Emilio Cuenca

BIG, MAGICAL & CLIMACTIC For the first Los Angeles Philharmonic performance of British composer Anna Klein’s This Midnight Hour, guest conductor Chinese-born New Zealander Tianyi Lu in a sparkly blouse conducted precisely and clearly but with incredible elegance, oftentimes pulling notes out of the instrumentalists like a single thread; her gestures reminded me like those…

JACOBS’ LADDER TO HEAVEN Courtesy of the LA Phil, the awesome organist Paul Jacobs came to Disney Hall on April 16 to delight us with a most exquisite rendition of the famous Six Trio Sonatas of J.S. Bach, BWV525-530. With a charming sense of humor, he addressed the audience with his vast knowledge, peaking our…

STORMS, ROLLERCOASTERS, AND TURBULENCE It was a wild night with the LA Phil at Disney Hall last weekend. For Brahms Piano Concerto No. 1, guest conductor Osmo Vänskä successfully immersed us in the young Brahms’s ominous soundscape. He let the music breathe naturally, holding out long rests unapologetically and often got down to the floor…