Geez, I step away from covering classical music for a few months, and things decide to go crazy! First, in early February, Gustavo Dudamel announced that at the end of the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s 2025-2026 season, he’d decamp for that “other” Philharmonic in New York. Then, last month, LA Phil CEO Chad Smith made his … Continue reading
I love Summer. The longer days and warmer weather facilitate more outdoor activities in Southern California. We can enjoy the plethora of al fresco high- and low-brow choices without the annoyances of mosquitos, high humidity, or thunderstorms to ruin the fun. Musically, the Hollywood Bowl looms large over the scene, and with the top-notch multi-genre … Continue reading
While I’m excited to be returning to Walt Disney Concert Hall tonight, I’m bummed that my 2022 Hollywood Bowl summer is now officially over (wipe away a tear . . . sniffle, sniffle). So before we move on to the 2022/23 indoor season, let’s take a moment to reflect on how awesome the summer has … Continue reading
The Los Angeles Philharmonic has a reputation for giving their audiences exposure to young conductors, particularly at the Hollywood Bowl. Gustavo Dudamel, the orchestra’s current Music and Artistic Director, famously made his debut there in his mid 20s. The latest person to make a debut on the LA Phil’s podium is Joseph Young, Music Director … Continue reading
World-class ballet is a transient in Los Angeles. All other genres of Western classical performing arts — orchestral, chamber music, operatic, even choral — have seen resident ensembles flourish since the founding of The Music Center in the 1960s. Yet with all due respect to folks like the Los Angeles Ballet led by Thordal Christensen … Continue reading
The Los Angeles Philharmonic held open auditions earlier this week for a new “Assistant Principal Timpani / Section Percussion” player. Continue reading
Conductor Bramwell Tovey has passed away. He had been Music Director of the Sarasota Orchestra since 2021, and that orchestra made the announcement a few hours ago, noting that he was “[d]iagnosed with a rare form of sarcoma in May of 2019 . . . from which he was ultimately unable to recover.” He was … Continue reading
The New Hollywood String Quartet and The Da Camera Society have announced the “Summer of Beethoven Chamber Music Festival.” Four concerts of 11 works will be performed in Los Angeles at the Pompeian Room of the Doheny Mansion from July 14 to July 17, 2022. The Quartet — violinists Tereza Stanislav and Rafael Rishik, violist … Continue reading
I hate to say that I told you so, but I told you so. Continue reading
On the heels of all the talk about various auditions in Part 1 and Part 2 of the Spring 2022 edition of “Comings and Goings at the LA Phil” published earlier this week, I thought All is Yar readers would find this interesting . . . Continue reading
The last time we talked in detail about the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s attempts to find a new Principal Oboe was three years ago. The previous person in the job, Ramon Ortega, managed to begin and end his tenure in the short span of six weeks [to understand why, go HERE]. The orchestra then held open … Continue reading
The Los Angeles Philharmonic has been busy trying to plug multiple holes in its roster throughout this season. The COVID-19 pandemic had prevented it from trying to hire anyone for over a year. That changed beginning Fall of 2021 when they held auditions for Section 1st and 2nd Violin and Fourth Horn. The orchestra followed … Continue reading
The Rite of Spring can be frightening for some bassoonists, but Whitney Crockett doesn’t really get scared by it. At least not anymore. The famously high opening solo of Stravinsky’s ballet is something he started preparing in high school, and he’s worked on it over 1,000 times since. The first time he played it in … Continue reading
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. … 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
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