Five concerts, four conductors at different stages of their relationship w/ the LA Phil (part 3 of 4): Esa-Pekka Salonen then and now

December 20, 2012 1 Comment

Esa-Pekka Salonen by SONJA WERNER When Esa-Pekka Salonen comes back to conduct the Los Angeles Philharmonic, you expect finely polished performances of complex programs.  In two weekends of concerts earlier this month, that’s exactly what you got and then some.  E-P was in town to help the orchestra celebrate Lutosławski’s centenary, with both sets of programs featuring major works by the much-admired Polish composer.

The first weekend’s Friday performance was  probing, athletic, and rich in detail.  Lutosławski’s First Symphony, with its traditional four movement structure, sounded closer to works by Shostakovich or Bartók — or his own Concerto for Orchestra – than the Second Symphony that he would pen two decades later.  The LA Phil playing was as crisp and whip-crack precise as it could be, making it sound like old hat rather than a premiere for both orchestra and conductor.  In addition, the orchestra’s brass gave the brief but raucous Fanfare for Los Angeles Philharmonic a no-holds-barred reading that pinged brightly throughout Walt Disney Concert Hall.

That orchestra and conductor slayed the Lutosławski should shock no one.  Mr. Salonen’s relationship with the orchestra goes back almost three decades, and the chemistry between the LA Phil and its Conductor Laureate remains superb.  In fact, E-PS’s 1984 debut with the orchestra included Lutosławski’s much thornier Third Symphony, and it was on the strength of those performances that  the relationship was allowed to blossom and grow to ESP levels:   As Mr. Salonen tweeted:  ”Such a joy to be back with my old band in LA. They sound great and still somehow read my mind. Deeply touched & humbled by the experience.”

His evolving skill with Beethoven is an entirely different matter.

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Last item

October 13, 2012 Leave a comment

Reblogged from Classical Life:

From today's Orange County Register online, and tomorrow's print version, Page 2:

Last item

It has been our pleasure to serve you as the ruthless people columnist these past two-plus years, but as a philosopher once said, “All bad things must come to an end.”

Today is our (as in Timothy Mangan’s) last celebrity column. We will be returning to our first love, reporting on and reviewing classical music, elsewhere in these pages.

Read more… 106 more words

Congrats to Mr. Mangan. It's about freakin' time.

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Unofficial announcements: Los Angeles gets a new 2nd Flute, and Orange County gets its music critic back

August 18, 2012 Leave a comment

Just to show that good things can actually happen to good people, music critic Timothy Mangan will once again be the classical music critic of The Orange County Register.   According to his blog, Classical Life,  Tim’s new/old job was definitely — if not yet publicly — confirmed by the newspaper’s new regime.  No word on when that’ll happen, but he sounds convinced that it’s happening — and I doubt Mr. Mangan would have said anything so definitive if he weren’t sure about it.

While it’s almost too bad that we will no longer get the benfit of his caustic wit applied to the Lindsay Lohans of the world, not to mention his mystery celebrity quizzes, his talents were wasted as the paper’s celebrity columnist.    At least they kept him on staff so that he could be reinstated.  No word yet on if he gets to keep his weekly Friday radio gig.

Congrats, Tim!!

But wait . . .  there’s more!!!!

Multiple sources report that the Los Angeles Philharmonic has filled one of their two empty (or soon to be empty) flute jobs:

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Yuja Wang is everyone’s social media darling + “All is Yar” has a Facebook page (finally)

August 9, 2012 Leave a comment

Different people have different habits, especially when it comes to how you like to consume information.  Some of you like to watch Olympic coverage in real time online or read about the results on ESPN or Twitter immediately after gold medals are handed out, while others prefer to sit through NBC’s tape-delayed faux-suspense-laden Olympic coverage on prime time.  I don’t judge — it’s all good.

Similarly, people seem to get their  All is Yar fix in  different ways too:  some of you type the URL into your browsers, others subscribe via email or use Flipboard or other RSS readers, still others get here via links from other blogs or even Twitter.  It’s all good, and I thank you for it.

The one medium that I hadn’t gotten around to building a presence for All is Yar was on Facebook, because as Morrissey once warbled, these things take time.  That Facebook absence was a hurdle for some of you.  Hurdle removed.

Allow me to introduce to you . . . (insert your favorite trumpet fanfare here) . . . the All is Yar Facebook page, conveniently located at www.facebook.com/allisyar.

Even more convenient is the new button on the top right-hand side of this page that will allow you to “Like” the new Facebook page without even having to break a sweat.  That way, you’ll not only be able to get faster notice when I create a new post, it’ll be easy to pass my remarkable insights (or whatever you might call them) along to your friends.

I know, I know — it’s all very 2010 of me and such, but despite what Wall Street’s skepticism about Facebook’s future growth might be doing to Mark Zuckerberg’s net worth, there are still one billion people on Facebook.  This’ll make it even easier for everyone (including readers  in the Netherlands, the Philippines, and the United Arab Emirates, among other places with and without “the” in front of their names) to read and share.

So “Like” away, and then tell your friends to do the same.

—————-

Yuja Wang, star pianist and stilletto-heel fan extraordinaire,  has never had a problem attracting attention.  Tim Mangan, music critic and blogger extraordinaire, once pointed out that the mere mention of her name was enough to dramatically increase hit count on his blog, Classical Life.

So I was more than a bit amused when I opened my Facebook newsfeed to find these two posts listed back to back:

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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.

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Muti on conducting new music and conducting in general; reviews from CSO’s concerts in SF

February 17, 2012 3 Comments

Mason Bates: Composer - DJ

Tonight, the Chicago Symphony arrives in Southern California after too long an absence.  The antici . . . pation is finally coming to an end.  You’ve downloaded your free MP3 of Franck’s Symphony in d minor, listened to it intently, and now you’re ready for the real thing.  A few last minute bits of fun:

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Chicago Symphony coming to California; download free MP3 of Franck symphony to celebrate

February 10, 2012 1 Comment

Riccardo Muti and Cesar Franck

The mighty Chicago Symphony Orchestra is coming to California next week, their first West Coast visit in decades.  The impetus for their visit is to help the San Francisco Symphony celebrate their centennial, and since they made it this far, they’re making additional stops in Costa Mesa, Palm Desert, and San Diego.  The CSO Brass will also be appearing at the University of Redlands.

Where they won’t be visiting is Walt Disney Concert Hall, despite the fact that the LA Phil is away in Venezuela and the hall is vacant more than usual during that week; if one were to believe in the existence of a rivalry between the two orchestras, perhaps this is one more example of it.  Of course, the orchestra is not appearing anywhere else in Los Angeles County (e.g. Royce Hall, Ambassador Auditorium, Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts), so perhaps the Chicagoans just don’t like LA — go figure.

Tim Mangan interviewed the orchestra’s Music Director, Riccardo Muti, for the Orange County Register (read it HERE, and be sure to click through the slideshow).  Brian Lauritzen’s own interview with maestro Muti aired on KUSC-FM last Saturday, Feb 4, and has been archived online (click HERE to listen to the audio stream).

The CSO will be bringing two different programs on tour:  in San Diego and Palm Desert, they’ll be performing Schubert (music from Rosamunde plus the Symphony No. 9) and a new work by Anna Clyne, while Pacfic 231 by Honegger,  a new work by Mason Bates, and the lone symphony of Cesar Franck will be done in Orange County; San Francisco gets both programs (with an additional Honegger work for good measure).

In honor of their visit, or perhaps to get yourself ready for their visit, take a few minutes to download a free — FREE! — mp3 of a live recording of the Symphony in d minor by Cesar Franck, done by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra conducted by Mariss Jansons:

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Classical music marketing — try it yourself, win LA Opera tickets

August 27, 2011 2 Comments

Just got back from a week’s vacation up in Northern California:  fun in Yosemite, Napa, and Sonoma.  I spent some quality time outdoors hiking and relaxing, not to mention tasting some very yummy wines (more on that in the near future).  Much of the week was spent unplugged and away from the internet (partially by design, partly unplanned), but now I’m back to Southern California with some solid bandwidth and a full-sized keyboard, ready to blog again. I returned to find a couple of my fellow bloggers making some pokes and jabs at a pair of local classical music marketing campaigns:

Los Angeles Opera's website creative for Cosi fan tutte

  • Brian at OutWestArts.com scoffs at the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s latest posters and their image of Gustavo Dudamel emblazoned with the slogan “Passion Forward”
  • Tim Mangan at ClassicalLife.net has some fun with Los Angeles Opera’s latest redesign of their website, especially their efforts to come up with snappy one-line slogans for their productions  (e.g., “Eugene Onegin:  from the composer of Swan Lake!“).  Tim goes on to offer some of his own hilarious suggestions for some other operas.  A must read.  Two of my favorite gems:  ”The Turn of the Screw — Sounds like porn, and it kind of is!”  and ”Rigoletto — We have a hunch you’ll like this one!”

(Special props to Diane Rhodes Bergman, VP of Marketing and Communications for LA Opera, for joining in the fun in the comments and responding to some questions from other posters.)

For their part, the LA Phil has received a certain amount of flack by those accusing them of over-hyping Gustavo Dudamel.  I blame the hero-hungry media for the eventual excessive hype, and I think the LA Phil marketing department has merely been doing their job.  In fact, the orchestra has a long history of capitalizing on the star power of their music directors — exotic and dashing Zubin Mehta, Armani-clad and fedora wearing Carlo Maria Giulini, Hollywood-connected André Previn, and the legendary bicep-baring poster of Esa-Pekka Salonen that the Los Angeles Times lamented once it disappeared.    Other cities are equally likely to celebritize their own conductors:  during Michael Tilson Thomas’s first season in San Francisco, you couldn’t turn a street corner without seeing a poster with “MTT:SFS” hanging from a lamp post; Ricardo Muti’s visage has been prevalent in Chicago this past season.

Marketing — much like music — is one of those professions done in full view of everyone else, and advertising in particular is something about which everyone is bound to have an opinion.  I  sympathize with the marketers.  It’s not easy to break through the clutter, raise awareness, and increase consideration for any product that’s trying to attract a new audience; classical music is particularly difficult given that the “product” (i.e. the music being presented) is at least 50 years old under the best of circumstances, with most popular works being 100+ years old.  What can be said about Tchaikovsky or Gounod that is truly fresh and original?  That doesn’t make it particularly commendable to call Roméo et Juliette “The World’s Most Famous Love Story” for the umpteen-millionth time, but it isn’t so horrible either.

So you think you can do it better yourself?  Here’s your chance:  LA Opera is looking for a new name for their blog, and they want help from people like you and me.  I received this email from Shannita of LA Opera in the first issue of their new e-newsletter:

New Season, New Blog and a Contest!

Welcome to the first issue of LA Opera’s new e-Newsletter. In it, we’ll take you behind the scenes of LA Opera and keep your informed on the latest company news.  We’ve also got a newly redesigned website and brand new blog where you’ll get a glimpse into what goes on behind the scenes. The only thing our blog needs is a name. That’s where you come in… We need your help naming it because the title “LA Opera Blog and News” is admittedly, rather bland. (Which is something we, and the 2011|12 Season, are not!)

Submit your title ideas to contest@laopera.com with “Name That Blog” in the subject line for a chance to win 2 tickets to Eugene Onegin performance of your choice.* Submissions will be accepted until August 31st and a winner announced on September 6th. We can’t wait to see what you come up with!

*transportation not provided

I’ve submitted a few of my own ideas (“Raking the Stage” is my personal favorite) and we’ll see if they like any of them.  Perhaps you can do better.  Good luck to us all.

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Comparing guest conductors’ rehearsal styles: how to endear yourself to an orchestra — or not

August 18, 2011 9 Comments

To cajole or to castigate? Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos and Christoph von Dohnányi (photo credits below)

“The art of conducting lies, in my opinion, in the power of suggestion that a conductor exerts – on the audience as well as on the orchestra,” the conductor Otto Klemperer once observed. “A conductor must know how to hold attention. He must be able to lead the players with his eyes and the movements of his hands or baton. By this power of suggestion the level of a mediocre orchestra can be raised considerably. Vice versa, the playing art of a great orchestra can be lowered by a mediocre conductor.”  (Timothy Mangan, “The art of the electric baton,” The Orange County Register,  October 30, 2005)

As much as the Los Angeles Philharmonic is known for entrusting their podium to up and coming (often unproven) younger conductors, they also have a long history of balancing out that youth with old-school conductors double their age equipped with impeccable credentials:  Erich Leinsdorf led some memorable direct-to-disc recordings with the orchestra, including a Prokofiev Romeo and Juliette featuring an amazing high C played in a single take by former Principal Trumpet Robert DiVall; Kurt Sanderling began guest conducting the LA Phil in 1984, took them on a European tour after Andre Previn resigned as Music Director, and appeared as a beloved guest well into the tenure of Esa-Pekka Salonen; Pierre Boulez made frequent visits to Los Angeles through the turn of the new millenium.

Since Walt Disney Concert Hall opened in 2003, five guest conductors seem to have served most often in the role of regularly returning éminence grise (in alphabetical order):   Herbert Blomstedt, Christoph von Dohnányi, Charles Dutoit, Christoph Eschenbach, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos.  Most musicians and classical music fans would regard all of them as being premiere conductors with the experience and resume worthy of respect in front of any orchestra.  Of course, what works for one conductor might not work with another, and similarly, a conductor that is beloved in one city could be unwelcome in another.  Resumes and reputations can only take you so far when standing on stage in front of 70+ world-class musicians, and like any relationship, the chemistry between a given conductor and a given orchestra — or lack thereof — is often hard to predict until the first downbeat is given in a rehearsal.  And rehearsal is where the sparks or the barbs will begin to fly.  I’ve seen it myself during years in various student and pick-up ensembles; at this high up the professional ladder, where the musician holding the baton and each of the ones sitting in chairs in front of him (or increasingly, her) have extensive skill, training, and ego to spare, it certainly becomes much more pointed.

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Quick hits on a Tuesday

August 16, 2011 3 Comments

  • First and foremost, many thanks to Timothy Mangan, esteemed music critic and muppet fan extraordinaire, for adding “All is Yar” to the blogroll of ClassicalLife.net.  As much as I appreciate his wry sense of humor when covering popular culture, I continue to hold out hope that the editors and publishers of the Orange County Register come to their senses and allow him to resume more regular coverage of the burgeoning OC music scene.
  • The Los Angeles Philharmonic made their latest iTunes release available for download today:  Esa-Pekka Salonen conducting the vastly under-appreciated (and lengthily titled) “Symphonic Metamorphosis on Themes of Carl Maria von Weber” and various works from Wagner operas featuring baritone Bryn Terfel.  I haven’t downloaded it yet, but I was at one of the performances at which this was recorded, and I’ve been looking forward to this finally making it online.  Freshly minted Principal Flute David Buck showed off his considerable chops in the 3rd Movement solo in the Hindemith; Mr. Terfel was at his charismatic and nuanced best, though his large voice sometimes failed to rise above the orchestra in the loudest moments of the Wagner; the Philharmonic brass sounded resplendent throughout the whole evening.  And to top it all off, it was Wagner the way I like it best:  in small chunks.  (For reference, here are reviews of the concerts from Mark Swed in the Los Angeles Times and Brian in OutWestArts.com)
  • David Bilger, Principal Trumpet of the Philadelphia Orchestra, has started his own blog, “Dave’s Mouthpiece,” on the heels of all the publicity surrounding the his appointment as Visiting Professor at the University of Georgia (my previous post on the topic HERE).  Apparently, the letter he sent to Peter Dobrin  meant to clarify the situation had the opposite effect, and as he states,  “My attempt to stop a rumor had only fueled it.”  Given his stature as a musician combined with the ongoing challenges being experienced by his orchestra, Mr. Bilger is certain to have many interesting insights to share and I look forward to following his future posts.
  • “Met Futures,” a blog known for speculating about future productions at the Metropolitan Opera, has been shut down.  According to the blog’s publisher, Brad Wilber:  “For some time, I have been engaged in discussions with the Metropolitan Opera about the aggregated Met Futures content on my web site.  We have agreed that as of August 8, 2011 I will permanently dissolve my Futures list.”  Earlier today, the story was picked up by the New York Observer, who interviewed Mr. Wilber and reported that the site seems to have been killed on pressure from the Met itself.  The story goes on to discuss whether or not Mr. Wilber’s predictions were accurate (they usually were) and whether this was a worthwhile effort for the Met to undertake (they doubt it).  Read their entire report HERE.

RELATED POSTS:

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Summer Whites in the great outdoors; avoiding Lang Lang

July 13, 2011 3 Comments

Decidedly NOT a picture of Lang Lang (Gustavo Dudamel, July 12, 2011) (photo: Lawrence K. Ho, Los Angeles Times)

Though the Hollywood Bowl has been open for about a month, the Los Angeles Philharmonic play did not play in their white jackets (and blouses) under the venue’s iconic white arches until this past Friday and Saturday when they gave the word premiere performances of the full film score to West Side Story.  They followed it with more movie music on Sunday, this time a cross-cultural endeavor playing compositions of A. R. Rahman.  Traditional “Symphony Under the Stars” concerts finally  were on the bill last night as Gustavo Dudamel and the orchestra played music by Borodin, Mussorgsky (with orchestral help from Ravel), and Prokofiev (with pianistic help from Lang Lang).

I am not a fan of Lang Lang.  I respect his amazing technical ability at the keyboard, but his interpretations and visual machinations are not to my taste.  After seeing him perform a gooey rendition of Tchaikovsky’s First Concerto in 2000 with Zubin Mehta and the LA Phil, I vowed to avoid him in the future.  A subsequent encounter six years later was more of a veritable free-gift-with-purchase of tickets to see Esa-Pekka Salonen conduct Le Sacre du Printemps at Walt Disney Concert Hall; the good news was that Lang Lang brought a piece I liked, Bartok’s 2nd Concerto, to WDCH; the bad news was that he didn’t bring much that I liked to Bartok’s 2nd Concerto.

With this in mind, my strong desire to experience Mr. Dudamel’s take on Pictures at an Exhibition and the happy thought of picnicking with yummy food and wine at the Bowl were overruled by my even stronger desire to avoid Lang Lang; the thought of fighting with stack parking and the Bowl’s hit-and-miss sound system certainly made my decision that much easier.   After reading reviews by Tim Mangan, Mark Swed, and Richard Ginell (links below), it seems like I didn’t miss anything from the 29 year-old pianist that I now regret.   The three gentlemen writers seemed to agree on many things about the concert . . .  if I may summarize:

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Free patriotic music for the 4th of July

July 4, 2011 1 Comment

Happy Independence Day, everyone!  What better way to celebrate the 235th birthday of the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave than with a little bit of FREE patriotic music, care of the United States Air Force Heritage of America Band (FKA the USAF Tactical Air Command Band) based in Langley AFB, Virginia.  Their website offers free downloads from their two Ceremonial Music CDs HERE and HERE, which can come in handy if you:

  • Are a Boy Scout or Girl Scout troop leader and need “To the Colors” and “Retreat” for your flag raising & lowering ceremonies
  • Are a pair of buglers who have never played “Echo Taps” and have been asked to participate in a Memorial Day ceremonies or some other solemn activity
  • Happen to have, say, a major general over for dinner and need to play the right set of honors as you introduce him to the assembled throngs (BTW:  the proper music to avoid a faux pas would be two Ruffles & Flourishes and the General’s March)

There are downloads available of popular marches by the likes of E. E. Begley (“National Emblem“), C. E. Duble (“Bravura“), and Henry Fillmore (“Men of Ohio“), among many others.  There are also all of the armed service’s songs (e.g. “The Air Force Song“) and even a version of John Newton’s “Amazing Grace” played on bagpipes.

Of course, no July 4th celebration would be appropriate without music by The March King himself, John Philip Sousa, most especially “The Stars & Stripes Forever.”  The USAF Heritage of America Band offers many of his other marches, too, so check them out, download them, and crank them up on your favorite MP3 player as fireworks blaze tonight.

Speaking of “The Stars & Stripes Forever,” check out these links:

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Orchestra programming: some are just better at it than others

June 28, 2011 Leave a comment

After spending some time chatting on Tim Mangan’s blog about how the Pacific Symphony chose to put together its 2011-2012 season, I was reminded of a little contest that Sam Bergman and Sarah Hicks of the Minnesota Orchestra decided to hold a couple of years ago.  The concept, in short, was to “put yourself in the shoes of the music director” to program five separate orchestral concert programs with the following stipulations:

  • Be innovative and forward thinking, but keep in mind that you actually have to sell tickets to the concerts
  • The five concerts should preferably not have an overarching theme
  • No more than one concert should adhere to the traditional “Overture-Concerto-Intermission-Symphony” (OCIS) format
  • Don’t piss off your musicians by your programming, or as they said:  ”Exhibit A:  ask 100 orchestra musicians what they think about playing film scores instead of Beethoven”

They made a number of positive references to Esa-Pekka Salonen and the LA Phil, and given my affinity with what the local band had been doing, I figured I’d toss my hat in the ring.  After mulling a variety of options and making efforts to keep in mind the rules above, I submitted my entry along with 20 other people, and . . .

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Pacific Symphony 2011-2012 season announced; I give my $0.02 about it

June 25, 2011 3 Comments

The Pacific Symphony announced details of their 2011-2012 winter season.  Timothy Mangan, music critic and blogger extraordinaire, refrained from comment (for now, at least) but invited others to share their thoughts instead.

I couldn’t resist. Click HERE to see what I thought.

The allegedly "renowned" Christoph König must have been cold during this photo shoot. Hopefully, they'll get the thermostat set properly at Segerstrom Concert Hall when he conducts the Pacific Symphony Feb. 2-4, 2012 (photo by Schmidt Artists International, Inc.)

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Dawn Upshaw leads Ojai Festival 2011

June 12, 2011 Leave a comment

I remember June 1999, the first time I went to Ojai for its annual Music Festival: Esa-Pekka Salonen was festival Music Director that year and was being joined by the Los Angeles Philharmonic and many of his famous friends, including fellow Finns Anssi Kartunnen, Magnus Lindberg, and Olli Mustonen.  While those folks represented many good reasons to go that year, the real draw for me was the chance to see Dawn Upshaw in such an intimate place; add in the fact that she was going to be singing the world premiere of Salonen’s “Five Images After Sappho” and it was a no brainer.

Dawn Upshaw at Ojai Festival 2011

Dawn Upshaw (photo by Brooke Irish for the Ojai Festival website)

Alas, Upshaw ended up requiring emergency back surgery and withdrew from her Ojai dates.  Laura Claycomb stepped in to sing the world premiere, doing an admirable job and making a compelling case for Salonen’s song cycle in her own right.  More importantly, Upshaw eventually recovered and ended up recording the Sappho before going on to resume her successful and noteworthy career.  That said, it would have been good to see her in Ojai.

This weekend, Upshaw returns to the Ojai Festival not just as a performer but as Music Director, plus Ojai is inaugurating their newly renovated Libbey Bowl (whose architect, David Bury, sadly passed away on the eve of the festival’s opening).  Prior commitments kept me from attending this year’s festival, so I’ll have to miss Dawn in Ojai again and live vicariously through the various internet reviews.

Photos from Ojai via Tim Mangan’s blog HERE and HERE.

Christopher Hawthorne’s architectural review in the LA Times HERE

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