REVIEW: Paavo Järvi opens eyes and ears with latest LA Phil appearance
You still pondering who could be the next Music Director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic? Paavo Järvi has entered the chat.
Latest Entries
My $0.02 on the LA Phil’s 2016-17 Walt Disney Concert Hall season and 2016 Hollywood Bowl season
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
A chat with Jean Davidson, new President & CEO of the Los Angeles Master Chorale
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
My $0.02 on LA Opera’s 2016/2017 Season
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
Pierre Boulez, 1925-2016
Originally posted on Classical Life:
French composer and conductor Pierre Boulez, a giant figure in postwar classical music and a major presence in Southern California, has died at the age of 90 at his home in Germany. The New York Times’ obituary is here. I had the privilege to hear Boulez conduct many times, and…
A chat with Michele Zukovsky (part 2 of 2): on German clarinets, German conductors, life after the LA Phil, and more
Michele Zukovsky, Principal Clarinet of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, wraps up her amazing 54-year tenure with the orchestra in an all-Rachmaninoff concert today at 2pm; Cristian Măcelaru conducts. Below is the second part of my interview with her (Part 1 is HERE). In it, we chat about her switch from a French clarinet to a German one, some observations about conductors … Continue reading
RIP Kurt Masur: German conductor dies at 88-years old
Kurt Masur, Music Director Emeritus of the New York Philharmonic and former Kappellmeister of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, has died at his home in Greenwich, CT. The German native was 88-years old. Notable obituaries: Margalit Fox for The New York Times Anastasia Tsioulcas for National Public Radio ————— Photo courtesy of Radio France / Christophe Abramowitz Continue reading
A chat with Michele Zukovsky (part 1 of 2): the LA Phil’s outgoing Principal Clarinet reflects on how her 54-year tenure began, the audition process, and more
On first impression, Michele Zukovsky might not strike you as anyone particularly notable other than being a fairly energetic, witty, and self-deprecating 70-something. That seems to suit her just fine. Rather than talk about herself or her career, the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s Principal Clarinet is more eager to share photos of herself as a proud grand-aunt, crawling … Continue reading
LA Phil comings and goings (Fall 2015 edition): Principal Clarinet update and much more
Once again, I do what I can to give you the latest and greatest news about the musicians of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Let’s begin: Principal Flute Denis Bouriakov officially begins his tenure as Principal Flute Nov 30. He makes his subscription concert debut soon after. (NOTE: an earlier version of this post had his start … Continue reading
A chat with Lionel Bringuier about the LA Phil and the Tonhalle, Pierre Boulez and Esa-Pekka Salonen, Yuja Wang and Kanye West, and more
Lionel Bringuier was sitting in a car on an LA freeway, but by the joy of his voice, you’d think he was somewhere much more glamorous or perhaps sitting on a beach. “I love Los Angeles,” he declared, his smile coming through loud and clear over the phone. “It’s always so special for me to be here.” … Continue reading
Tossed into the deep end: Young Artists Symphony Orchestra impressive in inaugural concert featuring Mahler 2nd Symphony
There’s an old saying that “Fortune Favors the Bold.” It certainly has proven to be true so far for Alexander Treger and his fledgling Young Artists Symphony Orchestra (YASO), especially given their impressive inaugural concert a few weeks ago. To understand the full story, we have to go back to this past May. With Mr. Treger’s 17-year tenure … Continue reading
Baseball walk-up music from classical composers, just in time for the MLB playoffs
I watched the Dodgers win a playoff game two nights ago. This is notable not so much for the Blue Crew’s victory but rather because of the fact that I actually watched it. Due to a combination of obstinacy and greed from Time-Warner cable, roughly 75% of Dodger fans can’t watch the team’s games. Normally such a … Continue reading
Where’d my 2015 summer go?!?! (“Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl” edition)
I recently was told that it was now officially Autumn. Really??!! Summer couldn’t have passed by that quickly, could it have? The temperature yesterday was still the 90’s as it has been for much of the past few weeks, and the humidity is ridiculous by Southern California standards. But it’s true, Fall is here. There were signs: Football season … Continue reading
Classical music concert etiquette redux (updated)
Timothy Mangan, renowned classical music critic and friend of All is Yar, recently published a piece in the Orange County Register titled “Concert etiquette baffling? Here’s a hand.” It does a splendid job demystifying and explaining the classical music and opera attendance experience for newbies and veterans alike. The two biggest topics he covers: appropriate dress and … Continue reading
Kahane and LA Chamber Orchestra offer solid start to 2015-16 season, highlighted by Spiva world premiere and Schubert 8th
The Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and their Music Director, Jeffrey Kahane, recently launched their penultimate season together in familiar fashion: offering works by living composers on the same program as old masters. It’s a very welcome habit that once again proved to be quite fruitful. The first half of this inaugural program of their 2015-16 season especially … Continue reading
Chatting with hornists Andrew Bain, Annie Bossler, and Sarah Willis about IHS 2015
It’s shaping up to be a very horn-y week in Los Angeles, and we have local musicians and Colburn School faculty members Andrew Bain and Annie Bosler to thank for it. “Three years ago or so, I was asked if Colburn would be interested in hosting the International Horn Symposium,” recalls Ms. Bosler. “Around that time … Continue reading
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