Turandot opened last night at The Civic Theater to a sold out audience. Before the show, I sat down to chat with Lise Lindstrom, the American soparano performing the title role. Lise was sitting in a chair having her Ice …

After realizing I’d forgotten Beethoven’s Waldstein Sonata I started going back over other music I’d forgotten. I recalled that for several years Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 20 was a favorite of mine. I was especially obsessed with the middle “romance” …

The Sitzprobe for Turnadot was magnificent this evening. What is a Sitzprobe? It is a rehearsal on the stage with the orchestra but without costumes or staging. The singers sit on stage and go through the entire show to make …

The Moonlight Sonata is not a piece of music I can write about except to mention some of the background story. The title of moonlight was given to this sonata by a music critic who compared the first movement to …

Speaking of Beethoven Piano Sonatas, The Pathetique is a good one. Pathetique translates as pathetic but think more along the lines of passion or pathos. The Pathetique Sonata is one of Beethoven’s most popular pieces of music. It even managed …

I was somewhat surprised to hear Beethoven’s Waldstein Sonata on a commercial the other day. I’ve no problem with commercials using classical music. Often times it creates a point of reference for those who are not completely into classical music. …

In September of 1957 Decca Records released a recording of Wagner’s Das Rheingold, the first of the four Ring des Nibelungen operas. Over the next seven years, Decca would release the remaining three operas of The Ring Cycle: Die Walkure, …

The time has come. I must now come out of the closet and reveal myself as a Wagner fan. To my mind, Wagner is the most fascinating figure in all of classical music. Is there anyone else who creates as …

I've heard many a person talk about scooping and how bad it is. I'm not sure where this idea comes from but I think I have a pretty good idea. Choir. Most of the singing many of us have done …

Gustav Mahler opens his fifth symphony with a familiar, rhythmic figure. Dat-dat-dat-dah. It is the same figure Beethoven uses to open his fifth symphony. While Beethoven’s music is stern, it is also joyful and even manages to make fun of …

Continuing with our theme of rebellion in fin de siècle Vienna, after Mahler, Schoenberg was waiting. Mahler wrote music with a tonality that would have made Wagner cringe. Mahler was depressed and disenfranchised but our ears still understand his musical …

I was thinking about a third post on Shostakovich but I started connecting the dots in my mind and ended up in Vienna. For his second denunciation, Shostakovich was accused of “formalism”. In the Soviet Union, formalism meant music that …

As many of you know, today was New Year’s Day. I decided to head to Lake Miramar and go for a run. I’m a somewhat accomplished runner having done three marathons, two half marathons, and a hand full of 10K’s. …