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Concert Review: VIENNA PHILHARMONIC (Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor; Yefim Bronfman, pianist; Segerstrom Concert Hall in Costa Mesa)
The streets of Vienna are paved with culture, the streets of other cities with asphalt. — Karl Kraus Of the world’s major orchestras, few are more traditional than the Vienna Philharmonic, which performed its first concert in 1842. It has had no music director for many years, another of its distinguishing features. The outcome is…
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Highly Recommended Concert: THE 3Bs: BEETHOVEN, BEETHOVEN, BEETHOVEN! (Modus Operandi at Merkin)
CELEBRATING THREE BEETHOVEN MASTERPIECES In case you haven’t heard of them yet, Modus Operandi Orchestra (MOO) is comprised of some of the finest players in the New York City area. Led by internationally acclaimed conductor Justin Bischof, this truly is an awesome ensemble. At Merkin Hall on Wed March 12 at 6:30 (the perfect time…
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Concert Review: MAHLER’S SEVENTH SYMPHONY (Gustavo Dudamel with the LA Phil)
SEVENTH HEAVEN Nothing prepares you for the sheer spectacle of Mahler’s Seventh Symphony live. A staggering number of musicians packed the Walt Disney Concert Hall stage Saturday afternoon March 1—extra brass, two harps, tuba, and an enormous array of percussion, including cowbells which rang from the rafters—Mahler’s version of “more is more.” And at the…
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Concert Review: VIKINGUR ÓLAFSSON AND YUJA WANG (Recital at Disney Hall)
THE DYNAMIC DUO Víkingur Ólafsson and Yuja Wang’s Disney Hall duo recital on February 26 wasn’t just a concert—it was a spectacle of sheer pianistic brilliance, a conversation between two of the most electrifying musicians of our time. This highly anticipated concert, part of their collaborative tour, showcased a program that spanned a diverse range…
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Highly Recommended Concert: FINN, THE MUSICAL (Stars in the House Fifth Anniversary at Town Hall, NYC)
THE MUSICAL FINN SWIMS TO TOWN HALL AFTER KENNEDY CENTER PIRATES TOSSED IT OVERBOARD The show they tried to sink is coming back stronger than ever. Finn, the vibrant family musical about a young shark learning to live his truth, is making a splash at NYC’s Town Hall on Monday, March 17—just weeks after the…
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Highly Recommended Concerts: VIENNA PHILHARMONIC (Carnegie Hall, Segerstrom and Zellerbach Hall)
WANT TO HEAR ONE OF THE GREATEST ORCHESTRAS THAT HAS EVER EXISTED? VIENNA PHILHARMONIC MAKES ONLY THREE U.S. APPEARANCES: COSTA MESA, BERKELEY & NEW YORK For California classical music lovers, a delight is in store. Vienna Philharmonic, one of the most renowned orchestras in the world, comes to Zellerbach Hall in Berkeley March 5-7, followed…
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Concert Review: LONDON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA (Yunchan Lim, piano; Antonio Pappano, conductor; Philharmonic Society of Orange County)
A NIGHT OF THUNDER AND ELEGANCE Presented by Philharmonic Society of Orange County, the London Symphony Orchestra, among the most disciplined and savagely expressive classical orchestras in the world, arrived in Costa Mesa at Segerstrom Concert Hall on Feb. 19, 2024, with Antonio Pappano conducting and a young firebrand at the keyboard. Yunchan Lim, the…
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Concert Review: SHOENBERG’S “PIERROT LUNAIRE” (Camerata Pacifica)
Camerata Pacifica began its February program at the Huntington Library with Lara Morciano’s Embedding Tangles, with flutist Sébastian Jacot, who premiered the piece in 2014. I don’t often get to hear works for solo flute, so this sounded promising. Alas, my initial excitement was instantly killed when we got attacked by a torrent of notes…
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Event Review: BroadwayCon 2025 (Days 2 & 3, Marriott Marquis)
BroadwayCon Continues & Concludes with Conversations & Connections Part II of a Look & Listen to the 3-Day Theatre Event (Part I reviewed here) There are Broadway stars and Broadway fans with stars in their eyes. The latter is present in droves—devotees of theatre, eager to gain information and insights inside interview rooms and to…
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Concert Review: LET’S MISBEHAVE: THE SONGS OF COLE PORTER (New York Pops)
MY HEART BELONGS TO THE NY POPS The New York Pops’ Let’s Misbehave: The Songs of Cole Porter was filled with many of Porter’s best-known songs: “Night and Day,” “I Love Paris,” “My Heart Belongs to Daddy.” But the evening at Carnegie Hall was also filled with many surprises, thanks to the multi-talented cast. Music …
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Music Review: ELEMENTS AND ENERGY (John Adams and the LA Phil New Music Group at Disney Hall)
Last season, the LA Phil premiered the first five of 16 etudes commissioned by Creative Chair John Adams, with the goal to have a piece for each instrument of the orchestra to show off as a soloist. On January 28, we got to hear three more premieres from the series. First was Quantum Ptarmigan, by…
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Concert Review: PACIFIC JAZZ ORCHESTRA WITH EVA NOBLEZADA (The Soraya)
A NIGHT OF FIRE, SILK, AND SWING Prior to Pacific Jazz Orchestra‘s (PJO) dynamite event at The Soraya—the start of “Jazz at Naz” festival’s fourth season—I already knew its guEst vocalist Eva Noblezada to be a bone fide star. And I don’t toss that word out often. The girl who started her career as a…
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Event Review: BroadwayCon (Day One, Marriott Marquis)
TODAY, I’M A BROADWAY CON MAN My first assignment as a new staff writer here at Stage and Cinema finds me going to an event at 9:30. As I’ve been reviewing theatre and music-related programs for years, this would not have been unusual IF we were talking about a cabaret show at 9:30 in the…
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Cabaret Review: ADRIENNE WARREN IN CONCERT (Beyond Broadway Series at The Hobby Center in Houston)
ADRIENNE WARREN IS, INDEED, SIMPLY THE BEST The second of a three Beyond Broadway concert series was headlined by Tony-winner Adrienne Warren. I have followed Warren since 2016 when I saw her in Bring It On: The Musical and continued singing her praises after catching her electrifying and star-making performance as Tina Turner in Tina:…
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Recommended Concert: THE HOLLYWOOD MODERNISTS: The Second Golden Age of Film Scoring (Scott Dunn Orchestra at The Wallis in Beverly Hills)
STEP INTO HOLLYWOOD’S MUSICAL LEGACY Beverly Hills is about to become the epicenter of cinematic symphony. In the 25/26 season, the Scott Dunn Orchestra makes its grand debut at The Wallis in Beverly Hills with The Hollywood Modernists: The Second Golden Age of Film Scoring. (The original date of January 18, 2025, was cancelled due…
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Concert Review: BEETHOVEN & ROMANTICISM (Symphonies 1, 2 & 3 [Eroica]; Boston Symphony Orchestra)
THE PROGRESSION OF BEETHOVEN OVERCOMING ADVERSITY Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827) is seen as not only one of the world’s great composers but also a bridge from the classical musical traditions of Mozart and Haydn to the romanticism of successors such as Johannes Brahms. Andris Nelsons conducts Beethoven Symphony No. 1 with the BSO While never…
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Highly Recommended Concert: FOUR SEASONS AND STRAUSS (Pacific Symphony at Segerstrom Concert Hall)
MORE STRAUSS, LESS STRESS, INDEED Pacific Symphony rings in the New Year January 9-11 at 8 with Four Seasons and Strauss, featuring two inspiring masterpieces that are sure to uplift and calm the spirit. First, Concertmaster Dennis Kim takes the virtuosic solo role playing plays the 1701 ex-Dushkin Stradivarius to lead Vivaldi’s 1720 composition of…
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Music Interview: CODY FRY (Appearing in Concert with The Hollywood Bowl Orchestra at Disney Hall)
CAUGHT YOU AT A GOOD TIME [Editor’s Note, Jan 8, 2025: Due to the Los Angeles fires, the January 10 concert referenced in this interview has been postponed. It has been rescheduled for Saturday, April 19, 2025. Tickets for the January 10 concert will be valid for the new date.] When Cody Fry is asked…
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Highly Recommended Concerts: THE MUSIC GUILD (2025 Season at St Alban’s Church, Westwood)
GUILD TO PERFECTION There is an outstanding music outfit in Los Angeles which offers a series of chamber music concerts, introducing world renowned artists to Los Angeles audiences. Having seen presentations of repertoire played at its premier level by sparkling chamber musicians for over 10 years now, it seems unthinkable to me that The Music…
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Concert Review: NOON TO MIDNIGHT (LA Phil at Disney Hall)
DOUG AITKIN’S LIGHTSCAPE, THE CENTERPIECE OF LA PHIL’S DAY-LONG NEW MUSIC PROGRAM, OPENS AS AN INSTALLATION AT THE MARCIANO ARTS FOUNDATION THIS WEEK Noon to Midnight, a daylong festival of new music, is my favorite LA Phil program of the year. What’s playing? No clue. Is the music good? Unlikely. Is the centerpiece performance going…
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