Robert D. Thomas/Class Act

Five-Spot: What caught my eye on April 28, 2011

By Robert D. Thomas
Music Critic
Pasadena Star-News/San Gabriel Valley Tribune/Whittier Daily News
__________

Each Thursday morning, I list five events (this week it’s just four — I'm on vacation) that peak my interest, including (ideally) at least one with free admission (or, at a minimum, inexpensive tickets).

Here’s today’s grouping:
__________

• Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. Sunday at 2 p.m. at Walt Disney Concert Hall
Los Angeles Philharmonic; David Afkham, conductor, Peter Stumpf, cello
These concerts just got a lot more interesting, IMHO. Originally, the conductor was to have been the 50-year-old Dutch maestro Jaap van Zweden, who was relatively unknown when he was named music director of the Dallas Symphony three years ago. However, van Zweden cancelled this week due to illness and in his place will be 28-year-old David Afkham, who is one of four Dudamel Conducting Fellows this season. The German-born Afkham isn’t a neophyte; he is currently assistant conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra.

Two-thirds of the program remains as originally scheduled: Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5, and Prokofiev’s Sinfonia Concertante, with the orchestra’s principal cellist, Peter Stumpf, as soloist. The program will now begin with Beethoven’s Coriolan Overture. INFO: www.laphil.com

• Saturday at 8 p.m. at The Broad Stage (Santa Monica) and Sunday at 3 p.m. at the Valley Performing Arts Center (Cal State Northridge)
The Colburn Orchestra, Yehuda Gilad, conductor; Paul Coletti, violist
The principal large-scale ensemble of The Colburn School concludes its 2010-2011 season with the West Coast premiere of Los Angeles composer Paul Chihara’s Viola Concerto (When Soft Voices Die), Dvorak’s Symphony No. 8 and Brahms’ Tragic Overture. The Sunday afternoon concerts offers a second chance (after last week’s China Philharmonic performance) to hear the new CSUN performing facility. INFO: www.colburnschool.edu

• Sunday at 4 p.m. at Neighborhood Church, Pasadena
Pacific Serenades
This intrepid chamber-music ensemble presents the 101st world premiere in its 25-year history: Eric Charnofsky’s piano quintet, 5x5, with the composer playing the piano part and joined by Roger Wilkie and Miwako Watanabe, violin; David Walther, viola; and David Speltz, cello. The program also includes Mozart’s Piano Trio in B-flat Major, K. 502, with Edith Orloff as pianist. This program also plays Saturday at 4 p.m. at a private home in Los Angeles and next Tuesday at 8 p.m. at the UCLA Faculty Center in Westwood. INFO; www.pacser.org

And the weekend’s “free admission” program this week …

• Today at 8 p.m., Saturday at 1:30 p.m. at Bridges Hall of Music, Pomona College
Pomona College Glee Club; Donna M. Di Graza, conductor
This 23-member ensemble will sing selections from the 16th century to the present, including music by Byrd, Palestrina, Duruflé, Vaughan Williams and others. INFO: www.pomona,edu
___________

(c) Copyright 2011, Robert D. Thomas. All rights reserved. Portions may be quoted with attribution.

NEWS AND LINKS: Composer Peter Lieberson dies at age 64

By Robert D. Thomas
Music Critic
Pasadena Star-News/San Gabriel Valley Tribune/Whittier Daily News

American composer Peter Lieberson, whose 2005 work Neruda Songs was one of the finest pieces of the last 20 years, died on Saturday at age 64 from complications from lymphoma, according to the New York Times. Neruda Songs —with texts from five poems by Chilean poet Pablo Neruda — was written for the composer’s wife, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson. She sang the premiere with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, under the baton of Esa-Pekka Salonen, in May 2005 at Walt Disney Concert Hall. She followed that up with performances with the Boston Symphony in the spring of 2006, just months before died on July 3 of that year (at about the same time that Peter Lieberson was diagnosed with cancer).

When the L.A. Phil played Neruda Songs again last year with Gustavo Dudamel conducting and Kelley O’Connor as the mezzo-soprano soloist, I wrote: “Peter Lieberson wrote the five love poems by Chilean poet Pablo Neruda specifically for his wife. It shows a lot of chutzpah for mezzo-soprano Kelley O’Connor to sing them now, but she did so with ravishing beauty and pathos, catching the flavor of each poem exquisitely. Her rendition of the final poem, My love, if I die and you don’t — brought tears to more than a few people (including, I suspect, to the composer who was in the audience and came onstage for a well-deserved ovation).

“One of the things that makes Neruda Songs, special,” I added, “is that Lieberson interspersed lush, romantic orchestral moments with delicate, softer sections (the latter mostly when O’Connor sang). Dudamel managed the balances expertly, caressing the long lines with ardor, and the orchestra played elegantly throughout. It was, in a word, stunning.

• Zachary Woolfe’s obituary in the New York Times is HERE.
• Alex Ross has a touching remembrance on his Blog, The Rest is Noise, HERE.
___________

(c) Copyright 2011, Robert D. Thomas. All rights reserved. Portions may be quoted with attribution.

Five-Spot: What caught my eye on April 21, 2011

By Robert D. Thomas
Music Critic
Pasadena Star-News/San Gabriel Valley Tribune/Whittier Daily News
__________

Each Thursday morning, I list five events (including one next Tuesday) that peak my interest, including (ideally) at least one with free admission. Here’s today’s grouping:
__________

Thursday and Saturday at 8 p.m. Friday at 11 a.m. at Walt Disney Concert Hall
Los Angeles Philharmonic; Juraj Valcuha, conductor, Yefim Bronfman, piano
Slovakian conductor Juraj Valcuha, chief conductor of the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI in Turin, will make his Disney Hall debut with this program, which includes Tchaikovsky’s rarely heard Symphony No. 1 (Winterdreams) and Bronfman as soloist in Brahms Piano Concerto No. 2. BTW: I find Friday morning to be a delightful time for a concert. INFO: www.laphil.com

Saturday at 1 p.m. in local movie theatres
Metropolitan Opera’s “Live in HD:” Richard Strauss’ Capriccio
Renée Fleming stars in this production that seems (if you believe Anthony Tommasini in the New York Times — LINK ) to have designed specifically for her. Andrew Davis, music director of Chicago’s Lyric Opera, conducts. The prices (around $25) and the theatre ambience make this a great way to see opera, especially if you’re new to the genre. INFO: www.metopera.org

Saturday at 8 p.m. at California Theatre, San Bernardino
San Bernardino Symphony; Carlo Ponti, conductor; Marek Spiazewicz, cello
In their final concert of the season, Ponti (the son of film director Carlo Ponti and actress Sophis Loren) leads the orchestra with a program in the key of D major: Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 and Haydn’s Cello Concerto No. 2, with Spiazewicz as soloist. INFO: www.sanbernardinosymphony.org

Tuesday at 8 p.m. at Walt Disney Concert Hall
L.A. Philharmonic Chamber Music Society
The program includes a complete performance of Stravinsky’s Histoire du Soldat (The Soldier’s Tale), which — in the Phil’s words — “is a cautionary fable about the devil, a soldier, and a fiddle,” written for seven instruments. It will be preceded by Shostakovich’s Piano Trio No. 1, Op. 8. INFO: www.laphil.com

And the weekend’s “free admission” programs …

Friday at 7:30 p.m., Pasadena Presbyterian Church
The Kirk Choir, Pasadena Singers, soloists and Friends of Music Orchestra; Dr. Timothy Howard, conductor
Even if I wasn’t singing in all segments of the program and giving a preconcert lecture at 7 p.m., I would recommend this concert, but you can — as the late, great Molly Ivins was wont to say — take my suggestion with a grain of salt or a pound of salt. In this 14th annual Good Friday Devotional Concert, the featured works are Fauré’s Requiem and Poulenc’s Quatre motets pour un temps de pénitence (Four Lenten Motets). The Kirk Choir is augmented by about 25 singers from the community who rehearse specifically each spring for this performance. Free admission (a freewill offering will be received). INFO: www.ppc.net
___________

(c) Copyright 2011, Robert D. Thomas. All rights reserved. Portions may be quoted with attribution.

OVERNIGHT REVIEW: L.A. Chamber Orchestra at Alex Theatre

By Robert D. Thomas
Music Critic
Pasadena Star-News/San Gabriel Valley Tribune/Whittier Daily News
__________

Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra; Jeffrey Kahane, conductor; John Kimura Parker, piano
John Harbison: Gil accordi più usati (The Most Often Used Chords), Op. 22;
Dvorak: Serenade in E major for Strings; Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat major, Op. 73, (Emperor)
Saturday, April 16, 2011 • Alex Theatre
Next performance: Tonight at 7 p.m., Royce Hall (UCLA)
Information: www.laco.org
__________

What a treasure the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra is! Year after year, concert after concert, the ensemble — now in its 42nd season — consistently delivers satisfying, interesting programs in which Music Director Jeffrey Kahane — now in his 14th season with the ensemble — often finds ways to mix new music with old.

Consider, for example, last night at the Alex Theatre (to be repeated tonight in Royce Hall). The concert opened with Kahane conducting John Harbison’s Gil accordi più usati (The Most Often Used Chords) and it concluded with Beethoven’s Emperor Piano Concerto, because, as Kahane remarked, Beethoven found a way to write a remarkable piece consisting mainly of chords and arpeggios, not dissimilar in concept to Harbison’s 18-minute piece, which was a LACO commission in 1993.

Christof Perick was the music director who commissioned Harbison to write The Most Often Used Chords six years after the composer won a Pulitzer Prize for his oratorio, The Flight into Egypt, but last night Kahane seemed to make the piece completely his own.

The title comes from a printed chart of often-used chords that Harbison found in a notebook on a trip to Italy. The first three movements refer to Baroque musical forms: a spunky Toccata, followed by a haunting Varizoni, and a Ciaconna that ends with the harp fading away wistfully. A sassy Finale concludes the piece; the orchestra played it all sensitively with rhythmic precision.

While the Harbison piece was receiving just its second LACO hearing last night, Dvorak’s Serenade in E Major for strings was being played for the eighth time in the orchestra’s history (the first airing was in 1970 when Sir Neville Marriner programmed it during the orchestra’s inaugural season). Last night, the interplay between the various string sections and the lean tone from the celli and basses helped to make this a memorable performance. Kahane alternated between using a baton for the rhythmic inner sections and sculpting the lyrical outer movements with his hands.

The last time Kahane and LACO tackled Beethoven’s Emperor, he led the concerto from the keyboard in 2003 at Hollywood Bowl during a week where he and the orchestra played all five Beethoven concertos.

Last night, Kahane was content to concentrate solely on conducting and Canadian pianist Jon Kimura Parker (who towers over Kahane physically) was the soloist. I found Parker, who won the 1984 Leeds International Piano Competition, to be a perplexing soloist. He was ultra-muscular in the many powerful sections of this majestic concerto but in the introspective measures he seemed to focus almost exclusively on playing precise, almost brittle notes in his runs and trills. Most of the audience loved it; I found it to be like watching an ice sculpture. By contrast, the accompaniment from Kahane the orchestra had all the sensitivity that Parker’s playing lacked. To me, it made for a curious combination.

In response to the thunderous ovation, Parker offered his best pile-driver imitation as he flew through the finale to Beethoven’s Appassionata Sonata. He and Kahane concluded the evening with a boisterous four-hand rendition of George Gershwin’s I Got Rhythm.
___________

Hemidemisemiquavers:
• Before the first piece, Kahane announced that the Philadelphia Orchestra apparently is planning on declaring bankruptcy (LINK) and noted “how fragile orchestras are.” He then got a big laugh when he noted wryly, “Remember that as you consider your subscription renewal for next season.”
• Using the work “bankruptcy” in this regard is somewhat misleading to the unknowing patron. Unlike Border’s, for example, which is closing hundreds of stores, the Philadelphia Orchestra does not plan any changes to its current or upcoming season. However, Kahane’s point about the fragility of classical music organizations remains valid, as LACO well knows from its own history, which nearly included a trip to bankruptcy court in the 1990s.
• The orchestra’s double bass section included Mary Reed, a 22-year-old Master’s candidate at the USC Thornton School of Music, who won a competition for the right to play with the orchestra last night and tonight. She was one of nine nominees who auditioned last fall in a new mentorship program between LACO and the school.
• If you thought you recognized the Dvorak Serenade, it might be because the main theme from the first and last movement was played during a Theresienstadt sequence in the television miniseries War and Remembrance, based on the novel by Herman Wouk.
• Kudos to Parker for announcing his encores clearly (and humorously) before playing. Not everyone in the audience would have known what they were.
___________

(c) Copyright 2011, Robert D. Thomas. All rights reserved. Portions may be quoted with attribution.

AROUND TOWN/MUSIC: New CD boxed set honors acclaimed conductor

By Robert D. Thomas
Music Critic
Pasadena Star-News/San Gabriel Valley Tribune/Whittier Daily News
This article was first published today in the above papers.

Less than a month before what would have been his 97th birthday, conductor Carlo Maria Giulini is being honored by EMI Classics with a boxed set of four compact discs entitled “The Chicago Recordings.” Last year, DeutscheGrammaphon released a multi-disc set of Giulini’s recordings made when he was music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic (LINK).

This EMI set offers clues as to what made Giulini’s Los Angeles tenure so memorable and — even though most of recordings have been available previously — at less than $20 it’s one of the great bargains in recent classical music recording history.

Although Giulini’s reputation in Europe was growing both in the opera house and on the symphony stage, he made his first appearance in the United States at the age of 41 with the Chicago Symphony in 1955 at the invitation of the CSO’s “feared but revered” music director Fritz Reiner (that description comes from a long essay written in 2004 by John Tolansky included in the booklet accompanying this new boxed set, a bonus for buyers).

Guilini maintained his CSO relationship until he was lured west in 1978 by Ernest Fleischmann, the L.A. Philharmonic’s executive director (later executive vice president and managing director). It was one of Fleischmann’s great coups to convince Giulini to come to Los Angeles, a move that ultimately proved to be satisfying for Giulini and a major step forward for the Phil.

However, Giulini never lost his love affair for the Chicagoans. “It was a deep love and friendship,” explained Giulini in 1980, “something that belongs to my body, my soul and my blood.” Moreover, it was definitely a two-way street, as Tolansky reports. “In five minutes,” said Victor Aitay, former CSO concertmaster, “he had an orchestra that loved him … From then onwards, it was a long-time love affair with him.” Those were sentiments later echoed by L.A. Phil members, as well.

The set includes symphonies by Beethoven (No. 7), Bruckner (No. 9), Brahms (No. 4) and Mahler (No. 1), along with Stravinsky’s 1919 Firebird suite and his 1947 Petrushka suite, and Berlioz’s Romeo et Juliette dramatic symphony. The discs are crammed full, so the Berlioz is on both the first and second disc while the first movement of Brahms’ Symphony No. 4 is on disc 3 and the other three movements are on disc 4.

Altogether, there’s more than five hours of music in the set, all of which was recorded in Chicago’s Medinah Temple (a better recording venue than its home, Orchestra Hall). The recordings date from 1969-1976, a period during part of which Guilini held the title as principal guest conductor (Sir Georg Solti was music director at the time).

Two of the more intriguing recordings are Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 and Bruckner’s Symphony No. 9 because Giulini waited until later in his career before conducting the music of either composer (Guilini was notorious for his very limited repertory; he conducted only those composers with whom he could feel an intense emotional connection).

His tempos in nearly everything are luxuriant; it is startling for those who never heard Giulini to compare his tempo of the final movement of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 with that of the L.A. Phil’s current music director, Gustavo Dudamel.

Moreover, even though these discs use recordings from a different time than the current digital era, the famed Chicago brass sound, the overall sheen of the orchestra and Guilini’s mystical presence are present throughout each of the works. For those who had the pleasure of hearing and seeing Giulini conduct or for those who wonder what why he was so revered, this is a fine sampling.
___________

(c) Copyright 2011, Robert D. Thomas. All rights reserved. Portions may be quoted with attribution.

NEWS AND LINK: Philadelphia Orchestra on the brink of bankruptcy filing

By Robert D. Thomas
Music Critic
Pasadena Star-News/San Gabriel Valley Tribune/Whittier Daily News

The Philadelphia Orchestra, one of the world’s legendary ensembles, will apparently become the latest orchestra to file for bankruptcy, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer Web site and other sources. The site is reporting that paperwork will be filed later today or next week.
 
The Philadelphians would be the largest and most important orchestra to go down this avenue. Currently, The Louisville Orchestra holds that dubious honor.

The Philadelphia Orchestra decision is not expected to cause an interruption in the orchestra’s current season and, according to the story, the orchestra is apparently moving forward with a major fund-raising effort. The orchestra’s endowment has a current estimate value of $140 million and, while that is down from its high mark, it is sure to be a point of contention in the ongoing process.
 
While the decision by the orchestra’s board comes after years of financial losses, the board is apparently hoping for relief from its contracts and ongoing pension obligations for its musicians and from other contractual obligations, including its rental relationship with the Kimmel Center, which houses its home auditorium Verizon Hall.

Read the complete story HERE.
___________

(c) Copyright 2011, Robert D. Thomas. All rights reserved. Portions may be quoted with attribution.

NEWS AND LINK: Philadelphia Orchestra on the brink of bankruptcy filing

By Robert D. Thomas
Music Critic
Pasadena Star-News/San Gabriel Valley Tribune/Whittier Daily News

The Philadelphia Orchestra, one of the world’s legendary ensembles, will apparently become the latest orchestra to file for bankruptcy, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer Web site and other sources. The site is reporting that paperwork will be filed later today or next week.
 
The Philadelphians would be the largest and most important orchestra to go down this avenue. Currently, The Louisville Orchestra holds that dubious honor.

The Philadelphia Orchestra decision is not expected to cause an interruption in the orchestra’s current season and, according to the story, the orchestra is apparently moving forward with a major fund-raising effort. The orchestra’s endowment has a current estimate value of $140 million and, while that is down from its high mark, it is sure to be a point of contention in the ongoing process.
 
While the decision by the orchestra’s board comes after years of financial losses, the board is apparently hoping for relief from its contracts and ongoing pension obligations for its musicians and from other contractual obligations, including its rental relationship with the Kimmel Center, which houses its home auditorium Verizon Hall.

Read the complete story HERE.
___________

(c) Copyright 2011, Robert D. Thomas. All rights reserved. Portions may be quoted with attribution.

LINKS: A boy and his new violin

Those of us who frequent Los Angeles Philharmonic concerts have sort of grown up with Spencer Mangan, the now-12-year-old son of Orange County Register Music Critic Timothy Mangan. Turns out that Spence is quite the young violinist, and his dad has regaled us with his delightful story of buying his son his first full-size violin … and quite an instrument (and story) it is. (NOTE: I posted a comment after Part II).
Part I
Part II
Part III

Five-Spot: What caught my eye on March 14, 2011

By Robert D. Thomas
Music Critic
Pasadena Star-News/San Gabriel Valley Tribune/Whittier Daily News
__________

Each Thursday morning, I list five events (six this week) that peak my interest, including (ideally) at least one with free admission — this week there are two. Here’s today’s grouping:
__________

• Saturday at 8 p.m. at Valley Performing Arts Center, Northridge
China Philharmonic; Long Yu, conductor, Renaud Capuçon, violin
The Southland’s newest concert hall, located on the campus of Cal State Northridge, gets its first major classical music program with this performance. Yu conducts music by Berlioz, Puccini, Borodin and Ravel; Capuçon will be soloist in Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1. INFO: www.valleyperformingartscenter.org. The same program is presented Friday night at Segerstrom Concert Hall in Costa Mesa. INFO: www.philharmonicsociety.org

• Saturday at 8 p.m. at Alex Theater, Glendale, Sunday at 7 p.m. at Royce Hall, UCLA
Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra; Jeffrey Kahane conductor, Jon Kimura Parker, piano
The program includes John Harbison’s Gil piú usati, Dvorak’s Serenade in E Major for Strings, and Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5 (Emperor). The Harbison piece was premiered by LACO in 1993. Parker (who was born on Christmas Day 1959 in Vancouver) won the 1984 Leeds International Pianoforte Competition and has gone on to an international career. INFO: www.laco.org

• Sunday at 4 p.m., Neighborhood Church, Pasadena
Pasadena Pro Musica; Stephen Grimm, conductor
In this Palm Sunday/Passion Sunday program at the beginning of what Christians call “Holy Week,” PPM presents Dietrich Buxtehude’s seven-movement work Membra Jesu Nostri, along with Grimm’s own Christus Factus Est and William Cornyshe’s Woefully Arrayed. INFO: www.pasadenapromusica.org

• Sunday at 5:30 p.m. at Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, Costa Mesa
Pacific Chorale, John Alexander Singers, Pacific Symphony; John Alexander, conductor, Lori Loftus, organ
John Alexander conducts his forces in the Southern California premiere of David Lang's The Little Match Girl Passion, which won the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for music and also won a Grammy Award. The piece, based on a Hans Christian Anderson story and Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, will be paired with Fauré’s Requiem. INFO: www.pacificchorale.org

And the weekend’s “free admission” programs …

Friday at 1 p.m., Walt Disney Concert Hall
Los Angeles Master Chorale’s 22nd High School Choir Festival
LAMC Music Director Grant Gershon leads a 900-voice massed choir of students from 24 Southland high schools and an 80-voice Festival Honor Choir also comprised of students from those schools. In addition to hearing some terrific singing led by one of America’s premiere choral conductors, it’s a great way to experience the magnificent acoustics of Disney Hall for free. A preconcert by the Master Chorale’s Chamber Singers, led by Assistant Conductor Leslie Leighton, will begin at 11 a.m. Tickets for each event must be arranged ahead of time. INFO: 213/972-7282; www.lamc.org

Sunday at 3:30 p.m., Occidental College, Eagle Rock
Occidental College Chorus and Glee Club; Desiree La Vertu, conductor
The program, performed in the college’s distinctive Herrick Chapel, features music by Bruckner, Mozart, Lauridsen and Victoria, songs from Latin America, gospel selections and popular favorites. INFO: www.oxy.edu
___________

(c) Copyright 2011, Robert D. Thomas. All rights reserved. Portions may be quoted with attribution.

NEWS: Ravi Shankar postpones April 19 concert to Sept. 29

Sitarist and composer Ravi Shankar, who was scheduled to perform at Walt Disney Concert Hall on April 19, has postponed his appearance until Sept. 29.

In a statement, Shankar writes: “It is with deep regret that I have asked the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association to postpone my concert scheduled for April 19. As you know, this upcoming concert was already re-scheduled from October 20 for reasons of my health. Now I have asked that it be re-scheduled again. This time, the reason is due to visa complications with a trusted member of my ensemble. To give you the best possible performance, I feel the only option is to postpone our concert.”

Tickets for either date (April 19 or Oct. 20) will be valid for entry on Sept. 29.

The concert is still being billed on the Phil’s Web site as a “90th birthday celebration), although the April date was 13 days after Shankar’s 91st birthday. The new date comes two after the Phil’s 2011-2012 gala opening concert and the day before the orchestra’s first subscription concert.

Info and questions: 323/850-2000
___________

(c) Copyright 2011, Robert D. Thomas. All rights reserved. Portions may be quoted with attribution.