Arts Desk

Throughout the week

Listen to WRTI's Arts Desk features for a daily look into the world of music, arts, and culture. Listen to brief features throughout the day!

My Free Hour In Jerusalem While On Tour With The Philadelphia Orchestra

By • Jun 6, 2018
David Patrick Stearns


Tel Aviv Audience Embraces The Philadelphians Onstage and Off

By • Jun 5, 2018

TEL AVIV. Israelis aren’t known for ovations at orchestra concerts. Rhythmic clapping is usually as close as audiences come, and the Philadelphia Orchestra received that plus an extremely rare standing ovation at Charles Bronfman Auditorium following Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4 on Monday, June 4th.

Musicians from Israel and Philadelphia Perform Side-by-Side at Tel Aviv University

By & WRTI Staff • Jun 5, 2018
Jan Regan/The Philadelphia Orchestra

The Philadelphia Orchestra's assistant conductor Kensho Watanabe conducted Leonard Bernstein's Candide overture in an afternoon "Side-by-Side" concert on June 4th consisting of some 19 members of the Philadelphia Orchestra, a handful from the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, and students from the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music Symphony Orchestra.

Q&A with Pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet: Life Offstage in Hollywood and on Tour

By • Jun 5, 2018
Andrew Eccles

Jean-Yves Thibaudet has made a name for himself on the global classical music scene as a concert pianist with artistry and flare. He’ll be adding that panache to upcoming performances of Leonard Bernstein’s Symphony No. 2, "The Age of Anxiety," in Hamburg, Vienna, Tel Aviv, and Jerusalem when he travels with the Philadelphia Orchestra on its tour of Europe and Israel.

The Philadelphia Orchestra's First Day in Israel

By • Jun 4, 2018

HAIFA, Israel. As the unofficial cease-fire between Israel and Hamas showed signs of unraveling Sunday, the Philadelphia Orchestra played the first of three concerts on the Israel leg of its 2018 tour, in Haifa, a sunny mountainside city of nearly 300,000, the population a mix of Arabs and Jews.

Look and Listen: Yannick and Quartet from Philadelphia Orchestra Visit "Oasis of Peace" In Israel

By WRTI Staff • Jun 3, 2018
Jan Regan/The Philadelphia Orchestra


Adoring Vienna Sees Philadelpha Orchestra Off To Israel With No Disruptions Since Brussels

By • Jun 1, 2018
Jan Regan/The Philadelphia Orchestra

With the challenges of pro-Palestinian protests facing the Philadelphia Orchestra’s 2018 Tour of Europe and Israel, could anybody have foreseen the latest obstacle? Displacement from the tour hotel by Vladimir Putin?


Here's A Great Reason To Travel To Siberia!

By • Jun 1, 2018


Watch the Young Cellist—Who Performed at the Royal Wedding—Play Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah"

By Meridee Duddleston • May 25, 2018
Lars Borges

When Britain’s Prince Harry and American Meghan Markle took their wedding vows on May 19th, a 19-year-old cellist added to the musical pageantry of the royal ceremony.  Sheku Kanneh-Mason caught the attention of Prince Harry last June while playing at a charity event in London.  Now he’s graduating to a worldwide stage.   

Why The Unusual Chichester Psalms is Quintessential Leonard Bernstein

By • May 25, 2018
Evgeniy Podkopaev

Chichester Psalms was not a typical piece for the Anglican Church or for the 1960s avant-garde music world. But the work for boy soprano, solo quartet, choir, and orchestra reflects the rich variety of influences that characterized Bernstein’s life and music. WRTI’s Susan Lewis has more.


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