Areas We Cover
Categories
Music
-
Recommended Music: FREE POP-UP CONCERTS (Miller Theatre Fall Season at Columbia University)
Miller Theatre at Columbia UniversitySchool of the Arts announces the fall season of Pop-Up Concerts “Close to the music” takes on new meaning with this friendly, free modern music series with the audience onstage and free drinks at cocktail hour # # # # # # # # # # # # # # #…
-
Recommended Album: FYFTY (Lynyrd Skynyrd)
Southern by the Grace of God indeed. On October 13, Geffen/UMe Recordings is set to release FYFTY, a 4CD/digital 50th anniversary box set that celebrates the enduring legacy of one of rock & roll’s most pre-eminent bands, Lynyrd Skynyrd. The career-spanning 50 tracks featured on FYFTY represent the best of the best music the band has offered up to its loyal,…
-
Music and Concert Review: QUINCY JONES’ 90TH BIRTHDAY TRIBUTE: A MUSICAL CELEBRATION (Hollywood Bowl)
JONESING FOR JONES For two nights at the Hollywood Bowl, quite an all-star cast paid tribute to arranger-composer-producer Quincy Jones. His 90th birthday actually took place last March 14 but it was a good excuse to celebrate “the Dude’s” musical legacy. Angélique Kidjo Samara Joy, Patti Austin, Jacob Collier Quincy Delight Jones Jr. was born in…
-
Music Review: GIANCARLO GUERRERO CONDUCTS MAHLER AND WOLFE (Boston Symphony Orchestra at Tanglewood)
REMEMBER THE LADIES The double bill of Julia Wolfe’s Her Story and Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 in D Major brought two distinct types of pleasure to an appreciative audience at Tanglewood on Friday, July 28. The Boston Symphony Orchestra performed both works; Her Story featured the all-female choral group Lorelei Ensemble. Personable and puissant…
-
EXPLORING THE FINANCIAL IMPACT OF THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY
The entertainment industry holds a captivating allure that resonates with audiences worldwide. From mesmerizing movies and addictive video games to chart-topping music and exhilarating sports events, entertainment enriches our lives in countless ways. Beyond its ability to entertain, this dynamic sector also wields a significant financial impact. In this article, I will explore the financial…
-
Music: UNLEASHING YOUR INNER VIRTUOSO: THE POWER OF VIOLIN LESSONS
Whether you’re seeking a new hobby, a means of expression, or a path to the concert stage, the violin is a fascinating instrument with a captivating allure. As an instrument that requires precision and control, it has the potential to foster significant personal growth. This article aims to delve into how violin lessons can help…
-
Opera Interview: MAXIMO MARCUSO – TENOR OF THE AMERICAS (Coachella Valley Repertory)
“Music is the unbreakable bridge that unites all nations without frontiers of time and space” – Maximo Marcuso International tenor sensation MAXIMO MARCUSO makes his Coachella Valley Repertory debut this Thursday, July 20 in CVRep’s 2023 Summer Cabaret Series. It will be a rare experience to hear Marcuso’s glorious voice in an intimate venue. Marcuso is the new…
-
Concert Reviews: DUDAMEL CONDUCTS RAVEL AND FALLA (Gustavo Dudamel, LA Phil, Hollywood Bowl)
A HELLUVA FALLA There is something different – more beautiful – about the Hollywood Bowl this year. Immediately following the COVID shutdown, the audiences were becoming fairly unruly, including classical concerts. Even at a Joshua Bell concert last year, the crowd was talking, consuming loudly, and applauding throughout Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto whenever Bell would hit…
-
Music: EASY PIANO SONGS FOR BEGINNERS
Anyone can learn to play the piano. It’s a matter of developing proper practice habits and starting with the right songs. While it may be tempting to plunge straight into your favorite piano songs, it’s best to start with easy piano songs for beginners. Easy piano songs give you the opportunity to carefully develop your…
-
Opera Concert Review: AN EVENING WITH RENÉE FLEMING (Dorothy Chandler Pavilion)
SUBLIME STORYTELLING IN SONG At the start of this event a voice reminded us to silence our cell phones and to refrain from talking or singing along. Lucky for the crowd I don’t know the lyrics to Penelope, the vocal-theatrical work by composer André Previn and playwright Tom Stoppard. Few would as this is the…
-
Opera Review: MADAME BUTTERFLY (SF Opera)
THIS BUTTERFLY FINDS ITS WINGS It’s 1904. US naval officer Lt. Pinkerton (Moisés Salazar) is seeing the world in the name of war and pleasure. When ashore in Nagasaki, Japan, he seeks the best and fairest woman and is offered Cio-Cio-San (Karah Son). Transfixed by her exotic beauty, Pinkerton marries her on sight. She is…
-
Music Review: SAMUEL MARIÑO (Camerata Pacifica)
SAMUEL MARIÑO MAKES U.S. DEBUT WITH CAMERATA PACIFICA As many more SoCal music lovers are discovering, Camerata Pacifica is a chamber music ensemble based in Santa Barbara that performs a monthly series of concerts in Santa Barbara, Ventura, San Marino (at the Huntington), and DTLA’s Zipper Hall (at Colburn School). Founded by Adrian Spence in…
-
Highly, Highly Recommended Album: RAYMOND SCOTT REIMAGINED (Quartet San Francisco, Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band & Take 6)
GREAT SCOTT! The label Violinjazz Recordings has digitally released two tracks of Raymond Scott Reimagined (see videos below), an entirely successful new collaboration teaming Quartet San Francisco with musical polymath (and genius arranger, if I may say so) Gordon Goodwin and his Big Phat Band, plus the stunning a capella group Take 6 and The…
-
Opera Review: STRANGER LOVE (LA Phil Commission at Walt Disney Concert Hall)
STRANGER LOVE, OR MINIMALIST MELATONIN Composer Dylan Mattingly calls his six-hour Stranger Love an opera in three acts, but it’s more like a set of three distinct pieces: an opera (Act I, 230 minutes), a ballet (Act II, 80 minutes), and an orchestral piece (Act III, 25 minutes). It premiered Saturday May 20, 2023, at…
-
Music Review: SCHUMANN AND SCHEHERAZADE (LA Phil with Guest Conductor Tianyi Lu; Pianist Sunwook Kim at Disney Hall)
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…
-
Opera Review: OTELLO (LA Opera)
EXQUISITE MUSIC BROUGHT TO LIFE BY LA OPERA Giuseppe Verdi’s opera Otello is a timeless masterpiece that showcases the composer’s genius in capturing the dramatic intensity and emotional complexity of William Shakespeare’s tragic play. The opera, which premiered in 1887, has become one of Verdi’s most powerful and musically captivating works, blending intricate vocal lines,…
-
Music Review: PAUL JACOBS, ORGAN (Six Trio Sonatas of J.S. Bach at Disney Hall)
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…
-
Music Review: SIBELIUS AND BRAHMS (LA Phil: Osmo Vånskå, conductor; Inon Barnatan, piano)
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…
-
IS SINGING A PROMISING CAREER CHOICE RIGHT NOW?
Millions of people dream about changing careers daily. Some want to switch careers to escape the rat race. While others feel underappreciated in their current roles. One recent poll showed that 96% of respondents wanted to change their jobs. Many workers feel that they missed out on dreams they harbored in their younger years. Becoming…
-
Music Review: TCHAIKOVSKY AND SIBELIUS (LA Phil; Conductor Dalia Stasevska, Violinist Randall Goosby)
STASEVSKA, STASEVSKA, STASEVSKA There is much good news about this morning’s program with the LA Phil. Let me start with the most important. Dalia Stasevska, a 38-year-old Kyiv-born musician who lives in Finland, was the Guest Conductor (she is now the Principal Guest Conductor of the BBC Philharmonic). Say that Ukrainian last name over and…
Search Articles
Please help keep
Stage and Cinema going!
