Curtis Celebrates Centenary of Samuel Barber with New Production of Antony and Cleopatra by Curtis Opera Theatre

By -

Performances by Curtis Symphony Orchestra, Curtis On Tour, and Curtis 20/21

New Curtis iPhone Fan Application Offers Live Performances, Recordings, Tour Info, and Concert Listings to iPhone and iPod Touch Users

PHILADELPHIA – Described by the New York Times as “one of America’s elite conservatories” and recently highlighted in U.S. News and World Report’s 2010 college survey as the most selective institution for students seeking a bachelor’s degree, the world-renowned Curtis Institute of Music presents an exciting season with more than 130 concerts, operas, and recitals. A busy schedule of performances is at the heart of Curtis’s distinctive “learn by doing” approach, which has produced an impressive number of notable artists since the school’s founding 85 years ago.

A central theme of Curtis’s performance season is the 100th birthday of composer Samuel Barber (’34), one of the school’s most notable alumni. The season also features the return of the acclaimed Curtis On Tour recitals, which present Curtis students performing alongside members of the celebrated faculty in venues nationwide. The Spring 2010 tour includes a special appearance in March at the Allen Room in New York ’s Frederick P. Rose Hall.

Extending the reach of its students’ performances, Curtis is also in the vanguard of audience outreach with the launch of the new Curtis iPhone App through InstantEncore.

Season premiere gala
The Curtis Institute of Music kicks off its concert season with a gala performance by the Curtis Symphony Orchestra – praised by the New York Times for its “otherworldly ensemble and professional level of sophistication.” The orchestra, led by conductor JoAnn Falletta, will be joined by violinist and Curtis alumna Elissa Lee Koljonen (’94). The concert at Verizon Hall in Philadelphia ’s Kimmel Center will include the Philadelphia premiere of Behzad Ranjbaran’s Violin Concerto, Strauss’s Don Juan, and Rimsky-Korsakov’s Sheherazade.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Role of Music in Opera

By -
There are numerous books on the topic, and every composer, librettist, director, singer and audience member has their opinion as to what role the music should play in an opera. In a play without music, the words ought to support the meaning behind a character's actions. However, in the case of action movies, often times the action is what tells the story and there aren't words, just images to forward the plot. We might hear music to accompany action, build tension, but the action tells the story. Musicals tend to speak until the emotion of the moment just "has" to break out in song - unless it's something like "Mama Mia" where the dialog is the rails we travel on between songs; the songs themselves, written before the concept of the musical, are the focus of the production, while the story is secondary. Operas are a different beast. The music provides emotion to the words spoken, but it also plays the role of ambience when there is only action. In &quo
Read more

Episode 210b: Joyeuse le départ

By -
Image
Podcast:  Play in new window  |  Download Subscribe:  Apple Podcasts  |  Android  |  Google Play  |  Stitcher  |  TuneIn  |  RSS Provost Cunningham has Transmigrated, but to where! What is Dr Sage going to do with his body? And how can she bring home her friends, Abigail and Erasmus, without also bring home Cunningham? What are they going to say when they find the “skeleton” she’s hiding in her closet? Cast: Eddie Louise Clark  as Dr Sage Chip Clark  as Professor Savant Justin Bremer  as the Narrator Emily Riley Piatt  as Abigail Entwhistle, Calypso & Dean Stewart Written by  Eddie Louise Theme music by  Unwoman Sound Design by  Chip Michael
Read more

The Art of String Quartets by Brian Ferneyhough

By -
Image
When an artist sets paint to canvas, there are brush strokes used for different effects. Sometimes those strokes are subtle, imperceptible; they produce works of art like the Mona Lisa . Other times the very obvious nature of the stroke is the art, as in works by Van Gogh. With some composers of music, the notes on the page are their craft. How those notes translate into an aural experience is what defines some composers as great artists. Brian Ferneyhough has a masterful command of the techniques of putting notes on the page. These techniques are sometimes so subtle, even though written in black and white, they escape detection. Some of what he attempts with his music is just that, to escape detection, to bury the framework, diverting the ear away from the structure, so only the music is heard . The subtlety is so fine it is almost imperceptible. Even though he studied at several institutions, he is considered self-taught, studying scores from Boule
Read more