In Sunday’s (12/11) Philadelphia Inquirer, David Patrick Stearns writes, “The classical music year was all too interesting—in the Chinese-proverb sense of the word—with the Philadelphia Orchestra entering Chapter 11 bankruptcy and the Kimmel Center closing (if only momentarily) amid a union standoff. Artistically, though, the community remained defiantly strong. In its European festivals tour, the Philadelphia Orchestra was playing for its life and, according to most of the critics, reestablished its lofty position in the global music community. Even if other Philadelphia musical institutions didn’t have their future so directly on the line, this was not a time for backsliding or retreating into safety.” Stearns recounts several high points of the season, including from the Philadelphia Orchestra: “The first important night was the closing of the European tour in Paris. Chief conductor Charles Dutoit led Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique with perfect order and complete madness running neck and neck. Then, in October, music director designate Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducted Brahms’ A German Requiem … The youthful voices of the Westminster Choir have rarely sounded so ethereal.”
Posted December 12, 2011
