Jim Cotter

Woodmere's Annual Juried Exhibition Taps Into Regional Traditions

Jim Cotter — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 18:59:03 +0000

The Woodmere Art Museum in Chestnut Hill has an enviable collection of art in the realist tradition, from the 1800s to the present. It also has a renowned annual juried show which, this year, as WRTI’s Jim Cotter reports, is dedicated to local, cutting-edge art. In Front of Strangers, I Sing: the 72nd Annual Woodmere Museum Juried Exhibition curated by Dona Nelson and Rubens Genoff runs through September 1, 2013.

Unconventional Repertoire At Pennsylvania Ballet

Jim Cotter — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 12:12:20 +0000

Classical ballet, like its sister art form classical music, is rooted in classic, older repertoire. But as WRTI's Jim Cotter reports, the region's premiere ballet company is stepping away from conventional works for a season-ending program by three living choreographers who have their own distinctive takes on the intersection of contemporary and traditional ballet.

Pennsylvania Ballet’s season ending production Forsythe & Kylián runs Thursday through Sunday at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia.

Sondheim's Sensational Songs At The Arden

Jim Cotter — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 15:18:55 +0000

Along with jazz and motion pictures, musical theater is one of the 20th century’s great American artistic creations. As WRTI’s Jim Cotter reports, a masterwork by one of Broadway’s master craftsman is getting a makeover in Philadelphia.

http://youtu.be/KOZhmsp6iBQ

http://youtu.be/E1Uek39ithE

Though musical theater created outside the U.S. is often re-imported - think Andrew Lloyd Webber and Cameron Mackintosh - many of the most enduring works in the genre come from a theater artist who has been practicing his craft for longer than these two British composers have been alive.

Stephen Sondheim first came to international attention as the lyricist for West Side Story, but it is the works he created on his own in the decades since that have endured. A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Anyone Can Whistle, Company, Follies, Sweeney Todd, and A Little Night Music. The Arden Theatre Company closes its 25th season with Stephen Sondheim’s A Little Night Music, which runs through June 30, 2013.

A Nomadic Conductor Leads Philadelphia Orchestra In China

Jim Cotter — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 17:54:11 +0000

The Philadelphia Orchestra’s current China trip is both a celebration of the 40th anniversary of its first tour to that country, and a new kind of overseas engagement. As WRTI's Jim Cotter reports, the 2013 tour and residency is being led by a conductor with a reputation for innovation both on and off the podium.

Great and Mighty Things: Outsider Art at the Philadelphia Museum of Art

Jim Cotter — Mon, 27 May 2013 12:11:42 +0000

The term "outsider art" came into use in the early 1970s from a French description for unrefined art. As WRTI’s Jim Cotter reports, the preferred term today is “self-taught,” and a single collection of such work is the focus of a major exhibition at the Philadelphia Museum of Art that runs through June 9th.

Conductor Donald Runnicles: No Prodigal Son

Jim Cotter — Mon, 20 May 2013 17:40:41 +0000

The renowned British conductor Donald Runnicles is the conductor for this Sunday’s Philadelphia Orchestra concert broadcast on WRTI. Scottish-born and raised, Runnicles left his native land very early in his career. And as WRTI’s Jim Cotter reports, he has happily “settled” wherever the muse has taken him.

The Future's Finest Fine Artists

Jim Cotter — Mon, 13 May 2013 02:25:09 +0000

This week, America’s oldest art school and museum will - for the 112th time - display the finest work by its newest graduates. As WRTI’s Jim Cotter reports, the show is also where "in-the-know" collectors and dealers come to discover the stars of tomorrow.

The 112^th Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts Annual Student Exhibition runs through June 2nd.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?list=UUIXvJ1QgLbmt172gaWtt2KQ&feature=player_embedded&v=G_hGnX5u_6g

Nicholas McGegan: A Time-Traveling Conductor

Jim Cotter — Mon, 13 May 2013 01:22:06 +0000

The renowned British conductor and early-music expert Nicholas McGegan is the conductor on Sunday’s Philadelphia Orchestra In Concert broadcast on WRTI.

McGegan, an accomplished harpsichordist and flutist, specializes in Baroque, and early Romantic repertoire. But as WRTI’s Jim Cotter reports, this doesn’t stop him from being a strong advocate for new music.

Cellist David Finckel's Emerson Quartet Swan Song

Jim Cotter — Mon, 06 May 2013 10:01:00 +0000

Cellist David Finckel has been a member of the Emerson String Quartet for over 30 years. In that time, the ensemble has garnered a reputation as one of the world’s finest chamber ensembles. Now Finckel is leaving the group. But as WRTI’s Jim Cotter reports, it - and he - will endure.

The Barnes Foundation Celebrates 1st And 90th Birthdays

Jim Cotter — Mon, 06 May 2013 10:00:00 +0000

This month, The Barnes Foundation is celebrating the first anniversary of its new home in Philadelphia. As WRTI’s Jim Cotter reports, the Barnes is also part of worldwide celebrations of a landmark birthday for one of America’s greatest living artists.