The Los Angeles Philharmonic announced earlier this week that outgoing Music & Artistic Director Gustavo Dudamel will be given two new (and rather long) titles when his tenure ends this summer: the Diane and M. David Paul Artistic and Cultural Laureate of the LA Phil and the Jane and Michael Eisner Founding Director and Conductor …
It’s quite been quite a week for Southern California opera fans: Los Angeles Opera just finished a three-show run of André Previn’s A Streetcar Named Desire starring soprano Renée Fleming as Blanche DuBois, a role she created in the original 1998 production for San Francisco Opera. Reviews have been mostly positive: Timothy Mangan (Los Angeles Register) generally liked it despite some … Continue reading
Over the past couple of years, my euphoria about the bad-assness of the three current brass principals of the Los Angeles Philharmonic — Andrew Bain (horn), Tom Hooten (trumpet), and Nitzan Haroz (trombone) — has been somewhat tempered by a fear that, for one reason or another, the trio might not stick together very long. … Continue reading
(Publisher’s note: We’re very happy to welcome back Fiona Bryan, writer and violinist, to All is Yar for this concert review). In the short year and a half that I have lived in Southern California, I have come to expect the unexpected when it comes to programming presented by various cultural organizations around Los Angeles. The progressive landscape of … Continue reading
The late Carlo Maria Giulini, iconic Italian conductor and former Music Director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, was born 100 years ago today (May 9, 1914). In celebration, the good folks at Deutsche Grammophon are giving away a FREE download (click HERE) of the third movement of Bruckner’s 7th Symphony with Signor Giulini conducting the Vienna Philharmonic in a … Continue reading
For the past couple of months, Mystic Pete — KXLU radio personality, friend of All is Yar, and all-around man about town — has been trying to get me to back on the air at KXLU. For various reasons, I hadn’t been able to make it work on my end; however, when we all learned of the sad … Continue reading
I regularly get asked by friends and family who are planning on going wine tasting to share my advice and recommendations with them. After sending variations of the same emails to many of them, I decided to publish my thoughts for everyone to use and enjoy. Let’s start with Santa Ynez Valley and Sta. Rita Hills wineries … Continue reading
Yesterday’s news that Jeffrey Kahane was stepping down in 2017 as Music Director of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra not only began a long goodbye three years in the making, it caused a little bit of consternation among fans of the pianist/conductor regarding what he’d do after his tenure was done. According to the Los Angeles Times, … Continue reading
The Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra officially announced that Jeffrey Kahane will step down as Music Director in 2017, at which time he will become Music Director Laureate. In addition, LACO announced details of their 2014-15 season; the complete press release is below. I’m especially excited about the coming “Westside Connections” series, with the coming year’s … Continue reading
(UPDATE: The official LACO press release about this announcement and details about their 2014-15 season is HERE) (UPDATE #2, April 26: Jeffrey Kahane’s full statement about his post-LACO plans is HERE) Pianist and conductor Jeffrey Kahane has announced that the 2016-2017 season will be his last as Music Director of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. … Continue reading
Some Good Friday music for you (just not that “Good Friday Music“): Here is a brief excerpt from Part the Second of Handel’s Messiah (“Surely He hath borne our griefs,” “And with His stripes we are healed,” “All we like sheep,” and “All they that see Him / He trusted in God”). Sir Neville Marriner conducts the … Continue reading
For those wishing to attend memorial services for the late, great Paul Salamunovich, here is the schedule: Friday, May 2, 7 pm Rosary St. Charles Borromeo 10800 Moorpark St. North Hollywood, CA 91602 (at Moorpark & Landershim) Saturday, May 3, 10 am Funeral Mass Blessed Sacrament 6657 Sunset Blvd. Hollywood, CA 90028 (at Sunset & … Continue reading
“Golden Brown” by the punk/new-wave/post-punk band, The Stranglers, from their 1981 album, La Folie. In addition to the liberal use of harpsichord, you’ve gotta love the time signature alternating between 6/8 and 7/8 in the main riff. Given that the song’s title refers to obsession with heroin, a girl, or both, the occasionally disjointed rhythm is perfect. You have … Continue reading
If there is any doubt about the power of music, this story from composer Morten Lauridsen about conductor Paul Salamunovich, his dear friend and collaborator who just passed away, should erase all of it: When I spoke to Dr. Lauridsen a few weeks ago, one of the things we discussed was that he had recently visited … Continue reading
Sad news comes that Paul Salamunovich, legendary choral conductor, passed away last night. He was 86 years old. Born in Redondo Beach, he attended St. James Elementary School where he sang in the choir and got his first exposure to Gregorian chant. He eventually become a renowned expert in that vocal art form, and he … Continue reading
I hope you survived April Fool’s Day without a scratch to either your person or psyche. I witnessed some good-natured April Fool’s Day pranks, and managed to fall victim to none of it. FWIW: I’m a big fan of silly fun, and feel that there’s not enough of it during the other 364 days of the … Continue reading
All is Yar 