If you’re trying to pack ’em into a concert hall for a choral concert, the usual course of action involves programming a warhorse, preferably one with a big orchestra. Carmina Burana. Beethoven’s 9th. A requiem by Verdi or Mozart. The Los Angeles Master Chorale has an alternate formula that works just as well: program something written … Continue reading
I recently came across the YouTube file below of the legendary David Oistrakh in a 1965 performance of the Mozart Violin Concerto No. 4 in D-Major, K.218, with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Maurice Abravanel is the conductor. Note: there is no actual video footage of the performance, but the audio is still worth your time. Enjoy! Continue reading
The ten-week parade of guest conductors at the Los Angeles Philharmonic has begun. First in line: James Gaffigan, the American-born Chief Conductor of the Lucerne Symphony and previous right hand man to Michael Tilson Thomas in San Francisco and Franz Welser-Möst in Cleveland. His program featured one favorite, Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini with Simon … Continue reading
Gustavo Dudamel’s final Walt Disney Concert Hall appearance of 2014 was all about himself, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and what they could do together. The program featured three orchestral showpieces laden with built-in imagery for him to exploit. No daintiness was required. No soloists got in the way. A good time was had by all. Continue reading
The San Francisco Symphony issued a press release today announcing that Eugene Izotov will be their new Principal Oboe beginning with the 2015/16 season. Mr. Izotov is currently Principal Oboe of the Chicago Symphony, and was the SFS Associate Principal Oboe from 1996-2003 (during which time he went by “Evgeny Izotov”). He was also Principal Oboe … Continue reading
The Los Angeles Philharmonic held auditions for their vacant third horn chair during the week-and-a-half before Thanksgiving. According to multiple sources, Amy Jo Rhine was appointed to the position. LA Phil concertgoers may recognize her face, and regular readers of All is Yar will certainly recognize her name: as mentioned in a recent post, Ms. Rhine has … Continue reading
We in Southern California are so spoiled. We’ve got amazing weather and a diverse geography with which to enjoy it; where else can you spend a couple of hours surfing in the morning and be snow skiing by lunchtime? We’ve got Vin Scully, two Stanley Cups in three years, and two solid college football teams 13 … Continue reading
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