Classical Music
Johan Botha was one of the great tenors of the early 21st Century. He died September 8 in Vienna at the age of 51. The cause has not been made official, but it is known …
I remember stating that it was time for balance between the feminine and the masculine in classical music. It appears I was not alone in that conviction. Maybe observation is a better word than conviction. …
Peachnote could change everything. At least everything about studying a score. In the past people would follow a recording or even a live performance with the score in hand. It's similar to keeping a score …
Now that it is September I feel as though some solemnity is required. The start of the school year will forever imbue this month with scholasticism. For as long as I have revelled in the …
As we enter the final days of summer the Symphony Pops is completing its run at the Embarcadero while San Diego Opera brings some culture to the other side of the tracks. It’s Tchaikovsky time …
Have you heard of Soundcloud? It's for sale if you've got $1 billion. There are murmurs that the company is seeking to be purchased because it's not making money. In other words, Soundcloud isn’t “making …
I feel that it is appropriate every now and then to get a tad personal in my writing here. Today I look to Mozart once again. We just discussed the mammoth release of recordings for …
Next year will be the 225th anniversary of Mozart’s death. To celebrate/capitalize there is a new complete edition of Mozart’s music being released in the form of a 200 disc box set. It’s called W. …
Let’s connect some dots between Verdi and Puccini and Puccini and himself. This will only take a moment. The scene, which is an “other than arias” gem, is from Act II of Puccini’s La Rondine. …
John Blackwood McEwen was a Scottish drifter who killed nine men in gunfights between 1889 and 1895. He was the scourge of the New Mexico territory and finally had his neck stretched in 1899. He …
It’s been an operatic week in mid-August. There was Opera Wednesday, then on Thursday I went to The Elixir of Love at Point Loma Opera Theatre, and on Saturday night I caught Don Giovanni presented …
The Elixir of Love by Donizetti is a bel canto opera, except when it’s not. Sometimes it’s not bel canto and it’s just opera. The most present understanding of bel canto is based on the …
I haven’t been to an Opera Wednesday in quite some time, so I went on over to the La Jolla Community Center on Wednesday night and listened to four solid singers sing three pieces each. …
We’ve never discussed personality type and musical preference have we? This might sound far-fetched or woo-woo in nature but I think there is something going on here. If we consider basic personality traits we can …
I was browsing the performance history of the San Diego Opera when I saw Henry VIII by Camille Saint-Saëns. This was not the only rarity in the company history but I’m a fan of Saint-Saëns …
Ernest Bloch is best known for his composition Schelomo for cello and large orchestra but he wrote a ton of music for “large orchestra.” We take an esoteric look at his Avodath Hakodesh: Sacred Service …