A different week a different world famous pianist
Following up the opening weekend of Lang Lang, the San Diego Symphony Orchestra is bringing in another world famous pianist. Garrick Ohlsson is as respected as Lang Lang is adored. Dare I say that there are some who would prefer …
A flock of butterflies and a grizzly bear: San Diego Symphony opening night
Sold out. Wait. Sold out? Yes. Sold out. As of Friday afternoon, both the Friday evening and Sunday afternoon performances of the SDSO were sold out. When the doors opened at 7:00 pm on Friday evening, there was a hoard …
Obesity is Better Than Bullying
A video of an overweight news anchor responding to an email regarding her appearance as a public figure, has gone viral. The person in question, Jennifer Livingston, redirected the topic of the email to bullying. So far, the media coverage …
Thrice Lang Lang
The final chapter of this weekend's Lang Lang saga is a masterclass on the afternoon of Saturday the 6th. It is open to the public. If you've never been to a masterclass, you should definitely go. Masterclasses teach not only …
Lang Lang twice
Wait, there’s more Lang Lang. On Friday and Sunday, Lang Lang is playing Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5: The Emperor but on Saturday, he’s playing Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1. What gives? Saturday is the Opus Gala 2012. This event …
Lang Lang
Lang Lang is coming to town for the start of the 2012-2013 San Diego Symphony Season. We may wonder who is this Lang Lang. Lang Lang is a pianist. Some have called him the most gifted keyboardist in his generation. …
Solti is Joe Frazier
If von Karajan was Muhammad Ali then Georg Solti was Joe Frazier. The comparison holds water. Von Karajan had his flamboyant hair and his baton floated like a butterfly. Solti had no hair, to speak of, and his baton was …
Orchestra Nova Stalemate
The American Federation of Musicians (AFM) local 325 has released a statement regarding their negotiations with Orchestra Nova (formerly San Diego Chamber Orchestra). The statement iterates that after nine hours of meetings today, no agreement has been reached and no …
Love child
If Furtwängler and Toscanini had conspired to have a love child, the result would have been Herbert von Karajan. We've covered all the Third Reich stuff with Herbert but what about his conducting style and approach? Von Karajan was inspired …
Food dominates
With this being child obesity awareness month, it brings up an enormous issue. Who is responsible for our health and fitness? Who is responsible for the health and fitness of our children? For whatever reason, many of us appear to …
Conga del fuego
I stumbled upon Conga del Fuego by Mexican composer Arturo Marquez. I love the energy in this type of music. Is it a cream puff? Of course it is but no more than something like Copland’s El Salon Mexico. Marquez’s …
Cartoon conductor
As Bugs Bunny enters the pit of the Hollywood Bowl, the orchestra members whisper to each other in awe, "Leopold, Leopold! " Bugs walks up to the conductor, takes the baton, and and snaps it. Why? Because Leopold Stokowski eschewed …
Holy swords and triumphs
Even though Aida is months and months away, I’m starting to get into the mood for some sword consecrating and triumphal marching. There are two scenes in Aida that are among my favorites of all time to sing as a …
Child obesity awareness
September is National Child Obesity Awareness Month. Why do titles like this exist? It is as if they're saying, "Hey everyone, we know you're busy, but in case you haven't noticed, there are a bunch of obese kids around". How …
Opera app as well
I decided to see which other companies have apps up for San Diego. No La Jolla Playhouse or Olde Globe. No Orchestra Nova or La Jolla Symphony. How about San Diego Opera? Yes, we have a winner. I wasn't as …
Symphony app
I was trying to get to the San Diego Symphony website on my Android device when I was asked if I'd like to download the San Diego Symphony app. Uh, hells yes I would! I have always found the symphony …
Routine and silence
"The conductor has one arch enemy to fight. Routine. There's no denying that in daily life it has its advantages but it plays the most deadly role in music"-Wilhelm Furtwängler. Toscanini referred to Furtwängler as an amateur of genius. I'm …
Madrazo didn't lie
Paul Ryan is not the first politician to lie about his marathon time. Mexican politician, Roberto Madrazo also lied. To be accurate, Madrazo didn't lie, he cheated. After the 2006 Mexican presidential election, in which Roberto Madrazo got the worst …
Paul Ryan the runner
Much has been made of Republican vice-presidential candidate Paul Ryan's fitness. He is reputed to be into P90X. P90X is a popular fitness program. It claims to transform your body in 90 days. I've tried a few of the workouts …
Butterworth
In a rare fit of pastoral sentiment, I gave George Butterworth’s The Banks of Green Willow a listening to. The piece was written in 1913 and was based on folk tunes that Butterworth had collected in Sussex in 1907 and …