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Ryan Delivers Tasty Meat-and-Potatoes Concert with Charlotte Symphony
By Lawrence Toppman Kwamé Ryan and fans of the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra (CSO) both got a taste of the future last weekend at Belk Theater. Concertgoers who may have missed his two audition...
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Warren-Green Sails Through Deep Waters with Charlotte Symphony
By Lawrence Toppman The Charlotte Symphony Orchestra’s (CSO) concert Saturday was designed to appeal to Anglophiles, fans of massive choral pieces, people who welcomed the return of former music...
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Charlotte Symphony’s MERGE A New, Energizing Classical Party
By Lawrence Toppman I’m told certain parts of Mecklenburg County saw the Aurora Borealis last weekend, due to freak solar flares. But you might have found an equally compelling light show indoors at...
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A Voyage Into Deep Space with the Charlotte Symphony
By Lawrence Toppman My favorite moments of the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra’s (CSO) last concert of the 2023-24 Classical Series were the final 30 seconds. The offstage women’s voices in the “Neptune”...
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Rained-out Summer Pops Still A Fun Kickoff for Charlotte Symphony
Things I did not bring to “Sonidos Latinos” but should have: sunblock, a small cooler full of ice, a beach chair, a blanket, a broad-brimmed sun hat, insect repellent, a battery-powered portable fan,...
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Behind the “Scenes”: An Inside Look at the Charlotte Symphony’s Movie Series
By Michelle Medina Villalon The Charlotte Symphony’s Movie Series combines beloved films with epic musical performances for audiences seeking a different movie-going experience. At these events, the...
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Charlotte Symphony Meets Sphinx Virtuosi in a Concert Like No Other
By Lawrence Toppman For the last five shining minutes of the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra (CSO) gala Wednesday night, I finally heard the sound I’ve dreamed of through 44 years of CSO concerts: Four...
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Clyne, Bartok make Charlotte Symphony opener worthwhile
By Lawrence Toppman It was, as Yogi Berra reportedly said, déjà vu all over again at Knight Theater on Saturday. Two years ago this month, guest conductor Andrew Grams opened the Charlotte Symphony’s...
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Charlotte Symphony Goes into the Great Unknowns
By Lawrence Toppman I am sitting here dreaming about a Charlotte Symphony Orchestra (CSO) concert in which the first half consists entirely of music by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor. (Not both halves, of...
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A Dance of Life with Beethoven and Beyoncé
By Lawrence Toppman What do Beethoven and Beyoncé have in common, beyond the first two letters of their names? Well, he was acknowledged as the pre-eminent composer of his day 200 years ago, while she...
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Kwamé Ryan Proves Why His Charlotte Symphony Hiring Matters
By Lawrence Toppman Kwamé Ryan loves Johannes Brahms, as he told fans at the pre-concert talk Friday before his formal debut as music director of the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra (CSO). He was making...
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‘Cody Fry Christmas’ as Easygoing and Agreeable as Its Star
By Lawrence Toppman “So who IS Cody Fry?” asked a Knight Theater patron, as a handful of us descended the elevator into the parking garage. “I still don’t know.” (I assume he didn’t use a QR code to...
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Charlotte Symphony Serves A Nourishing Meal of Small Musical Plates
By Lawrence Toppman About once a season, the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra (CSO) programs a tapas concert: Pieces lasting 25 minutes or less, usually from different eras of music, that often serve as a...
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Charlotte Symphony Concert: Half Killer, Half Filler
By Lawrence Toppman Every arts event ought to be a voyage of discovery, and the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra (CSO) concert Saturday at Knight Theater fit the description. The musicians discovered...
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Here’s an “Enigma:” Where Does the Charlotte Symphony Find Strong Guest...
By Lawrence Toppman I have been going over the roster of guest conductors since Kwame Ryan was hired, people who’ll fill his shoes until the 2025-26 season as music director, and I am trying...
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‘Havana’ good time with Zamora, Mambo Kings, Charlotte Symphony
By Lorenzo Cimahombre (Lawrence Toppman to you English-speakers) The drum kit at midstage seemed like a novelty, though classical composers from Haydn to Shostakovich have used non-classical drums....
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“Become Ocean:” A moving immersion in deep creative waters
By Lawrence Toppman For 45 minutes Saturday afternoon, the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra (CSO) became one with the sensuous music of John Luther Adams. I became one with the primordial sea from which...
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Charlotte Symphony: The Extroversion Worked, the Introversion Did Not
By Lawrence Toppman A Shakespeare professor once returned my paper about “Othello” with the comment “An unusual idea, beautifully articulated and completely wrong.” I thought of that incident Saturday...
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Charlotte Symphony Unveils 2025-26 Season Like No Other
By Lawrence Toppman What will the old-timers say? What will people in their 70s, who have followed the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra (CSO) for nearly five decades and gotten used to a diet mainly of...
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Perick rejoins CSO and rocks one-of-a-kind Wagner
Pictured: The Belk Theater at Blumenthal Performing Arts Center; courtesy Charlotte Symphony. By Lawrence Toppman Conducting classical music is one of the few jobs where a worker has the potential to...
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