An atypical pairing of good music

April 17, 2013 Leave a comment

LigetiNirvana-Nevermind
Saw links to the two videos below via Twitter earlier today, and I felt compelled to share both of them here.  If they seem like an unlikely match — well, what can I say, I have diverse tastes in music.

The first is Ligeti’s “Hungarian Rock (Chaconne),” originally written for harpsichord but arranged here for barrel organ(!)  by Pierre Charial.

The second is footage of the first-ever public performance of “Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana.  Today happens to mark the 22nd anniversary of this performance,  filmed at Seattle’s OK Hotel five months before the release of their seminal debut album, Nevermind.  To put that perspective, there are a year’s worth of people who can now legally drink alcohol in the USA who were born AFTER this video was made.  Yikes.

Props to Brandise Danesewich (Ligeti video) and Charles Noble (Nirvana video) for finding these gems and also having great taste in music.

Read more of this post

Filed under Music (News & Reviews), Rock, Alternative, Ska, etc. Tagged with , ,

Jacaranda offers a stimulating evening of music by Eötvös and Ligeti

January 18, 2013 1 Comment

Peter-Eotvos_MusikFabrik-c-Kai-Bienert_12A few years ago, I was  at Walt Disney Concert Hall to see James Conlon conduct the Los Angeles Philharmonic in a concert of works by Prokofiev.  Sitting right in front of me were two gentleman, one older and the other younger, speaking a European language I did not recognize.  Whatever they were saying, they were deeply engaged in what seemed to be music-related conversation before and after each work and during intermission, even occasionally whispering and gesturing towards the stage as the music played.  The older gentleman was particularly fond of Principal Oboe Ariana Ghez’s playing, applauding extra vigorously when she took her solo bow.

The younger gentleman turned out to be Gregory Vajda, Resident Conductor of the Oregon Symphony, in town to replace an indisposed Lionel Bringuier to conduct one of the orchestra’s Green Umbrella programs which featured the work of prominent Hungarian composer Péter Eötvös.  The older gentleman turned out to be the composer himself.

Before the end of the concert, I introduced myself to Mr. Vajda.  In turn, he introduced me to Mr. Eötvös. Though the composer didn’t say anything in English to me, he smiled and shook my hand.  I wished them both well in their upcoming gig . . . and missed their concert two nights later despite the best of intentions.  I was always bummed out that I didn’t get a chance to hear any of the famous composer’s music despite having met him in person.

Fortunately, I had the chance to finally make up for it last Saturday when Mr. Eötvös returned to Southern California to participate in the latest program by “Jacaranda, music at the edge” featuring two of his works, including  the U.S. Premiere of Schiller:  energische Schönheit written in 2010 and co-commissioned by Jacaranda.  Also on the program were three works by his compatriot, György Ligeti.

I was far from the only one drawn to this concert. Santa Monica’s First Presbyterian Church was packed, with extra seats shoved wherever the room could be found.  Attendance was so high that they ran out of programs.  It was an enthusiastic crowd, and all were treated to some excellent performances of stimulating music.

Read more of this post

Filed under All Reviews, Music (News & Reviews), Other classical music concerts and recitals (in So Cal and beyond), Reviews 2012/2013 Tagged with , , , ,

Worth the wait: Simon Rattle triumphantly returns to the Los Angeles Philharmonic

May 7, 2012 9 Comments

There was a time not too long ago that had you mentioned that a fair-haired, mop top, wunderkind conductor was standing on the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s podium, your image would have been of an Englishman rather than a Venezuelan. Simon Rattle (not yet knighted) was Principal Guest Conductor from 1981 to 1994, though as the second half of that tenure progressed, his appearances grew increasingly sporadic. He appeared a precious few more times through the end of the decade.   There were some highs (a memorable, dare I say definitive, performance of Beethoven’s Ninth at the Hollywood Bowl), and some lows (a Mahler 4th that included the biggest, most glaring mistake I’ve heard by a professional orchestral musician), and then . . . well, nothing. Nada. Zip. Zilch.

Sure, he had this gig in Berlin to handle, but we were like family here in Los Angeles, right? Apparently, not so much. He had seemingly moved on, with his only U.S. appearances occurring in Philadelphia. He came to Los Angeles during the first decade after the turn of The Millennium, but only to conduct his trusty Berliners.

So it was with much rejoicing that after 12 years away, Sir Simon returned to conduct the LA Phil this past weekend, this time bringing bona fide family along: his wife, mezzo-soprano Magdalena Kožená.  Before he even conducted a single note on Friday, he received a loud, prolonged ovation.  Clearly, the anticipation was high.

He did not disappoint. Far from it. He kicked some serious ass. I don’t think I’ve heard the orchestra play this well and sound this good in all aspects — technically, lyrically, emotionally — regardless of who was on the podium.

Read more of this post

Filed under All Reviews, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Music (News & Reviews), Reviews 2011/2012 Tagged with , , , , , , , ,

%d bloggers like this: