Speaking of the organ. It's been a while since I heard Saint-Saens Symphony No. 3. The second and fourth movements are almost a concerto for organ and orchestra. Well, the fourth movement is. The second uses the organ as something …

With the onset of some sunshine, I took a run through Balboa Park and there it was, The Spreckels Organ Pavilion. The pavilion houses the largest outdoor pipe organ in the world--the world. The Spreckels Organ weighs over 100,000 pounds …

For the last few weeks, every morning I've had a full chorus of chirpy birds singing to their hearts' content outside my window. It's a wonderful sound and is an indication that spring is here--whatever that means to a San …

When Der Rosenkavalier opens on April 3rd, it will be interesting to see how the San Diego audience responds. Rosenkavalier is a great big ol' piece of music. The San Diego production is scheduled to run four hours, including two …

As mentioned, Herbert von Karajan was an Austrian conductor who joined the Nazi Party. In the early 1900’s, Georg von Schonerer and Karl Lueger were two politicians who were willing to manipulate anti-Semitism for their own gain. Of the two, …

I got a late start to my run the other day. I almost didn’t go but somehow ended up at Torrey Pines State Beach just after sunset. I believe that time of day is called dusk. As I got to …

When Wilhelm Furtwangler died in 1954, Das Wunder Karajan was waiting to succeed him as conductor for life of The Berlin Philharmonic. Herbert von Karajan was born in Salzburg, Austria in 1908. By the age of 26, he had a …

In 1989 when Carlos Kleiber turned down the Berlin Philharmonic, Herbert von Karajan had just resigned and died shortly thereafter. Berlin has been considered one of the top three orchestras in Europe for decades. The other two are The Vienna …

When I’m talking to someone about classical music and they mention Carlos Kleiber, the level of conversation automatically goes up. His recording of Beethoven’s Fifth and Seventh Symphonies with the Vienna Philharmonic are considered the best ever pressed to vinyl. …

During Carmen chorus rehearsal, one of the altos stuck her hand up and asked the chorus master what recordings of Carmen he recommends. He said that he tended to choose recordings based on the conductor because he wants to hear …

March 3rd was the anniversary of the debut of Bizet’s Carmen. It just so happened that I was in rehearsal for Carmen on that very day. As that Sybil, The Church Lady, would’ve said, “Well, now, isn’t that special.” Carmen …

A friend and I went for a walk this morning at Black’s Beach. Unfortunately there were no naked octogenarians. We entered from the La Jolla Farms side on the south instead of via the glider port next to Torrey Pines …