In Tuesday’s (3/30) Philadelphia Inquirer, Peter Dobrin writes, “When the Concerto Soloists Chamber Orchestra began looking to chase away institutional malaise more than 15 years ago, it turned to a Curtis Institute of Music student who happened to be the son of one of the most influential political writers of the 20th century. Ignat Solzhenitsyn was still studying piano and conducting at Curtis when Marc Mostovoy began folding him into the ensemble Mostovoy had founded in 1964. After a succession of junior titles, Solzhenitsyn became principal conductor in 1994 and music director in 2004. Through the group’s name change and move to the Kimmel Center, he has evolved the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia into something only barely resembling what it was …. The playing is more spirited, and so is Solzhenitsyn. Still, the Moscow-born conductor is moving on. His concerts Sunday and yesterday were his last as music director, though he’ll be back ‘at least once a season,’ as he told Sunday’s audience at the Kimmel’s Perelman Theater. Belgian conductor Dirk Brossé takes over in the fall.”
Posted March 30, 2010
