Reviews

Notes from the Cheap Seats

I thought it might be helpful to my readers to understand the kinds of concerts and recitals you will find reviewed in this blog.

I arrange my Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra subscription to include concerts that feature new music, especially PSO commissions and premieres. As a composer of choral music, I also have a fondness for works that include chorus. For newly composed works, I’m interested in how well they communicate or express the composer’s intent, and whether the work has the ability to hold the average listener’s attention. While I will be most critical of and devote the majority of my attention to newly composed pieces, I’ll also take time to mention obvious flaws or outstanding moments when they occur, whether the work is a new composition or an old masterpiece. I’ve also spent many years singing in and writing for choral ensembles. Many of those choir’s concerts will be reviewed here, as well, regardless of the type of music programmed.

Don’t expect to get a lot of program notes or historical background in my reviews unless it’s germane to the success of the music. As I mentioned on my About page, although I’ve been educated to understand and have an appreciation for the new, the avant-garde and the esoteric in new music, my intent is to represent the average concert goer. If the piece didn’t work for me, it probably didn’t work for them either.