Choral groups have few blue-chip certainties in the 20th-century repertoire, but Carl Orff’s “Carmina Burana” is definitely one of them. With music that has been pilfered for movies, commercials, video games, rock albums, and sitcom episodes, Orff’s “scenic cantata” always draws a crowd — and the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and the Oratorio Society surely counted […]
Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Changing images of art
Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra Principal Pops Conductor Jeff Tyzik and Rochester City Ballet Artistic Director Jamey Leverett will both present interpretations of another’s art onstage this weekend. “Images: Musical Impressions of an Art Museum” is a suite of seven movements that Tyzik wrote based on seven pieces of art from the Memorial Art Gallery. Leverett choreographed […]
Posted inMusic
Concert Review: RPO with Christopher Seaman and Jon Nakamatsu
The RPO’s Conductor Laureate continues to earn his laurels. Christopher Seaman’s annual visits to the podium have already become highlights of each season. He has set an agreeable habit of programming the kinds of pieces he likes best, from Mozart to Brahms and a bit beyond. This week’s program was a generous serving in his […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Feedback 3/11
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Posted inMusic
The Preservation Hall Jazz Band
There is a great deal to preserve in New Orleans, the city that gave birth to jazz. But by the early 1960’s, not much was being done to honor that heritage. That is until two young honeymooners showed up on their way back to Philadelphia from Mexico City. Allan Jaffe had attended Valley Forge Military […]
Posted inMusic
‘Pops’ and substance: the RPO’s balancing act
Eighteenth-century composers and writers on music used to differentiate between “music lovers” and “connoisseurs.” The music lovers, it was thought, went for the simple, tuneful, dance-y stuff; the connoisseurs liked more complicated, modern music. In their search for audiences, modern concert organizations tread a fine line between the two, trying to strike a balance that […]
Posted inMusic
Audra McDonald
Audra McDonald has created many memorable characters on stage — and has the awards to prove it. As a singer, McDonald’s a great performer in smaller venues, but she really loves singing with symphony orchestras. “Everything is big, big, big — singing with all those instrumental colors is like playing with the coolest box of […]
Posted inMusic
From sound chip to stage
There’s a special connection that video gamers have to the music used in the games they play. A lot of it is iconic, recognizable by many who’ve never touched a console because it has worked its way into popular culture: the “Super Mario Bros.” theme, for instance, and the perilous “Space Invaders” song. Even Pac-Man’s […]
Posted inMusic
Concert Review: RPO featuring Vadym Kholodenko and José Luis Gomez
Two prizewinners joined forces Thursday night as guest artists with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor José Luis Gomez won the Georg Solti competition in 2010; pianist Vadym Kholodenko won the gold medal at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2013. They made an impressive team in a front-loaded program that put the heaviest, or […]
Posted inMusic
Pixar scored
Only four composers have written scores for the 14 feature films produced by Pixar Animation Studios. Randy Newman, Michael Giacchino, Thomas Newman, and Patrick Doyle have each left their mark on a Pixar flick — and collectively won 10 Grammy Awards and three Academy Awards and earned another 10 Academy nominations for the films’ music. […]
Posted inMusic
Classic innovation
As Jamal Rossi was presented as the new dean of the Eastman School of Music earlier this month, both he and University of Rochester President Joel Seligman highlighted the school’s history. But they also addressed the task of operating in an increasingly changing music world. “Our challenge in the coming years,” Rossi said at the […]
Posted inMusic
ARTS: RPO announces part two of 2014-15 season
The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra announced the remainder of its 2014-15 season, today, which will incorporate five family-friendly OrKIDStra Concerts, two 3-concert Sunday Matinee series, and five special concerts, including a performance from Tony Award-winner Audra McDonald, and a night of video game scores with Video Games Live. In February, the RPO announced its 2014-15 Philharmonics […]
