“WHITES ONLY”—“COLORED ONLY”—“NEGROES NEED NOT APPLY”: This signage was a part of Florence Price’s world everywhere she went, whether Arkansas or Boston or Chicago, to the end of her days. It was not just about restrooms, water fountains, education, and jobs. It was also about the White-dominated world of classical music— especially orchestral music. To … Continue reading Price, Wieck, and Ravel
Philadelphia Orchestra
Umoja
Just back from a typically wonderful Philadelphia Orchestra concert conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin. View fullsize Yannick and Hélène Grimaud taking bows after the concerto Yannick seems to have bleached his hair. I didn’t subscribe last season and the only concert I attended was not conducted by him, so I’m not sure if this is a … Continue reading Umoja
Yannick, the Orchestra, and Strauss
Just back from this afternoon's Philadelphia Orchestra concert, and I'm exhausted. In a good way. But before I talk about today's performance, I want to go back and catch up on some of the earlier highlights of the season so far. Yannick Nézet-Séguin began the season with a powerful performance of Beethoven's 9th Symphony in … Continue reading Yannick, the Orchestra, and Strauss
The Pop-up Mashup
So I had a little fun and edited together 13 of the videos of the Philadelphia Orchestra's Pop-up Concert.
The Pop-up Concert
The Philadelphia Orchestra's opening night concert at Carnegie Hall was cancelled because of a stagehand strike, so Yannick Nézet-Séguin brought his musicians back to Philly for an informal, free concert at the Kimmel Center. The festivities began in the lobby where folks were invited to conduct some orchestra musicians in the opening bars of Mozart's … Continue reading The Pop-up Concert
Freude
One of these days I'll have to learn how to pronounce Yannick Nézet-Séguin's name; I think the diacritical marks over the e's throw me off because they look like accents. Anyway, this afternoon Nézet-Séguin conducted a magnificent performance of Beethoven's 9th Symphony. Who knew an hour could fly by so quickly? I was especially impressed … Continue reading Freude
Wolfgang Sawallisch
Sad to note the passing of Wolfgang Sawallisch, who was the conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra for most of the 1990s. From the nytimes obituary for Maestro Sawallisch: Mr. Sawallisch embodied the German type of the “Kapellmeister” in the best sense: a man steeped in music, who knew every note of every score he conducted … Continue reading Wolfgang Sawallisch