Tom Hooten, the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s distinguished Principal Trumpet, was thrilled to learn that the orchestra had commissioned a new work featuring him as soloist. His excitement grew when he found out that Steven Mackey would be the composer. He was eager to jump in with both feet. Yet when he was told that Mr. …
Last Thursday night, the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills became the latest venue to re-open its doors to the public, ending 18 months of coronavirus-induced silence. Doing the honors was pianist Ory Shihor. The LA-based musician and educator was supposed to help The Wallis celebrate Beethoven’s 250th birthday year in … Continue reading
The July 20th concert by the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl offered something for every kind of classical music fan. If you’re an aficionado of brass, it would’ve made you very happy. If you like hearing new music, there were two gems to enjoy. If you prefer warhorses, you got one on the … Continue reading
Music is in very good hands whenever Kamasi Washington is around. Last week at the Hollywood Bowl, the Los Angeles native showed off his artistic depth and breadth to go along with undeniable technical virtuosity and bold creativity. He led his band through an evening’s worth of his eclectic yet approachable compositions that showed his … Continue reading
The Los Angeles Master Chorale has announced its 2021-2022 season, featuring 10 different programs played over 14 nights. It will mark the group’s post-shutdown return to Walt Disney Concert Hall. Large works conducted by Artistic Director Grant Gershon will include Rachmaninoff’s All-Night Vigil (Nov 20 & 21, 2021), Handel’s Dixit Dominus and Pärt’s Te Deum (March 20, … Continue reading
Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic returned to the Hollywood Bowl this past Thursday, their first subscription concert since pandemic restrictions had been instituted and subsequently lifted. There was a paying audience in the seats, none of whom were required to wear masks or to socially distance. Ditto for the orchestra members on stage, … Continue reading
Happy 4th of July, everyone! Enjoy this excellent rendition of my favorite arrangement (by James Neilson). 1st Lt. Alexandra Borza conducts. RELATED POSTS Musical “Fourth of July plumes” for Independence Day 2020 “Bravura,” a classic American march for July 4, 2016 For your 4th of July, music by the other American march king: Karl King Free patriotic music … Continue reading
The Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra finally returned to the stage this past week. And there was much rejoicing (yaaaaay). These weren’t the first classical music concerts in Southern California since the US began emerging from the haze of the Covid-19 crisis. The Los Angeles Philharmonic made that happen, playing two orchestral concerts at the Hollywood … Continue reading
Two important artistic leaders at the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association will be around for a few more years. Herbie Hancock and Thomas Wilkins both signed contract extensions with the organization. Legendary jazz keyboardist Herbie Hancock will continue as Creative Chair for Jazz until at least 2023. His tenure had been set to expire at the … Continue reading
Big news from the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra: First, the orchestra, led by Music Director Jaime Martin, will begin playing again this summer The initial concert on Saturday, June 26, will be at Walt Disney Concert Hall It will be the first performance for a live audience at WDCH since the venue closed for the … Continue reading
Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic launched its 2021 Hollywood Bowl season last night with a free concert for frontline and essential workers, their first performance for a live audience in over 14 months. Those unable or unqualified to be one of the 4,000+ in attendance could enjoy a livestream of the program via … Continue reading
The other shoe has dropped. The Los Angeles Philharmonic sent an email to subscribers this morning inviting them to go to their website to view details of the 2021 summer season at the Hollywood Bowl. The full press release came about 30 minutes later. This comes a month after they announced that (a) there actually … Continue reading
Norman Pearson played his first concert with the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 1982 as a substitute on 2nd tuba. Simon Rattle conducted The Rite of Spring. Not a bad start. He’d go on to spend most of his professional career with the LA Phil, including many more concerts as a substitute before becoming an official … Continue reading
Dear Reader (including those of you who’d normally only come here for orchestra audition repertoire lists, the rare operatic April Fools’ joke, or military music freebies, and especially anyone who recognizes that I’m apolitically stealing this “Dear Reader” gag from Jonah Goldberg): In the heady pre-pandemic days of February 2020, I was preparing to chat … Continue reading
In the latest sign that the beginning of the end of the pandemic is in sight, the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association announced today that the Hollywood Bowl will once again host audiences for live concerts this summer. Capacity will initially be limited to 4,000 audience members, with hopes/plans to expand that number as the summer … Continue reading
Life can seem frozen during this strangest, most turbulent of years. There’s a desire to rewind and redo the past, or to fast-forward to a post-pandemic future that hopefully looks and feels like the underappreciated 2019 (or 2015 or 2000 or . . . ) of our memory. Yet time — and life — trudges … Continue reading
All is Yar 