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Jazz Concert Review: PAT METHENY (Dream Box Tour at Royce Hall, UCLA)
PAT ON THE BACK When one thinks of the always-inventive and distinctive guitarist Pat Metheny, it is generally of the great bands he has had (including the Pat Metheny Group with the late Lyle Mays on keyboards and the Unity Band with Chris Potter), his recordings with bassist Charlie Haden and guitarist John Scofield, and…
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Opera Review: EL íšLTIMO SUEôO DE FRIDA Y DIEGO (LA Opera at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion)
YOU’LL HAVE SUEôOS, ALL RIGHT If you happen upon L.A.’s Music Center on a night when El íšltimo Sueí±o de Frida y Diego has a scheduled performance, be sure to check out the beautiful glowing ofrenda designed by artist Aldo Cruz just to the right of the Dorothy Chandler entrance. I met a patron who…
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Opera Review: SCALIA/GINSBERG & TRIAL BY JURY (Pacific Opera Project at the Highland Park Ebell Club)
JUDGING THE TRIALS On Friday, Nov. 17, Pacific Opera Project opened its Los Angeles premiere of Derrick Wang’s Scalia/Ginsburg in a double bill with a new version of Gilbert and Sullivan‘s Trial by Jury, updated by Josh Shaw for Pacific Opera Project at the Highland Park Ebell Club. Scalia/Ginsburg is about the late Supreme Court…
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Opera Review: JENŮFA (Lyric Opera of Chicago)
A RARE OPPORTUNITY TO SEE JANÁČEK’S FIRST OPERA Jenůfa is now the third opera in a row this season whose plot features a woman with two suitors. Yet each opera puts its own spin on this common trope. In Leoš Janáček’s Jenůfa, the titular heroine loves the carousing Števa, but not his half-brother Laca. Both…
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Highly Recommended Jazz Album: ASTOR’S PLACE (Dimitri Landrain, piano; Jim Robertson, bass; Keith Balla, drums)
THIS WILL PUT YOU IN PIANO HEAVEN Astor’s Place is a gorgeously rendered album that reveals the genius of Dimitri Landrain. The acclaimed French composer and pianist based in New York City has traveled the world and found inspiration among his adventures. This album is a tribute to all those wonderful musical worlds he’s experienced….
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Music Review: CHAPARRAL AND INTERSTATES: NEW MUSIC FROM CALIFORNIA (LA Phil New Music Group)
BEAUTIFUL BRUSH AND NOISY HIGHWAYS On Tuesday, Nov. 14, the LA Phil New Music Group performed Chaparral and Interstates, a Green Umbrella program of four new pieces by California composers, including two world premieres, at Walt Disney Concert Hall as part of the California Festival. The first piece, from 2021, was Dylan Mattingly‘s Sunt Lacrimae…
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Concert Review: CANTO EN RESISTENCIA (Dudamel & the LA Phil & Silvana Estrada)
THERE’S NO RESISTING SILVANA ESTRADA My mind was thinking about the strange beast that programming is as Gustavo Dudamel and the LA Phil continued their contribution to a celebration of new music, the California Festival, with a program entitled Canto en resistencia. While the two-week CalFest mission states that it is showcasing works written in the…
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Chicago Opera Review: THE DAUGHTER OF THE REGIMENT (Lyric Opera)
THIS FILLE IS TRÉS TRÉS FUNNY It is hard to go wrong with Lawrence Brownlee: his sensuous and soaring tenor, knack for comedy, winsome smile and infectious energy warm every production he appears in. This Lyric production of Donizetti’s The Daughter of the Regiment (La Fille du Régiment) is no exception. Alongside Brownlee is the…
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Music / Concert Review: AMERICAN RAILROAD (Silkroad Ensemble with Rhiannon Giddens; U.S. Tour)
TUNNEL VISION In this first program post-Yo-Yo Ma artistic directorship, the American Railroad national tour by Silkroad Ensemble presents an evening of newly composed and arranged music with a slew of fresh faces joining the illustrious ensemble. Under the direction of banjoist, fiddle player, vocalist and multi-Grammy winner Rhiannon Giddens, the ensemble features a cast…
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Highly Recommended Jazz Album: EL ARTE DEL BOLERO: VOLUME 2 (Miguel Zenón, sax, and Luis Perdomo, piano)
AH, PERFECTO I know when you hear “Latin Jazz” you think congas and dancing rhythms, but this beautifully produced and played album is — and I say this in a good way — cocktail jazz done as dreamy New Age on a breezy afternoon sipping a mojito. It’s not sappy Easy Listening Jazz, but a…
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Extras: 10 TIPS TO BOOST STUDY EFFECTIVENESS WITH MUSIC
We live in a world where books, screens, and notifications vie for our attention. Amid the busyness of school, music can help you stay focused and motivated during study sessions. Whether you like classics or upbeat tunes, these tips will show you how to use music effectively while studying. Keep reading to find ten practical…
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Highly Recommended Concert: FRAGMENTS 2 (Alisa Weilerstein, cellist; presented by LA Phil at Disney Hall)
I have been following Alisa Weilerstein for over fifteen years, but until about five ago it was only on recordings and YouTube. Having seen her perform live four times since I can assert that the phenomenal American cellist has attracted attention worldwide because her playing combines a natural virtuosic command and technical precision with impassioned musicianship and…
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Concert Review: A JOURNEY THROUGH BAROQUE EUROPE (Théotime Langlois de Swarte and Le Consort)
A JOURNEY THROUGH BAROQUE EUROPE Last night, November 9, Segerstrom’s Samueli Hall was a perfect location for being treated to an intimate baroque performance curated by Le Consort, the Paris-based preeminent ensemble making their U.S. debut with A Journey Through Baroque Europe. Co-directed by the accomplished violinist Théotime Langlois de Swarte, the virtuosic harpsichordist Justin…
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Jazz Concert Review: MIHO HAZAMA & M_UNIT (Tour at Samueli Hall, Segerstrom Center in Costa Mesa)
AN EVENING OF CACOPHONOUS DELIGHT Grammy-nominated composer/performer/arranger Miho Hazama and her 13-piece jazz chamber orchestra m_unit landed at Segerstrom Center for the Arts on October 28, 2023, kicking off the U.S. West Coast Tour showing off her vibrant new album celebrating the 10-year anniversary of her ensemble, m_unit: Beyond Orbits. Adding about six minutes to…
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Highly Recommended Jazz Album: A SHADE OF BLUE (Tsuyoshi Yamamoto Trio)
Veteran pianist Tsuyoshi Yamamoto debuts on prestigious Japanese label evosound with A Shade Of Blue, out on CD and vinyl now, and digitally on December 8, 2023. Famed for his light touch, exquisite musical sensitivity, and hard-swinging approach to the piano, master Yamamoto has enjoyed a long and storied career that has yielded over 50…
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Highly Recommended Album: SUMPTUOUS PLANET (by David Shapiro; performed by The Crossing Choir)
SUMPTUOUS ALBUM On Friday, November 10, 2023, The Crossing, one of our greatest choirs, will release SUMPTUOUS PLANET, a virtuosic and spectacular concert-length work by composer David Shapiro based primarily on the writings of the evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins (famous, in part, for his defense of atheism). Sumptuous Planet is an expression of belief about the nature of life and the joy we can find in understanding it, paradoxically told through a Christian Mass and…
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Music & Film Review: THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN WITH LIVE ORCHESTRA (Theatre at the Ace Hotel)
STITCHED TOGETHER WITH BRILLIANCE For Halloween this past weekend, LA Opera‘s hugely popular annual celebration of horror and live music at the breathtaking Theatre at Ace Hotel featured James Whale’s 1935 gothic horror classic The Bride of Frankenstein, accompanied by the LA Opera Orchestra. The Bride of Frankenstein with Live Orchestra was another resounding success…
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Music Review: HADELICH AND MENDELSSOHN (Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra)
It’s always fascinating to come for a headliner and be completely bowled over by other parts of the program. The draw for Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra’s two performances last weekend was Augustin Hadelich, one of the world’s greatest violinists, performing Mendelssohn’s melodic Violin Concerto in E minor at The Alex Theatre. I have seen the…
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Highly Recommended Concert: AN ALPINE SYMPHONY WITH SALONEN (LA Phil at Disney Hall)
A WORLD PREMIERE AND ONE OF THE GREATEST TONE POEMS EVER WRITTEN I never knew this until researching the upcoming LA Phil program this weekend, but the connection between Nico Muhly and Philip Glass became established in the mid-2000s, when Glass employed Muhly as an assistant! Muhly certainly soaked up minimalism but he has never…
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Highly Recommended Concert: 40! (The Verdi Chorus Fall 2023 Concert in Santa Monica)
The Verdi Chorus’ 40th Anniversary season continues with its landmark Fall 2023 Concert, 40! Led by Anne Marie Ketchum, who is celebrating forty consecutive years as Artistic Director of the organization (now THAT deserves an exclamation point!), the Verdi Chorus is the only choral group in Southern California that focuses primarily on the dramatic and diverse music…
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