Ikhoor" later in the program, but the spirit of the piece -- call it momentum -- pervaded the rest of the afternoon. Each of the pieces that followed the Xenakis reached the fevered pitch that "Ikhoor" maintained for its entire length; the main variations were in how each composer went about reaching that level of intensity and how long they chose to sustain it.

In short, the Xenakis was furiously committed, dizzying, and over far too soon. It was a thorough working-out of the possibilities of register and timbre, with a very compact and economical marshaling of instrumental forces. Full disclosure: I'd never heard Xenakis performed live, and it was a visceral, unforgettable experience. To the Philadelphia music community: more, please.

The Dusapin was much more diffuse and dominated by the sound of piano. The spirit of "Ikhoor" seemed to enter the piece through a few small gestures -- mostly glissandos and trills -- but the deepest sense of concentration came in the form of Steven Beck's almost mantra-like piano playing, including a strummed-sounding passage of simple thirds, bookended by wiry figures from clarinet and cello.

The Crumb, though more concerned with surface effects -- whistling, declaimed bits of poetry -- combined timbral experimentation with an embrace of decay and silences. The furiously concentrated bits, especially from clarinet and flute, trailed off in ways that evoked the distortion that time and distance introduce to reliable memory. The small-scale figures that Beck drew out of the piano, from both inside and outside the piano, built up into a kind of musical echo chamber. The sum of the chirping and chiming bits seemed, to me, to conjure up a feeling of nocturnal darkness: a "silent" night that turns out to be populated with birds, insects and all manner of other noisemakers.

In the Boyce, I was taken with the overlapping patterns in a narrow range of notes from the clarinet and cello, as well as with the sense of the musicians leaning into the dissonance as their roles within the ensemble periodically shifted. It was perhaps the closest to the Xenakis in its density and the sensation of being pulled in multiple directions; the four instruments sounded more like seven or eight and tugged the piece in as many opposing ways.

Kyle Bartlett's world premiere, "Present," closed the concert and left many listeners with the sense that it should have been longer. This was the only piece on the program to feature all six of c)i's players, but, as in the Dusapin, Steven Beck's piano playing set the tone for an energetic, engrossing work. His nerve-jangling runs, broken up by wide leaps in register, were refracted and parceled throughout the ensemble. There were some slashing figures in the strings that recalled the Xenakis -- which, originally, were somewhat reminiscent of Stravinsky -- and jumped out from a roiling texture.

Bartlett's a friend, and we've discussed in the past how her pieces are guided by a dream-like logic: connections between disparate sections often resist being found, while others emerge without probing. The latter struck me at the end of the piece, as a riot of activity is abruptly cut off and the violin enters with an altered version of Beck's busy piano riff. It seemed to me like the first impression of a dream one has after waking, before the whole thing evaporates. You can't hold onto it for long, and the same is true for "Present." Were it longer, it would be somehow less immersive.

Overdue

2010-05-12T10:53:00.002-04:00

My apologies for the months of absence. It's been an unusually busy and fruitful period, highlighted by my engagement, in late January, to my long-time girlfriend and our wedding in Maryland on April 10th.

Non-marital highlights include continued coverage of classical music and the arts for the Courier-Post, including numerous concerts by Symphony in C, the Camden, N.J.-based training orchestra I profiled last year for Symphony, as well as the orchestra's Carnegie Hall debut. I've also touched on chamber music, opera, jazz, theater and dance in recent months, and I was even nominated for a New Jersey Press Association award, but was muscled out by a food critic who writes for a Pennsylvania newspaper. So it goes.

Another highlight: a freelance assignment for Chamber Music that is slated for the magazine's July/August issue. It's about social media -- Twitter and Facebook, in particular -- and their impact on the lives and careers of classical and jazz performers. Stay tuned for that.

More TK this summer after a trip down South for a wedding, including previewing a new classical concert series in downtown Camden and another Month of Moderns from the outstanding new-music chamber choir The Crossing. I'll try my best to keep an ear to the ground and, in all ways and at all times, make it new.

Wrapping up '09

2010-01-04T10:20:00.003-05:00

The Best Music of 2009 rundown hit Phawker on New Year's Day. It contains my write-ups of albums by Dirty Projectors and John Vanderslice, as well as Vol. 1 of music from the TV show "Glee."

My editor had intended to run everyone's Top 10 recommendations, but they didn't make the cut owing to space and formatting. Here are mine, in no particular order, but with a classical/non-classical divide a little over halfway through.

Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca

Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest

Music from Glee, Vol. 1

I recommend these three jointly, because layered vocal harmonies were big this year, and a cappella ones in particular. So, in order, the harmonies here are in service of something fractured and strange, something swooning yet buttoned-down, and something over-the-top, spectacular and slightly fey. As I mentioned before, I sang a cappella in college, and I know deep-down how lame it is, but the diversity of its current uses makes me think that it might someday go legit.

Muse - The Resistance

Taking the arena-filling sound of U2 in a paranoid new direction, while tempering the Messianism and trading the bombast of Bono for that of Brahms or Beethoven.

John Vanderslice - Romanian Names

It's Romantic pop, rather than Baroque, but darker, bleaker and more withdrawn in its lyrics than on past albums. The beautiful, finely-honed sonics remain the same, though.

Andrew Bird - Noble Beast

Lush like Vanderslice, though slightly more precious, but gleefully wordy and overstuffed with lyrics chosen for sound rather than meaning. Dig that whistling, too.

Lady Gaga - The Fame Monster

The girl was everywhere this year, for better or worse, and even she's a Warholian put-on, I'd forgive her based on her infectious beat-mongering and all-out weirdness. I hope she hasn't used up her allotted 15 minutes.

Tyondai Braxton - Central Market

Brilliant musician from Battles ditches band for orchestra, but keeps the laptop and his flexible sense of rhythm and timbre. It's recognizably orchestral, but frenetic, exciting butand packed with electronic surprises.

Theater of Voices - David Lang's the little match-girl passion

This piece won Lang the Pulitzer, but he didn't write it with mainstream cred in mind. It's a wrenchingly beautiful, utterly secular take on religious music -- less thorny than the pieces that established Lang's reputation, but no less thoughtful or inventive.

The Crossing and Piffaro - Kile Smith's Vespers

A Philly-centric recording and the most capital-C classical of my selections, and it's capital-R religious to boot, but the way Smith repurposes the earthy sounds of Renaissance instruments for modern music is a marvel. Same goes for the impeccable blend of the singers.

Late entry

2009-12-16T09:46:00.003-05:00

A little info on the most recent item to land on my Top 10 for 2009, Kyle Bartlett's "The Lost Child." I wasn't familiar with "The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser," the Werner Herzog film that was a point of inspiration for Bartlett's opera; it's now on my Netflix queue, hopefully to arrive soon.

It's an unconventional opera, to say the least, featuring a flute-playing actor (or acting flutist) with electronic enhancements, an actor playing multiple roles who also sings, a percussionist, and a bevy of pre-recorded and altered sounds.

Bartlett set the tale in a futuristic surveillance society and portrayed the Hauser figure, Ana, herself. Ben Pierce played the Shadow Man, who brings Ana to Nuremberg; the Sector Manager; the Big Brother-ish figure of The Authority; and Doctor Nassar, who teaches Ana language and attempts to integrate her into society.

As Ana, Barlett convincingly expressed fear, doubt, anger, confusion, curiosity and rapture. After the show, she claimed to have just been making it up as she went along. She was similarly casual about her flute-playing, which drew heavily on extended techniques, including vocalizations, keyslaps, and pitch-bends.

The electronic elements mimicked firing synapses, disconnected thoughts and, during scenes of Ana's introduction to language, the acquisition of vocabulary. I could even detect stray German amid the fractured phrases and processed natural sounds, though I'm not sure if the phrase "Verstehen sie" is original to the Herzog film.

In short, the opera was compelling both musically and dramatically. The primordial elements - of exploring one's origins, or of acquiring language for the first time - echoed other, non-vocal works on the concert, particularly the violin-and-cello duet "Night Vision." Even simple elements, like changes in wardrobe or shifts in Bartlett's approach to her instrument (from unadorned notes to hissed and spat effects back to notes again), conveyed an unforced sense of significance. I don't have much else on my slate for the rest of the year, so "The Lost Child" will probably be the last concert I see in 2009 - and one of the best.

Top 10

2009-12-14T10:17:00.003-05:00

The Crossing, David Shapiro's "It is time," Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill, January 4.

Bang on a Can All-Stars, Michael Gordon's "For Madeline," Perelman Theater, February 28.

Curtis Opera Theatre and the Opera Company of Philadelphia, Alban Berg'sWozzeck, Perelman Theater, March 13.

Symphony in C with harpist Bridget Kibbey, Sebastian Currier's "Broken Minuets," Perelman Theater, April 16.

Greater South Jersey Chorus, Aaron Copland's "At the River," National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, April 18.

The Crossing (again), works by Kile Smith and Joby Talbot, St. Peter's Church, June 10.

John Vanderslice and band, "Exodus Damage," Johnny Brenda's, June 11.

Sonic Liberation Front, "Jetway Confidential No. 3," Institute for Contemporary Art @ UPenn, July 29.

Asphalt Orchestra, works by Mingus, Bjork, Bregovic, et al., 30th Street Station, August 7.

Kyle Bartlett, Benjamin Pierce and Kristopher Rudzinski, "The Lost Child," Settlement Music School, Mary Louise Curtis Branch, December 13.

Honorable mention: Academy of Vocal Arts, "Lucia di Lammermoor," May 5, Helen Ward Corning Theater.

Conflict-of-interest mention: All solo arias and recitatives, as well as the Baroque horn solo, during Choral Arts Society's performance of Bach's B minor Mass, First Baptist Church of Philadelphia, May 9.

Before year's end

2009-12-08T11:23:00.002-05:00

I'm holding off on posting my Top 10 list of the best performances I saw this year. I pondered the timing of year-end lists last year, and even though the usual critical heavy-hitters have already weighed in several weeks before the end of the year, I'm seeing two concerts this weekend that I hope might crack the Top 10.

First, on Saturday, a concert of Baroque music by Symphony in C with soprano Julianne Baird, which I previewed for the Courier-Post on Sunday. I'm interested to hear how a pared-down Symphony takes to Baroque style, while vocal fireworks from Baird are a given. 8 p.m. Saturday at Rutgers-Camden; I'll be reviewing for the C-P.

Second, on Sunday, a showcase of works by composer Kyle Bartlett. Kyle's a friend and an invaluable resource and sounding board on new music, both in general and in Philly. Before we met last summer, she described herself, via e-mail, as an "absolute hard-ass when it comes to aesthetics." This hard-assery has undoubtedly served her well as she's worked on "The Lost Child," an opera for solo flute with electronics, actor and percussion funded by the Independence Foundation Fellowship in the Arts program.

Another endorsement has already come in from the West Coast. Anyone near Philly should make it to this one. 8 p.m. on Friday at Settlement Music School's Germantown location (6128 Germantown Avenue, Philadelphia), and 7 p.m. on Sunday at the Queen Village location (416 Queen Street). Both are free.

Four by four, one on one

2009-11-24T11:00:00.002-05:00

Two belated posts from a brief flurry of activity for Phawker.com, one of the Internet's largest and snarkiest repositories of my writing.

Q&A with David Harrington of the Kronos Quartet, for Phawker, Nov. 6, 2009.

Before setting up this interview, I wondered if the Kronos' publicity manager would put forward a member other than David Harrington; it had always been my impression that Harrington dominated the group's media presence. In the end, though, Harrington was a wonderful interview -- very thoughtful and generous, and digressive in the best possible way. We were both on the road as well -- he to San Francisco International Airport, I from Bucknell University back to Philadelphia -- and managed to avoid any dropped calls or poor connections.

The collected works and quirks of A.J. Jacobs, for Phawker, Nov. 6, 2009.

I really wanted to attend Jacobs' event at the First Person Arts festival, and it seemed the best way to do that was to put together a retrospective look at his two books and the genre (the First Person Arts director called it "shtick-lit," a surprisingly harsh dig) he's birthed, or at least revivified. Jacobs' presentation ended up being almost stand-up-comedy-like, and though people familiar with his works could have seen many of the punchlines coming, he was funny and endearing off-stage as well, and, fortunately for me, willing to give autographs and to inquire about the work of young, ambitious writers.

Mouthfuls

2009-11-18T11:32:00.003-05:00

The Bay-Atlantic Symphony, reviewed, for the Courier-Post, November 9, 2009.

The Mendelssohn = so good. In addition to the elements of Bach I heard in the Andante "Pilgrim's March," I also felt the kind of relentless, forward-pressing quality that I love about the famed Allegretto in Beethoven's 7th. I hope Rowan and the Symphony can muster a larger crowd for the next concert in January.

Symphony in C's Music du Jour series, for the Courier-Post, November 16, 2009.

The "alt-classical" angle is partly my invention -- Cork isn't (Le) Poisson Rouge -- but I'd love to see more of this kind of activity crop up in Philly and the surrounding area.

I missed the first dinner, the Bulgarian one that Rossen and Rosie prepared, but I won't be missing the Cork event. The strength of their beer list alone (peep it here; it's mostly up to date) demands that I attend.

Two cheers

2009-11-03T16:17:00.002-05:00

Brewpubs in New Jersey and the Philadelphia area, for the Courier-Post, Oct. 30, 2009.

Bay-Atlantic Symphony's "Night at the Opera," previewed for the Courier-Post, Nov. 1, 2009.

I don't know how I got so lucky to provide coverage of such disparate but enjoyable topics. A second assignment to write about beer... I never thought there'd be a first!

I'll also be reviewing the Bay-Atlantic's performance on Friday at Rowan. I'm interested in seeing what kind of audience their initial foray into Gloucester County will bring, and also in finally hearing an orchestra that I've been writing solely previews about for more than a year.

The other side of summer

2009-10-15T11:28:00.004-04:00

It's pointless to ask "can four months really have gone by?"; they have. But with other news in the classical-blog world (Noise is dead, long live Noise) and an honest-to-God link to this blog from the honest-to-David-Remnick New Yorker, I realized it was time to start back up.

I'll cop to a recent Twitter distraction/infatuation, and musings will continue there. But this is where it all started, and I still don't feel that addenda to reviews and features should be restricted to 140 characters.

A quick summary of my end-of-summer/beginning-of-fall activities: working at a new German restaurant in Philly. Lots of beer and food knowledge gained. But my German, es geht eigentlich nicht. But now the fall arts season has started up, and I've offered a season preview for groups in New Jersey and Philadelphia.

My first review of Camden's Symphony in C has also appeared. I hope to add New Jersey's Bay Atlantic Symphony, newly installed at Rowan University (closer to the Courier-Post circulation area), to my stable of reviews as well.

Other C-P pieces, on a production of Glengarry Glen Ross and an art exhibit at Rutgers-Camden, have also surfaced recently, as has my story for Symphony on Symphony in C, though there's no online version.

Final development: I'm considering purchasing the domain hotbedofintrigue.com. Any thoughts on the best/easiest/most cost-effective way of doing this?

Fantasia on a new-music collective's name

2009-07-16T15:56:00.002-04:00

This has been running through my head for several weeks now.

A commissioning fund for new sacred music: Bang on a Canticle

A concert series pairing new pieces with classical favorites: Bang on a Canon

A Marathon concert held on a battleship or a Civil War site: Bang on a Cannon

A Marathon concert held at a famous outdoor site in Arizona: Bang on a Canyon

I could go on all day.

Pipes and drums

2009-07-14T14:32:00.002-04:00

Two recent pieces:

"The Rock Tenor," a theatrical classical/rock mishmash, previewed for the Courier-Post. It opens tomorrow night at Phiadelphia's Wilma Theater.

Plus, an interview with legendary Nigerian musician King Sunny Ade for Phawker. The King plays tonight at Wiggins Park on the Camden waterfront. Definitely worth the trip across the Delaware.

Duo

2009-07-06T09:52:00.003-04:00

In the July 5, 2009 issue of the Courier-Post:

Two new exhibits at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, my first venture into art criticism that features the work of Haddonfield native John Vick.

Also, Globe-trotting with Opera New Jersey, a preview of ONJ's summer season.

Image: William Klein (American, born 1928), The Pope Appears, Saint Peter's Square, 1956 (negative), 1979 (print), Gelatin silver print, courtesy of PMA.

Constructive summer

2009-07-01T10:34:00.003-04:00

At long last, my treatment of David Foster Wallace and "Infinite Jest" has arrived on Phawker. It reflects on Infinite Summer, the summer-long group-read of "Jest" that began last week, and on Wallace's legacy in the wake of his death in September. My reading of the book spanned that sad event, and though the 75-page-a-week pace makes it sound reasonable, I'm not feeling up to making another attempt just yet.

Can do

2009-06-29T10:11:00.003-04:00

On Friday, I had the good fortune to attend a panel featuring the composers of Bang on a Can -- Julia Wolfe, Michael Gordon, and David Lang -- in conversation with Anne Midgette of the Washington Post.

The talk dug fairly deep into the group's origins and its progression from the fringe to something resembling the establishment, especially with Lang winning the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 2008.

What excited me most: the upcoming formation of something called the Asphalt Orchestra, a new-music marching band. The idea of it, especially knowing Gordon's affinity for site-specific music and shifting the audience-performer orientation, makes me giddy. My years of propping up a sousaphone with my left shoulder seem somehow vindicated.

One perception-altering observation: I thought that BoaC operated entirely outside of the academic world, that all three made their livings from writing music without holding down positions at universities. "I was unemployable the day before I won the Pulitzer," David Lang remarked on Friday. That changed, though; he now teaches at Yale and Oberlin.

Attendees were treated to a few ear-jangling clips of the trio's compositions: Gordon's "Dystopia," performed by the LA Philharmonic under David Robertson; Lang's "Little Match Girl Passion," written for Paul Hillier and Theatre of Voices and for which he won the Pulitzer; Wolfe's string quartet "Early That Summer" and "Lad" for nine bagpipes. "Dystopia" thrilled me most -- brassy, busy and colored by the Walt Disney Concert Hall pipe organ, but with a deftly multi-layered structure -- but all were highly enjoyable.

I believe it was Julia Wolfe who stated the group was formed "to make the field better, more widely played... [to build] a bigger and more enthusiastic audience." That really resonated with me, because that's what I want to do as a writer and critic. Maybe that's not what a critic's job is or ought to be, but I believe in this music, in new music, and in the music that paved the way for its creation. A 12-hour concert, or a 24-hour one, might be a news-making spectacle, but the individual pieces that comprise it, and the composers behind them, should be known, too.

Philly Orchestra season closer: An earthly delight

2009-06-22T12:05:00.007-04:00

In the face of economic woes and minor crises in leadership, the Philadelphia Orchestra has soldiered on to produce an admirable, intermittently dazzling subscription season. Charles Dutoit and the Orchestra brought it to a close with performances of Berlioz's Requiem, a piece whose ambition and tumult seemed a perfect finale to a season that exhibited plenty of both.

With themes of the afterlife and light shining on the souls of the departed, the words "celestial" or "heavenly" are applied to this Requiem and others. I came away with the impression of a more earthly delight, more rooted in human frailty and failings than in the firmament.

Dutoit initially took a big-picture approach, guiding the orchestra lightly through the winding scalar figures that churn through the first several movements. The Philadelphia Singers Chorale, at 160 voices rather than the 400 or so that Berlioz recommended, seemed a little underpowered in the "Introitus" but found its footing in the "Dies irae." That chaotic movement threatened to come totally unglued, with four brass choruses spread throughout the hall's second tier and their sound's dissipation into space distorted entrances and rhythms. I'm not sure if there would have been an ideal spot in the hall to hear all four, but they eventually fell into line and joined with four (though it might have been more) sets of timpani to produce a very satisfying roar.

After the stormy "Dies irae," the moments of hush in the ensuing movements were even more pleasing. The Chorale showed immaculate blend, especially in the unaccompanied "Quarens me," and responded strongly to Dutoit's cues, matching the contour he brought to the strings' playing.

What established this Requiem as earthly, in the best sense, rather than heavenly was the sixth movement, the pleading "Lacrymosa." Stabs from the violins gradually transformed into savage blows from brass and percussion that answered pitiful cries of "Save me" from the singers. Dutoit dropped his usual cool detachment and dug in earnestly, gesturing broadly but without putting a stranglehold on the music. The gritty, fevered element of the music resonated strongly; salvation seemed imperiled.

The rest of the concert strove more actively for a feeling of distant, radiant beams. The chorus was hushed but penetrating in the "Offertorium," and the men of the chorus exhibit fine tuning and blended in the "Hostias." In one instance of a forced hand attempting to impart a heavenly sensation, tenor Paul Groves sang his solo in the "Sanctus" from the highest reaches of Verizon Hall. Rather than sounding celestial, it was alienating. Being able to see facial expressions, body language and the mouth's shaping of vowels is vital to appreciating and attempting to understand any singer's performances, and it was dissatisfying to be denied that connection. Groves' sound, though disembodied, was impressive, with a clear, tremulous tone and a loving, lingering approach to his syllables.

The closing "Agnus Dei," with its revisiting of earlier movements, was alternately impassioned and detached, piling up many of the preceding themes and emotions. This pileup in the form of a prayer leads, of course, to the final "Amen." To reach that final exhalation, that sense of final consolation, I get the sense that both listener and performer have to go through hell, and Berlioz's Requiem, diffuse and difficult by its nature, does give you hell. The composer demanded an over-sized orchestra and chorus and wrote, for those forces, a roughly 90-minute work. The ambition of the piece, to me, embodies the desire to create something titanic immortal through art.

Why, then, try to give so much gloss to this very earthly striving? At times, the orchestra's performance aimed for the rafters instead of the heart. It might have benefited from more of the spirit of the "Lacrymosa," where the pleasures of heaven seem threatened, infusing the surrounding movements. A Requiem isn't all angels and harps and lux perpetua. Give us the sweat, the grit, the feeling we just might not be worthy.

For another take: DPS in the Inquirer.

Commended to your attention

2009-06-22T09:59:00.002-04:00

An article by Tim Page, professor at USC's Annenberg School of Journalism and Thornton School of Music, former music critic for the Washington Post, and an author whose writing on any number of subjects I would be delighted to read. As it happens, here he writes on a subject about which I have rather strong feelings: the future of arts journalism and the importance of educating people in practicing it. The personal touches at the beginning are particularly gripping -- having recently looked back at my own early writings, amen to his "Oh dear" -- and the exhortations near the end seem both a plea for well-reasoned writing and a representation of it. As a whole, it's pointed without being overly proscriptive.

I can also say that I, too, dislike "histrionic excess" in performances of Tchaikovsky, and I'm happy that jacket and tie are no longer required wearing for either critics or regular concertgoers.

Fermentation nation

2009-06-15T12:15:00.003-04:00

The Garden State Craft Brewers Guild Festival, previewed for the Courier-Post, June 14, 2009.

With my first foray into beer journalism, months of poring over blogs and Joe Sixpack's "Philly Beer Guide", not to mention making contacts in the Philly beer scene, have finally paid off. New Jersey looks to have a pretty robust scene of its own, and I'm excited to check it out. I might provide some coverage of the Festival for my buddies over at Hopheads, including maybe even *gasp* some Twittering.

Rock-crit returns

2009-06-12T16:44:00.004-04:00

John Vanderslice and The Tallest Man on Earth at Johnny Brenda's, reviewed for Phawker, June 12, 2009.

JV = one of my all-time favorites. Saw him March 2004 in St. Louis and April 2007 in NYC. Erik Friedlander showed up at the NYC gig and played back-up on a few tunes. No new-music cameos here in Philly, but the set was still brash and boldly experimental. Several songs I thought I knew by heart appeared in vastly different form. The reports from St. Paul were right; this new band can tear it up.

Skin, deeply

2009-06-11T10:12:00.003-04:00

"Race: Are We So Different?", a new exhibit at the Franklin, previewed for the Courier-Post, June 7, 2009.

Forthcoming: more non-musical matters, including a preview of the Garden State Craft Brewers Guild Festival. Hoping to land some press tickets to that one, which subsequently might lead to some cross-posting with my friends at Hopheads. Cheers.

Reflection/anticipation

2009-06-10T15:58:00.003-04:00

Some thoughts on Friday's concert by The Crossing:

- thrilling and exhausting gestures in John McCabe's Scenes from America Deserta: wordless glissandos, dense layering, lots of sibilance and chattering syllables. Busy rather than stark. Much more tumultuous than expected for something intended to evoke a desert.

- two calmer pieces to cool things down. Paul Fowler's Potter's Clay, for women's voices, is smooth and chant-like, working and reworking "Om mani padme hum" into a dissonant pile-up, then repeating the initial portion of the English text. Gives the sense of resolve and insight forged in contemplation. Men rejoin the women for Phillip Moore's I saw him standing there and the blend seems off; the men might still be drained from the McCabe. The middle section of the motet has the most interest; a vital, rhythmic dance that recalls the madrigals that many promising singers first take on during high school as an introduction to high-level, unaccompanied singing.

- Kile Smith's Where flames a word, the final world premiere in the Celan Project, and the first to incorporate a prose work by Celan. Gives a sense of immanence and of tremendous, overwhelming size and the struggle to comprehend it. Middle section, the prose setting, has text that reflects a struggle for language, a conflict between "green" and "white" language, and the build-up of clusters suggests language at war, green and white each fighting for their own space.

-Exact quote from conductor Donald Nally, not long into first movement: "Every so often, and because the composer is in the room, we're going to go back and do it again. There's a wonderful moment... that we just screwed up."

-Despite that, the Smith piece was really impressive: a strong sense of lapping waves, of drawing closer to that nagging, inscrutable secret that seems to haunt Celan. One odd thing: ending on the word "delusion" with a sweet, major chord. Are we to come away thinking of peace and harmony as a delusion? Is this resignation in the face of the struggles Celan evokes? Not sure.

-First half: totally killer. How did they get through it? How do they have the energy for the second half? Anyway, here they go again: "Rain and Rush and Rosebush" by Bo Holten (also in attendance!) A flitting, dramatic work, with a very hard-working soprano soloist and trio of narrators/commenters with an immaculately blended sound. The piece has a kind of fairytale-ish back story but it's much deeper and stranger than most fairytales. Kind of cold at points, but with lots of fluid, intertwining lines that maintain momentum.

-Arvo Pärt's I am the true vine: holy moly. The blend, the focus, the consistency, the adherence to text, it's all there. There's a gravity to the words but a lightness in phrasing, static but radiant. In short: it was simple, beautiful, ethereal, and right.

-Concert closed with Voices of Autumn by my one-time college professor Jackson Hill (sadly, not in attendance). Apparently not taxed by the Pärt or all that came before: the same blend and focus are there, and the ornamentations, inspired by Buddhist chant and Japanese court music, are tossed off with poise. As with the Pärt, I'm reminded of a massed organ sound, with stops being pulled to generate minute changes in color and texture.

All this was motivated by the fact that I'll be seeing The Crossing again tonight at the opening concert of the Chorus America conference, which is being held in Philadelphia. The Crossing will be joined by the Princeton Singers, and I believe they will reprise the Smith piece, as well as the David Shapiro piece from earlier this year, and a work by British composer Joby Talbot that I missed out on seeing last month. More reports to come.

Big band vs. small choir

2009-06-05T11:58:00.005-04:00

Another week, another new-music scheduling conflict. Tonight, Ars Nova Workshop presents Darcy James Argue's Secret Society, a group I first discovered in mid-2006 through an interview on NewMusicBox, shortly before I started interning there. I'd kept tags on Argue and the band; I even floated the possibility of interviewing him for the magazine I worked for after grad school (it didn't work out, sadly). I knew about tonight's gig weeks in advance (thanks Mark!) and thought I'd be able to make it before heading out of town for a wedding.

Then another much-delayed opportunity arose: seeing the Crossing in concert after missing the first two weeks in their "Month of Moderns." I'd arranged for tickets to previous shows, and I even lined up a copy of the choir's recording of Kile Smith's "Vespers." I couldn't possibly skip out for a third straight time. So tonight, I'll journey up to Chestnut Hill for the first time since January. I'll take notes as if to write a review, though no formal assignment has yet materialized. I'll seek out a friend from high school who sings with the choir, and I might even bump into one of my college professors might even be there -- Jackson Hill's "Voices of Autumn" opens the concert. I'm sorry to miss out on Secret Society (8 pm at International House, $12), but I know the show I'm seeing will be similarly modern and forward-thinking, and even though it's not a band, I trust it will be big.

Sands, sounds

2009-06-01T16:31:00.003-04:00

The Bay-Atlantic Symphony at the Jersey Shore, The Courier-Post, May 31, 2009.

Four more concerts remain: two in Cape May, and two in Avalon. The Cape May concerts are on Thursday nights, while will unfortunately keep me from attending, but I'm hoping to make it to one or both of the free programs in Avalon.

What the glut?

2009-05-22T09:53:00.005-04:00

There are entirely too many new music happenings in Philadelphia tonight, and it's my involvement as a performer in one of them that will keep me from attending the others.

Starting tonight, the Philadelphia Orchestra welcomes David Robertson as guest conductor, and he will lead Thomas Adès' Violin Concerto, "Concentric Paths," with Leila Josefowicz as soloist. I heard Ms. J give a riveting performance of John Adams' Violin Concerto several years ago, and would love to hear Adès' music live. The rest of the concert (Vaughan Williams, Sibelius and Scriabin) doesn't sound half-bad either.

Also tonight, The Crossing, a new music-centric chamber choir about whom I've written before, gives the second concert in their "Month of Moderns" series, featuring a world premiere by Kirsten Broberg and works by Stucky, Holten, and several European composers unknown to me.

And now for why I won't be able to attend either of these shows: I'm singing with the Choral Arts Society at a benefit concert honoring David Ludwig with the 2009 Leadership in Choral Music Award. Ludwig is a very talented composer, a good interview, and a regular attendee of other Choral Arts concerts. We're performing a handful of his works, including some very fun Hebrew settings.

I'll be able to redeem myself in the coming weeks: concerts by Relâche and Darcy James Argue's Secret Society (presented by Ars Nova) have been penciled into my agenda for some time now.

From the weekend

2009-05-11T09:18:00.005-04:00

Camden's Opera Seabrook, The Courier-Post, May 10, 2009. It's a fledgling company that just finished its first season yesterday, and its director's ambitions for next season and skill at finding young operatic talent are rather impressive.

My performance on Saturday of Bach's B minor mass with Choral Arts Society and the Philadelphia Bach Festival Collegium came off rather well, I think. No reviews up yet today, but they're sure to follow in the coming days.

Scot free

2009-05-08T10:07:00.004-04:00

The Academy of Vocal Arts' "Lucia di Lammermoor," reviewed for the Courier-Post, May 8, 2009.

This "Lucia" is readily transportable, and the very fine cast and crew will take their show across the river to the Gordon Theater at Rutgers-Camden tomorrow night. Performances at Haverford College and at Central Bucks South High School will follow.

Another review, of Symphony in C's final concert of the year, ran earlier in the week but never made it to the Courier-Post's website. Allow me to summarize: two well-executed rarities by Smetana and Dvorak, a piano soloist (in the Dvorak) who produced a large sound without histrionics and was dutifully attentive to conductor and ensemble, a slightly underpowered woodwind section that finally found its footing in the third movement of Brahms' Second Symphony, a nice sendoff for Symphony players headed to positions elsewhere.

May daze

2009-05-01T09:06:00.004-04:00

The Greater South Jersey Chorus performs Carmina Burana, previewed for the Courier-Post, May 1, 2009.

Also, from earlier this week: an article on PlasmaDanceTheater, a dance troupe based in Cherry Hill that performs with a live rock band.

Both PDT and GSJC present concerts tomorrow night. Unfortunately, owing to the busy schedule near the end of the arts season, I will not be able to attend either of them. I'll be reviewing Symphony in C's final performance of the year in Camden -- a program with Smetana, Dvorak and Brahms.

The following days promise to be even busier -- a matinee on Sunday by an opera company I've only just discovered, and a Tuesday night performance by the Academy of Vocal Arts. After that, I'll be deep into preparation for one of my own concerts with Choral Arts Society. Brief and shameless plug: Bach B minor mass, May 9 at 3 p.m. at First Baptist Church of Philadelphia (123 S. 17th Street). We're performing with a full Baroque orchestra, because if it ain't Baroque... well, you know.

South Jersey's cultural exports

2009-04-20T09:54:00.005-04:00

To the west: Symphony in C with Astral Artists at the Kimmel Center, reviewed for the Courier-Post, April 20, 2009.

I had to chuckle when I was asked if I'd "made it through" the program's opening piece, a contemporary work by Sebastian Currier. It might have provoked some squirming, but I found it very colorful, witty and exciting, with soloist and orchestra pulling it off ably. Using the minuet form as a point of departure, Currier plays with cadences and expectations, making the phrases fall in unanticipated spots. Oddly, I heard some of that same playfulness in the delayed final cadence at the end of Strauss' "Four Last Songs."

To the south and west: This past weekend, I accompanied the Greater South Jersey Chorus to Washington, DC for a performance at the National Gallery of Art. I'm currently at work on a preview of the Chorus' performances of Carmina Burana on May 2 and 17, and the invitation to perform as part of a weekend choral festival came at just the right time to include the honor in my article.

Their program of 18th and 19th century American hymns and folk tunes was a very thoughtful, well-balanced assemblage, and the resonance of the National Gallery's Garden Court gave just the right boost to the chorus' sound, particularly the sopranos and basses. The 45-minute set could have used one or two more up-tempo numbers, but the concert's peak -- a stunning rendition of Aaron Copland's setting of "At the River" -- and its conclusion -- Rishel's own arrangement of the spiritual "All Night, All Day" -- were all the more effective for their deliberate pacing and slow build in dynamics and intensity. This indicates good things to come in May's Carmina performances.

Roughly two-thirds of the 90-member chorus made the trek, and I was very privileged to speak with director Dean Rishel, Chorus president Bill Kinsey, tour manager Bonnie Meilner and several other members of the chorus during the bus trip.

Over the river

2009-04-14T14:24:00.003-04:00

Symphony in C and Astral Artists at the Kimmel Center, The Courier-Post, April 12, 2009.

I'll be attending this one, too, and my review should run on Saturday.

I was surprised to learn that Astral was not promoting the performance of Sebastian Currier's "Broken Minuets" as the work's U.S. premiere. Anything that forces me to explain microtones to a general audience is noteworthy indeed.

Part of this balanced breakfast

2009-04-07T10:01:00.004-04:00

The Philadelphia Orchestra's "Green Eggs and Ham" Family Concert, reviewed for the Courier-Post, April 7, 2009.

I'd never before reviewed a concert geared toward children, but the Courier-Post has recently shaded toward family-centered coverage in its features, so I might be doing more of these reviews. In addition to a very fine performance by the Orchestra and many positive and enthusiastic comments I heard from children in attendance, there's one more excellent sign for the future of these family concerts: the ripple of excitement that went through the audience when Michael Boudewyns announced there would be a concert next season of Harry Potter music.

I've only seen two movies in the HP franchise and, regrettably, have read none of the books, but I know the power they have over readers of all ages, and I'll never forget the gasps of joy I heard in the fall of 2006 when the opening celesta notes of "Hedwig's Theme" were played at a Halloween concert. I was on stage, playing third trombone with the Syracuse University Symphony Orchestra, and the hall was filled with costumed children -- without question, the most rapt and attentive audience I've ever performed for.

Singing places surge in me

2009-03-29T14:31:00.004-04:00

Jeff Hamburg and "Home for Passover," a profile for The Courier-Post, March 29, 2009.

The online version of the article includes several samples of Jeff's music. I didn't see any labels on them, but the excerpts are from "Zey...," "Hebraische-Melodien," "Hear O Heavens, Give Ear O Earth," and the Second String Quartet Hashkivenu. Also, the documentary "Home for Passover" will be shown on the Dutch television channel IDTV. Many thanks to Jeff, his family, and the staff of Muziek Centrum Nederland for their kind assistance in writing the article.

Greatness with brushes

2009-03-27T09:39:00.003-04:00

Network for New Music's "Visions of America," previewed for the Bulletin, March 27, 2009. The concert is April 3 and will be performed in the rotunda at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, with the musicians flanked by the works that inspired Richard Brodhead and David Laganella's works.

Mr. Laganella is also director for Chamber Music Now!, a group I've heard about but haven't yet had a chance to hear in person. I hope to write about CMN!'s next project, a series of concerts held in the city's Eastern State Penitentiary, in some fashion.

A crushing triumph, a glorious defeat

2009-03-17T15:20:00.004-04:00

Curtis Opera Theatre's Wozzeck, reviewed for The Bulletin, March 17, 2009.

A stirring, stunning production - highly recommended. It runs about 90 minutes, and the time just flies by. There's one last performance tomorrow evening at 7:30.

Er ist der Mann

2009-03-13T15:46:00.004-04:00

Today on Phawker, an interview with tenor Jason Collins, who plays the Drum Major in Curtis Opera Theater's presentation of Wozzeck. He appears, along with fellow Curtis alum Shuler Hensley, in performances tonight, Sunday and Wednesday.

Yesterday's Paperboy is also attracting some attention. One important thing to address: yes, PW did cover a similar topic on its cover last year, and I made it pretty clear that I feel CP did a better job of it this year. There's an important difference between approaching a subject head-on and sideswiping it.

iPhones of the rich and famous

2009-03-11T10:12:00.004-04:00

It's currently Beer Week in Philadelphia, and though I've been trying to restrain myself for the sake of my health and finances, I couldn't hold myself back from an event at Tria (highly recommended) featuring Dogfish Head brewery and its founder, Sam Calagione. With my long-held interests in both beer and journalism, and the brewery's prominent feature in the New Yorker last November, I knew I had to meet Sam and ask him what the writer of that feature, Burkhard Bilger, was like.

With a friend in tow, I did end up meeting Sam, who regaled me with stories of Mr. Bilger's preparation and in-depth research. They've become good friends since the profile was published. When discussion turned to my own writing, I mentioned my interest in classical and new music, to which Sam replied, "Oh, man, you've gotta hear this guy I've been listening to." He pulled out his iPhone, flipped through it, and showed me an album labeled "nico muhly," a composer who has himself been the subject of a New Yorker profile.

He asked me if I'd heard of him, and I said I had; in fact, I interviewed him last year for Phawker, attended (and enjoyed) his concert at First Unitarian, and had previously transcribed an interview with him for another site. Could it be there's some strange affinity between people who have been featured in the New Yorker? Does Nico Muhly drink Dogfish Head beer? Was Sam serious when he told me he'd trade "good beer for some good music"? Stay tuned.

Critic-in-residence, part 2

2009-03-02T16:35:00.003-05:00

In following up my last review, I find I have less to say about Mariza's performance at Verizon Hall last night; this is partly because the concert was so universally stunning, and also because it was sung almost entirely in Portuguese. Though the latter fact makes it somewhat difficult for me to differentiate much of last night's program, I nevertheless found her singing - finely-grained, limber, and heartbreakingly expressive throughout - truly rapturous. From her first number, it seemed she had a smoky, sub-mezzo, almost-contralto voice, making the power and clarity at the top of her range all the more surprising. She exhibited a fond, intimate chemistry with her backing band and had a stage presence that occupied a curious spot between languorous lounge singer and supremely poised flamenco dancer.

Near the end of several songs, the accompaniment stopped, and Mariza delivered an almost-whispered soliloquy - a lean-in moment for me and the rest of the audience - before letting loose with a ringing declamation near the top of her range. This capacity for dynamic contrast and flexibility, and the reactions it elicited in the audience, characterized the evening.

Her tremendously able band featured a fantastic Portuguese guitarist (that is to say, a player of the Portuguese guitar, rather than a guitarist from Portugal; her entire band hails from there) who, I was amazed to learn, is not yet of drinking age in the US, as well as very fine contributors on acoustic guitar, bass, drums and a pianist who occasionally chimed in on trumpet. Their blend and unity of attack, especially in up-tempo numbers, was impressive, as were solo turns by the aforementioned youngster Angelo Braz Freire and acoustic guitarist Diogo Clemente. The drummer, identified as Hugo Antonia E Silva Carreira Marques in the program but called "Mister Vicky," took a few overly technical solos that were more appropriate for a Rush or Metallica show, but his timekeeping and shorter fills were solid without being flashy.

The only tune sung in English came during the encore, as Mariza took on Arthur Hamilton's "Cry Me A River." She brought a resolute air to a dolorous number, with playful phrasing and unimpeachable English. After an evening of heart-on-sleeve songs, though, the stripped-down closer was even more honest, with Mariza and two of her guitarists dispensing with amplification and the guitarists singing a few bars each. Obrigado a todos.

Critic-in-residence

2009-03-02T11:20:00.007-05:00

I knew I'd be attending concerts on back-to-back nights this weekend and briefly considered holing up in the coat-check area. In truth, though, I wasn't assigned to review either of this weekend's performances; I attended Bang on a Can All-Stars on Saturday after interviewing guest artist and composer Glenn Kotche, and my tickets to Portuguese fado artist Mariza came from a friend who won them and was unable to attend. Both were a treat, though I felt the All-Stars were poorly served by the Perelman Theater's audio setup.

In the program's first half, which featured works by Bang on a Can's three founding composers (David Lang, Julia Wolfe, and Michael Gordon), the sound mix favored guitar and drums to the detriment of the other instruments. One had to strain to hear cellist Caroline Stinson and bassist Robert Black during loud, raucous numbers and quiet, ruminative ones alike. Of the three first-half pieces, I liked Gordon's "For Madeline" (I'm guessing on the spelling; the piece's title was announced from the stage) best. Keening slides from clarinet, cello and guitar glided over a tense, oscillating pulse in the piano and marimba, eventually giving way to a radiant but frantic "B" section. Wolfe's "Lick" was a fun, disjointed romp with a tidy, thoughtful finish akin to turning down the volume knob on a stereo. Lang's "Sunray" had a promising start with chiming, delicate patterns tinged with dissonance, but the close was a tad bombastic.

The second half featured Kotche in a few takeoffs on Steve Reich's music and in two of Kotche's own compositions. His "Clapping Music Variations" was hard to parse; a backing electronic track seemed to play Reich's original "Clapping Music" along with other sounds as Kotche and All-Stars drummer David Cossin played new spin on the source material on their kits and, later, on Indonesian percussion. The altered riffs disappointingly lacked the tension and pared-down focus of Reich's original, but Cossin's transcription of "Music for Pieces of Wood" compensated -- a booming, visceral ride through mutating polyrhythms. I was enthralled.

Kotche's charts were more subtle but still captivating. "Snap" attained the soul-inspired groove that Kotche sought, with parts of it sounding like a playful, amped-up tango and others filled with nudging, insistent pulses. His transcription of "Mobile," the title composition from his 2006 album, was more Reichian than Staxian, with shifting, swapping patterns criss-crossing the ensembles and a fine-grained sense of voicing and orchestration. Some of the kalimba-based riffs were stuck firmly in my head for the remainder of the evening -- a good sign of a catchy piece and, in this case, a successful one.

A write-up of Mariza will come later this afternoon.

Deep skins

2009-02-27T15:14:00.003-05:00

Today on Phawker, an interview with Glenn Kotche, drummer for undeniably-great rock band Wilco and a creative, broad-minded percussionist and composer. He's coming to Philly for a performance with Bang on a Can All-Stars.

I didn't push him for details on the new Wilco album; I tried to keep our discussion centered on his work as a composer and his collaborations with BoaC and other new-music groups. I'm happy just knowing it's on its way. The big New Zealand-based project he described sounds intriguing as well and appears to be on its way even sooner.

Do you want more?!

2009-02-26T15:29:00.004-05:00

The Vienna Philharmonic with Zubin Mehta and Lang Lang. Feb. 26, 2009, The Bulletin.

DPS didn't like this one as much as I did, but at least I left Lang Lang's hairstyle out of it.

Also, the latest Paperboy A couple nice cover stories undermined by a couple fact errors and dumb typos. Among the misspelled or misidentified: Washington, DC-based record label Dischord, aioli, and drummer John Hollenbeck. Also, I'm pretty sure Police Chief Charles Ramsey came to Philly from DC, but it's possible he went home to Chicago in the roughly year-long interim between positions.

The hits keep coming

2009-02-20T14:33:00.004-05:00

Steve Lippia and the Philly Pops' Celebration of Ol' Blue Eyes, The Bulletin, Feb. 20, 2009.

Another week, another Paperboy for Phawker. In light of this, I join others in sounding the death knell for PW's commitment to journalism.

Plus, a preview of Benjy Ferree, who plays tomorrow night at the M Room.

From Rittenhouse to your house

2009-02-17T12:20:00.003-05:00

A preview of Curtis on Tour, The Bulletin, Feb. 17, 2009.

The article includes some insights from composer David Ludwig on his "From the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam," which will be premiered Wednesday evening. I knew a little bit about the original Persian poetry going into writing the article, but I confess that the first thing that came to mind was an episode of the Rocky and Bullwinkle Show. Wednesday's recital features wind and string students from Curtis, as well as mezzo-soprano Allison Sanders but, sadly, no flying squirrels.

Your revue of reviews

2009-02-12T10:13:00.004-05:00

The Cleveland Orchestra at Verizon Hall, The Bulletin, Feb. 10, 2009.

Curtis Opera Theatre's Impressions of Pelleas, The Bulletin, Feb. 12, 2009.

Today's title is a shoddy reference to Sid Caesar. I'll try to make it up to him.

Friday follies

2009-01-30T11:49:00.003-05:00

Peter Nero and the Philly Pops, "Visions of America," reviewed for the Bulletin. Jan. 30, 2009.

Tonight, I'm seeing The Inverse at Doc Watson's. I've never been to this club before, but a friend of mine from high school plays bass in this band. Funk has been much neglected in my music coverage of late; tonight should more than fulfill my RDA.

On Sunday, I make my triumphant return to church singing in the choir at St. Mark's Church (16th and Locust). This is my first venture into high-church music, complete with chanted psalm settings, and I'm filling in for both the 11 am High Choral Mass and the 4 pm Evensong. Leighton, Howells, Elgar and a variety of 16th century composers will be featured.

Oh, and I'll probably watch a little football after the 4 pm service. Teams from western Pennsylvania and the Phoenix suburbs will be featured.

Hermit-style

2009-01-29T14:47:00.003-05:00

With rough weather the last couple days, I've only left the apartment to pick up the papers, all so I could bring you today's Paperboy. For the rest of the last week, I've just been huddled up, covers over my head.

Just kidding. I've been to a couple concerts (one review coming tomorrow), landed a prospective assignment from a widely-read and respected periodical, and interviewed soprano Ana Maria Martinez about performing with Plácido Domingo, whose Feb. 16 concert will be the subject of my next big feature. Not even snowy, icy nastiness will halt my ambitions.

Also, any experts on Dutch music (or Dutch music experts) out there? I'm looking for some insights for my next next big feature.

Valhalla, I am coming

2009-01-22T14:18:00.004-05:00

Today on Phawker, the latest Paperboy. I linked to a video of Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song," and fortunately I didn't have to resort to measures like those seen below.

My non-Paperboy output has dipped a bit, but I'm working on landing a few interviews for upcoming shows at the Kimmel Center. Stay tuned for some of this, and maybe even a little bit of this.

Inaugural follow-up

2009-01-20T16:04:00.003-05:00

Some other thoughts on John Williams' piece for the inauguration here. Pretty much right on - shameless populism strikes again - but there were a few moments (some low rumbles in the piano, some criss-crossing lines that took the cello up high and the violin rather low) that were very nice. It could have been more, and it certainly wasn't Messiaen (I can wish), but the lineup of performers reflected the best of America.

What might have been

2009-01-20T15:43:00.006-05:00

They got a cellist, a violinist, a pianist and a clarinetist together to play a John Williams piece for the inauguration. Top-flight musicians all: two legends, Yo-Yo Ma and Itzhak Perlman, and two young performers poised for greatness, Gabriela Montero and Anthony McGill. How could they assemble this specific instrumentation and not do Quartet for the End of Time?

Oh, right, the apocalyptic overtones. Don't want to herald a new era with the sounding of the seventh trumpet. It's still awesome, though. The above recording by a chamber group from New Mexico is mislabeled (it's actually the sixth movement, the "dance of fury, for the seven trumpets") but pretty good. Dig this, from Messiaen's preface to the score:

"Music of stone, formidable granite sound; irresistible movement of steel, huge blocks of purple rage, icy drunkenness."

Stone and steel for the nation's new resolve; purple for a country that is neither blue nor red; icy drunkenness for all the revelers waiting in the cold today. It would have been perfect.

Pre-inaugural post

2009-01-19T10:01:00.005-05:00

Singers and symphonies, preview of concerts by the Bay-Atlantic Symphony and Symphony in C. The Courier-Post, Jan. 18, 2009.

Eschenbach returns, a review of the Philadelphia Orchestra with their former conductor on the podium. The Bulletin, Jan. 19, 2009.

In brief

2009-01-15T16:37:00.003-05:00

From today, Paperboy. From Monday, orchestra review. Doing another one tonight.

I was in a room with someone very famous today. Hint: his last name rhymes with "Flamingo."

Coming up: a preview of two orchestra concerts on the other side of the river, plus an article on that Flamingo guy.

Back to slinging mud

2009-01-08T16:15:00.003-05:00

First issue of Paperboy in the New Year after a two-week break for Christmas and New Year's. During the interim, I was baffled to find myself on the Letters page of CP (third one down), bringing a typo to the their attention. I figured they'd run a "regret the error"-type notice, but they probably needed one more short letter to fill out the column.

On the horizon: several Orchestra reviews (Philly the next two weeks at least, plus a Cleveland appearance in early February), another orchestra preview for the Courier-Post, and a visit from my parents.

It is time

2009-01-07T14:49:00.003-05:00

A review of the Crossing, an excellent, forward-thinking chamber choir based in Philly. The wait for their first concert of the year was worth it, and I believe that a second wait for their "Month of Moderns" in May and June will be similarly rewarded.

Wrapping up

2009-01-02T11:25:00.003-05:00

Various year-end lists featuring my writing surfaced in the last few days. For Phawker's The Music We Loved in 2008, I wrote up TV on the Radio's "Dear Science" and Man Man's "Rabbit Habbits," as well as the "Punk Rock Moment of the Year," Amy Poehler's Sarah Palin rap on SNL.

For the Bulletin, I contributed notes on Charles Dutoit's arrival as chief conductor in Philly and on Jason Moran's stellar Art Museum concert. The Dutoit entry is more forward-looking than retrospective; his work with the Orchestra will likely only grow stronger in the New Year and for several more to come.

Once again, I have chosen new music over football. Better to support local arts than a non-local team. Look for the concert review on Monday. Go Vikes.

Don't let's start

2008-12-31T11:12:00.005-05:00

On Phawker, an interview with They Might Be Giants. The maestros of off-kilter pop play two shows this evening, at 7:30 and 11:30, at the TLA. New Year's Eve shows have long been a TMBG tradition; the last Philly one happened about ten years ago.

During the interview, John Linnell frequently slipped into speaking in a kind of "Behind the Music" announcer-voice. This is indicated with italics perhaps once in the transcript; in reality, it occurred considerably more often.

See you in 2009.

A new wrinkle

2008-12-30T15:22:00.004-05:00

A bit of non-music-related writing: for the Winter 2008-09 issue of MBA Jungle, I wrote a short piece on the etiquette of the "business kiss," and a longer feature on the pros and cons of MBA rotational programs. Different from my usual stuff, of course, but both were a lot of fun to research and report.

Off the wall

2008-12-20T18:24:00.005-05:00

Can music and pictures coexist? A review of concerts by Network for New Music and Jason Moran for Broad Street Review, in which I examine the interaction between music and image during concerts held in art galleries.

Jason Moran's performance was one of the finest I heard this year, but I found the video art that accompanied his concert distracting. The Network concert was a nice exposure to the work of Sherif Habashi and Jennie Thwing, but also a mixed bag in terms of interaction with the artwork. Both featured pre-concert talks -- by the composers at the Network concert, and by David Adler with Moran and his concert -- that were tremendously revealing.

Let men their songs employ

2008-12-18T13:15:00.003-05:00

From a few days ago, a review of the Philly Pops' holiday program for the Bulletin -- now with newly-revamped website. The Pops' show contained numerous jokes about lederhosen; I considered adding some of my own but thought better of it.

I also had to refrain from including an extended passage on Peter Nero's version of "White Christmas," the spacey feeling of which came from playing the opening passage with a whole-tone scale, long used to conjure images of aliens and other worlds. I wish I could remember which familiar tune Prof. Duckworth adapted in the same fashion during my first year of undergraduate music theory, but that memory seems to have been lost to the ages.

Hopefully forthcoming: an article for Broad Street Review reflecting on several concerts held among art exhibits. Image vs. sound, with various forms of abstraction: how do these kind of multimedia events play out? Stay tuned.

Top 10

2008-12-15T10:59:00.004-05:00

Philadelphia Orchestra w/ Time for Three, Jennifer Higdon’s Concerto 4-3. Verizon Hall, Philadelphia, January 12.

Society for New Music, Marc Mellits’ Second String Quartet. Hendricks Chapel, Syracuse, January 27.

Syracuse Symphony Orchestra, The Rite of Spring. Mulroy Civic Center, Syracuse, March 14.

Stew and the cast of “Passing Strange,” “My Keys/It’s Alright.” Belasco Theatre, New York City, March 29.

Bucknell University Rooke Chapel Choir, Eleanor Daley’s “Do Not Stand By My Grave and Weep.” Weis Center, Lewisburg, PA, May 18.

Andrew Bird, “Armchairs.” Electric Factory, Philadelphia, August 9.

Nico Muhly w/ Sam Amidon, Nadia Sirota, et al, “The Only Tune.” First Unitarian Church, Philadelphia, August 22.

Philadelphia Orchestra w/ Martha Argerich, Prokofiev’s First Piano Concerto. Verizon Hall, Philadelphia, October 6.

American Composers Orchestra w/ Seth Josel, Keeril Makan’s Dream Lightly. International House, Philadelphia, November 18.

Jason Moran w/ the Bandwagon, Bill Frisell and Alicia Hall. Philadelphia Museum of Art, December 12.

Re-evaluating

2008-12-15T09:47:00.003-05:00

I wondered last week if my list of the ten best performances I've seen would need some adjusting after this past weekend. It does.

I actually took in three concerts (an offer to see this group came up at the last minute), and though all three had strong points, I was most consistently thrilled and excited by Jason Moran's performance at the Art Museum. His commissioned piece, inspired by the Gee's Bend quilt exhibit and a visit to the Alabama town where the quilts were constructed, was a dizzyingly eclectic display, and the crowd, mostly gathered on the steps in the Museum's Great Hall, was enthralled throughout. So Moran, his backing group the Bandwagon, guitarist Bill Frisell, and soprano Alicia Hall take the Number 10 spot on my list (it's based on chronology, not quality). A formal review of the concert is forthcoming.

Kudoes also to Symphony in C, the training orchestra based in Camden. Their version of Sibelius' Fifth Symphony was very, very fine indeed: an honorable mention, if I were to tack one onto my list. In both the Sibelius and the Grieg piano concerto, the Symphony had some of the best pianissimos I'd heard in quite a while -- a good sign for this young group and for the big-name orchestras who will one day inherit some of its players.

The air of other planets

2008-12-11T16:17:00.007-05:00

A double dose today on Phawker: first, the latest edition of Paperboy, which includes a digest of PW's cover story on UFO sightings in the Philly area and the enthusiasts who track them. Writer Steven Wells has made a niche of skewering American subcultures, but this story cuts deeper (and weirder) by just letting the abductees tell their own stories.

Also, a Q&A with Shara Worden, the singer/songwriter behind My Brightest Diamond. She's a very thoughtful, inspired performer with deep roots in opera and art-song, and we talked at length about her favorite classical composers and their impact on her. I would have loved to have heard that reconciliation-recital a few years back with the Purcell, Piaf and Weill songs. I'll just have to settle for the Piaf cover at Friday's show.

Photo by Matt Wignall.

When does it end?

2008-12-09T14:06:00.004-05:00

..."it" being the musical year, as opposed to the calendar year. I ask because I've assembled my ten favorite performances of the year, and I'm wondering when it's appropriate to post. I'm likely to take in a few more concerts before 2008 is through (including one this weekend which I previewed for a local newspaper), so I don't want to close off the list prematurely. One ten-item list recently appeared from a much loved and respected source, and I feel relatively sure he'd be open to having a strong December performance bump one from earlier in the year off the list. Whatever the case, I have my list ready. Okay, Philly-area music groups (these two in particular): make me change my mind.

Radiating

2008-12-08T09:31:00.005-05:00

What does hope sound like? A preview of Symphony in C's Dec. 13 concert, featuring Clint Needham's "Radiant Nation," written for the Courier-Post. December 7, 2008.

I mention Needham's current playlist in the article, but I wasn't able to include some of his recent classical favorites: Virgil Thomson's Four Saints in Three Acts, Vaughan Williams' Vagabond Songs, and the DVD of John Adams' Doctor Atomic. Apart from a setting of Walt Whitman's "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry" for baritone and orchestra (available on his Myspace) Needham hasn't done much vocal writing and was at a loss to explain his current infatuation with opera. We didn't much discuss his upcoming projects, but I can only hope there will be a flowering of busy, energetic vocal music in the future.

Also, big ups to Frank Ticheli, a band and wind ensemble composer who has had an impact on Needham's development, as well as my own.

Society Hill happenings

2008-12-06T14:45:00.004-05:00

With a rehearsal and performance with the Choral Arts Society, I thought my weekend would be too booked for any concert attendance. Happily, I had Friday evening free and was able to take in a show by a tight, thoughtful jazz quartet, Shot x Shot. My review just went up on Phawker.

I'm glad that I was finally able to attend a concert presented by Bowerbird, a local outfit that puts on jazz and avant-garde music and dance events in some unlikely spots. One November concert was held at the museum across from my apartment, but I still couldn't go. Though their musical offerings have been mostly of the non-notated variety, their director gave me a little hint about some future programming: Morton Feldman's Second String Quartet. That's what I'm talkin' about.

Yuletide splendor

2008-12-05T16:02:00.004-05:00

In the Bulletin's Winter Culture Guide, I have previews of holiday concerts by the Mendelssohn Club and the Philadelphia Singers. Great programs both, with several contemporary pieces -- Stephen Paulus and Steven Heitzig by the Singers, Glenn Rudolph and Anthony Mosakowski by the Mendelssohn Club -- balancing older, more traditional works.

Also, after a Thanksgiving hiatus, Paperboy went up on Phawker yesterday. Food, gifts, pretty typical holiday stuff -- with an extra note of sadness on account of former CP editor Brian Hickey, who I hope will soon return to blogging and dispensing badassery here. Get well soon, Brian.

Southern rock, Northern hospitality

2008-12-03T14:34:00.005-05:00

On Phawker, a little preview for The Modern Society, a band out of Atlanta that's trooped north to play The Khyber tonight. Fans of Kings of Leon and the Whigs (also from Atlanta) will find a lot to enjoy, or at least to nod their heads to while frowning slightly. Jangly-pop enthusiasts should be able to dig it as well; I think triangulating The Modern Society between KoL, REM, and the Goo Goo Dolls has them pretty much pegged.

Forthcoming: even more concert previews, including pieces on a strong, young orchestra from the other side of the river and on holiday programs by several Philly choral groups.

Current/recent listening: Ligeti Cello Concerto, Apti by Rudresh Mahanthappa's Indo-Pak Coalition, selections by Kyle Bartlett.

Ballroom blitz

2008-11-24T16:10:00.005-05:00

A review of Ingrid Michaelson's "Ballroom Madness" show at the TLA, just posted on Phawker. I wish I could have provided photos from last night, but bad lighting and the crush of a sold-out crowd prevented me. I did attempt a kind-hearted parody in place of concert pics: I had Lindsay write 'BE OK' across my face, a la Miss Michaelson's recent album cover. She took a photo that also showed that I was wearing a suit and tie, standard attire for the evening, and I'd hoped to have my written-on face alongside the album cover as an illustration. My editor passed on the photos, making it a fun but fruitless exercise.

Black holes and Super balls

2008-11-23T12:24:00.003-05:00

A review on Phawker of SOUND/ART/SPACE, a concert by Network for New Music. I'd first heard that the two works on the program, both world premieres, would be performed twice a la Schoenberg's salon concerts. I was curious: did Schoenberg really present his concerts this way, or is that new-music apocrypha? After consulting with an expert source, I learned that this was true, but it ended up not mattering: just one performance of each piece on Friday, and I think the second performance this afternoon will be the same. Highly recommended, though.

Hairy situations

2008-11-20T15:29:00.003-05:00

The latest edition of Paperboy just hit Phawker. Philadelphia native John Oates is featured prominently, along with his sweet, now-discarded 'stache. I'm not actually jealous; sideburns have always been more my thing.

The other surprising sight this week: Tim Whitaker still on the masthead of PW, even after last week's news. What gives?

Do you hear what I hear?

2008-11-19T15:40:00.004-05:00

The Inquirer's Peter Dobrin reports that renovations to the Kimmel Center are being considered. Cultivating greater public access outside of performance times is sure to win cheers; my first suggestion would be setting up a reliable wireless connection, not just for those who'd like to file reviews quicker, but for encouraging any and all to come early to events or to stay late afterward.

Apart from developing the Kimmel into a more public space, the project also seeks to "redress the widely criticized acoustic of Verizon Hall." Though Dobrin points to studies which state that the hall "suffers from a 'low level of reverberance' and a 'relatively low level of impact of the orchestral sound'," I have to say that in my visits, the sound has never seemed as bad as everyone makes it out to be -- a little thin in the low strings, but good presence for the upper strings, woodwinds, and brass. I'm usually on the orchestra level on an aisle, though. I have yet to explore how the sound plays out from the balcony or, more intriguingly, from the seats behind the orchestra that have proved so controversial since the Kimmel's opening in 2001.

News has a kind of mystery

2008-11-19T10:02:00.003-05:00

The A-List in this week's issue of Philadelphia Weekly includes my preview of an event at the Central Library. Critic Alex Ross is having a discussion with composer John Adams on Thursday night, and even non-classical fans will find a lot to enjoy in what is sure to be a wide-ranging, energetic talk. Both men attended the same august institution in Cambridge, Mass., spent formative years in Boston and Berkeley, and listen to all varieties of music with passion and interest.

When I spoke with Ross last month, he wasn't sure whether he would be able to take in a concert while in Philly. Friday's matinee of Bruckner and Mozart at Kimmel is tempting, but I hope he might be able to stay for Friday night's concert by Network for New Music.

Schwantneriana

2008-11-18T12:02:00.002-05:00

Though I was unable to attend the Bay-Atlantic Symphony's performance of Joseph Schwantner's "Chasing Light," this year's Ford Made in America commission, NPR has once again come to my aid. Shortly after my article on the Bay-Atlantic appeared in the Courier-Post, NPR's All Things Considered ran a story on the Reno Chamber Orchestra's premiere of "Chasing Light" complete with audio (see left side of the NPR story page) of the piece's first movement. It's an energetic opening, with lots of spinning, sinuous lines and a sense of alternately knotting and unraveling. Wish I could have heard it live, but the RCO's recording certainly comes across as vibrant and vital.

Previously: A Kaleidoscope Blooms

After the fact

2008-11-18T09:22:00.003-05:00

In reviewing concerts in Philly, I'm often in the position of seeing a show on Friday night and writing the article the next day. Whether the review is intended for almost-instant publication online or for print on Monday, I regularly have to avert my eyes from other coverage of the same event in the Inquirer. Though I value the thoughts and opinions of that paper's writers, I hate to feel as though I might be swayed by their arguments before making my own.

What a delight, then, to review a concert that had already been presented in New York and not to have a review of that performance hanging over my head. Steve Smith's account ran in the Times today.

We grouped the five pieces slightly differently, and though our opinions differ on Fred Ho's "When the Real Dragons Fly!" (I found it sort of crass, though Fred himself is as relaxed and friendly offstage as he was furiously possessed on it), we both found a lot to like about our respective concerts. Hats off to Jeffrey Milarsky, who led the ACO both at Zankel Hall in NYC and here in Philly. I don't think I gave him sufficient praise in my article, but he tackled all five works with poise and gusto.

When the real critics fly!

2008-11-17T19:08:00.004-05:00

Today on Phawker, a Q&A with the NY Times' Ben Ratliff, who is in Philly for an event in support of his newest book, "The Jazz Ear." Tonight, he and pianist Orrin Evans will chat about the craft of jazz, Evans' favorite music, and anything else to which fancy leads them. I'm leaving for the event in a matter of minutes.

Also, a review of the American Composers Orchestra at UPenn's International House, also the site of Ben Ratliff's talk tonight. A good concert with a few very strong pieces. The ACO's Philadelphia season has been, for me, one of the year's most pleasant surprises.

What's so funny?

2008-11-13T14:09:00.004-05:00

Latest Paperboy just hit Phawker. Suggested title: "Intimacy Issues Edition," with a scary four-letter acronym in one, and a creepy four-letter word (unless "smut" is actually an acronym) in the other.

One note, that started out with musing and led to bemusement: One local blog says it covers "the funniest city on earth." I've wondered about that: is Philly really funnier than other cities? I haven't heard much about the local comedy scene, and articles about other humorous enterprises (improv comes to mind) have left me unmoved. But I saw a van parked up the street from my apartment that may have turned around my thinking on this.

Plastered on the van's rear window, in bright green stencil: "Having Fun is So Much Fun!" Also on that window are images of a hand grenade and what appears to be a monkey; these are rendered in pink. On the van's right side window, in the same color as the message about fun, is "Show Us Your Boobs." I don't know who the drivers are, or why they're sending these messages. If these folks are from Philly (the tags on the van are from Alberta - seriously - so they may not be), this city may just lay claim to the title that DMac is putting out there. Van photo to come if the rain lets up or if they haven't driven away yet.

A great day

2008-11-05T18:38:00.003-05:00

The soundtrack to yesterday was Copland, which I thought appropriate for the civic-minded spirit. Today, it's my long-time favorite, The Dismemberment Plan. A reminder that I've been voting for Change since 2002, when it was the Plan's latest album.

"A gigantic concerto for detergent and human being"

2008-11-02T22:28:00.004-05:00

That stupefyingly brilliant line from theater director/visionary Peter Sellars can be found in Steve Smith's solid and sensitive profile of soprano Dawn Upshaw. Sellars is referring to a collaboration with Upshaw in performing Gyorgy Kurtag's "Kafka Fragments" in which Upshaw performs simple domestic tasks while singing fiendishly difficult music in German. Within the frame of Smith's article, though, the quote hints at a washing machine's spin cycle, reminiscent of the busy schedules that both Sellars and Upshaw maintain; Upshaw does so in spite of her recent treatment and successful recovery (thank goodness) from breast cancer.

The line struck me not because I have loads of laundry waiting to be done, but because of the swirl of activity following my recent move. I write this from the new friendly confines in Philly, where the internet connection is still spotty and from which I can hear the hooves of horses as they draw carriages down cobblestone streets. More news, and more delighted observations of this city, to come.

Philadelphia freedom

2008-10-31T11:27:00.003-04:00

On Phawker, Goodbye Garden State, some thoughts on moving out of the New Jersey suburbs and into the city. It's an auspicious time to be doing so.

No concert coverage this weekend; the demands of moving, unpacking and copious revision of another assignment forbid it. Look for an update from the new, cozier digs on Monday.

Pre-electoral tension

2008-10-30T21:42:00.004-04:00

Today on Phawker, the latest Paperboy entry. Pretty obvious album reference in the title, of course, but there's a slightly more obscure one in the text. First one to find it wins a prize of some sort.

Forthcoming: a reflection on moving out of the New Jersey suburbs and, at long last, into Philly.

Other people's words

2008-10-29T15:47:00.004-04:00

Philadelphia's Orchestra2001 took the George Crumb work that they premiered (and which I reviewed) in September to Carnegie Hall. The Times' Allan Kozinn reviewed it as part of a program also featuring "Vox Balaenae" and "The Sleeper." Saith Mr. Kozinn: "Mr. Seeger’s plaintive antiwar text has never sounded more grim." Amen.

Two more reviews of the program I sang over the weekend with the Choral Arts Society have surfaced. The Inquirer's David Patrick Stearns reviewed Saturday night's show at Daylesford Abbey, and Tom Purdom of the Broad Street Review wrote about our program on Sunday afternoon at Philadelphia Cathedral.

I'm most awed by Mr. Stearns' kind words, especially since the weather and the travel to Paoli were so horrid on Saturday, making both choir and audience somewhat out of sorts. I disagree, though, that a retrospective concert for a composer under the age of 40 is premature. Some composers certainly deserve such treatment, and Carnegie Hall seemed to agree (Bernard Holland didn't, but no matter).

Weekend triumphs

2008-10-27T10:20:00.003-04:00

There was this. Oh, and this. Owing to a late start and an even later finish to Game 3, both victories actually took place on Sunday.

But outside of the South Philadelphia Sports Complex, there were other resounding successes this weekend. The Philadelphia Orchestra gave an excellent concert Friday night, which I reviewed for the Bulletin. The Inquirer's David Patrick Stearns might have put it best in his lede: "What a fun concert." I agree.

Nestled between the end of the Eagles' game and the start of the Phillies' yesterday was a concert by the Choral Arts Society of Philadelphia. Reporting from my spot in the tenor section, I think that the concert was a success, and I can assert that there was no coercion on my part with regard to Lindsay Warner's review in the Bulletin.

A kaleidoscope blooms

2008-10-26T11:39:00.008-04:00

A whole new 'Light.' A preview of the Bay-Atlantic Symphony's performance of this year's Made in America commission, written for The Courier-Post. October 26, 2008.

Based on a performance of "Ancient Runes and Incantations" I heard with Orchestra2001 in Philadelphia, I characterized Joseph Schwantner's music as "mystical" during my conversation with Maestro Gaylin. He assured me that "Chasing Light..." was "rooted in the natural world." If that means no gongs being immersed in water as they are struck, I will be sorely disappointed.

Also of note: the Bay-Atlantic's performance of "Chasing Light..." will be the only one in the Philadelphia area until mid-2010, when the University of Delaware Symphony will perform it. Keystone State performances are being held in York and Williamsport.

Whirled Series

2008-10-23T14:49:00.001-04:00

For the rapidly descending Mid-Atlantic temperatures, there's piping-hot Paperboy today on Phawker. I declared PW the winner this week - I'm a sucker for a Dogfish Head mention, wherever it occurs - but the real winner is the Phillies, not just for their win last night, but for uniting and igniting the city after tough times (the violent death of a police officer, budget shortfalls, and general economic uncertainty) in the early fall.

One PW oversight: no preview of Chris Thile and Edgar Meyer at the Kimmel Center. The classical offerings at KC often get the short end in PW, but there's no reason to have missed this one. C'mon, BMac.

Happy birthday Dizzy Gillespie

2008-10-21T11:23:00.004-04:00

Composer Shulamit Ran, too, but she was never on the Muppet Show. John Birks Gillespie is one of many notables born today, sharing the date with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Alfred Nobel, and Carrie Fisher.

The Roger Murtaugh edition

2008-10-17T15:08:00.005-04:00

The latest on Phawker: A review of a jam-packed punk lineup at the Electric Factory. I was in the rare position to review an event scheduled to be repeated - in this case, tonight. Last night show wasn't perfect - Alkaline Trio's sludginess sometimes came off as sloppiness, and the Gaslight Anthem's occasional use of disco hi-hat made them sound like a sub-par All-American Rejects cover band - but riding the high points of each band's set made for a wild, Warped Tour-esque romp.

Also, another edition of Paperboy, one whose title I did not and do not approve. I suggested "Drop Beats Not Pucks," in light of the Republican vice presidential nominee's recent visit to Philly. I would have put up a more spirited defense, but my editor called when I was already at the aforementioned punk show, and high levels of volume and exhaustion would not allow it.

Re: today's title, Roger Murtaugh is the character who famously exclaimed "I'm getting too old for this shit" in the movie "Lethal Weapon." The 15-year-old me (or even the 18- or 19-year-old me) certainly would have been in the pit last night, but the almost 24-year-old version knew better. After more than 10 years of punk show attendance, I think it may be time to phase out that preoccupation.

Swing and two misses

2008-10-13T09:18:00.002-04:00

A couple of dumb mistakes in the Inquirer's review of Anthony Braxton's concert. First, the late Karlheinz Stockhausen is bafflingly referred to as "Markus." Anyone familiar with Braxton's music (or anyone who read David Adler's thoughtful preview) wouldn't have gotten that important detail wrong.

Also, Braxton did not play "contrabass sax." The large, throaty instrument he played was clearly listed in the program as "contrabass clarinet." This also means that the earlier characterization of Braxton playing "a battery of saxophones and clarinet" is not entirely correct either.

The writer, A.D. Amorosi, is a frequent contributor to the Inquirer and a prolific writer and gadabout for City Paper. I'm too much of a newcomer to recognize him by sight, but we were definitely in the same room on Friday night.

Quick hits

2008-10-11T13:23:00.002-04:00

Q&A with Girl Talk, published in advance of his Thursday show. I'm told it was quite the affair.

The usual Paperboy column. Even as a Gentile and a recent transplant to Philly, the cover stories this week more than held my interest.

Review of saxophonist/extraterrestrial Anthony Braxton, who was inscrutably brilliant. That bassoonist was kind of doggin' it, though. Photos of his graphic scores courtesy of my cell phone.

Classy and cosmopolitan

2008-10-07T09:53:00.004-04:00

Title comes from an ad for Symphony in C, formerly the Haddonfield Symphony, seen at PATCO stations throughout Philadelphia and South Jersey. Alliteration sells, don't ya know. I haven't yet had a chance hear to this orchestra, which is led by the estimable Rossen Milanov, but I'm trying to work my way into another regional media outlet, so hopefully more to come on the Fabulous Philadelphians' Camden counterparts.

A new wrinkle in my writings for Phawker: classical and new music! I wrote a wrap-up of this weekend's programs at Kimmel Center. My suggested title: "Tuxedo Junction: Bustin' Loose at Broad and Spruce." Another attempted reference to DC go-go music foiled. I know ALM feels my pain.

Editions, early and late

2008-10-06T11:30:00.004-04:00

I let Thursday and the weekend go by without putting forth my latest Paperboy column for Phawker. Great offerings all around last week, and I was especially pleased that a link to one of my favorite writers, Mark Singer, was appropriate to include. John Hall and his biker-gang memories did indeed haunt my dreams last week. Even more troubling: Hall now apparently lives in Central Pennsylvania, though I haven't been able to track down precisely where. Could he have been just around the corner during my time at Bucknell? I shudder to think.

Also, my review of the Philadelphia Orchestra's Opening Night gala appeared in today's Bulletin. The flashy dress I mention in the last paragraph was indeed daunting; I turned up at the concert in jeans and an untucked dress shirt. My plan, if I was met with any glares, was to say I was just coming from an important meeting with The Boss. I came to Saturday afternoon's rally a decided (and registered) voter, but I imagine that many others left converted.

Broad Street bravos

2008-09-30T09:46:00.002-04:00

The Inquirer's Peter Dobrin has an outstanding essay in today's paper that reflects on the Philadelphia Orchestra's connection to the city and the community it serves. Especially notable is his commentary on Associate Conductor Rossen Milanov's role with the orchestra:

It's salient to realize that all this happened before the arrival of Charles Dutoit, who takes the podium in his new role as chief conductor and artistic adviser for the first time on Thursday. Rossen Milanov was the artistic leader last week, as he generally is for activities that used to fall dismissively into the category of "other" for the orchestra, but which now nearly constitute core identity.

Though the job of reviewing the Orchestra's concerts on Friday and Saturday fell to the Inquirer's other, equally able critic, David Patrick Stearns, Dobrin captures what those concerts meant to the Orchestra's presence in the city and viability for the future. A great piece for classical music fans, Philadelphians, and anyone eager to drown out the death-knell some would sound for professional orchestras and for classical music in general.

At the season's kick-off on Friday, held on a rainy afternoon, I was pleased to find a mostly-full orchestra section with plenty more in the balconies. I hope and expect that tonight's concert will be even better attended and that Milanov and the Orchestra will once again whip into a frenzy for Lutoslawski's Concert for Orchestra.

Philadelphia Orchestra season debut

2008-09-29T12:23:00.004-04:00

Review appears today in the Bulletin. The program will be reprised tomorrow night at 8 pm.

One note of regret: I was unable to attend the Orchestra's weekend performance at Macy's with the Wanamaker organ, featuring Joseph Jongen's Symphonie concertante and the world premiere of a piece by Howard Shore. Lindsay Warner reviewed the concert for today's Bulletin, and David Patrick Stearns' take appeared in yesterday's Inquirer.

Good news from Broad and Spruce

2008-09-26T16:32:00.002-04:00

My preview of the Philadelphia Orchestra's 2008-09 season ran today in the Bulletin, just in time for the year's first subscription concert. I can report, based on this afternoon's matinee, that the players are sounding great, even with Maestro Dutoit out of town to kick off the Chicago Symphony's season. Associate Conductor Rossen Milanov filled in capably and showed warmth, care and considerable athleticism in leading a program of Tchaikovsky, Haydn, and Lutoslawski. My review of today's concert will appear in Monday's Bulletin, and the Orchestra will reprise the program on Tuesday night at 8 pm. Maestro Dutoit will make his first appearance in leading the opening gala next weekend.

Quoted for truth

2008-09-26T11:50:00.004-04:00

I discovered the following in doing some Tchaikovsky research before this afternoon's concert. I had to nab it before sharp-eyed Wikipedians fix it.

From the entry on The Five, a group of Russian nationalist composers in the mid-19th century:

In May, 1867 the critic Vladimir Stasov wrote an article, Mr. Balakirev's Slavic Concert, on a concert given for visiting Slav delegations to the "All-Russian Ethnographical Exhibition" in Moscow. The four Russian composers whose works were played at the concert were Glinka, Dargomïzhsky, Balakirev, and Rimsky-Korsakov. [1] The article ended with the following statement:
We fly high, no lie; you know this... BALLIN!! God grant that our Slav guests may never forget today's concert; God grant that they may forever preserve the memory of how much poetry, feeling, talent, and intelligence are possessed by the small but already mighty handful of Russian musicians

Looks like there was a Furious Five long before Grandmaster Flash.

Aggrieved in the Cleve

2008-09-26T09:56:00.004-04:00

The news of Cleveland Plain Dealer music critic Donald Rosenberg's reassignment from the orchestra beat had raised many questions, considerable fervor in the blogosphere (the Baltimore Sun's Tim Smith has amassed a good list), and a sizable lump in my throat.

Rosenberg occupied a fairly lofty position in Cleveland as critic of the city's most notable musical institution, one praised all over the world. Did his frequently negative criticisms of Orchestra director Franz Welser-Möst lead to this decision? Did the Orchestra put pressure on the newspaper to make this move? I've read Rosenberg's reviews occasionally over the last few years, and he has always appeared to me to be deeply knowledgeable. His commentary on the unfortunate situation with the Columbus Orchestra was equally thoughtful and incisive.

Whatever pressure might have been brought to bear, I certainly hope that Mr. Rosenberg will seek recourse and that he will continue to put his gifts as a writer and critic to use, either in Cleveland or elsewhere. Best of luck to Zachary Lewis, the Plain Dealer's new orchestra critic; for him, for Mr. Rosenberg, for me (I'm reviewing the Philadelphia Orchestra at its matinee this afternoon), and for all of us who try to put this ineffable stuff into words, it's all we can do to listen close, play it straight, and tell the truth.

Snarc: A Stephen Starr restaurant

2008-09-25T16:12:00.005-04:00

This week's edition of Paperboy has landed on Phawker. Not much more to add, though I can say it was compiled in between rounds of copious revision for a freelance assignment that has held my attention for most of the last two weeks. Some odd echoes in the PW cover story of some friends and classmates in college who set up Christian "intentional communities" by block-booking rooms in dorms. Not my style then, and even less so now, but it seems to put author Steven Wells - British by birth, atheist by his own admission - positively off his lunch. Barely concealed disdain for your subject isn't exactly a tenet of journalism, Gonzo or not, but from what I know of Wells, he's PW's go-to rabble-rouser. I wonder if he gets a bonus per angry letter.

Kudos also to CP for a funny, breezy Choice Awards issue, with the one caveat I mention at the end of my column: the C-word mention. Liz Lemon hates that word, and so do I.

Stringing you along

2008-09-18T15:31:00.002-04:00

A banner day on Phawker, with the latest edition of Paperboy as well as my review of the latest album by Old Crow Medicine Show.

I first saw OCMS at a small venue at Bucknell University in 2004, and subsequently caught them numerous times on Prairie Home Companion. The percussive upright bass-sound to which I refer in my review is no exaggeration; you'd swear they had a drumkit backing them up. Playing full-tilt, their sound verges on the punk-rockabilly of The Living End and Tiger Army, but their slower tunes don't sacrifice any intensity. The new CD drops next Tuesday, and I highly recommend it. Also, tonight's show at the Electric Factory in Philly is the first on the band's fall tour. I can't make it (Quizzo beckons), but catch them if they come to your area. It's a hootenanny and a half.

There's not much that didn't make it into Paperboy, but I will say it was a bad week for typos in both publications. PW was bursting with good content this week - kudos on that - but many errors were missed. From the Way Too Common Mistake department, "Ghandi" (see fourth section) is not an acceptable alternative for the Mahatma's last name.

Where be your gibes now?

2008-09-15T11:34:00.004-04:00

The sad news of David Foster Wallace's death came as a particular shock to me, as I'm currently about 600 pages into Infinite Jest and have been planning a kind of retrospective-review for several weeks now. I can't add much to the reams of generous, thoughtful tributes that have surfaced in recent days, but I will say this: I came upon his 2005 commencement speech at Kenyon College only a few months ago, and I've come to value it very highly as a plea for kindness, understanding and awareness not just of self, but of the larger world. When I first read it, I was spending a good deal of time sitting at a desk in an office, walking the aisles of grocery stores, and driving alone in my car, and it was tempting to retreat into my own private obsessions and thoughts. How refreshing it was to read a message that was essentially moral without being high-and-mighty and to be reminded of the largeness of the sea in which we all swim.

My heart goes out to his wife and family, his former students, and to all those at Pomona College and elsewhere who are now deprived of a chance to share in his wisdom.