Mark Kanny stories, Page 2

The origins of many Christmas traditions are shrouded in the mists of time, but there is no doubt about the most popular Christmas opera. “Amahl and the Night Visitors” was first seen on Christmas Eve 1951, when it was premiered on NBC television. The artistic range of commercial television was...

Christmas is an extra special time of the year for musicians. In addition to enjoying the holiday like everyone else, they get to perform music they’ve known and loved since childhood. “I always enjoy holiday programs that have a really nostalgic feel to them, in addition to including real classical...

The tradition of Christmas music stretches back many centuries but finds fresh expression in every generation. The vast and varied repertoire that has accumulated over time touches us not only with music’s emotional and spiritual powers. It also revives warm family memories of childhood. Daniel Meyer will conduct the Mendelssohn...

Although “The Nutcracker” is perfect family Christmas entertainment, surprisingly it was not a hit when it was first performed in Russia in 1892. But when it did finally catch on more than 50 years ago, it quickly became a ubiquitous part of the holiday season. It’s now the most frequently...

When Manfred Honeck became music director of the Pittsburgh Symphony in 2007, the Austrian conductor experienced Thanksgiving for the first time. He enjoyed the turkey and pumpkin pie all right, but what really touched him was the warmth of the family gathering he was invited to join and the idea...

November is The Beatles month for conductor Todd Ellison. The Philly Pops’ new music director is returning to Heinz Hall to lead concerts celebrating the 50th anniversary of the release of the “Abbey Road” album, just one week after he conducts a completely different tribute to the Fab 4 in...

Music lovers know that great music schools can present concerts with professional grade satisfaction. America is blessed with many great music schools, and among them the Curtis Institute of Music occupies a special place. Curtis was founded in Philadelphia in 1924, and has been tuition free since 1928 to ensure...

Take note when music of Henry Purcell is being performed. He thrived at the end of the 17th century and is widely regarded as the greatest English composer until the end of the 19th century. Yet he died young and was overshadowed a generation later in England by its immigrant...

Experiencing a work of the performing arts — a play, a ballet or a symphony — is often described as a journey. That’s because, as it unfolds over time, the route to a destination may be at least as important as the destination. Take a piece of a piece of...

To open its 50th anniversary season, which is also the final one for its artistic director, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre will present a restaging of “Giselle,” one of the most popular masterpieces in the repertoire. “Giselle” is a story about love which extends beyond death. Its second act is filled with...

Local music lovers will reap a benefit from the Pittsburgh Symphony’s upcoming European tour even before it starts. Manfred Honeck and the musicians will present three different programs on the weekend before they depart, performing much of the repertoire they’ll play at 11 concerts in 10 cities in Europe from...

Even timeless stories can be extra-relevant sometimes, and now is one of those times for the great opera “Don Giovanni.” It was written in 1787 but its story could have been ripped from today’s headlines. It is about a sexual predator brought to justice by his victims, a plot created...

The Westmoreland Symphony is tuning up for the new season, including hiring a handful of new string players, to open with a splash by performing three of the most popular Russian composers. “For me, Russian music is among the most colorful, most dramatic and the most challenging of all the...

Just over a year after Aretha Franklin died, the Pittsburgh Symphony Pops will open its season with a tribute to the American icon. Her voice was unforgettable and irresistible, but it was the conviction and style with which she used it that made her performances speak to everyone. “When it...

The Pittsburgh Symphony has progressed on its long path to financial health by posting a $1.1 million surplus in its operating budget for the 2018-19 season. The season concluded at the end of August. That’s a big turnaround for an organization that’s been running in the red for most of...

Out of the many ways to begin a concert season the Pittsburgh Symphony has chosen a musical sampler which features new music combined with favorite pieces from past centuries, and includes a superb instrumental soloist. Manfred Honeck will lead the opening weekend concerts of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra’s BNY Mellon...

To celebrate an anniversary, an artistic organization needs something at once special and also entirely characteristic of its identity. Pittsburgh Dance Council will kick off its 50th anniversary season with Momix, the highly innovative and internationally successful American modern dance company. “Momix is visual, physical theater that doesn’t tell stories,”...

Pittsburgh Opera is in a class by itself in Western Pennsylvania, although there are other opera presentations here that are worth seeing. Opera is an extravagant art form that combines singing, orchestral music, costumes and sets, and sometimes dancing, to tell stories that touch our hearts and give us things...

Classical music concerts in Pittsburgh this season will encompass an immense range of repertoire, from all the way back in the ninth century up to world and local premieres. Most of the performers will be local musicians, including the world-class Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, but many organizations including the symphony bring...

A pair of anniversaries will give dance a special aura during the 2019-20 season. Both Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre and Pittsburgh Dance Council are celebrating their 50th birthdays this season with vibrant offerings. The ballet stages classic ballet and contemporary dance performed by its roster of world-class dancers. Dance Council is...

The Pittsburgh Symphony’s season begins with a gala concert, featuring superstar pianist Lang Lang and music director Manfred Honeck, which is also the organization’s single biggest fundraising event of the year. The symphony expects to raise more than $1 million via the gala. The concert gains further interest because it...

People sometimes wonder what music means, especially when there are no lyrics and the title is generic. Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra provide a compelling answer for Anton Bruckner’s Symphony No. 9 with their new recording, which is being released today on the Reference Recordings label. Bruckner was...

The Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble is relentless in its pursuit of new ways to make concerts more meaningful experiences. When current artistic director Kevin Noe took over the group in 2000, he introduced the “Theatre of Music” approach, which brings the drama, lighting, sound and stage design of the theatre...

The word superstar hadn’t been coined when Nat King Cole was one. At his peak, after World War II through the 1950s, the jazz pianist and smoothly poised singer sold so many recordings that the famous Capitol Records’ round headquarters building in Hollywood was called “The House that Nat Built.”...