Saw links to the two videos below via Twitter earlier today, and I felt compelled to share both of them here. If they seem like an unlikely match — well, what can I say, I have diverse tastes in music. The first is Ligeti’s “Hungarian Rock (Chaconne),” originally written for harpsichord but arranged here for … Continue reading
A few years ago, I was at Walt Disney Concert Hall to see James Conlon conduct the Los Angeles Philharmonic in a concert of works by Prokofiev. Sitting right in front of me were two gentleman, one older and the other younger, speaking a European language I did not recognize. Whatever they were saying, they … Continue reading
There was a time not too long ago that had you mentioned that a fair-haired, mop top, wunderkind conductor was standing on the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s podium, your image would have been of an Englishman rather than a Venezuelan. Simon Rattle (not yet knighted) was Principal Guest Conductor from 1981 to 1994, though as the … Continue reading
