Here’s Part Two of my interview with Raynor Carroll, the Principal Percussionist of the Los Angeles Philharmonic who’ll retire after tonight’s concert at the Hollywood Bowl. (Part One can be found HERE). In this part, he talks about: Matthew Howard, the musician taking over his orchestra chair once he steps down The challenges of attracting young African-Americans … Continue reading
“Someone will usually ask me: ‘How did you pick percussion or drums?’ I didn’t, it picked me. It was always been the sound of a drum that caught my ear,” explains Raynor Carroll, Principal Percussionist for the Los Angeles Philharmonic. “I like to say I have the ideal job – and soon I’ll say I had the … Continue reading
It’s time once again to talk about one of our favorite topics: musical chairs in major orchestras, particularly the Los Angeles Philharmonic. There has been a lot happening since last we broached the topic, and by the end of the beginning of the 2016/17 season, one current principal will have retired and there’ll be three new … Continue reading
I trust everyone enjoyed their 4th of July weekend with tummies still full after all that BBQ and fingers still intact after all those fireworks. Now that those festivities are behind us, let’s look ahead to what I think are the most noteworthy concerts that the month of July has in store for classical music … Continue reading
Happy Independence Day, everyone! In my continuing effort to expand beyond the ubiquitous marches of John Philip Sousa, I present “Bravura” by C.E. Duble. It will likely sound familiar to many of you, so much so that you might have thought that it actually was written by Sousa. It also happened to be one of my … Continue reading
Hello, everyone. If you’re shocked that I’ve actually published something three days in a row, join the club. I realize that I’ve not been publishing at the rate I have in the past. I’m working on changing that. It’s not that I haven’t been writing; I have. It’s just hasn’t made it here to All is … Continue reading
Attend the Ojai Music Festival, Southern California’s loveable cabal of contemporary classical music, and you expect works by living composers, particularly brand new pieces that get their debut at the festival. This year, the first world premiere shows up on Saturday afternoon: This might also be a form of dreaming by Caroline Shaw (with text by Claudia … Continue reading
There are few places that celebrate living composers and their works more than the Ojai Festival. And among those favored by this haven for contemporary classical music is Kaija Saariaho. She first gained notice in the early 1980’s as part of the “Ears Open Society,” the Finnish collective of Sibelius Academy alumni which included Esa-Pekka … Continue reading
Nineteen years down, one more to go. With tonight’s concert at UCLA’s Royce Hall, Jeffrey Kahane will complete his penultimate season at Music Director of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. It’s a tenure that is remarkable not only for its length (which is considerable) or even the quality of the music that has resulted from … Continue reading
The Los Angeles Philharmonic announced this morning that Susanna Mälkki has been appointed as Principal Guest Conductor of the orchestra. The Finnish maestra’s tenure will officially begin with the 2017-18 season, with an initial contract to last three years. She will conduct three subscription weeks, Green Umbrella concerts, as well as other projects with the orchestra to … Continue reading
“Mommy would explain to us: ‘Quiet, Daddy’s composing. Quiet, Daddy has Stravinsky coming to the house tonight.’ ” — Lena Ballinger (Rachel Weisz), Youth “Molto triste.” — Sumi Jo, the Oscar’s red carpet If you watched the 88th Academy Awards last night, you may have noticed that only three of the five songs nominated in the “Best … Continue reading
As I mentioned last November, Boris Allakhverdyan was one of two finalists in the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s open auditions to find a new Principal Clarinet to take over for the retiring Michele Zukovsky. Multiple sources have now indicated that Mr. Allakverdyan, current Principal Clarinet of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, won the last phase of the audition … Continue reading
Earlier this week, the Los Angeles Philharmonic made public their plans for the upcoming 2016-17 season at Walt Disney Concert Hall (details available HERE). This comes on the heels of last week’s announcement of the 2016 summer season at the Hollywood Bowl (HERE are details of that). In summary: it’s a damn good-looking season. The WDCH season … Continue reading
Jean Davidson is six months into her job as President & CEO of the Los Angeles Master Chorale, and in some ways, she’s still settling in. She’s lived much of the past two decades in New York. Her most recent ten years were spent as the administrative yin to the artistic yang of acclaimed choreographer … Continue reading
The good folks at Los Angeles Opera just announced their 2016/17 season (at the slightly curious time of 9pm-ish Pacific Time, midnight-ish Eastern, but no matter). There are six mainstage productions, one semi-staged musical, three “Off Grand” productions, plus the regular community performances of Britten’s Noah’s Flood. First, the details, with my general observations on the season … Continue reading
All is Yar 