I've been working on my click-bait headlines. How am I doing, UpWorthIt? Okay, emotional manipulation aside, there are many ways you could spend $31. You could buy this crow bar...this Himalayan Salt Lamp which is also an air-purifier (huh?)...two of these Runny Nose Shower Gel Dispensers, one for your shower and another for the kids' … Continue reading I just spent 31 of your hard-earned dollars and you will thank me for it later
Come Inside: The LA Phil’s 2014 Throws A Giant Welcome Mat At Disney Hall’s Doorstep
In the LA Times this morning, LA Philharmonic president and CEO Deborah Borda said, “We've got the youngest audience in America, but it's got to get younger.” The LA Phil’s new 2014-15 season—just announced today—is a concerted and concrete effort to that end. Recently, the orchestra has conducted research that has shown that cultural consumers who have not purchased LA Phil … Continue reading Come Inside: The LA Phil’s 2014 Throws A Giant Welcome Mat At Disney Hall’s Doorstep
Dude Looks Like He Likes Pianists
For a violinist who wanted to be a trombone player, Gustavo Dudamel sure does love his superstar pianists. Awhile back, I crunched the numbers on the LA Philharmonic's 2013-14 season (in terms of musical eras represented). I didn't catch it at the time, but today while perusing the upcoming season once again, I kept running … Continue reading Dude Looks Like He Likes Pianists
About the other night…
This is not a review of Gustavo Dudamel and LA Phil's performance of Verdi's Requiem at the Hollywood Bowl last Thursday night. Just a few thoughts about my experience: When the summer season was released, I was skeptical of hearing Verdi's Requiem at the Hollywood Bowl. When I arrived at the Bowl Thursday evening, I … Continue reading About the other night…
Departures from The Rite
On the 100th anniversary of what Leonard Bernstein called the most important piece of music in the 20th century, here are a few of my favorite adaptations of Igor Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring.
Remixing the Rite
It’s not every day that electronic music DJs dabble in the classical music realm…but often, when they do, the results are less than thrilling. Okay…Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross won an Oscar for that last one—a remix of In the Hall of the Mountain King, from Edvard Grieg’s Peer Gynt. "There's this increasing wave in … Continue reading Remixing the Rite
Arrested Development & Recapitulation
First of all, credit where credit is due: my puntastic colleague at KUSC, @JamiePaisley, created this, and many other, TV ad posters during our recent pledge drive. As a rabid fan of Arrested Development, this one was my favorite. And it got me thinking: what if the cast of AD were made up of classical … Continue reading Arrested Development & Recapitulation
Pulitzer Partita
Yesterday, composer Caroline Shaw won the Pulitzer Prize for Music for her a cappella composition Partita for 8 Voices. At age 30, she is the youngest winner in the prize's history. The jury described Shaw's composition as "a highly polished and inventive a cappella work uniquely embracing speech, whispers, sighs, murmurs, wordless melodies and novel vocal … Continue reading Pulitzer Partita
Orchestra Musician: It’s Not a Cush Job
A couple of days ago, an article appeared in Bloomberg that was so misinformed, so short-sighted, so petty, so ignorant, and so utterly ridiculous that to let it go unchallenged would be irresponsible. The article came from Manuela Hoelterhoff, the Pulitzer Prize-winning executive editor for Bloomberg Muse and author of Cinderella & Company: Backstage at … Continue reading Orchestra Musician: It’s Not a Cush Job
Peter Sellars on the Threat of Cultural Impositionalism
On the flight to London last week, Air New Zealand had loaded up a bunch of James Bond movies on the monitors in our seats. An appropriate gesture, I think, to get us in the mood for our final destination. Naturally, I got sucked in. I watched 007 besting bad guys all the way from … Continue reading Peter Sellars on the Threat of Cultural Impositionalism
Brian Lauritzen 