Baltimore Symphony Orchestra

It was the cellphone heard 'round the world. A bouncy marimba ring tone on an iPhone erupted during the final soft, almost unbearably poignant minutes of Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 9 at a recent New York Philharmonic concert in Lincoln Center. Music director Alan Gilbert finally reached his tipping point. He stopped the orchestra and turned to face a seemingly oblivious patron. The man, speaking anonymously to The New York Times as "Patron X," later said he had put his newly acquired iPhone on silent but had no idea an alarm had been set on it. When the offending device finally stopped, the conductor tried again to bring Mahler's wrenching 80-minute symphony to a proper end. While cellphone nuisances are commonplace wherever people gather for plays, operas and concerts, they rarely lead to a drastic mid-performance suspension.

The classical music world, ever on the hunt for bright young stars with box office snap, still has some reliably surefire veterans. One of them is Itzhak Perlman, the most popular, widely recognized violinist since Heifetz. Tickets for Perlman's guest stint as soloist and conductor with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra have been scarce for some time, even though, as was the case at his 2010 guest stint with the ensemble, Perlman is doing minimal fiddling. People still want to experience his musicianship, still want to let him know how much he means to them.

Baltimore was in danger of losing many of its most precious documents several years ago. A rented building near Druid Hill Park that was used to house the city's historic archives failed to meet even minimal standards for proper records storage. It was damp and moldy. It lacked air conditioning. The roof leaked. Water got on the floor. Snakes crawled around the building. Few of the documents were available online, and there was no equipment to scan them in. But the state stepped in, and the city's valuable papers, maps and photos have been moved to a sturdy, climate-controlled storage facility in East Baltimore.

The Hippodrome Theatre is largely defined by marquee Broadway shows, from "The Lion King" to "South Pacific. " But starting Monday, the theater aims to be a hub for local arts groups, becoming much more than just a stopping-off spot for touring artists and productions. With the Hippodrome Art Fund, the theater envisions being able to offer a bigger stage and financial support for nonprofit dance companies, music ensembles and more. Broadway Across America, the leaseholder of the France-Merrick Performing Arts Center, which houses the Hippodrome , has contributed $300,000 to launch the effort.

Patricia Modell, a successful TV and film actress in the 1950s and '60s who became a well-known philanthropist in Baltimore with her husband, former Ravens owner Arthur Modell, died Wednesday at the age of 80. Mrs. Modell was admitted two weeks ago to Gilchrist Hospice, one of several local charitable organizations she had served as a board member and donor. Though the cause of death was not immediately known, she was hospitalized several months ago with pancreatitis and her health continued to decline.

Baltimoreans have had much to be proud of since the beginning of September. The most ennobling, of course, were the Sept. 11 commemorations honoring the fallen victims of that infamous attack and their families. There was the Grand Prix, and then we had the Ravens victory over the Steelers. Less heralded publicly, but of impressive impact and long-lasting effect, was the spectacular performance of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra on Saturday evening, Sept. 10. It was a one-two punch.

It's still late-summer, but classical musicians can hardly wait to get back into the concert hall for the 2011-2012 season. One of the first to return is the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra . Conductor Marin Alsop leads a Gala Celebration concert Sept. 10 at Baltimore's Meyerhoff Symphony Hall that features a Baltimore native, violinist Hilary Hahn , playing Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto. This program also includes a BSO-commissioned piece, David T. Little's Baltimore-themed "Charm," reinforcing Alsop's commitment to new music.

When he was in his early teens, Andrew Grams saw the sci-fi hit "Jurassic Park. " The visual side of the movie wasn't the only thing that left an impression. "The trumpet theme from the score stuck in my head for the entire summer," said Grams, the Maryland-born conductor who, now in his early 30s, will lead the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra this week in music from that film and others scored by John Williams. "Hearing the music today takes me back," he said, "and I hope it will do that for other people, help them remember who they were when they first saw the movie and heard the music.

As I write, the sun is shining and it's a beautiful day in Guilford. Schools are recessed, the summer solstice has passed, and vacations are on the horizon. We look forward to the delights that the season provides. Held on a Sunday afternoon in June, the Baltimore Symphony Associates "Wine Event" at the home of Ellen and Geoff Lord was well-attended by about 50 partygoers — music lovers all — assembled to benefit Baltimore's acclaimed symphony orchestra. Ellen and Geoff prepared a beautiful setting , with floral arrangements and a beautiful centerpiece on the dining room table.

The penultimate program of the Baltimore Symphony's season balances feel-good orchestral pieces by Osvaldo Golijov and Benjamin Britten against a piano concerto by Johannes Brahms packed with darkly emotional drama. It makes for an engrossing combination. The orchestra-only portion includes the local premiere of "Sidereus" by Golijov, the Argentine composer with Russian-Jewish roots and a knack for writing music of uncommonly broad appeal. The BSO was among nearly three dozen orchestras involved in commissioning the work, first performed in Memphis, Tenn., last fall.