Last Thursday, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Gustavo Dudamel trotted out the first of two programs they’ll be taking on their upcoming tour of Asia. On the bill: ballet music by Igor Stravinsky — The Firebird Suite (1919 version) and The Rite of Spring — along with the U.S. premiere of Frenzy: a short symphony …
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
The Los Angeles Philharmonic has a new Associate Principal Cello, though to frequent concert-goers, things will seem rather status quo. That’s because multiple sources report that at the end of this past week’s auditions, the position was awarded to Ben Hong, the orchestra’s Assistant Principal Cello since 1993 and acting Associate Principal for the past two seasons. When … Continue reading
Ladies and Laddies, today is the 2015 edition of National Scotch Day. Congratulations and slàinte to everyone out there! I’ll be celebrating by taking a dram or three from a new bottle of Old Pulteney 12 Year Old whisky that my cousin kindly gifted me for my birthday a few months ago. I’ve never had … Continue reading
Tonight, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Los Angeles Master Chorale are performing Carmina Burana at the Hollywood Bowl. While it isn’t done with the frequency of, say, Beethoven’s 9th, I can’t think of a full-blown choral work that sees the Hollywood Bowl stage more often. So even though I couldn’t make it to the Bowl this evening, I’m … Continue reading
Ah, the Hollywood Bowl season. The music under the stars. The celebrity soloists. The reliable if relatively unheralded conductors. The people watching. The pre-concert drinking and picnicking. The mid-concert helicopters. The late-concert fireworks. The post-concert crush of many thousands all trying (and largely failing) to quickly amble downhill to their bus or car at the same time. Good times, good times … Continue reading
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