I read the news this year, oh boy... And so the Year of Death and Brexit and #MAGA comes to a merciful end. Yes, it was a horrific year for unity and truth and famous people staying alive. The awfulness extended to the classical music world as well. We said goodbye to far too many titans … Continue reading 5 Classical Music Stories That Prove 2016 Wasn’t a Total Loss
Here Are The Best Beatles Covers On Spotify
You're welcome.There are nearly 250 Beatles covers here. That adds up to more than 14 hours of music. So, you could hop in your car and drive from Los Angeles to Portland, Oregon without hearing the same song twice.I've put it in alphabetical order, so it's easy to find a specific song. (At least I … Continue reading Here Are The Best Beatles Covers On Spotify
5 Things I’m Listening to Right Now
Welcome to a new periodic feature on the blog, where I will be asking musicians, writers about music, composers, and all manner of musically-connected people to share a few (oh, say, five) pieces of music that happen to be on high-rotation in their playlists. The musical world is vast. We will never be able to … Continue reading 5 Things I’m Listening to Right Now
I just spent 31 of your hard-earned dollars and you will thank me for it later
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
Do Not Give a Dollar to the Opera: A Takedown
This week, Gawker--the website that has brought us such gems as "The Top Nine Videos Of Babies Farting And/Or Laughing With Kittens" and "I Can’t Stop Looking at This Weird Chinese Goat"--published an article with the headline "Do Not Give a Dollar to the Opera." I have copied and pasted the "meat" (read: three-day-old cafeteria … Continue reading Do Not Give a Dollar to the Opera: A Takedown
Yo-Yo Ma: “Part of creativity is accepting all the things we don’t know, because that’s when you start to explore.”
The Urban Dictionary definition is as follows: goat rodeo (noun): 1. A chaotic situation, often one that involves several people, each with a different agenda/vision/perception of what's going on. Cellist Yo-Yo Ma’s definition is a little bit different: “If there were forks in the road and each time there was a fork, the right decision … Continue reading Yo-Yo Ma: “Part of creativity is accepting all the things we don’t know, because that’s when you start to explore.”
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
Brian Lauritzen 