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Opera Review: THE TRISTAN PROJECT (LA Phil)
A PROJECT MORE THAN A COHESIVE OPERA The heavily hyped revival of director Peter Sellars’ and video artist Bill Viola’s production of Wagner’s monumental opera Tristan and Isolde has landed at Disney Hall with a whimper rather than a bang. In Wagner’s own vision, his operas were to be staged as a “total artwork” (Gesamtkunstwerk),…
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Music Review: FESTIVAL OF CAROLS (L.A. Master Chorale featuring tenor Jonathan Antoine)
A SONOROUS CELEBRATION PEALS THROUGH DISNEY HALL Is there anything more festive than a soaring chorus singing carols during the holiday? Listening to the LA Master Chorale in the majestic Walt Disney Hall is the perfect way to do it. Under the direction of Grant Gershon, 62 singers, pianist, organist, and percussionist make beautiful music…
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Music Review: PROKOFIEV & SMETANA (LA Phil with Xian Zhang, conductor; Behzod Abduraimov, piano)
A FLABBERGASTING PERFORMANCE FROM ABDURAIMOV Is it possible that the great pianist Behzod Abduraimov has ten hands? Watching him last Sunday at Disney Hall performing Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 2 was so electrifying that it wasn’t until after the work that I wondered if I ever saw his hands in anything other than a blur….
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Music Review: MUSIKALISCHE EXEQUIEN [MUSIC TO ACCOMPANY A DEPARTURE] (L.A. Master Chorale)
HEAVEN AWAITS “Exequien” in German are funeral observances, and the three pieces of Heinrich Schí¼tz‘s Musikalische Exequien were originally performed in February 1636 for the funeral of Heinrich Posthumus von Reuss, a prince and diplomat who was a personal friend of the composer. Funeral arrangements are likely to weigh heavily on your mind if you’re…
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Opera Review: TOSCA (LA Opera)
AN ANGEL TO THE RESCUE Well, LA Opera has perked me up all ways from Sunday. As if the recent production of Omar, truly a game changer in the world of opera, wasn’t awesome enough, now comes along a rendition of Tosca that is one of the most beautiful and satisfying that you will ever…
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Opera Review: LE COMTE ORY (Lyric Opera of Chicago)
LE COMTE ORY: BEL CANTO GOES DRAG After two very serious and heavily-plotted Verdi operas, it’s incredibly refreshing to see Rossini’s sexy and riotous Le Comte Ory. This Lyric premiere production boasts a stunning bel canto score, an entertaining and talented cast, a relatively short (by comparison) run-time of 2 hours 40 minutes, and lots…
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Opera Review: DON CARLOS (Lyric Opera Chicago)
THE FULLEST AND GRANDEST DON CARLOS OF ALL Don Carlos is every bit the grand opera that audiences should expect, from the size of the chorus and the number of principal roles to the length of the performance and complexity of plot. It’s full of gorgeous music that ranges from the introspective to the anguished,…
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Music: CHOOSING THE RIGHT GUITAR STRAP
If you intend on playing the guitar, it’s important to have a strap that is comfortable and easy to use. It’s also important to remember that not all guitar straps are created equal, and that there are a few things to consider before making your purchase. But with so many different types of guitar straps…
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Music Preview: A VERDI PUCCINI FEST (The Verdi Chorus Fall 2022 Concert in Santa Monica)
A SMORGASBORD OF OPERAS ON ONE PLATE The Verdi Chorus will present its Fall 2022 concert A Verdi Puccini Fest for two performances only at the First Presbyterian Church in Santa Monica, Saturday, November 12 at 7:30 pm, and Sunday, November 13 at 4:00 pm. As the only choral group in Southern California that focuses…
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HIGHLY RECOMMENDED Free Opera Streaming: STREAMING THE FIRST CENTURY (San Francisco Opera)
SAN FRANCISCO OPERA RELEASES SECOND INSTALLMENT OF STREAMING THE FIRST CENTURY FOCUSING ON FRENCH REPERTOIRE Streaming the First Century, SFO’s free online hub for historic recordings and interviews, has released Session 2: Parlez-vous français? (schedule below). This new installment, the second of four releases scheduled for fall 2022, features performances of French repertory from the Company’s…
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Music: 4 BEST GIFTS FOR SAXOPHONE PLAYERS
Saxophones are popular instruments around the world. And if you know a saxophone player, then you know that they’re passionate about their craft. They practice for hours every day to perfect their sound. Plus, they always look for new ways to improve their skills. As a result, they can be challenging to shop for. But…
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Recommended Classical Concert: Conductor JURAJ VALÄŒUHA & Pianist BEHZOD ABDURAIMOV (SF Symphony at Davies Hall)
COME HEAR ONE OF THE WORLD’S GREAT PIANISTS Conductor Juraj ValÄuha returns to lead the San Francisco Symphony in music by Hannah Kendall, Sergei Rachmaninoff, and Sergei Prokofiev, November 3, 4 & 6, 2022 at Davies Symphony Hall. Opening the program is the SF Symphony premiere of Hannah Kendall’s The Spark Catchers, commissioned and premiered…
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Highly Recommended Jazz Album Review: HUBUB! (Ted Kooshian)
I’LL TELL YOU WHAT THE HUBUB! IS ALL ABOUT: FUN I just returned from the 2022 Monerey Jazz Festival, and as you can guess the players were magnificent. Not so the compositions, though. Highly experimental is great; after all, that’s what makes jazz, well, jazz. But much of the weekend was fusion, ya know jazz…
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Music Review: 65TH MONTEREY JAZZ FESTIVAL
EVEN WITH CHANGES DUE TO COVID, THE MONTEREY JAZZ FESTIVAL SOARS One of the joys of the Monterey Jazz Festival is discovery. Sure, you’ll get to hear some great professional talent, but a lot of up and coming high school and college talent. The 65th gathering may still not be up to snuff after that…
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Jazz Concert Recommendation: SAMARA JOY (Samueli Hall at Segerstrom Center in Costa Mesa)
A JOY TO BEHOLD COMES TO SEGERSTROM ONE NGHT ONLY, SATURDAY OCTOBER 1 AT 7 & 9 The jazz world has been abuzz about the 22-year-old New Yorker Samara Joy since she won the Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition in 2019, and rightfully so. Having just released her eponymous debut album, the word is…
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Music Review: CAMERATA PACIFICA (September 2022)
THE MUSIC WHICH REMINDS US THAT IN DESPAIR THERE IS GREAT HOPE Remaining the best salon ensemble in Los Angeles, Camerata Pacifica offers seven programs a year, each curated by Artistic Director Adrian Spence. It is to his credit that each program is chockablock with crackerjack selections from the classical canon, both new and old….
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CD Recommmendation: DAWN (Ola Gjeilo on Decca Classics)
GREET THE DAWN Dawn is the follow-up to Ola Gjeilo’s hugely successful 2020 album Night. This new solo piano wonder is now out on Decca Classics. Improvisation has long been at the core of Gjeilo’s composition and performance. Without being cloying, 17 cathartic tracks are guaranteed to soothe your troubles away. It’s great for working, meditating,…
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Music: ALAN & MARILYN BERGMAN LYRIC AWARD (ASCAP Foundation)
Alan Bergman and his late wife, Marilyn, wrote lyrics for film, stage and television for more than five decades, which earned them multiple Emmys, Grammys and three Oscars for “The Windmills of Your Mind,” “The Way We Were” and the score for Yentl. The ASCAP Foundation Alan and Marilyn Bergman Lyric Award is a new…
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Chicago Opera Review: ERNANI (Lyric Opera of Chicago)
ERR: NAH, NI? MAYBE Ernani is billed as the second installment in Lyric Opera’s early Verdi series, which began with Luisa Miller in 2019-20. This, despite a production of Nabucco in 2016, which is earlier than both Ernani and Luisa Miller. No matter. Ernani contains some very beautiful music that deserves to be better known…
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Album Review and Recommendation: ARIAS (Jonathan Tetelman)
A TENOR FOR THE AGES When I played the debut album Arias by Chilean-American tenor Jonathan Tetelman, my partner said during the first track, “Is that Pavarotti?” Comparisons can fairly be made when you hear this powerful, colorful, emotional artist taking on an incredible range of styles from the French and Italian repertoire. Having signed an…
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