The LA Phil’s new brass principals are definitely making their presence felt

November 28, 2012 6 Comments

Andrew Bain, Thomas Hooten, and Nitzan Haroz

Despite my tardiness, I’ve still been wanting to write about last month’s Los Angeles Philharmonic performance of the Mahler 5th Symphony.  Sure, at least three loyal readers have been prodding me in public and private to do so.  On top of that, the concert featured Daniel Harding, a conductor who hasn’t made a visit to Southern California in a while, and Renaud Capuçon, a dashing soloist doing a beautiful job with the Korngold Violin Concerto.  The orchestra sounded quite good, and Mr. Harding’s interpretations were solid . . . but to quote a famous phrase, “Wait, there’s more!!”

The big reason it’s stayed on my mind — and the minds of many others I’ve talked to over the past few weeks — is that it served as a definitive concert early in this young season for the orchestra’s evolving brass section and, most especially, its three new principals:  Andrew Bain (horn), who joined the orchestra last year; Thomas Hooten (trumpet), who played a number of concerts last season as guest principal and officially took over the job this September; and Nitzan Haroz (trombone), who began his tenure in August at the Hollywood Bowl.

Yeah, there have been other concerts earlier in the year that used a lot of brass (e.g. The Rite of Spring, Sibelius 2nd, to name just two), but a Mahler symphony is a different animal, and the Mahler 5th in particular has some gnarly solos for trumpet and horn that are hallmarks for those instruments’ repertoire.

On the night I attended, the LA Phil brass kicked some Mahler 5 butt, playing with fierce power, solid blend, and a broad range of colors and timbres.  The principals in particular were outstanding.

The sound that Mr. Hooten created in the iconic first movement trumpet part was glorious, spinning and soaring with ominous majesty.  Mr. Bain played what I can easily describe as the best rendering of the third movement horn obbligato I’ve had the pleasure to experience in person; it was truly breathtaking, loaded with verve and nuance, causing many around me to whisper, “Wow!” when the movement was done, and earning him the biggest ovation of the evening.  Mr. Haroz may not have had a big solo moment in this particular symphony, but there was still ample opportunity to appreciate his bold yet warm tone.  (A few weeks later, he got a solo turn in Ravel’s Bolero, which he absolutely knocked out of the park).

Individually, Messrs. Hooten,  Haroz, and Bain are each wonderful additions to the orchestra.  Taken together, they are truly spectacular, collectively bringing an extra level of sizzle to the brass sound that I haven’t heard since the formidable Thomas Stevens, Ralph Sauer, and John Cerminaro sat in their respective chairs.

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Something familiar, something peculiar, something for everyone: “Casual Friday” with the LA Phil

November 20, 2012 2 Comments

On paper, Friday night’s Los Angeles Philharmonic concert seemed straightforward enough:  a program filled with loads of well-known hum-along tunes, a beloved old-school conductor (Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos) on the podium, and a popular soloist (Lynn Harrell) joining in on the fun.  In the concert hall, everything was generally as one would expect:  the music sounded beautiful and all the musicians involved could rightly take credit.  The audience gave a de rigueur standing ovation at the end and everyone, including me, walked away with a smile.

Pretty much writes itself, right?  Except that just below the surface was all the stuff really worth mentioning.  Nothing Earth-shattering, mind you.  Just a moment here, an observational tidbit there, and a very telling post-concert comment from Mr. Harrell that helped make the concert more interesting to me than a just a collection of well-played chestnuts.

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Style and substance in equal measure: Wang joins Dudamel and the LA Phil for some Tchaikovsky

August 11, 2012 1 Comment

Tchaikovsky concerts at the Hollywood Bowl are common occurrences.  Thursday night’s Los Angeles Philharmonic concert was pretty typical, with a program featuring a pair of frequently heard warhorses:  the Piano Concerto No. 1 and the Symphony No. 4.

Then again, in some ways, this wasn’t all that typical.  There were no fireworks, no 1812 Overture, no USC Trojan Marching Band.  Instead, we got Gustavo Dudamel conducting and Yuja Wang playing the piano.  I’d say that’s more than a fair trade.

Some people may not agree, though.  Both Mr. Dudamel and Ms. Wang  benefit/suffer from marketing machines and media attention focusing on things not directly related to their music making.  This leads to claims that either or both are over-hyped, triumphs of fluff over stuff, all show and no go.

Sure, image is a big part of each of their personas.  But don’t believe the naysayers.  Whatever one may think of their style, there is at least as much substance, if not more. Both of them are musicians who already offer some exciting and probing interpretations of major works despite their relative youth.

Thursday night was the latest example of this.  While the performances were not flawless, they were compelling — they didn’t try too hard to make a big impression, nor were they content to settle for the ordinary or cliché.

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It’s official: Nitzan Haroz will be the new Principal Trombone of the LA Phil

February 3, 2012 1 Comment

As I mentioned in late November 2011, Nitzan Haroz — Principal Trombone of the Philadelphia Orchestra — was offered the same job with the Los Angeles Philharmonic.  A little over two months later, he decided to take it.  Late yesterday, Peter Dobrin of the Philadelphia Inquirer reported that Mr. Haroz has officially accepted the position.  The distinguished trombonist released this statement:

“I have accepted the position of principal trombone of the LA Philharmonic and will start in August of 2012. I feel fortunate that the Philadelphia Orchestra is granting me a year’s leave of absence as I move through the tenure process in LA. This is for me the best and most prudent way to approach the opportunity with the LA Philharmonic.”

Mr. Dobrin describes him as having “played at the highest levels during his tenure, and has been a solidifying force in the brass section. . . . Internally, his reputation is that of a supportive colleague.”

Welcome to Southern California, Mr. Haroz!  Can’t wait to hear you play.

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The LA Phil makes some more offers

November 28, 2011 Leave a comment

Just a few months ago, the Los Angeles Philharmonic made a fairly big splash in the brass world by offering the soon-to-be-vacant (in 2012) Principal Trumpet chair to Thomas Hooten, currently principal of the Atlanta Symphony.  Now it seems they’re doing it again, this time to fill the position of Principal Trombone.  Multiple sources have indicated that Nitzan Haroz, currently principal of the Philadelphia Orchestra, beat out a different principal trombone from another major US orchestra in a recent audition.  It looks he will be taking a one year leave of absence from his current orchestra so that he and the LA Phil can decide if they want to make a long-term commitment to each other.

Nitzan Haroz, future LA Phil Principal Trombone?

Mr. Haroz has been Principal Trombone in Philly since 1995; before that, he was Assistant Principal Trombone of the New York Philharmonic for two years.  Besides the fact that LA would be getting a phenomenal low brass player, this hire would be noteworthy in a number of ways:

  • It would fill a position that has been open since the sad and untimely death of Steven Witser in 2009, after at least two previous attempts to find a candidate through open auditions failed.  Mr. Witser was very well-regarded within the LA Phil despite having just joined the orchestra two years prior from the Cleveland Orchestra. His hiring was itself the final result of a nearly year-long process to replace the legendary Ralph Sauer, trombone demi-god and principal with the LA Phil since 1974, who had just retired in 2006.
  • It would be the latest in a series of noteworthy departures from the Philadelphia Orchestra and comes directly on the heels of the announcement just a few months ago that their Principal Trumpet, David Bilger, would be taking a major teaching position in Georgia and reducing his appearances with the orchestra at the Kimmel Center.  It may be worth mentioning that the LA Phil’s Principal Viola Carrie Dennis and Principal Cello Peter Stumpf (currently on leave) previously held titled positions in the Philadelphia Orchestra while Mr. Haroz was also there.  (Then again, if stereotypes are to be believed, string players and brass players don’t always hang out together, so perhaps it is completely irrelevant  . . . )
  • There’d be a touch of irony:  in 2007, before Mr. Witser accepted the job to come to Los Angeles, the Principal Trombone chair was first offered to Matt Vaughn, Mr. Haroz’s Associate Principal in Philly.  He decided to turn down the position, paving the way for Mr. Witser to move to SoCal.

If/when Messers. Hooten and Haroz accept their offers and eventually earn tenure, they would help solidify a brass section that has been in a bit of flux over the past few years.  Combined with the recent hire of Andrew Bain as Principal Horn (and assuming he earns tenture as well), this may lead to some much-needed stability for these positions for years — even decades — to come.

Tao Ni

Speaking of horns . . .  someone had inquired if I knew who the guest/substitute horn players are this year:  for the concerts I’ve attended, Paul Klintworth has been playing 4th horn and Mark Adams has played assistant horn (though this past weekend he sat in as 2nd horn).  Beyond that, I can’t tell you.

Back over in the strings . . . Tao Ni, a Colburn School alum and current cellist with the Cincinnati Symphony, won the audition for Associate Principal Cello, a position that opened up when Daniel Rothmuller moved back into the section and was given the title of Associate Principal Emeritus.  Mr. Ni sat first chair with the orchestra for the Adams/Chapela/Prokofiev concerts earlier in the season.  As it happens, Susan Babini, one of the other finalists for the position who played a trial with the orchestra on a different week, was recently named Principal Cello of the Milwaukee Symphony.

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Photo credits:

  • Nitzan Haroz:  Jean Brubaker
  • Tao Ni:  Ixi Chen

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