Five-Spot: What caught my eye on January 26, 2012

By Robert D. Thomas
Music Critic
Pasadena Star-News/San Gabriel Valley Tribune/Whittier Daily News
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Each Thursday morning, I list five events that pique my interest, including (ideally) at least one with free admission (or, at a minimum, inexpensive tickets). Here’s today’s grouping:
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• Tonight at 8 p.m. at Walt Disney Concert Hall
Simón Bolivár Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela; Gustavo Dudamel, conductor
Mahler: Symphony No. 5
This was one of the works with which Gustavo Dudamel introduced Los Angeles to this dynamic orchestra in 2007. Thus, part of the intrigue will be to see what changes have occurred in Dudamel’s interpretation and in the orchestra’s playing. The Bolivárs conclude their individual portion of the cycle on Tuesday with Symphony No. 7 Information: www.laphil.com

• Tonight at 8 p.m. at Zipper Hall (The Colburn School)
Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra’s Baroque Conversations
LACO begins its season of baroque chamber-music programs when Principal Oboist Alan Vogel leads five of his colleagues and soprano Elissa Johnston in a program of music by J.S. Bach and Heinrich Ignaz Franz Bieber. Information: www.laco.org

• Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., Sunday at 2 p.m.
Los Angeles Philharmonic; Gustavo Dudamel, conductor
Mahler: Symphony No. 6
The Phil swings back into action with what is perhaps the darkest of Mahler’s symphonies. Information: www.laphil.com

• Saturday at 8 p.m. at AT&T Center Theatre, Los Angeles
Sunday at 3 p.m., First Presbyterian Church, Santa Monica
Musica Angelica: Pergolesi/Bach: Stabat Mater
Although Giovanni Pergolesi set a version of Stabat Mater, the work is at least as well known through its German edition when J.S. Bach put different German text atop Pergolesi’s music (composers during that time were freer about “borrowing” music both from themselves and others). Martin Hasselböck will lead his top-notch period-instrument ensemble along with soloists Dame Emma Kirkby, soprano, and countertenor Daniel Taylor. Sacred arias by Bach and Handel will fill out the program.

The Saturday performance will be the group’s first time in the AT&T Center Theater in downtown Los Angeles. Old-timers will recognize this as the old Transamerica Life headquarters. Radio station KUSC 95.1 FM recently moved to the AT&T Center. Originally used as a conference hall, the performing space reportedly has been acoustically retrofitted by KUSC to accommodate small- and medium-size musical groups.

Information: www.musicaangelica.org

• Sunday at 4 p.m. at Neighborhood Church, Pasadena
Pacific Serenades
For more than a quarter-century, Pacific Serenades has been known for (a) beginning its season after the New Year holiday and (b) commissioning new works. The inaugural concert of its 2012 season will feature its 103rd commissioned work: the world premiere of Different Lanes for string quartet and iPad by Los Angeles native and Emmy-award winning composer Laura Karpman (the title refers to five L.A. freeways) The program will also include Beethoven’s String Quartet in D Major, Op. 18, No. 3, and Ravel’s Sonata for Violin and Cello (2001).

• Information: www.pacser.org

And the weekend’s “free admission” program …

• Friday at 8 p.m. at First Church of the Nazarene, Pasadena
Pasadena Community Orchestra; Alan Reinecke, conductor
PCO opens its 28th season with a program of Smetna’s Sarka (from Ma Vlast), Mozart’s Symphony No. 39, and Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 2, with Joyce Pan as soloist. Pan is a member of the orchestra’s violin section; in her “other” life, she’s a technical director for Dreamworks Animation. Information: www.pcomusic.org

• OPERA NOTES
Both Long Beach Opera and San Diego Opera open their seasons this weekend. Long Beach presents Maria de Buenos Aires by Astor Pizzola and Horacio Ferrer on Sunday at 2 p.m. and Feb. 4 at 8 p.m. at The Warner Grand Theatre in San Pedro. Information: www.longbeachopera.org

San Diego Opera begins with Richard Strauss’ Salome, which opens Saturday at 7 p.m. and also plays Tuesday at 7 p.m., Feb. 3 at 8 p.m. and Feb. 5 at 2 p.m. Lise Lindstrom sings the title role. Information: www.sdopera.com
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(c) Copyright 2012, Robert D. Thomas. All rights reserved. Portions may be quoted with attribution.