On Esa-Pekka envy & the glory of Ory Shihor

Dance · Music
Classical music notes … Esa-Pekka Salonen‘s departure after “helming” the Los Angeles Philharmonic for 17 years was sad. I’m not over it! But at least he’s been tucked away, out of range, in faraway London. Now, in a shock to the classical music world and a great coup for the city of San Francisco, he ...

Get serious, Los Angeles!

Music · Visual arts
Richard Valitutto, Pianospheres Jan 14photo: Jonathan Nesteruk It’s January. So, no excuses. Clear the eggnog out of your noggin — and get ready for some serious art. In Los Angeles, it’s all around us. Artists and their presenters are hitting the new decade afresh, and with force. It does not get headier than the L.A. ...

Standout artist round-robin

Film · Music

Lauridsen’s ‘Lux Aeterna’ centerpiece of rich Master Chorale program

Music · Reviews
Editor’s note: A guest author on the blog today, Patrick Scott, who shares his observations of Thursday’s performance of the Los Angeles Master Chorale. ♣          ♣          ♣          ♣ Twenty years ago Morten Lauridsen‘s “Lux Aeterna” became an enormous game changer for American choral music. Last night the Los Angeles Master Chorale, hosting the annual Chorus ...

What a week! Los Angeles blossoms in the fine arts

Architecture & Design · Dance · Music · Reviews · Visual arts
I’ve inhabited Los Angeles more or less, since 1989. The city’s rich art existence, long undetected, has kept me busy and happy here. There is little doubt, however, that something arts-phenomenal is happening right now in our city. It must be true; the New York Times is sputtering about it all the time. In fact, ...

Review: Diavolo’s “L’Espace du Temps” @ VPAC

Architecture & Design · Dance · Music · Reviews
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Calling Diavolo: Architecture in Motion a dance company is like calling a monster truck a nice vehicle. It’s big. It’s brash. It’s loud. Sometimes it’s brilliant. The LA-based company performed its three-part “L’Espace du Temps” at the Valley Performing Arts Center (VPAC) September 19 and 20. Presented in partnership with the Ford Signature Series, it ...

Diavolo meets New West Symphony at Valley Performing Arts Center 2

Architecture & Design · Dance · Music
We live in strong anticipation of DIAVOLO‘s season-opening “L’Espace du Temps” performance at the beautiful, acoustics-rich Valley Performing Arts Center. The performance will enjoy live orchestral accompaniment by New West Symphony, under the direction of Christopher Rountree, of a trio of scores by great composers: Foreign Bodies (2007, Esa-Pekka Salonen); Fearful Symmetries (2010, John Adams); ...

Esa-Pekka, Especially-Pleasurable, at HEAR NOW benefit 3

Music · Reviews
Posing with The Lyris Quartet (Alyssa Park, Shalini Yijayan, violins, Timothy Loo, cello, Luke Maurer, viola) is our marvelous and much-missed Los Angeles Philharmonic Conductor-Laureate, Esa-Pekka Salonen, on a return visit to our town. Salonen’s now London-based where he’s principal conductor of the Philharmonia Orchestra. His presence at a house party in Culver City proved ...

Cocktails, canapes & Esa-Pekka chitchat to benefit Hear Now Music Festival

Music
Can there be a more beautiful invitation [click on it for detail] than to hang around a cool Culver City designer home, with smart music lovers, just breathing in the exceptionally artistic vibe of our great Los Angeles Philharmonic conductor laureate, the composer Esa-Pekka Salonen? The event will benefit the Hear Now Music Festival, a ...

Jacaranda’s serious island-hopping season opener

Music
Renowned contemporary American composer Tobias Picker will narrate the West Coast premiere of his “The Encantadas,” a narrative with music inspired by Herman Melville’s novella of the same name, to open Jacaranda’s 2012-13 season. The Oct. 20 concert, dubbed “Different Islands,” will juxtapose Picker’s evocation of the unspoiled Galapagos Islands with Steve Reich’s “City Life,” ...