Category Archives: Los Angeles Philharmonic

Forgive them for they know not what they do: Adams & Sellars over-reach with “The Gospel According to the Other Mary”
All Reviews / Los Angeles Master Chorale / Los Angeles Philharmonic / Music News & Info: Classical / Reviews 2011/2012

Forgive them for they know not what they do: Adams & Sellars over-reach with “The Gospel According to the Other Mary”

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For their season finale, the Los Angeles Philharmonic ordered up a world premiere of a major new work from John Adams, their Creative Chair and one of the most prominent American composers currently living.  Once again, the orchestra was thinking big and taking risks. You’ve gotta appreciate their moxy.  Audentes fortuna juvat — “Fortune favors the … Continue reading →

Books / Drink / Los Angeles Philharmonic / Music News & Info: Classical / Spirits

Is “The Gospel According to the Other Mary” mis-named?

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I’m killing time before this evening’s Los Angeles Philharmonic concert by drinking an old fashioned — a really good one, BTW, care of the bartender at the Omni Hotel near Walt Disney Concert Hall. Anyways, I started thinking about tonight’s world premiere of The Gospel According to the Other Mary, a modern bit of social … Continue reading →

Who’ll be the next LA Phil Principal Cello? Two finalists emerge
Appointments / Auditions & Appointments / Los Angeles Philharmonic / Music News & Info: Classical

Who’ll be the next LA Phil Principal Cello? Two finalists emerge

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The Los Angeles Philharmonic recently held auditions to find a new Principal Cello to replace Peter Stumpf, whose name still appears on their roster as being “On Leave” but who hasn’t been with the orchestra all season.  The required repertoire list for the audition included some excerpts that would be expected (Haydn Concerto, Don Quixote, La … Continue reading →

LA Phil’s history with Mozart’s Posthorn Serenade
Los Angeles Philharmonic / Music News & Info: Classical

LA Phil’s history with Mozart’s Posthorn Serenade

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Following up regarding my last post about Friday night’s Los Angeles Philharmonic concert, here’s one extra little tidbit about Mozart’s Posthorn Serenade and the orchestra: As stated in both printed and online version of the program notes, the first performance was March 26, 1942, with George Szell conducting. Until this season, the most recent performance … Continue reading →

Nothing casual about this Mozart: Kiera Duffy joins Gustavo Dudamel and the LA Phil
All Reviews / Los Angeles Philharmonic / Music News & Info: Classical / Reviews 2011/2012

Nothing casual about this Mozart: Kiera Duffy joins Gustavo Dudamel and the LA Phil

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It wasn’t supposed to be an all-Mozart program.  What was originally announced as a Tchaikovsky/Sibelius program morphed a couple of times over the course of this season before landing on its final form.  One of the subscribers wasn’t happy about all the repeated changes and made her opinion known during the “Casual Friday” post-concert Q&A.  With … Continue reading →

Appointments / Auditions & Appointments / Los Angeles Philharmonic / Music News & Info: Classical

Glenn Dicterow to leave NY Phil and join USC Thornton

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As if there hasn’t been enough big, crazy musical news out of New York this week, the announcement came earlier today that Glenn Dicterow, Concertmaster of the New York Philharmonic since 1980, will join the faculty of the USC Thornton School of Music in Fall of 2013 and then step down from his NY Phil … Continue reading →

Go big or go home: an ambitious Don Giovanni staged by the Los Angeles Philharmonic
All Reviews / Los Angeles Philharmonic / Music News & Info: Classical / Reviews 2011/2012

Go big or go home: an ambitious Don Giovanni staged by the Los Angeles Philharmonic

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It was not your average Sunday afternoon at Walt Disney Disney Concert Hall.  Gustavo Dudamel was still on the podium for the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s unofficial Mozart Month, but that was pretty much where “business as usual” ended.  The LA Phil had decided that their first-ever complete performances of Don Giovanni would be full-blown productions, … Continue reading →

Los Angeles Philharmonic / Music News & Info: Classical

Anticipating the Don

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I’ve been looking forward to attending the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s fully-staged Don Giovanni for a number of reasons: First of all, well, because it’s Don Giovanni and who doesn’t want to see and hear that under pretty much any circumstance? The appearance of Mariusz Kwiecien in the title role.  It’s been a very good season for … Continue reading →

Los Angeles Philharmonic / Music News & Info: Classical / Other classical music concerts and recitals (in So Cal and beyond)

Anniversary of Bernstein’s last day as NY Phil Music Director

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Care of the folks at Composers Datebook at American Public Media: On today’s date in 1969, Leonard Bernstein conducted his last concert as the Music Director of the New York Philharmonic. Bernstein had been named the orchestra’s Music Director in November of 1957, and was the first American-born and trained conductor to hold the position. … Continue reading →

A familiar voice expands his reach
Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra / Los Angeles Opera / Los Angeles Philharmonic / Music News & Info: Classical

A familiar voice expands his reach

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Brian Lauritzen — radio personality extraordinaire, under-appreciated cellist, and friend of All is Yar — is known primarily for his smooth, easy-going voice on Classical KUSC (that’d be 91.5FM for all of you who still listen to terrestrial radio in Southern California), as well as podcasts for the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Los Angeles Opera, … Continue reading →

Worth the wait: Simon Rattle triumphantly returns to the Los Angeles Philharmonic
All Reviews / Los Angeles Philharmonic / Music News & Info: Classical / Reviews 2011/2012

Worth the wait: Simon Rattle triumphantly returns to the Los Angeles Philharmonic

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There was a time not too long ago that had you mentioned that a fair-haired, mop top, wunderkind conductor was standing on the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s podium, your image would have been of an Englishman rather than a Venezuelan. Simon Rattle (not yet knighted) was Principal Guest Conductor from 1981 to 1994, though as the … Continue reading →

An actual knight, joined by a king in name: Pepe Romero, Christoph Konig, and the LA Phil
All Reviews / Los Angeles Philharmonic / Music News & Info: Classical / Reviews 2011/2012

An actual knight, joined by a king in name: Pepe Romero, Christoph Konig, and the LA Phil

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I had been really looking forward to these concerts.  It was supposed to feature two masterful Spaniards in a night featuring a good chunk of Spanish music.  Unfortunately, that went by the wayside as Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, conductor and friend of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, cancelled for health reasons.  Pepe Romero, the distinguished guitarist (not … Continue reading →

Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra / Los Angeles Master Chorale / Los Angeles Philharmonic / Music News & Info: Classical / Philharmonic Society of Orange County

April is full of cool — not cruel — stuff to do

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Long before Madonna was the most famous American in self-imposed exile in the UK, another noteworthy American-turned-Brit wrote some unkind words about April (or at least that’s what the Thunder said). Whatever.   Don’t believe the hype — April is a kick-ass month, and this one in particular is full of all kinds of stuff … Continue reading →

Friends and neighbors: the first two Piatigorsky Cello Festival concerts by the LA Phil
All Reviews / Los Angeles Philharmonic / Music News & Info: Classical / Reviews 2011/2012

Friends and neighbors: the first two Piatigorsky Cello Festival concerts by the LA Phil

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It’s been a while since Neeme Jarvi has stood on the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s podium. The last time he led them downtown was at the end of the 1988/89 winter season, when he was tapped to replace Andre Previn who had withdrawn on short notice with an injury after having resigned as Music Director just … Continue reading →

Absurdity for all ages: Long Beach Opera and LA Phil’s Toyota Symphonies for Youth
All Reviews / Los Angeles Philharmonic / Music News & Info: Classical / Other classical music concerts and recitals (in So Cal and beyond) / Reviews 2011/2012

Absurdity for all ages: Long Beach Opera and LA Phil’s Toyota Symphonies for Youth

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At first blush, a matinee at Long Beach Opera (LBO) would seem to have little in common with one of the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s Toyota Symphonies for Youth (TSFY) educational concerts.  If you knew that one had programmed a double-bill of surrealist operas by Poulenc (The Breasts of Tiresias) and Martinů (Tears of a Knife), while the … Continue reading →