The Rite of Spring can be frightening for some bassoonists, but Whitney Crockett doesn’t really get scared by it. At least not anymore. The famously high opening solo of Stravinsky’s ballet is something he started preparing in high school, and he’s worked on it over 1,000 times since. The first time he played it in … Continue reading
Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic returned to the Hollywood Bowl this past Thursday, their first subscription concert since pandemic restrictions had been instituted and subsequently lifted. There was a paying audience in the seats, none of whom were required to wear masks or to socially distance. Ditto for the orchestra members on stage, … Continue reading
![The next LA Phil Principal Oboe will be Ramón Ortega Quero [UPDATED]](https://allisyar.files.wordpress.com/2017/11/ramonortegaquero04-1024x678-1024x678.jpg?w=290&h=290&crop=1 "The next LA Phil Principal Oboe will be Ramón Ortega Quero [UPDATED]")
Spanish oboist Ramón Ortega Quero — aka Ramon Ortega — has been offered the position of Principal Oboe of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He will take over the position vacated by Ariana Ghez earlier this year if he chooses to accept the offer. [UPDATE: 2 NOV 2017: An earlier version of this article stated that Mr. … Continue reading
The Los Angeles Philharmonic has made some rather impressive hires during the Gustavo Dudamel era, but perhaps none more intriguing than the three stellar principal woodwinds. They’re tough to miss, both because they sit dead-center in the orchestra and, more importantly, because their playing is impeccable. They also share a notable line-item on their curriculum … Continue reading
The Los Angeles Philharmonic wrapped up its whirlwind twelve day, seven city tour last week. Reviews from the trip were generally positive, many even glowing. Critics seemed most impressed by the performances of 20th & 21st Century works by Bjarnason, Corigliano, and Rachmaninoff, with Yuja Wang’s pianistic contributions also earning requisite praise. The smattering of negative comments made were mostly … Continue reading
There have been so many performances this season of The Rite of Spring (AKA Le sacre du printemps in the original français) in celebration of the work’s centenary that some people have expressed concerns that the work was becoming over-exposed. You wouldn’t have known it by the number of seats filled Tuesday night at the Hollywood Bowl … Continue reading
On paper, Friday night’s Los Angeles Philharmonic concert seemed straightforward enough: a program filled with loads of well-known hum-along tunes, a beloved old-school conductor (Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos) on the podium, and a popular soloist (Lynn Harrell) joining in on the fun. In the concert hall, everything was generally as one would expect: the music … Continue reading
Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic opened their 2012/2013 season with a contemplative work by Ravel, a world premiere by Steven Stucky, and Stravinsky’s Le Sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring). In other words, it was Retro Week at Walt Disney Concert Hall. This is exactly the kind of program which the orchestra … Continue reading
Tchaikovsky concerts at the Hollywood Bowl are common occurrences. Thursday night’s Los Angeles Philharmonic concert was pretty typical, with a program featuring a pair of frequently heard warhorses: the Piano Concerto No. 1 and the Symphony No. 4. Then again, in some ways, this wasn’t all that typical. There were no fireworks, no 1812 Overture, … Continue reading
Clearly, Mahler was a guy who liked to think and compose about death. Musical allusions to it show up in all of his works being performed as part of the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s “Mahler Project” (some may quibble about Songs of the Wayfarer, but if you’re singing about putting a red-hot knife in your breast, … Continue reading
Esa-Pekka Salonen was back for his second week with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. With a world premiere of the abandoned opera, Orango, paired with the withdrawn-for-25-years Symphony No. 4, his all-Shostakovich concerts were a study of two contrasting works that had both been hidden and eventually brought to new light. To add to the lost-and-found theme, E-P himself … Continue reading
On paper, Sunday afternoon’s concerts belonged to conductor Emmanuelle Haïm. The reality was that and much more. Ms. Haïm dominated the concert. Many musicians had solo turns of one sort or another, and two — oboist Ariana Ghez and recorder player (or is it recordist?) Rotem Gilbert — even played front and center. Yet when it was … Continue reading
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