When the evening’s soloist seats himself at the piano and announces, “The cadenzas shall be improvised without the slightest forethought,” and adds, “Those of you who get carsick should fasten your seatbelts,” you know you’re in for either a very…

The members of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra are home from this season’s Carnegie Hall adventure; communications director Adam Crane reports that the pilot of the plane on which his SLSO contingent flew greeted the players, and offered congratulations on…

Kapilow

In 2005, Rob Kapilow’s “Summer Sun Winter Moon” had its premiere at Powell Symphony Hall with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra.

Originally commissioned to celebrate the Lewis & Clark expedition, Kapilow instead worked with an American Indian librettist, Darrell Robes Kipp,…

Bramwell Tovey

Blogging live from the broadcast on KFUO-99.1 FM: In introducing Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture, this week’s guest conductor, Bramwell Tovey, proved himself a natural with the Dreaded Cordless Mike, being funny, informative, and not long-winded.

Tovey is fast on his feet,…

David Robertson

Don’t forget: the second of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra’s live Saturday night broadcasts on KFUO-99.1 FM takes place tonight, starting at 8 p.m. Central Time.

It’s well worth hearing (see my previous post, a review of the concert), with…

The U.S. Army Herald Trumpets are as much about pageantry as about music-making. On Friday night at Powell Symphony Hall, they delivered on both.

Clad in distinctive high-necked white blouses and red service caps, the 14 trumpeters were an impressive sight…

I’ve been impressed with St. Louis Symphony Orchestra principal cello Daniel Lee since he got here. After last night’s amazing performance in Golijov’s Azul, I was pleased to get a copy of Lee’s 2005 Decca recording of the Brahms Cello…

They have reason to smile.

Things are looking up: The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra has announced the numbers for the 2009 fiscal year. While they might not strike the casual observer as being particularly spectacular, they’re much improved over recent years…

The maestro

The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra will hold another of its “Town Meetings” from 6 to 7 p.m. (with a reception to follow) on Thursday, September 24. The meeting is designed to bring patrons up-to-date on the latest at the…

The home team

The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra has announced another in the 2009-2010 season’s offerings of “SLSO Presents:” “Swing, Swing, Swing,” at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, October 9.

The program includes big band hits from from Duke Ellington, Woody Herman, and…