Robert D. Thomas/Class Act

NEWS AND LINK: Peter Boyer named Composer-in-Residence for Pasadena Symphony

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

The Pasadena Symphony has named Grammy-nominated composer Peter Boyer as
Composer-in-Residence for the 2012-2013 season and has commissioned the Altadena resident’s Symphony No. 1 to conclude the orchestra’s 85th season on April 27, 2013.

Boyer’s composition is being underwritten by contributions from Trustees of the Claremont Graduate University, where Boyer is professor of music. A newly formed PSO support group, the Fresh Ink Society, is raising funds hoping to record the symphony on the Naxos label following the performance, which Boyer will conduct.

One of Boyer’s numerous compositions, Ellis Island: The Dream of America, which was premiered in 2002, was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Classical Contemporary Composition. The work has been played more than 125 times by nearly 60 orchestras during the past decade.

MORE
___________

(c) Copyright 2012, Robert D. Thomas. All rights reserved. Portions may be quoted with attribution.

Five-Spot: What caught my eye on January 19, 2012

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 — there could have been others) that pique my interest, including — ideally — at least one with free admission (or, at a minimum, inexpensive tickets) . Here’s today’s grouping:
__________

• Tonight, tomorrow and Saturday at 8 p.m. at Walt Disney Concert Hall
Los Angeles Philharmonic: Gustavo Dudamel conducts Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 and Adagio from Symphony No. 10
The L.A. Phil’s “Mahler Project” kicks into high gear this weekend beginning with these two works. Symphony No. 1 was the first major piece that Dudamel conducted (at age 16). The Adagio from Symphony No. 10 is one of two Mahler symphonies for which these will be inaugural Dudamel traversals. A couple of things to note:
• Friday night is a “Casual Friday” concert, so only the first symphony will be performed. If the Phil follows its normal “CF” format, a musician will give a brief talk before the performance and a Q&A will follow; Dudamel customarily appears at the Q&A when he conducts, but considering his time commitment to the three-week long survey, no promises. Then there’s a reception in the downstairs where audience members can meet with the musicians.
• Gilbert Kaplan is giving the preconcert lecture, which will begin at 6:30 p.m. in the main hall. If you’ve never heard of Kaplan, a writeup is HERE. Although he’s more known for his advocacy of Symphony No. 2, I’m looking forward to hearing his insights on the first and 10th symphonies, as well.

Concert information: www.laphil.com

• Tomorrow and Friday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2:30 p.m. at Zipper Hall (The Colburn School, downtown Los Angeles)
James Conlon conducts “forgotten’ operas
For several years, James Conlon, music director of Los Angeles Opera, had led “Recovered Voices,” a series of operas written by composers whose lives and music were suppressed by the Nazi regime. He has a similar survey, “Breaking the Silence,” at Chicago’s Ravinia Festival (one of that city’s major summer music festivals).

This weekend, Conlon revives this concept locally when he conducts The Colburn Orchestra and singers from the Domingo-Thornton Young Artists in a double-bill: Viktor Ulman’s The Emperor of Atlantis (which has was conducted at LAO) and Ernst Krenek’s The Secret Kingdom, which is receiving its West Coast debut. Conlon will deliver a 45-minute lecture prior to each concert.

Because Zipper Hall has a very small seating capacity, tickets are extremely limited. Information: 213/621-1050; www.thecolburnschool.edu

• Saturday at 8 p.m. at Alex Theatre, Glendale
Sunday at 7 p.m. at Royce Hall, UCLA
Andrew Shulman conducts LACO; Nigel Armstrong is soloist
Andrew Shulman, principal cellist of both the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and Pasadena Symphony, makes his Los Angeles conducting debut leading a program of Mozart’s Symphony No. 29 and Violin Concerto No. 3 and Walton’s Sonata for Strings. Nigel Armstrong, a former student at The Colburn School who captured fourth place in last summer’s Tchaikovsky International Violin Competition, will be the concerto soloist. My story on Shulman is HERE — it includes links to my stories on Armstrong’s strong showing last summer. Information: www.laco.org

• Saturday at 8 p.m. at Royce Hall, UCLA
Kathleen Battle sings spirituals
The former opera diva now focuses exclusively on recitals and concerts and she appears on the “UCLA Live” series with something that ought to be right in her wheelhouse: Underground Railroad: An Evening of Spirituals. Pianist Cyrus Chestnut and the Albert McNeil Jubilee Singers are part of the show. Information: www.uclalive.org

• Sunday at 7:30 p.m. at Walt Disney Concert Hall
Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony
• Tuesday at 8 p.m. at Walt Disney Concert Hall
Mahler’s Symphony No. 3
The Simón Bolivár Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela moves into Walt Disney Concert Hall for its part in the L.A. Phil’s “Mahler Project.” On Sunday, Gustavo Dudamel leads the SBSOV, Los Angeles Master Chorale, and soloists Miah Persson, soprano, and Christianne Stotijn, mezzo-soprano in Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 (Resurrection). Dudamel comes back Tuesday night to lead Symphony No. 3, featuring the SBSOV, women of the L.A. Master Chorale, L.A. Children’s Chorus, and Stotijn

Two things to note:
• Gilbert Kaplan’s preconcert lecture Sunday begins at 6 p.m. in the main auditorium. On Tuesday, somewhat controversial author and commentator Norman Lebrecht lectures at 7 p.m. in BP Hall.
• Both works are long (90-100 minutes each) and will be presented without intermission.

Information:QQ Symphony No. 2: www.laphil.com
Symphony No. 3: www.laphil.com

And the weekend’s “free admission” program …

• Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Pasadena Presbyterian Church
Frances Nobert’s 75th Birthday Concert
A fixture on the Southland organ scene for decades, Nobert appears at PPC with a concert that includes her on the organ and as part of the Haarlem Keyboard Duo (Nobert on piano and Steve Gentile on organ). After intermission, Nobert will lead an alumni choir from Grant High School, where she taught for many years. There’s even an audience-participation part. Information: www.ppc.net
___________

(c) Copyright 2012, Robert D. Thomas. All rights reserved. Portions may be quoted with attribution.

Cleaning out the inbox, checking out other Blogs, etc.

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

Cleaning out the inbox with items that you may or may not have seen:

• Andrew Norman will become the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra’s Composer-in-Residence for a three-year term beginning in July. He will succeed Derek Bermel and become the eighth person to hold the LACO post, which includes funding for a new composition and an opportunity to work in various educational opportunities. Norman, 32, was raised in central California, studied at USC and Yale, and now lives in Brooklyn. A Los Angeles Times story is HERE.

• Los Angeles Opera has paid off half of the $14 million it borrowed from Bank of America in 2009 during a liquidity crisis while it was producing Wagner’s Ring cycle at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. The loan was guaranteed — not made — by Los Angeles County and the early repayment saves the company about $350,000 in interest charges.

• The financial crisis for arts organizations has apparently struck Trinity Church in New York City. Anne Midgette of the Washington Post has the story HERE. (Incidentally, it’s good to have Anne back on the “beat;” she was out on maternity leave.).

• You’ve undoubtedly heard about Alan Gilbert, music director of the New York Philharmonic, who stopped a recent performance of Mahler’s Symphony No. 9 because of a persistently ringing cell phone. Tim Smith in the Baltimore Sun has a followup on this story with threads back to the original story HERE.

• A new opening on Broadway is The Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, which has drawn greatly mixed reviews. You may remember this as the musical that was savaged by Stephen Sondheim in a letter to the New York Times last year (LINK). Martin Bernheimer’s review in London’s Financial Tines is HERE; predictably pulls no punches.

• I include this final story just because it’s so beautifully crafted and poignant (LINK). Daniel J. Wakin in The New York Times writes about what it’s like for a family to sell one of the world’s most famous cellos, the Countess of Stainlein, ex-Paganini of 1707, played for 54 years by Bernard Greenhouse, a founding member of the Beaux Arts Trio.

Perhaps the key paragraph is what follows:

“Through the optic of history, those in possession of these instruments are caretakers, not owners. For their players, the transfer to the next caretaker symbolizes the end of performing, the termination of an artistic prime, the memories of which reside in long-used instruments. “The violin is not only a friend,” said Aaron Rosand, 84, once a prominent soloist in the tradition of the great Romantics like Oistrakh, Milstein and Heifetz. “It’s something that you live with. Every day it becomes more dear to you. It’s almost like a living thing. You treat it carefully; you treat it gently. It talks to you,” he said. “You’re caressing your instrument all the time. Parting with an instrument that has become such a wonderful friend is just like losing a member of your family.”

I resonated to this story. My former wife was a concert pianist and I was with her when she bought her Baldwin piano. She spent most of a day trying out Steinways but never found one that made her sing. Late in the day, we went into the Baldwin showroom (she was age 17 at the time) and when she sat down at this Baldwin L, it was love at first sight, a love affair she never let go.

P.S. The comments are worth reading, as well.
___________

(c) Copyright 2012, Robert D. Thomas. All rights reserved. Portions may be quoted with attribution.

OVERNIGHT REVIEW: Pasadena Symphony at Ambassador Auditorium

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

Pasadena Symphony; David Lockington, conductor
Sawyers: The Gale of Life. Elgar. Cello Concerto in E Minor, Op. 85 (Andrew Shulman, soloist)
Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 3 in A Minor, Op. 56, (Scottish)
Saturday, January 14, 2012 • Ambassador Auditorium
Next concert: Feb. 18, 2012
Information: www.pasadenasymphony-pops.org
__________

There was a multiplicity of themes associated with the Pasadena Symphony concert yesterday afternoon at Ambassador Auditorium (which was repeated last night). The predominant theme was Britain: two of the three composers were English, the guest conductor (David Lockington) and cello soloist (Andrew Shulman) were born in England but now live in the U.S, and the concluding work on the program was Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 3 (Scottish).

Prior to the performance, Lockington — music director of the Grand Rapids and Modesto Symphonies — described the program’s theme as “Looking Back.” Mendelssohn, who began the symphony at age 21 and completed it 12 years later, was recalling a trip he made to Scotland as a teenager in 1829. Elgar, said Lockington, was looking back on the wreckage of World War I when he wrote his Cello Concerto in 1919 (the program note by Joseph and Elizabeth Kahn said, “It isn’t a requiem for the war dead, but rather for a lost way of life, the end of a civilization”). Even Sawyers’ piece, which was composed in 2008, uses as its text the poem On Wenlock Edge from the 1896 cycle A Shropshire Lad by A.E. Housman.

A third theme was friendship. Lockington and Shulman played cello together in the National Youth Orchestra of Britain more than 30 years ago, and Lockington and Sawyers are now friends. And a final theme was uniform excellence, as in the performances Lockington, Shulman and the orchestra delivered throughout the concert.

The program’s centerpiece — in placement, as well as in performance — was Elgar’s Cello Concerto. Shulman captured the work’s aching melancholy (the first three movements begin Adagio, Lento and Adagio) superbly with his silky tone and expressive musicality, while Lockington and the orchestra accompanied sensitively.

The opening work, The Gale of Life — a 10-minute concert overture that ends by alluding to the “Witches’ Sabbath” ending of Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique — received an exuberant reading from Lockington and the ensemble; they brought out sympathetically all of Sawyers’ musical metaphors of the windy cliffs of Wenlock’s Edge on the England coast.

Lockington’s concept of Mendelssohn’s Scottish Symphony was to imbue the reading with stately grandeur; call it “Mendelssohn a la Elgar.” The orchestra was in top-notch form, playing with impressive rhythmic precision in the second movement and displaying a lush sound from all sections — but particularly from the strings — throughout the performance.
___________

Hemidemisemiquavers:
• One other tie in the concert concerns Lockington and Paul Jan Zdunek, CEO of the Pasadena Symphony Association. Prior to coming to Pasadena, Zdunek held a similar position with the Modesto Symphony where one of his moves was to bring Lockington on board as that orchestra’s music director in 2007.
• With Shulman scheduled to conduct next weekend’s Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra concerts (Jan. 21 at the Alex Theater and Jan. 22 at UCLA’s Royce Hall), LACO and the PSO took the opportunity to do some cross-promotion by inserting a flyer with a 20% ticket discount for the LACO concerts. Smart move, IMHO. Shulman will lead LACO in Mozart’s Symphony No. 29 and Violin Concerto No. 3, along with Walton’s Sonata for Strings. A link to my article on Shulman and the PSO and LACO concerts is HERE.
• Emulating LACO’s “Sound Investment” commissioning program, the PSO has begun its “Fresh Ink Society,” which will commission and make possible the performance of the Symphony No. 1 by Peter Boyer as part of the opening concert on the PSO’s 2012-2013 season. One of Boyer’s numerous compositions, Ellis Island: The Dream of America, which was premiered in 2002, was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Classical Contemporary Composition. For more information on the “Fresh Ink Society” or to make a contribution, call 626/793-7172.
• Lockington’s “Looking Back” theme got me to recall the first time I heard Elgar’s Cello Concerto in concert, in 1975, when the great cellist Gregor Piatigorsky was scheduled as soloist in he concerto at a Los Angeles Philharmonic concert. Zubin Mehta was the conductor, I think it was opening night, and I believe the other work on the program was Mahler’s Symphony No. 5. Ronald Leonard had just been named the Phil’s Principal Cellist and when Piatigorsky had to cancel at the last minute, Leonard stepped in, which meant his first notes in his new position were the opening lines of the Cello Concerto (the soloist begins the piece). As I recall, Leonard played it beautifully, but I’ll always remember it more for his ability to rise to an unexpected challenge successfully.
___________

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

ALERT: Andrew Shulman and Pasadena Symphony at Ambassador Auditorium tonight

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

If you haven’t already bought tickets for something else tonight, consider attending the 8 p.m. performance of the Pasadena Symphony at Ambassador Auditorium. The centerpiece of a well-played program is Andrew Shulman’s superb performance of Elgar’s Cello Concerto — it’s definitely worth seeing! I’ll post a full review later.

Information: www.pasadenasymphony-pops.org
___________

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

OVERNIGHT REVIEW: Los Angeles Philharmonic opens "The Mahler Project" at Walt Disney Concert Hall

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

Los Angeles Philharmonic; Gustavo Dudamel, conductor
Mahler: Songs of a Wayfarer; Symphony No. 4
Friday, January 13, 2012 • Walt Disney Concert Hall
Next performances: Tonight at 8, tomorrow at 2 p.m. Preconcert lectures one hour before each concert.
Information: www.laphil.com
__________

The Los Angeles Philharmonic’s “Mahler Project,” which began last night at Walt Disney Concert Hall, will ooze grandiose power during the next 16 performances. Last night, however, Music Director Gustavo Dudamel reminded everyone that there’s another, more lyrical side to the Austrian composer/conductor, as well. One thing seems certain: if the quality of future performances match last night’s, it’s going to be a very special three-plus weeks in the City of the Angels.

Another interesting aspect of the “Project” is that — as is the case when you experience Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen as a cycle (i.e., four operas with the span of a week or so) — hearing all of Mahler’s symphonies plus a song cycle in close proximity to each other will help listeners link ties and themes (Wagner called them leitmotivs) from one piece to another.

Case in point was that song cycle — Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen (Songs of a Wayfarer), or Songs of a Wayfaring Journeyman, as preconcert lecturer Stephen Hefling titled it — which opened the proceedings last night. This was Mahler’s first mature work and many of its themes appear in later pieces. For example, themes from the second song (I Went Over the Field This Morning) and the melancholy “funeral march” of the final song, (The Two Blue Eyes of My Beloved) show up again in Symphony No. 1 (the funeral march was the first of many that Mahler would write).

The cycle’s four poems (Mahler wrote both the texts and music) are from a 23-year-old man experiencing his first passionate love (with a soprano named Johanna Richter) and they depict the wide range of emotions that would permeate all of Mahler’s later works. Baritone Thomas Hampson matched Mahler’s moods with his sensitive singing that was notable both for its shimmering quality and pathos. Dudamel and the orchestra accompanied sensitively.

Symphony No. 4 is the closest that Mahler came to a standard four-movement symphony format, although whether any work that begins with sleigh bells and concludes with a song that references asparagus, a slain ox and 11,000 martyred virgins can be called “standard” is, of course, open to question.

Dudamel — who as was the case with Songs of a Wayfarer, conducted Symphony No. 4 without a score — elicited a probing, urgent, scintillating performance from the Philharmonic. He stretched tempos, but not overly so. The restatement of the opening-movement theme was wonderfully majestic, and Principal Concertmaster Martin Chalifour’s solos on his “other” violin (in the second movement, Mahler called for a solo violin tuned higher than normal to simulate a country fiddler) were sparkling.

Dudamel was really in his element in the grand Adagio, building the section’s opening theme beginning with cellos and then adding violas, second violins and first violins, all while Principal Oboist Ariana Ghez and Principal Horn Andrew Bain were inserting exquisite solos. (It’s worth noting that Dudamel’s seating arrangement this season — with violas far right and all of the violins clustered on the left — really paid dividends in this movement.) The young Venezuelan (he turns age 32 in a couple of weeks) also kept dynamics in check so well that the big E-major chord really exploded off the stage.

Swedish soprano Miah Persson (who will also solo in the Jan. 22 performance of the Resurrection Symphony) came onstage before the third movement last night and sat quietly within the orchestra (in front of the winds). She then moved front and center for her fourth-movement poem, Heavenly Life, which she sang with opulent radiance. The ending was as wistfully quiet as I can remember hearing, an effect that will show up again to conclude the Ninth Symphony in early February. Between now and then, it sounds like we’re in for quite a ride.
___________

Hemidemisemiquavers:
• Hefling — professor of music at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland — delivered an excellent, albeit academic, lecture before the concert. Unfortunately, many of his projections were unreadable from the back of the room and the screen should have been higher (he kept highlighting things at the bottom of the images that couldn’t be seen through people’s heads). Nonetheless, it was an insightful lecture that had a real bonus: selections of Mahler playing portions of his songs via 1905 piano rolls.
• Considering that most of Mahler’s symphonies stretch more than 75 minutes in length, the Phil’s decision to insert an intermission between the 20-minute song cycle and the 59-minute symphony seemed a bit strange going in. However, aside from allowing the Phil to rack up bucks with booze sales, the decision also gave listeners a chance to savor the exquisite performance from Hampson and the Phil before tackling the symphony.
• The printed program, which covers all the “Mahler Project” concerts, lists the Adagio from Symphony No. 10 following Symphony No. 1 in next weekend’s concerts. That makes sense from a bookend point of view but how this will come off in performance will be one of the intriguing aspects of those concerts. Dudamel may not hold to what’s on the printed page — in previous seasons, he has occasionally reordered works after putting them into rehearsal.
• Take note: Friday is a “Casual Friday” concert, which means that the Adagio from Symphony No. 10 will not be played. Usually this format includes a musician talking before the performance, a Q&A (which often includes Dudamel), following the performance, and a reception with musicians in the downstairs café afterwards.
• Next week’s Mahler No. 1 preconcert lectures by Gilbert Kaplan (LINK) begins at 6:30 p.m. (90 minutes before the concert). The preconcert lecture by Kaplan in advance of Symphony No. 2 (Resurrection) will begin at 6 p.m. on Jan, 22. Both lectures will be in the main auditorium (not BP Hall) and can also be attended by those without concert tickets. Reserve ahead of time (323/850-2000 or via email to information@laphil.org with “Mahler Project RSVP” in the subject line) and plan on arriving at least 15 minutes before the lecture time.


___________

(c) Copyright 2012, Robert D. Thomas. All rights reserved. Portions may be quoted with attribution.

(Revised) Final thoughts heading into The Mahler Project

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

The Los Angeles Philharmonic’s “Mahler Project” begins tonight and continues through February 5 with both the LAPO and the Simón Bolivár Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela participating and Gustavo Dudamel (music director of both ensembles) conducting. I’ve written extensively about this project (see links below) but here are some final thoughts heading into the first concert:

•The Phil says that tickets are available for all concerts but best seating is for performances of Mahler's Third, Fifth and Seventh Symphonies, all with the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela during the time frame beginning Jan. 22. To check on student and senior rush availability throughout the cycle, call the box office (323/850-2000) after noon on the day of each performance.

• A friend — who has never heard Mahler before — asked me which concert would be best to attend. I told her that this weekend’s concerts would be a good bet: Symphony No. 4 is the shortest of the nine completed symphonies (about 55 minutes) and probably the most accessible for a non-Mahlerite. In addition, the concert includes the poignant Songs of a Wayfarer with baritone Thomas Hampson as soloist.

The first symphony (next weekend) also runs a little less than an hour but it’s a mite quirkier than the fourth. However, next weekend’s concerts also include the Adagio from Symphony No. 10 as a bonus.

My favorite Mahler is Symphony No. 3, but at 92 minutes (according to the Phil’s program note) it’s also the longest so be forewarned.

• It would be fun to plunge into the LAPO’s archives and unearth each symphony’s complete performance history with the orchestra. The Phil provides first-performance information in most (but not all) of its program notes but nothing more than that. Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and Boston Symphony are among the ensembles that provide complete performance histories.

In tonight’s concert: the Phil first performed Symphony No. 4 on Nov. 17, 1949, with Alfred Wallenstein conducting (apparently the only LAPO premiere performance of Mahler that he led). Erich Leinsdorf led the first LAPO performance of Songs of a Wayfarer on Aug. 6, 1953, presumably in Hollywood Bowl, with Carol Brice as soloist. Leinsdorf also led the Phil’s performance of Mahler’s Symphony No. 7 on March 6, 1958.

Zubin Mehta led three Mahler first performances with the Phil: No. 6 on Nov. 7, 1968, the Adagio from No. 10 on Oct. 25, 1973, and Symphony No. 8 on April 29, 1976 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion (as I recall, the latter was about a "Symphony of 334").

Mehta’s Mahler connection was significant throughout his LAPO career (he was music director from 1962-1978) . In the 1960s, the same era that Leonard Bernstein was spearheading a revival of Mahler’s music with the New York Philharmonic, Mehta was conducting many Mahler performances with the L.A. Phil. Although Hans Swarowsky, one of Mehta’s teachers, led the first LAPO performance of the third symphony on Feb. 18, 1965, I consider the third to be one of Mehta’s signature pieces and among the most stirring concerts I’ve ever attended. The third was also a major work for Esa-Pekka Salonen; he conducted it in Los Angeles and on tour with the Phil in Lucerne, Switzerland.

Other conductors who led LAPO Mahler premieres were:
-- Georg Schnéevoigt, who led the inaugural playing of Symphony No. 1 on March 1, 1928, midway through his two-year-tenure as the Phil’s second music director;
-- Otto Klemperer, the Phil’s fourth music director, conducted Symphony No. 2 Resurrection on May 24, 1935;
-- William Steinberg, music director of the Pittsburgh Symphony, led the first performance of Symphony No. 7 on March 7, 1963.
-- John Barbirolli led Symphony No. 9 on Nov. 13, 1969. Six years later, Carlo Maria Giulini conducted a spellbinding performance of the Ninth with the Phil at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.

• People will come from long distances to see concerts during the cycle, but surely one of the longest will be Ron, a 72-year-old Anchorage resident who, if there were a “Mahler Nuts” society, would surely be in line for the presidency. Ron — whose exposure to the LAPO is via the orchestra’s “LA Phil LIVE” movie telecasts — is coming (by plane to Seattle and train to Los Angeles) to see all of the symphonies, then training to Arizona, South Carolina, New York City (to see Aida at the Met), to Chicago (where he’ll catch the telecast of Symphony No. 8 from Caracas on Feb. 18), then back to Seattle (where he’s planning on seeing Seattle Opera’s performance of Gluck’s Orfeo et Euridice) before flying home. His schedule makes me tired reading it! Can’t wait to meet him.

• Links to two of my articles:
-- “Here Comes the Mahler Project” HERE
-- “Ten Things You May Not Know About the Mahler Project” HERE

• Mark Swed in the Los Angeles Times HERE

• The Phil’s “Mahler Project” Web site (with complete concert information) HERE
___________

(c) Copyright 2012, Robert D. Thomas. All rights reserved. Portions may be quoted with attribution.

Five-Spot: What caught my eye on January 12, 2012

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 pique my interest, including (ideally) at least one with free admission (or, at a minimum, inexpensive tickets). Here’s today’s grouping:
__________

• Tonight at 8 p.m. at Royce Hall (UCLA)
Paul Jacobs, organist
Despite being just 34, Paul Jacobs is one of America’s extraordinary organ talents, who came to international renown 11 years ago when he performed the complete organ works of J.S. Bach in an 18-hour non-stop marathon performance. Later he performed the complete organ works of Olivier Messiaen in nine-hour marathon concerts around the country. At age 26, he was named chairman of the organ department at The Juilliard School in New York City, one of the youngest faculty appointments in that school’s history.

There’s no Bach on this Royce Hall program, but the selections include music by Messiaen, Elgar, John Weaver and others.

Royce Hall’s E.M. Skinner organ was built in 1930. It was restored and rebuilt after being damaged in the 1994 Northridge earthquake. With 104 ranks and 6,600 pipes, it’s one of the larger instruments in Southern California.

Concert information: www.uclalive.org

• Tomorrow and Saturday at 8 p.m. Sunday at 2 p.m. at Walt Disney Concert Hall
Los Angeles Philharmonic: “The Mahler Project” begins
The Los Angeles Philharmonic begins its massive survey of all of Gustav Mahler’s symphonies as Gustavo Dudamel leads the orchestra in Mahler’s Symphony No. 4, with soprano Miah Persson as soloist, and Songs of a Wayfarer, featuring baritone Thomas Hampson. Links to my articles on the cycle are HERE and HERE. The Phil’s “Mahler Project” information site is HERE. Concert information: www.laphil.com

• Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. in Ambassador Auditorium (Pasadena)
Pasadena Symphony; David Lockington, conductor
The PSO resumes its 2011-12 season as David Lockington, music director of the Modesto and Grand Rapids Symphonies, become the latest in a string of PSO guest conductors. He leads a program with a British theme: The Gale of Life by British composer Philip Sawyers, Elgar’s Cello Concerto, with Andrew Shulman as soloist, and Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 3 (Scottish). In addition to the compositional British tone, Lockington and Shulman are English. A link to my preview story on this concert and next weekend’s L.A. Chamber Orchestra concerts (Shulman is conducting the LACO programs) is HERE. Concert information: www.pasadenasymphony-pops.org

Looking for a marketing edge, the PSO has joined forces with Breakthru Fitness to sponsor a Yoga class tomorrow at 6 p.m. (As the late, great British comedienne Anna Russell once famously said of Wagner’s Ring, “I’m not making this up, you know!”) Lockington, an avid practitioner of yoga, will offer a brief explanation on the influence yoga has made on his life and career as a symphonic conductor. He will also play the cello during the class. Space is extremely limited; contact Breakthru Fitness at 626/396-1700 to reserve a spot.

• Sunday at 5 p.m. at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion (Los Angeles)
Young Musician Foundation’s 57th annual Gala Concert
Usually a YMF concert would be in the “free admission” category, but this one is held yearly to raise funds for this important training program. Legendary film composer John Williams will lead the YMF Debut Orchestra in selections from The Adventures of Tintin and War Horse, the first concert performance of this music. Williams will conclude the program conducting music from E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial.

Michael Tilson Thomas, who was the YMF’s music director from 1963-67 while he was a student at USC, will return to conduct Ravel’s La Valse. Other pieces will be conducted by David Kaufman, Joey Newman and Teddy Abrams. Information: www.ymf.org

• Tuesday at 8 p.m. at Walt Disney Concert Hall
Steve Reich; Bang-on-a-Can All Stars; ref fish blue fish; percussionist David Cossin
Steve Reich, one of the greatest composers working today, brings a program to the Phil’s Green Umbrella series that includes the West Coast premiere of the double-rock quintet, 2 x 5, and concludes with one of Reich’s seminal works, Music for 18 Musicians. Information: www.laphil.com

And the weekend’s “free admission” program …

• Saturday at 8 p.m. at La Mirada Theater for the Performing Arts (La Mirada)
La Mirada Symphony; Robert Frelly, conductor
For the second concert of its 48th season, this community orchestra presents a Spanish-themed program with music by Fannin, Chabrier, Bizet, Turnia, and Rimsky-Korsakov. Guitarist Jeff Cogan will be the soloist in Rodrigo’s Fantasia para un Gentilhombre. Information: www.lamiradasymphony.com
___________

(c) Copyright 2012, Robert D. Thomas. All rights reserved. Portions may be quoted with attribution.

STORY AND LINK: Baritone Thomas Quasthoff retires at age 52

Norman Lebrecht is reporting on his Blog, Slipped Disc, that Thomas Quasthoff — one of the great baritones of our generation — has decided to give up singing at the age of 52 because of “persistent health reasons.” MORE

___________

(c) Copyright 2012, Robert D. Thomas. All rights reserved. Portions may be quoted with attribution.

LINKS: One recital, four reviews

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

Whether or not you attend a concert, reading reviews of a performance can be (a) revelatory, (b) fascinating, (c) a waste of time, (d) all of the above or (e) none of the above. Saturday night, Italian pianist Marino Formenti played a recital at Segerstrom Hall in Costa Mesa. I didn’t attend, but I loved the reading the reviews, not only for their differences in opinions about what transpired but also for their writing styles:
• Brian in Out West Arts
• Mark Swed in the Los Angeles Times
• CK Dexter Haven in All is Yar (who describes himself modestly: “I have unsuspected depth, so I thought I'd share some of it with the world.”)
• Timothy Mangan in the Orange County Register (via his Blog, Classical Life), who earns the best-line award for, “If one wanted to make the case that Beethoven was a jerk, the “Diabelli” Variations could be Exhibit A.” (P.S. Read the comments following Tim's review.) Tim’s newspaper mostly stashes him away writing celebrity (?) stories, although as long as Lindsay Lohan is around he apparently will never run out of material.

Good stuff, guys! And the next time when you, dear reader, wonder if you and you favorite (?) critic attended the same performance, remember the above reviews.
___________

(c) Copyright 2012, Robert D. Thomas. All rights reserved. Portions may be quoted with attribution.