Posts by: Magnus Blechohr
Two pieces by two Russian composers working a century apart, both a bit bombastic, loud, aggressive, and unsettling, not unlike the Russians themselves. Tchaikovsky’s , however, mixed melody in a sweeping, majestic flight of romance. Here is a link to a different performance. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AMmPNNPzyc Romance was totally missing in the piece by Shostakovitch.
I guess that’s what you get when you have a huge chorus on stage – their families. It was a night of cellphone interruptions, babies making strange noises, toddlers drooling in the lobby, children asleep on mom’s lap two seats over, a guy with a cowboy hat blocking the view and an occasional disharmonious ringing [...]
Continue Reading →Stunning. The Philharmonic concert last night was stunning. It was also moving. It was a treat to the sense, to the eyes and to the ears, but also to the heart.
The young violinist, Stanislav Pronin, a Muscovite who studied long at Indiana University’s renowned school of music, was breathtaking. If Mendelssohn is a god [...]
Continue Reading →I saw and felt Saturday night’s concert by the Fort Wayne Philharmonic as more an excellent four-course dinner rather than “A Pretty Night” as the program was billed. Four courses: the appetizer was a thoughtful piece by the Japanese composer Takemitsu, the main course was Richard Strauss’s Four Last Songs, followed by “Ain’t it a [...]
Continue Reading →By Magnus Blechohr
I can not understand why the house is not packed, SRO, at the Fort Wayne Philharmonic. Last night’s performances reminded me of this question because at the end of each of the two pieces the crowd hooted and hollered like they were teens at a rock concert. The standing ovations were well [...]
Continue Reading →It was another in an ongoing series of fine concerts at the Phil this weekend. By and large it was flawless, the conductor add a bit of humor and the guest guitarist offered a 10-minute encore that brought nearly everyone to the feet.
The play bill opened and closed with pieces by Jan Sibelius. Maestro [...]
Continue Reading →By Magnus Blechohr
More than once a tear was shed last night at the Phil.
Nostalgia. Good memories, fond memories of hearth and home always evoke the best in the past, so even in the “tuning” time before the concert at the Embassy what was coming was evident to anyone who grew up in [...]
Continue Reading →By Magnus Blechohr
Two thousand voices and 70 musicians makes for a robust rendition of the national anthem.
Open night at the Phil, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic, has started with the roll of the snare drum, the audience rising to its feet, the maestro’s baton poised above his head. Then, quickly, a downward swoop that [...]
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