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GUITAR PICKUPS: THE TINY PARTS THAT GIVE YOUR GUITAR ITS VOICE
The first thing that a person pays attention to when playing electric guitar is, more often than not, the shape of the body, the brand or the amplifier. However, with experienced players, the true magic is often something much smaller, such as guitar pickups. These little pieces rest in the silence of the strings, though…
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Concert Review: FROM MOZART TO MAHLER (Pacific Symphony)
INTIMACY AND ENORMITY: MOZART AND MAHLER IN COSTA MESA Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 23 in A major, K. 488, is a peculiar piece to a classical program. It omits oboes entirely, replacing them with clarinets for a softer, more inward blend, and there are no trumpets or drums at all, no means of making a…
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Opera Review: AKHNATEN (LA Opera)
STILL THE PHARAOH-EST OF THEM ALL, AKHNATEN STUNS AT LA OPERA An intellectually rigorous, visually arresting production that embraces the opera’s challenges rather than disguising them John Holiday as Akhnaten There is a structural difficulty at the heart of Akhnaten that admiration alone cannot resolve—although admiration at last night’s opening at The Chandler is never…
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Concert Preview: MISSA SOLEMNIS (Gustavo Dudamel and The LA Phil at Disney Hall)
Beethoven’s towering Missa Solemnis arrives at Disney Hall for a rare, monumental performance. Dudamel leads a massive musical and choral force in one of Beethoven’s most demanding—and least-heard—masterworks. “From the heart—may it go further to the heart.” That’s what Ludwig van Beethoven inscribed on the score of his Missa Solemnis, a work he labored over for four years—the…
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Music Review: WILD UP: THE GREAT LEARNING (The Broad)
EXPERIMENTAL SOUND MEETS MUSEUM SPACE — WITH MIXED RESULTS A well-intentioned immersion in Cardew’s radical score undone by acoustics, logistics, and audience reality On Saturday February 7, Wild Up performed The Great Learning, Paragraphs 2 and 7 by radical English composer Cornelius Cardew inside The Broad, in conjunction with the exhibition Robert Therrien: This is…
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Concert Review: THE DOVER QUARTET (Carnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall)
TRADITIONS IN CONVERSATION From Mendelssohn to Chickasaw works, a program unified by thoughtful playing The Dover Quartet — Joel Link, Bryan Lee, violins; Julianne Lee, viola; and Camden Shaw, cello) — is small but mighty. Originally formed at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia in 2008, they are one of the greatest quartets you will ever…
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WHY CLASSICAL MUSIC NEEDS BETTER BUSINESS MINDS NOW MORE THAN EVER
If you spend time around classical music, you already know how much talent fills this world. There are gifted players, passionate singers, dedicated conductors, and audiences who love this art with their whole hearts. Still, if you look behind the curtain, you start to notice something else. Many of the challenges facing classical music today…
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Music Review: THE LOVESTRUCK BALLADEERS (Birdland Theater)
A POEM IN PRAISE OF THE LOVESTRUCK BALLADEERS There’s a super group that gets plenty of cheers:They’re called The Lovestruck Balladeers.They had a Birdland three-night gig.And the repertoire was pretty darn big.They play vintage music – originals, too.One cute highlight’s a song that’s called “Looking for You.”And this delight just happens to beThe title tune…
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Highly Recommended Concert: MARTIN CHALIFOUR & FRIENDS: THE ART OF CHAMBER MUSIC (The Music Guild at St. Alban’s, Westwood)
CHAMBER MUSIC IN AN IDEAL SETTING Glorious acoustics, a resonant space, and musicians who know how to listen to one another. There are few places in Los Angeles better suited to chamber music than St. Alban’s Episcopal Church, whose warm, luminous acoustics allow strings to bloom and piano lines to resonate without ever turning brittle….
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Concert Preview: THREADS OF GOLD—DOLLY PARTON GOES SYMPHONIC (National Tour)
THREADS OF GOLD—DOLLY PARTON GOES SYMPHONIC Her songs get the orchestral treatment in a cross-country concert experience Dolly Parton has never been one for half measures. When she says the threads of her life run through her songs, she means it. That idea is taken literally with Dolly Parton’s Threads: My Songs in Symphony, a…
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LICENSED BACKGROUND MUSIC: THE BUSINESS ADVANTAGE
Music influences perceptions and shapes moods. Choosing appropriate background music is not an afterthought for businesses. It seems like a good plan, but what insights do they have that we might be missing? Incorporating licensed music gives them a competitive edge because they can set the tone, mood, and all that positive experience for their…
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HOW THE ORDER OF GUITAR STRINGS AFFECTS YOUR PLAYING
Many people play the guitar as a creative outlet—a way to relax, express themselves, and enjoy making music. Understanding how the order of guitar strings relates to playing technique reveals both the technical skills involved and the joy of mastering the instrument. This blog will explore how string arrangement shapes sound, technique, and overall performance….
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Concert Review: DANNY ELFMAN’S MUSIC FROM THE FILMS OF TIM BURTON (San Francisco Symphony)
A SYMPHONIC CELEBRATION OF ELFMAN AND BURTON A visually and musically immersive concert that brings beloved scores thrillingly to life Music always enhances the moviegoing experience. It sets the tone, creates mood, and heightens the action and drama of a story. Long after a film has left theaters, its music often lingers in popular memory….
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Opera Review: FRA DIAVOLO (Pacific Opera Project)
A Night with a Gentleman Thief: Pacific Opera Project’s Delightful Fra Diavolo Daniel Auber’s Fra Diavolo amassed over 900 performances at the Opéra Comique during the 19th century before being dropped from the repertoire in 1907. Pacific Opera Project’s current production at The Highland Park Ebell Club makes a case for why this neglect is…
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Opera Review: HILDEGARD (World Premiere, LA Opera and Beth Morrison Projects at The Wallis)
BEST BE ON YOUR HILDEGARD WATCHING THIS THING When approaching a work based on history, it’s expected that there will be some degree of fictionalization. Even though it won’t be completely true, the broad strokes will be, and you’ll leave having learned a tiny bit of something new. However, Hildegard, the dull new opera by…
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Album Review: I WILL (Larry Goldings, piano, with Karl McComas-Reichl, bass, and Christian Euman, percussion)
GOLDINGS HAS THE GOLDEN TOUCH Soloist, sideman, bandleader, pianist, organist, arranger, composer, accompanist to singers (such as James Taylor, John Pizzarelli, Jessica Molaskey, and Norah Jones)… Well, check out Larry Goldings and you’ll note that he checks a lot of boxes and thinks outside the box as a creative jazz man. His latest release, the…
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Opera Review: EURIDICE (Haymarket Opera and The Newberry Consort in Chicago)
THE FIRST OPERA GETS NEW LIFE FROM HAYMARKET AND NEWBERRY CONSORT The origins of opera are somewhat obscure and not well-known. Haymarket Opera and The Newberry Consort, two of Chicago’s finest early music ensembles, aim to change that with this delightful concert performance of the first surviving opera. Written and performed for the marriage of…
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Album Review: TATUM’S SWINGIN’ SESSION!!! (Tatum Langley and Shout Section Big Band)
PROOF THAT SWING HASN’T GONE OUT OF STYLE If you think big band jazz is a museum piece, Tatum’s Swingin’ Session!!! will blow that notion clear off the bandstand. Under the sharp direction of Brett Dean, Chicago’s own Shout Section Big Band brings brassy swagger and airtight polish to fourteen tracks that feel both reverently…
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Concert Review: THE GENIUS OF HAYDN (“What Makes It Great” with Rob Kapilow at Jordan Hall)
A LOVELY SURPRISE The focus of the first program in the 28th season of Rob Kapilow’s “What Makes It Great,” was Franz Joseph Haydn’s String Quartet in G Major, known as “Jack-in-the Box.” With his signature wit and energy, celebrity conductor and music educator Rob Kapilow entertained and educated about this particular string quartet and…
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Highly Recommended Concert: AZARASHVILI, MOZART & ELGAR (Orchestra for People at Merkin Hall, Nov 18)
Experience a powerful evening of music as Orchestra for People presents Azarashvili, Mozart and Elgar on Tuesday, November 18, 2025 at 7:30pm at NYC’s Merkin Hall. Under the baton of conductor Hahnsol Kim, the program introduces a vibrant dialogue between Georgian and European masterworks, featuring acclaimed soloists Sandro Sidamonidze (cello) and Sam Boutris (clarinet) in a bold and moving…
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