Roving Pittsburgher Report - My Favorite PSO Concert!!! Review of PSO's Vivaldi's Four Seasons, Mozart, and Haydn Concert, June 1st 2014 Performance

My Favorite PSO Concert!!!
Review of PSO's Vivaldi's Four Seasons, Mozart, and Haydn Concert, June 1st 2014 Performance
From:  Roving Pittsburgher Report and PositivePittsburghLiveMagazine.com
Written By:  Stephanie Curtice  |  June 02, 2014

I’ll lead this review off with the tweet that I sent right after the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra’s Sunday, June 1st 2014 performance.  “Today was my favorite @phgsymphony concert of the season!  3 great pieces. Ye-Eun Choi was stunning. Loved Loved Loved Nicholas McGegan!”  And, that pretty much sums it up.  In my first PSO concert and review on Jan. 17, 2014 I wrote, “Now of course, I should let on that I’m partial to this era of music and the one before it.  So in my opinion Franz Joseph Haydn and his contemporaries of the first Viennese School hit that sweet spot.”  So you can imagine my excitement about this concert.  Vivaldi, Mozart, AND Haydn, it was like Christmas morning at the symphony.

Ye-Eun Choi

The concert began with Vivaldi’s Four Seasons and got better and better with each concerto.  Violinist, Ye-Eun Choi making her PSO debut played beautifully.  She showcased both energetic virtuosity and lovely lyric lines full of passion.  She is very young and demonstrates the technical capabilities and musicianship that will develop even more with time like a fine wine.  By the middle movement of Autumn the entire ensemble settled into a groove with smiles and acknowledgements to each other that capture the essence and intimacy of chamber music.  The music was gorgeous and full of energy, but it is taken to a whole other level when you can observe sincere enjoyment of the players.  It was fun to listen to and watch – Baroque music is fun and makes you want to dance, not like the electric slide, but you know a Gavotte, Minuet or Chaconne!

Nicholas McGegan

The concert was lead by world-renowned conductor Nicholas McGegan, and for the Vivaldi he did so from the console of the harpsichord.  It was a treat to see the work not only played beautifully but also in this configuration that would more than likely have been how it was performed back in 1725.  The only unfortunate thing was that the big, beautiful Heinz Hall kind of swallowed up the harpsichord.  McGegan evoked both the lush swells of passion-filled themes and clean precision, full of energy, from the small ensemble.  More impressive was his ability to quickly lead the shifts from one style to the other at the manic changes characteristic of Baroque music.

The second half of the concert began with a fun and stately Mozart ditty, Chaconne from Idomeneo, Re di Creta.  It showcased several contrasting sections that were each played with due flair.  The featuring of the woodwinds was really quite lovely.  The concert was capped off with Haydn’s Symphony #103 in E-flat major and was great.  Beginning with its nickname “Drumroll,” the work featured a neat timpani part and great wind passages.  A standout was the violin solo in the second movement by concertmaster Noah Bendix-Balgley.  I love hearing and watching him play; he makes it look and sound so easy.

Did I say I love this style of music?  It makes me feel like Agnes from Despicable Me when she expresses her excitement about the stuffed unicorn, “It’s so fluffy.”  It’s just so fun!  The music was expressive and energetic.  I would imagine the rehearsals were fun and productive, and I would have paid to see them too with McGegan’s commentary.  The PSO rocked it (Baroque and Classical style – you could say they barocked it) and I absolutely LOVED watching Nicholas McGegan conduct!

By:  Stephanie Sue Curtice

Good News and Cultural Reporter
PositivelyPittsburghLiveMagazine.com
RovingPittsburgher.blogspot.com
TheNewGirlintheBurgh.blogspot.com
(c) PositivelyPittsburghLiveMagazine.com 2014

Roving Pittsburgher Report - What's Up Doc: Review of the PSO's Bugs Bunny at the Symphony II Performance April 12th 2014

What’s Up Doc?
Review of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra's Bugs Bunny at the Symphony II Performance April 12th 2014
From: Roving Pittsburgher Report and PositivePittsburghLiveMagazine.com
Written By: JoAnn R. Forrester, Host of Empress of Biz  |  April 13, 2014

Saturday night April 12, was FUN! It was a night of wonderful music with lots and lots of laughs and giggles from the usually pretty serious classical music crowd. We were treated to a multi-media experience of What’s Up Doc, “Bugs Bunny “ cartoons, witty dialogue and great music by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra very ably led by guest conductor and co-creator of the Bugs Bunny at the Symphony II, George Daugherty.

George Daugherty brings an impressive resume to the Pittsburgh symphony. He is one of the classical music

world’s most diverse artists. His 3- year conducting career has included appearances with the world’s leading orchestras, ballet companies, opera houses and concert artists. He is also an Emmy Award winning creator and along with his producing partner David Ka Lik Wong created The Bugs Bunny Symphony tradition. He was a delightful host. His dialogue with the audience on the background of the music and cartoons was informative with a whimsical touch. A thoroughly charming man.

One of the things I did not realize, much of the music in cartoons was based on many of the classical composers such as, J. Strauss II, Wagner, Rossini, von Suppe’, Smetana, Liszt. Reading the credits from the cartoon was like a trip back in time, Jonny Mercer, William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, Chuck Jones, and Mel Balanc, the great voice of Warner Bros Cartoon. And of course the lovable wacky cartoon characters of Elmer Fudd, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Wile E Coyote, Tweety (I Tawt I Ta A Puddy Cat) Bird, Pepe Le Pew and the Penelope Pussy Cat were funny as ever.

George Daugherty

As the music and cartoons play I was flooded with memories of my childhood. A time when I went to the movies and was enthralled by an afternoon of cartoons and cowboy/ space invader monster/Tarzan of the Jungle. It was a simpler and less stressful time; NO cell phones, texting, and NO parents hovering over you, urging you to hurry, to rush from one activity to another. It was a time when I could walk to the local neighborhood show with friends. Go to a shopping district, that were alive and vibrant and filled with friendly people walking on sidewalks, and stopping in their favorite ice cream store, shoe store, grocery store, ladies dress store and buying what they needed. Back then, my neighborhood gave me a feeling of identity and security. If you lived in one of them you know what I mean. Today’s suburban sprawl with our mega shopping centers, frantic pace and a life built around the automobile racing from one event to another has taken a lot of that sense of belonging away.

In conclusion the night was delightful fun for young to old. All delighted by the antics on screen and being charmed by the music and conductor on stage… a delightful evening… and a secret trip back in time when it was all simpler.

Additional Performances:
Sunday, April 13th  |  2:30 PM  |  Heinz Hall

JoAnn R. Forrester

Written By: JoAnn R. Forrester
Host of Empress of Biz
Anchor Internet Radio Show on PositivelyPittsburghLiveMagazine.com

JoAnn R. Forrester is co-host of the Empress of Biz Talkcast and co-founder, president and partner in S. I. Business Associates, Small Business Solutions, LLC and Celebrate and Share. She is an entrepreneur, writer, business growth specialist, teacher, columnist and award winning writer. JoAnn specializes in helping small businesses grow and prosper. She is the co-developer of the PRICE IT PERFECT™ cost management system for small business, and has secured over 40 million dollars in loans and investment for her clients.

For more information visit Empress of Biz on PPLmag.com

Posted By: Stephanie Curtice
Good News and Cultural Reporter
PositivelyPittsburghLiveMagazine.com, RovingPittsburgher.blogspot.com, TheNewGirlintheBurgh.blogspot.com
(c) PositivelyPittsburghLiveMagazine.com 2014

Roving Pittsburgher Report - Magical Inspiration: Review of the PSO’s Bolero and the Sorcerer’s Apprentice March 14th 2014 Performance

Magical Inspiration
Review of the PSO’s Bolero and the Sorcerer’s Apprentice March 14th 2014 Performance
From: Roving Pittsburgher Report and PositivePittsburghLiveMagazine.com
Written By: Josh Kurnot  |  March 15, 2014

Walking down the aisle to row k, right in the middle of the orchestra, I notice the grand piano on the forefront of the stage. I wonder what celebrity the orchestra would entertain on their stage that night. Little did I know, some of the world’s most powerful fingers were waiting just off stage left. I cannot place the feeling at first while taking my seat, but there is a kind of quiet anticipation lingering in the theater. My only precedence to this performance is the childhood memory of the Disney movie Fantasia. In my ignorant bliss, I sit with my date grinning from ear to ear waiting to reminisce on fond innocent memories from my younger years, but little did I know…

With due respect, the audience graciously welcomes Maestro Leonard Slatkin to the stage. Prodigy to his parents, the founders of the famed Hollywood String Quartet, Slatkin was born to conduct this very show. The show opened with French composer Paul Dukas’ The Sorcerer’s Apprentice. This is the familiar tune from Disney’s movie Fantasia, and its sounds coming from the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra’s stage are just as whimsical and magical as I remember it as a kid. The simplest theme of the entire show was perfectly and playfully portrayed in this first piece, repetition. The Lucian tale of a sorcerer and his apprentice tell the story of how an apprentice’s eavesdropping on the master’s incantation to turn a common household broom into a drone for filling the water basin from the well leads the novice to an almost certain demise. The repetition in the orchestra starts low and mysterious as the sorcerer’s stern words work in private. It then grows in volume and multiplies seemingly uncontrollably as the apprentice attempts to stop the drone from overflowing the water basin by chopping it in half; only creating yet another. The magnitude of the impending doom on the apprentice is magnificently displayed by the alternating unison of the violin section’s two explicit parts. While the bows of one violin part are thrust into the air, the bows of the other part are pulled swiftly back down the opposite direction creating a magnificent but furious dancing effect atop the heads of the entire violin section. Towards the end of the piece, this effect is sustained for so long that I think it would last forever, leaving no refuge for the poor apprentice. Although I don’t particularly care for all of the antics of Mr. First Violinist, I found quite a bit of entertainment in the fly away hairs of his bow flailing frantically about during this ferocious first piece. And at the end of it, Mr. First Violinist proudly grasped those few retired hairs from his bow and most triumphantly ripped them right out of their roots.

Michel Camilo
Photo courtesy: Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra

The next appearance on stage is Michel Camilo. The audience welcomes him with kindly as he takes his seat on the front of the stage at the keys of the grand piano. As Camilo’s fingers began to strike the first few notes of his Concerto No. 2 for Piano and Orchestra, “Tenerife”, his Latin heritage and Jazzy style are instantly apparent. Camilo’s inspiration for this piece is Tenerife, the largest of the Canary Islands. In his own words, “My intention was to compose about its great majesty, reflect on the warmth of its people, and portray the vibrant light so full of contrasting texture and color I have always perceived there.” The first movement is inspired by a visit to the island’s volcano and does an excellent job of personifying this wondrous place giving it absolute strength, a mind of its own, and a heart beat. Matching the strength of this volcano is Camilo’s left hand pounding away at the repetitious rhythm that is the heart beat of this beautiful place. The community and warmth of the island’s people is found in the echoing rhythms of the symphony orchestra. As the power of the volcano has a rhythm, so do the people who live who live in its shadow. This appearance marks the debut of Michel Camilo’s performance with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. At the end of the first act finishing the third movement of “Tenerife” the crowd exploded with applause and cheers, especially from the balcony. So long did we applaud and cheer, not accepting no for an answer, that Camilo had to feel obligated to end his performance with a little extra personal flair. Not only did he flair, but his fingers fumed as Slatkin, the Symphony Orchestra, and entire crowd listened in awe.

Additional Performances:
Saturday, March 15th | 8 PM | Heinz Hall
Sunday, March 16th | 2:30 PM | Heinz Hall

Written By: Josh Kurnot
 Josh Kurnot is a student of engineering at West Virginia University in his senior year. He loves to visit relatives in Pittsburgh and attends as many cultural events as he can. He is an award winning photographer whose photograpy was featured on PositivelyPittsburghTV in a video, Roving Pittsburgher and Mountaineer Cheerleader, Josh Kurnot Tour the Strip.

Posted By: Stephanie Curtice
Good News and Cultural Reporter
PositivelyPittsburghLiveMagazine.com, RovingPittsburgher.blogspot.com, TheNewGirlintheBurgh.blogspot.com
(c) PositivelyPittsburghLiveMagazine.com 2014

Roving Pittsburgher Report - A Superlative Combination: Review of the PSO's Evening with Mandy Patinkin Performance April 5th 2014

A Superlative Combination
Review of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra's Evening with Mandy Patinkin Performance April 5th 2014
From: Roving Pittsburgher and PositivePittsburghLiveMagazine.com
Written By: JoAnn R. Forrester, Host of Empress of Biz  |  April 6, 2014

On Saturday evening April 5 downtown Pittsburgh was filled with two types of fans, baseball and music. Both type of fans excited and looking for their team to deliver a winning performance. And my team, starring the Pittsburgh Symphony with Mandy Patinkin delivered a superb win. Our star player, Mr. Mandy Patinkin, singer, actor, performer well known for his Broadway roles in Evita and Sunday in the Park with George and beloved for his characters from film and television, such as Inigo Montoya in The Princess Bride and Saul Berenson in Homeland, the Tony delivered an unforgettable evening of popular song and Broadway Classics.

Mandy Patinkin musical range from baritone to tenor is incredible. His choice of songs demonstrated his amazing range of voice. His charismatic performance had all of us in the palm of his hand. Opening the show slow, easy and whimsical with “It’s not Easy being Green,” he proceeded to deliver 90 minutes of pure Broadway delight with the following “On The Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe," “Mr. Arthur's Place," “Bohemian Rhapsody” - dedicated to Phillip Seymour Hoffman, "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," "Rock-a-Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody," "Anyone Can Whistle," "Sunday in the Park With George" medley, "Rock Island"/"Ya Got Trouble,” “The Band Played On"/"Marie"/"Once Upon a Time," "Soliloquy," "Sorry/Grateful" and "Being Alive."

Mandy’s performance was infused with wonderful personal stories with an easy interplay with the Pittsburgh symphony orchestra. He brings everyone along on his musical journey and personal memories on his career. It was fascinating for me to hear how he started as a teenager, with his first role as Billy Bigelow in "Carousel" and how he evolved and eventually performed with many of the great stars of Broadway.

The evening started with the Pittsburgh symphony led by conductor Fawzi Haimor. They played three selections with Broadway and movie themes: the "West Side Story" overture, selections from "My Fair Lady" and a medley from "Pirates of the Caribbean." I thoroughly enjoyed the symphony and their Fawzi Haimor exuberant and enthusiastic leadership of the symphony.

Hey Pittsburghers! Isn’t it great that we have so many fantastic winning choices here in town? And if you wanted to make sure you had a winning outing then it’s to the Pittsburgh Symphony you would be going.

JoAnn R. Forrester

Written By: JoAnn R. Forrester
Host of Empress of Biz
Anchor Internet Radio Show on PositivelyPittsburghLiveMagazine.com

JoAnn R. Forrester is co-host of the Empress of Biz Talkcast and co-founder, president and partner in S. I. Business Associates, Small Business Solutions, LLC and Celebrate and Share. She is an entrepreneur, writer, business growth specialist, teacher, columnist and award winning writer. JoAnn specializes in helping small businesses grow and prosper. She is the co-developer of the PRICE IT PERFECT™ cost management system for small business, and has secured over 40 million dollars in loans and investment for her clients.

For more information visit Empress of Biz on PPLmag.com

Posted By: Stephanie Curtice
Good News and Cultural Reporter
PositivelyPittsburghLiveMagazine.com, RovingPittsburgher.blogspot.com, TheNewGirlintheBurgh.blogspot.com
(c) PositivelyPittsburghLiveMagazine.com 2014

Roving Pittsburgher Report - Oh My Stars, Sequins, and Symphony A Review of the PSO’s March 6th 2014 Pops Concert

Oh My Stars, Sequins, and Symphony
A Review of the PSO’s March 6th 2014 Pops Concert
From:  Roving Pittsburgher Report and PositivePittsburghLiveMagazine.com
Written By:  Stephanie Curtice  |  March 7th 2014

What I fun concert! I don’t know how else to start this review, other than that. I was seat dancing practically the whole concert and singing like a song bird all the way home. The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and guest conductor Jack Everly presented “All That Jazz”, a musical montage of hits from Cabaret, Chicago, The Act, Kiss of the Spider Woman, New York, New York and more.

Jack Everly
(photo courtesy:
Michael Tammaro)

As the show opened with "Overture", I was thinking, with the Oscars having been just this past weekend, this sounds very movie-musicy sounding. (Yes, I have a music degree and that is a technical term, movie-musicy, well at least it should be.) Anyway, I knew we were in for a treat, because we would hear some of the most well known musicals in robust symphonic stylings. And then out came the singers to join in.

With a proper “Willkomen” from Ron Remke, the musical celebration of the songwriting duo Kander and Ebb was in full swing. Remke was joined by Nikki Renee Daniels, Ted Keegan, Pittsburgh native Kirsten Scott and Tony award-winning Beth Leavel. Though there were only five singers this was no park n’ bark stuffy concert. The audience was both dazzled by the singing stars and bedazzled by all the glitzy costume changes.

Ted Keegan, who has previously sung the role of the Phantom on Broadway, whisked us away with “First You Dream” from Steel Pier. His voice will make you melt. He later showed a light-hearted comical side singing “Mister Cellophane” from Chicago. He is phenomenal!

The girls started spicing things up with “Two Ladies” and “Everybody’s Girl” from Cabaret. One could totally see how Beth Leavel won a Tony. She is a total ham and your eyes will never leave her because she is such an entertainer on every level. The trio of gals kept the heat coming in the second half with “City Lights” from The Act and “Cell Block Tango” from Chicago.

John Kander and Fred Ebb
(photo courtesy:
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra)

While most of the music of the evening was upbeat, there was no mistaking the beautiful soaring voices of Nikki Renee Daniels and Carnegie Mellon graduate Kirsten Scott. Daniels beautifully performed one of the more tender pieces of the night, “Go Back Home” from The Scottsboro Boys. Scott sang gorgeously as well as showcased some sizzling and sultry dance moves in “Roxie” and “Hot Honey Rag” from Chicago.

The works of the super successful songwriting team John Kander and Fred Ebb have become contemporary musical classics. Their recipe of steamy and provocative story lines, snappy lyrics, and jazzy orchestration led to 5 decades worth of hit musicals and films.

Orchestras for musicals are normally much smaller, maybe to fit down in the close quarters of the pit. But, the PSO brought a robust and studio recording-like sound to these musical favorites, without sounding clunky. It was a great opportunity to hear snappy character and a jazzy side of the PSO’s playing.

Guest Conductor, Jack Everly made two promises to the audience at Heinz Hall - we would leave the concert happier than when we arrived, and though we would hear both songs we knew and some we didn’t, all would be great. He was absolutely right on both counts.

Additional Performances:
Friday, March 7th  |  8 PM  |  Heinz Hall

Saturday, March 8th  |  8 PM  |  Heinz Hall

Sunday, March 9th  |  2:30 PM  |  Heinz Hall

By: Stephanie Curtice

Good News and Cultural Reporter

PositivelyPittsburghLiveMagazine.com

RovingPittsburgher.blogspot.com
TheNewGirlintheBurgh.blogspot.com

(c) PositivelyPittsburghLiveMagazine.com 2014

What a Show...What a Showman!

What a Show…What a Showman!

What can I say?  Brian Stokes Mitchell epitomizes all that is wonderful about Broadway music.  The ultimate showman, Mitchell electrified the stage at Heinz Hall, charmingly engaging with the audience in a round robin competition in the second act.

The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of guest conductor Ted Sperling, warmed up the audience with music from Carousel and Sweeney Todd.  An added treat, students from area colleges and universities, participants in the All-Star College Chorus, gave us two selections with the promise of more to come. The All-Star College Chorus is led by Robert Page and Christine Hestwood and includes students from California University of Pennsylvania, Community College of Allegheny County, Chatham University, Point Park University, Slippery Rock University, University of Pittsburgh, Washington & Jefferson College and Waynesburg University.

With music from Camelot, Porgy and Bess, Les Miserables, Ragtime among others, we were transported to the Great White Way, with familiar classics and a few new ones.  Mitchell and Sperling weaved in stories of their extensive relationship creating beautiful music together.  Add in pianist and friend Tedd Firth, and you get the benefit of three professionals who are so in tuned with each other that it almost felt like a performance around a living room piano rather than a concert hall.

I walked away from the performance with 3 favorites, 2 new ones and an old standard.  The “Waters in March” was a nice treat and made me smile with its uplifting message and Brazilian beat.  “New Word” is a touching and loving tribute to discovery of language between parent and child.  The glorious rendition of my personal anthem, the affirming “Impossible Dream”, thematic of continuing to strive no matter the obstacle, brought tears to my eyes.  The splendor of Heinz Hall, the soaring voices, and beautiful music of the orchestra all blended into a sumptuous experience.

The PNC Pops series with Brian Stokes Mitchell is at Heinz Hall through October 20, 2013.

Reviewed on behalf of Roving Pittsburgher by Joyce Kane.  Joyce Kane is the owner of Cybertary Pittsburgh, a Virtual Administrative support company, providing virtual office support, personal and executive assistance, creative design services and light bookkeeping.  Cybertary works with businesses and busy individuals to help them work 'on' their business rather than 'in' their business.  www.Cybertary.com/Pittsburgh