The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra’s Festival of American Music this month looked good and paper, and in its two Kodak Hall concerts it sounded even better. This weekend’s final concert, in which Ward Stare leads a very entertaining recent concerto by Jennifer Higdon along with two terrific, not-quite-standard-repertoire scores by Barber and Copland, was a powerful […]
Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra
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RPO highlights American music in new festival
American music is like America, says Ward Stare, Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra’s music director. “It’s a melting pot,” he says, “a diversity of sounds and influences, and a tremendous breadth of styles. And Rochester has been an important center for American music for nearly a hundred years.” Stare will prove his point in the next couple […]
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Classical concert review: RPO season opener
Music Director Ward Stare and the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra are embarking on their second full season together, and based on Thursday night’s opening concert, the excitement will continue. The RPO opened with an American rarity, before segueing into two pillars of the concerto and symphonic repertoire, all exceedingly well performed. If you ever wondered if […]
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Fall’s forte
The 2016-17 classical music season includes Grammy winners, Bach’s birthday, and unique composers
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Jon Nakamatsu will be a common sight this classical season
For Jon Nakamatsu, performing in Rochester has been “a lot of fun,” as can be seen by his career. Since his first appearance with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra in January 1999, the prizewinning pianist has returned time after time, performing as a soloist with the RPO and as a chamber musician with the Society for […]
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Ward Stare reflects on RPO’s 2015-16 season
The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra’s 2015-2016 season was Ward Stare’s first year to program as the orchestra’s music director — he officially took over the position in September 2014, and led several concerts during that season, but its programming had already been set. And this season was, by artistic and financial standards, a success. Stare’s musicality […]
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Craviso apparently the new CEO for the RPO
It appears that the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra’s interim president and chief executive officer, Ralph Craviso, has stepped into the position permanently. There has not yet been an official announcement from the RPO, but in a letter to donors dated June 23, Craviso wrote, “As the next leader of this great organization, I promise to uphold […]
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Classical review: Olga Kern with the RPO
For his first-season finale as RPO music director,
Ward Stare begins and ends the program with two sumptuous French celebrations of
bad behavior.
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Concert review: RPO performs Tyzik world premiere
The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra Pops concert was an intriguing blend of classical and jazz.
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Concert review: Yuja Wang with the RPO
Pianist Yuja Wang on Thursday and Saturday broke into Bartok and helped the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra reach
new heights.
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Classical review: RPO performs “Four Last Songs”
The RPO continues its mastery of Barber while presenting fascinating new music.
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Kholodenko and the RPO
During his first full season of programing Rochester
Philharmonic Orchestra concerts, Ward Stare has included several examples of what used to be called “orchestral spectaculars.”
