Britten and Schubert from the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia

By Cameron Kelsall, 25 January 2022

Loading, please wait...

See full listing

“Hayes brought out a transparent texture and rounded, mahogany color from the string orchestra”

Reviewed at Kimmel Center, Perelman Theater, Philadelphia on 24 January 2022

Hailstork, Essay for Strings

Britten, Serenade for tenor, horn and strings, song cycle, Op.31

Schubert, String Quartet no. 14 in D minor, "Death and the Maiden", D.810

David Hayes, Conductor

Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia

John Matthew Myers, Tenor

John David Smith, French horn

Simone Dinnerstein plays Bach and Glass in Philadelphia

Cameron Kelsall, 7th November

The pianist put a highly individual and unapologetically modern stamp on Bach's Keyboard Concerto no. 7.

****1

Michel Legrand's Harp Concerto

Stephen Raskauskas, 9th February

Sunday afternoon in the Perleman Theater, harpist Catherine Michel joined the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia for the world première of Michel Legrand’s Harp Concerto. The winner of three Oscars, five Grammys, and heaps of other awards, Legrand is certainly one of the most influential and prolific composers living today.

***11

Pomp meets ping-pong: Nixon in China lands again in Paris

David Karlin, 14th March

Excellent vocal acting from Thomas Hampson, Renée Fleming, Xiaomeng Zhang and a magnificent orchestral performance conducted by Kent Nagano can't make Valentina Carrasco's production fully grip.

***11

Almost rescued from tyranny: Smetena's Dalibor stuns at Bard

Robert Levine, 27th July

Bedřich Smetana’s patriotic opera Dalibor is given a rare outing at Bard College, directed by Jean-Romain Vesperini and conducted by Leon Botstein.

****1

Evgeny Kissin and friends explore Shostakovich at Carnegie Hall

Edward Sava-Segal, 31st May

A chamber programme of Shostakovich’s private idioms and public masks

****1

Zubin Mehta finds fountain of youth in LA Phil’s Gurre-Lieder

Néstor Castiglione, 13th December

A memorable, impassioned performance of Arnold Schoenberg’s Gurre-Lieder in Disney Hall.

*****

More reviews...

Cameron Kelsall

Cameron Kelsall is a classical music critic and cultural reporter. He has written for Bachtrack since 2019, and his byline has appeared in many national and international classical music publications. Based in Philadelphia, he regularly travels around the United States for musical events. In addition to his career in journalism, Cameron also teaches in the Theatre Arts program at the University of Pennsylvania. He is also a certified sommelier and avid home cook. His favorite composer is Mahler. Twitter: @CameronPKelsall.

Life and death collide in Britten and Schubert from the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia