World-class ballet is a transient in Los Angeles. All other genres of Western classical performing arts — orchestral, chamber music, operatic, even choral — have seen resident ensembles flourish since the founding of The Music Center in the 1960s. Yet with all due respect to folks like the Los Angeles Ballet led by Thordal Christensen … Continue reading
Tag Archives: Jean-Yves Thibaudet
REVIEW: Dudamel, Bullock, Thibaudet, and LA Phil revel in unabashed Americana for season opener
Gustavo Dudamel has been in charge of the Los Angeles Philharmonic for a decade now, and so we should be able to easily answer the question: what can we — should we — expect from one of their concerts together? And there’s the rub. There is no easy answer that doesn’t sound like a generic … Continue reading
Le Hollywood Bowl avec un accent français: Denève, Thibaudet, and the LA Phil revel in a Franco-American program
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
Gershwin played on both coasts; recognizing a Strad blindfolded; some orchestral cabbage + mac & cheese
The Los Angeles Philharmonic’s all-Gershwin season opening gala may have occured many months ago, but PBS’s “Great Performances” is only now getting around to broadcasting the video from the concert — most of it, anyway. Better late (and abridged) than never. The first broadcast is this evening at 6pm Pacific Time (on KPBS and PBS … Continue reading