‘Monsters, Mayhem & Mac ’n Cheese’

Danceworks presents five ‘seriously silly’ pieces

A Sextet of Quartets

Milwaukeeans treated to music from Philomusica, Fine Arts

The Philomusica Quartet’s next concert is called “Jewish Expressions,” aptly so since that religious and cultural quality is shared by all three composers on the program...

Elgar and Chopin at MSO

Classical Preview

This weekend’s Milwaukee Symphony concert gives us a chance to hear the magnificent Symphony No. 1 by Edward Elgar (1857-1934), last played here in 1994. The self-taught son of a music shop owner...

‘Pure Dance’ at the Marcus Center

Milwaukee Ballet’s hurricane of gorgeous, complicated dancing

In my decades of touring with Theatre X, we always said that you can’t begin to know a show until you’ve played it...

American Classics—Old & New

Diverse works come to Pabst Theater, Turner Hall Ballroom

When young composer Aaron Copland (1900-90) witnessed how dancer/choreographer Martha Graham turned his Piano Variations into the “very striking” ballet Dithyramb, he decided to see if they could next work collaboratively on an original stage work. Though she readily agreed, the project wouldn’t materialize for more than...

Mixed Results for Florentine Opera’s ‘Elmer Gantry’

Last weekend Florentine Opera presented Elmer Gantry, a new opera based on the Sinclair Lewis novel premiered in Nashville in 2007. This venture into Americana is more related to mid-20th-century American opera (Susannah, The Ballad of Baby Doe, Regina) than...

Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra’s Emotional American Music

Concert programming can be mysterious business. On paper last weekend’s Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra concert appeared to be a hodgepodge mix of American music. In practice it turned out to be an emotional rollercoaster with satisfying, accumulative effect. Aaron Copland’s El Salón México paints a wonderfully colorful picture of a Mexico City dance hall visited by the composer. My guess is that there was limited...

Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra’s World-Class Beethoven

When listening to classical music, acoustics and where you sit in the hall are almost as important as the performance itself. At the Sunday afternoon Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra concert I was seated in row J on the main floor, about eight or nine rows closer than my regular seats. That doesn’t seem like much, but the difference was enormous. Further back in the hall the sound...

America’s 20th Century in Music at MSO

Classical Preview

When commissioned by the eminent conductor Walter Damrosch for a new orchestral work for his New York Philharmonic, little did composer George Gershwin (1898-1937) know that he would produce one of the most endearing...

MSO Treads Beethoven’s ‘New Path’

Shortly after 1800, Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) told a friend he would soon “pursue a new path” in music. Heretofore his output—though quite distinctly his own—was clearly indebted to the Haydn-Mozart tradition. As great as Beethoven’s early works...

Danceworks Puts Hollywood in Motion

The Danceworks Performance Company’s enjoyable new show “Lights, DPC…Action!,” playing through March 7 at Danceworks Studio Theatre, is such a work of love...

McGegan, Almond’s Fresh ‘Seasons’ at MSO

Classical Review

About 10 years ago I wrote that Nicholas McGegan should narrate a PBS series on classical music. His witty remarks...

‘Action!’ at Danceworks

Dance Preview

John Lill, Soloists Shine at Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra

Classical Review

A year and a half since its acquisition, the new Steinway piano at Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra has quickly become a welcome friend. I was again reminded of the instrument’s quality of sound and touch in John Lill’s performance of Tchaikovsky’s...

Milwaukee Ballet Showcases ‘Innovative Motion’Milwaukee Ballet Showcases ‘Innovative Motion’

Dance Review

MSO’s ‘Four Seasons’ in a Single Evening

Classical Preview

When you see that Nicholas McGegan is the guest conductor of a Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra concert, you can expect that the Baroque-through...

Chamber Music Beautifully Phrased

Classical Review

Present Music’s Mixed Bag at Turner Hall Ballroom

Classical Review

As is often the case with Present Music, the well-attended concert on Saturday night at Turner Hall Ballroom was a mixed bag, roaming from contemporary chamber works to...

Milwaukee Ballet’s ‘Innovative Motion’

Dance Preview

Plenty to Like in Skylight Opera’s ‘Marriage of Figaro’

Classical Review

Distinguished opera composer Dominick Argento once said to me, “The characters in The Marriage of Figaro are so rich, in both text and music, that I know them better than I know my own family.” There are plenty of reasons to see the new production of Mozart’s opera (sung in English) at Skylight Opera Theatre. Bill Theisen’s direction keeps the characters clear and the complex story moving forward...

Quartets Through the Ages With Fine Arts Quartet

Also: Frankly Music presents Brooklyn Rider

Out of necessity and limited resources true creation can emerge. Witness the case of a young Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) who had but two violinists, a violist and cellist at hand to fulfill the desire of a royal patron for new music. Haydn essentially became the founder of the string quartet—one of the fundamental genres of Classical Music...

Romantic Russian Quartets at Wisconsin Conservatory of Music

Classical Preview

As a creative artist, Alexander Borodin (1833-1887) was perhaps the most accomplished of the late-19th-century Russian nationalist composers; his remarkable gifts were evident in nearly every work he wrote. Alas, there aren’t very many, for composing was always merely his part-time job. Indeed, it often took years for works to be finished...

‘In Paradisum’ With MSO

Classical Preview

The effect of location on a composer’s works cannot often be overstated. Witness the output of late-Renaissance composer Giovanni Gabrieli (1553-1612), who succeeded his uncle (and fellow composer) Andrea Gabrieli as music director of Venice’s St. Mark Cathedral in 1586. Therein, he purposely...

MSO, Johannes Moser’s Intriguing Shostakovich

Classical Review

The dark, cold winter has always been a good time for listening to substantial music, such as the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra concert heard last Saturday night. Johannes Moser...

Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra: More Cowbell!

Classical Preview

The works on the upcoming Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra concert all stem from the tumultuous 20th century, descending back in time as the program progresses. In 1991, Scottish composer James MacMillan (b. 1959) composed his...