For tonight’s concert of incidental music from A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Mendelssohn and Orff’s Carmina Burana, I decided to bring along a couple of 2004 wines: a Late Disgorged Brut from Domaine Carneros and a Ridge Lytton Springs. Both are drinking damn well. No matter how many times I drink “older” Lytton Springs, I … Continue reading
You hear of a night of Haydn conducted by the ever-sunny Nicholas McGegan, and you probably think, “That’s nice.” You notice that the Haydn Trumpet Concerto will be the centerpiece of the evening and you might say, “Hmmm, haven’t heard that performed in a while.” You realize that Alison Balsom is the trumpet soloist, … Continue reading
For last Thursday’s all Tchaikovsky concert at the Hollywood Bowl, I had the pleasure of sitting next to Hadley and Tatiana of Grub Street Los Angeles. They’re wonderful people — I say this for a great variety of reasons, only one of which is their willingness to share with me some of their wine: a … Continue reading
I have more than a few things to say about last Tuesday’s Los Angeles Philharmonic concert at the Hollywood Bowl, as usual. But let’s get one thing out of the way, shall we? Yefim Bronfman is a bad-ass. Ok, perhaps this is old news, but even if that’s the case, it’s worth repeating. So many … Continue reading
When it comes to standard musical fare at the Hollywood Bowl, it’s tough to come up with two composers more iconic than George Gershwin and Leonard Bernstein. Besides having their music performed pretty much every summer in the Cahuenga Pass, the two Americans have other close ties to the Bowl: The 1937 memorial concert commemorating … Continue reading
This week at the Hollywood Bowl, conductor Stéphane Denève returns to Southern California to lead the Los Angeles Philharmonic in two different programs. Tuesday’s concert features two works not often heard at the Bowl (or anywhere else for that matter): Stokowski’s “Symphonic Synthesis” of Mussorgsky’s music from Boris Godunov and the lone violin concerto of … Continue reading
It was time for musicians to break out their summer whites and for the audiences to try to not roll empty bottles of wine down concrete steps. That’s right: I’m talking about summer at the Hollywood Bowl. After a few concerts of playing back-up band to Barry Manilow, the Los Angeles Philharmonic opened the classical … Continue reading
It’s that fun time of year, a time full of hopes, dreams, and possibilities. Yes, I’m talking about 2012/2013 Season Announcement, um, season. Lisa Hirsch has been tracking rumors and reality for a few weeks on her blog, Iron Tongue of Midnight; up until now, it’s been limited to opera companies. The Los Angeles Philharmonic … Continue reading
If you think that the number of helicopters visiting the Hollywood Bowl mid-concert has been increasing, you’re not the only one. In today’s Los Angeles Times, Deborah Borda (Los Angeles Philharmonic President) says: “It’s always been a problem, but now it’s every concert. Not almost every concert, but every concert, multiple times. And it … Continue reading
A near-capacity crowd filled the Hollywood Bowl to the brim this past Saturday night. Gustavo Dudamel was in the house, along with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and some other folks. But for once, the crowd was not really there to see The Dude. Sure, there were a few screams of “We love you, Gustavo!” but … Continue reading
Though the Hollywood Bowl has been open for about a month, the Los Angeles Philharmonic play did not play in their white jackets (and blouses) under the venue’s iconic white arches until this past Friday and Saturday when they gave the word premiere performances of the full film score to West Side Story. They followed it … Continue reading
Ahhh, it is July, and a classic Southern California Summer is brewing: the sun is shining with no clouds in sight, there is a slight breeze in the air to keep you cool, and the water temp is in the high 60’s and climbing. Once the waves grow higher than their current ankle-slapper status, conditions … Continue reading
All is Yar 