The Los Angeles Philharmonic announced that this summer’s Hollywood Bowl season is now officially cancelled. In an email sent to donors, LA Phil CEO Chad Smith noted that “for the first time in its almost century-long history, the Hollywood Bowl will be silent this summer.”
Hello everyone. Long time no chat. Hope you’re all safe, healthy, and in good spirits during these challenging times. I know I’ve been mostly incommunicado, especially since the Covid-19 pandemic went full-bore crazy; alas, my other non-CKDH personae have required my attention lately. That said, I’ve been working on writing more (again). I’ve started multiple … Continue reading
It looks like “The Dude” is gonna be sticking around for a little while longer. The Los Angeles Philharmonic announced earlier today that Gustavo Dudamel, the orchestra’s Music & Artistic Director, will continue in that capacity through at least the 2025/26 season. His current contract was to expire at the end of the 2021/22 season. … Continue reading
Gustavo Dudamel has been in charge of the Los Angeles Philharmonic for a decade now, and so we should be able to easily answer the question: what can we — should we — expect from one of their concerts together? And there’s the rub. There is no easy answer that doesn’t sound like a generic … Continue reading
After many requests, I’m very happy to bring back my regular look at the personnel moves within the Los Angeles Philharmonic, plus a couple of noteworthy moves at the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. There’s even a link to some fabulous music by the “Los Angeles Philharmonic Wind Quintet” (seriously). Let’s get to it . . … Continue reading
The Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra begins its 2019-2020 season this coming weekend with two concerts featuring a world premiere from Andrew Norman and works by Beethoven and Berlioz. The weekend also marks the official beginning of Jaime Martin’s tenure as LACO’s Music Director. The Spaniard takes over the orchestra in a time of transition, with … Continue reading
Got the whopper of a press release below announcing that Simon Woods, the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s CEO, has resigned. There certainly was no indication of anything wrong during my conversation with him a few months ago. Did something change since then, or was something already brewing in the background as we chatted? How much of … Continue reading
When Simon Woods arrived in Los Angeles, he had a very tough act to follow. Deborah Borda announced in March of 2017 that she would leave her position as CEO of the Los Angeles Philharmonic to return to her previous post as head of the New York Philharmonic, and speculation began immediately about who would … Continue reading
