Ice Ice Baby
So what of this Sibelius and his 1st Symphony sounding like Tchaikovsky's 7th? When Sibelius premiered his 1st Symphony in 1899, some critics responded that its orchestral vocabulary sounded like Tchaikovsky, and they were right. Tchaikovsky wrote six symphonies. When …
Athenaeum
I heard that Lulu Lemon has men's apparel. As I wasn't feeling too confident about walking into a store with Lulu in the title, I grabbed a gal pal and headed over to La Jolla. As we were wandering down …
Washes the Dust
Each of us has a soundtrack to our life. There are certain pieces of music that, when we hear them, can take us right back to a specific event. Not only does the music bring back the memory it also …
Organ Symphony
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 …
Big Organ
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 …
Places to Play and Pray
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 …
Rosen-cancel-ier
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 …
Rosenkavalier
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, …
More Moonlight
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 …
Das Wunder
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 …
Propaganda or Preservation?
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 …
Kleiber Enigma
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. …
Choose the Conductor
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 …
Carmen Kills Herself
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 …
La Mer Black's
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 …
Ockham's Razor
How conductors handle rehearsals says a lot about the way they perceive themselves as a musician. If some conductor spend most of the rehearsal talking, it can mean they’re not very confident about their abilities—especially if they seem arrogant. By …
The Movies
The L.A. Philharmonic is going to be broadcasting itself on over 450 movie screens across the U.S. and Canada on March 13th. This is the second time the L.A. Phil has presented itself in this format. The concert will be …
Recital Season
Recital season is starting up. Between now and May, most music students will be giving their junior or senior recitals. I talked to Mezzo-soprano Alexandra Rodrick about her senior recital preparations. Alex was the third place winner in the Young …
One Hit Wagner
This next one hurts a little. Richard Wagner is a pivotal figure in the history of music. We can almost divide the entire history of music into pre-Tristan and post-Tristan. The “Tristan Chord” from the prelude of Tristan und Isolde …
One Hit Wonders
I caught part of VH1’s show, One Hit Wonders of the 80’s. It got me to thinking about classical one hit wonders. One hit wonders are an interesting phenomenon. One piece of music becomes so popular that it eclipses the …