Classical music in a coffee shop?  This time, it's not piped in music, but the real deal.  Attempts to shed the stuffy image of classical music have experienced varying degrees of success and this group seemed to have the right idea.  Founded in 2006 in San Francisco, …

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The 8:00 PM chamber music concert at Curtis last night, the twenty-seventh student recital, was pretty much perfect.  It  was the last in a series in which established musicians play "along side" students.

Most interesting to me was Ravel's Introduction and Allegro for string quartet, harp, flute, and clarinet with Anthony McGill on clarinet. The harpist, Elizabeth White Clark, was particularly wonderful in a piece which pitted the strings against the winds with the  harp in…

The Curtis Institute of Music offered Recitals #25 and #26 last night at 5:15 and 8:00 pm respectively. The early concert featured works of Vivaldi, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, and Brahms; the later one works of Ravel, Brahms (again), and Robert Schumann. It was all wonderful music and wonderfully played, with a few things worthy of note other than its overwhelming wonderfulness.

Probably the most interesting piece on the program was the Sonata for Violin and Cello by Maurice…

I was pleased to see a completely full Field Hall at the Curtis Institute of Music yesterday for the Jaime Laredo and Friends recital.  The sold out concert had a handful of no-shows and those empty seats were quickly filled by students.  I don't actually have much to say about the recital because the student…

I had the great fortune of snagging the last two seats in the conductor circle during a one day sale held by the Philadelphia Orchestra.  This value of this bargain became clear last night in one of the most enjoyable concerts I've ever attended at the Kimmel Center.  You still have time to catch this series so don't walk, but run, to the Philadelphia Orchestra site or Kimmel Center ticket counter to get ticket for one of the remaining…

Many people would be astounded by the number of classical music ensembles and individual musicians that are actively performing in the Philadelphia area.  I have been assembling a list of web sites for almost a year now and even with 150…

Astral Artists offered up a Brahms festival of three concerts yesterday December 3 at the Church of the Holy Trinity at 1904 Walnut Street. About 6 hours of music at 1:00, 4:00, and 8:00 PM. I even gave up seeing Wisconsin edge out Michigan State University for the Big-10 football championship. My sacrifice was well rewarded. These concerts were very poorly promoted. I only found out about them through word-of-mouth. People should check out Astral Artists' website. The schedule in the…

I had the pleasure of attending my second Philmore Ensemble concert last night and I enjoyed this one even more than the first.  They were both held at the Philadelphia Ethical Society but I think the almost completely filled seats and friendly…

Last night, December 2, Curtis put on its 20th student recital. This was a typical one, an eclectic bunch of composer and student artists. The performances were excellent as usual, though I did have some reservations about some of the pieces. What I went for was the Stravinsky Octet for flute, clarinet, two bassoons, two trombones and two trumpets. It was wonderfully played and very witty and clever. It's from Stravinsky's "neo-classical" period though it didn't really sound very new or very…

Yesterday morning Arnold Steinhardt gave a master class during which he coached three terrifically talented violinists. Steinhardt of course was the first violinist (usually) of the Guarneri String Quartet that retired a few years ago. He still teaches at the Curtis Institute.

Kevin Sloan played Paganianna by Nathan Milstein, the great Russian violinist who died in 1992, Aisha Dossumova a caprice by Saint-Saens, and Alexander Dzyubinsky two movements from Johann Sebastian…

Last night the Curtis Institute of Music offered its 19th student recital, a collaboration of the contemporary music group and the vocal arts program. I went not thinking I would enjoy it knowing that neither vocal nor contemporary music is exactly my cup of tea. I couldn't have been more wrong. It was one of the most remarkable and magical recitals of the current season.

This recital was different from most as all the music fit together in amazing fashion. Most recitals are…