Results tagged “classical”

This is the first video from Matmos' new album, and you can catch them this Saturday at the Walt Disney Concert Hall. You knew it would happen. After countless collaborations and performances with the LA Phil, John Adams has signed on as the orchestra's creative chair and is in charge of the first festival under Dudamel: West Coast, Left Coast...

Attention classical music fans. The Ojai Music Festival today announced exciting programming highlights for next year June, all picked by composer/conductor and the this year's music director, George Benjamin. “Ojai’s tradition of inviting a different music director for each season guarantees variety and vitality across festivals," said Artistic Director Thomas W. Morris....

If you're looking for some Classical music to set the mood for your festive evenings, here are a few Halloween-y pieces. The clip above is the Ave Santani theme from the film the Omen by Jerry Goldsmith.

It's likely never that the Los Angeles Philharmonic has seen so much crazy attention. But it's rare to see a 28-year-old take the helm of one the world's most notable symphony orchestras. Gustavo Dudamel is one of the most energetic, loving and passionate people you will see in this city and he's expected to bring great things to Los Angeles. His debut as a conductor will be a free performance on October 3rd at the Hollywood Bowl. Free tickets went within minutes and scalpers were trying sell them for $1,600.

You've probably heard Beethoven's Ode to Joy, a proclamation for mankind united under God. Hear the Berlioz Requiem in this week's classical pick for another take on that theme. This week's classical pick highlights music that is rarely performed in LA, if at all. The LA Opera begins the 2009/2010 season with Donizetti's bel canto (an elegant Italian vocal style) opera, The Elixir of Love.

Alexis Weissenberg (a favorite of LAist) and Herbert von Karajan perform the Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto no. 2, which can be heard in its entirety in this week's classical pick. There are only a few classical events this week as we head into September, and the classical pick this week takes places at the Hollywood Bowl. Concerns about air quality are warranted, but as for now, the shows are still on schedule.

This is an old recording by Feuermann performing the Dvorak Concerto. The greatest cellist performing the greatest piece (for the cello). The Hollywood Bowl is on twitter! Check out their feed for updates on concerts, insights on the artists that will be performing at the Bowl, and free tickets! Go to the Bowl this Tuesday for the conducting debut of Placido Domingo with Yo Yo Ma. Ma will be performing the Dvorak Cello Concerto, a warhorse that is often considered to be one of the most difficult and greatest works for the cello (if the work looks familiar, Lynn Harrell also performed the work at the Bowl, not too long ago). There are only a few tickets available, get them before you miss out on this historic opportunity. The concert starts at 8.

Bernstein is probably best known in popular culture today as the composer for music from West Side Story. College Humor updated the story for the 21st century, complete with references to twitter, facebook, and pandora.

Gil Shaham is a world famous violinist who loves making an appearance at the Hollywood Bowl regularly. Here he is performing the Carmen Fantasy by Sarasate, not to be confused by the Carmen Fantasy by Waxman (which might be more difficult). He is accompanied by Claudio Abbado and the Berlin Philharmonic. If you haven't been to the OC Fair yet, try going on Wednesday, July 29th! The Pacific Symphony, led by Richard Kaufman, will perform music from the beloved Disney classics. Sing along to the tunes of Beauty and the Beast, the Lion King, Little Mermaid, Aladdin, and more! You can get two tickets for 19.50 at www.ocfair.com when you purchase the super pass.

"To the Stars" in Dragonheart is one of the oft-used pieces of music in trailers and film today. Jump to 2:20 to hear the theme. This week's classical pick highlights concerts in LA that focus on movie music.Although Porgy and Bess is typically remembered as one of the most famous American operas of all time, it was also made into a film featuring Sidney Poitier and sammy Davis Jr. You can hear Gershwin's music and see a performance of Porgy and Besstonight at the Hollywood Bowl. Concert starts at 7:30 PM.

Angeleno Opera enthusiasts have been anticipating the long-planned Ring Festival LA, which will span multiple venues between mid-April and late June of 2010 and boast numerous performances by different organizations, each "providing its own unique point of view on the influences of [composer Richard] Wagner's art and philosophy from the 19th century to the present day," explains the LA Opera.

LAist reported earlier that LA Phil violinist Robert Korda has been missing for three days now. His son Noah posted a few hours ago that "Verizon has cooperated...because we managed to get a court order". Once again, if anyone sees a Geo Metro with the license plate 3GPJ453, please call the LAPD Missing Persons Unit at (213) 485-5381 or (877) LAPD-24-7.

Music in film is one of the most important devices used in cinema today; this music has been ingrained in popular culture, to the point that most people could recognize the tunes. Also sprach Zarathustra, Ride of the Valkyries, Beethoven's 5th, are a few of the major works that come to mind. This week, you can hear a few of these tunes and more at several venues.

2009 marks the 200th anniversary of the death of Haydn. Here is a clip of recently deceased Rostropovich performing the Haydn D Major Cello Concerto. The LACMA hosts the last (for the 2008-2009 season) of its FREE Sundays Live concerts next Sunday with a program of Haydn and Mendelssohn, to cap off the year with one last celebration of their anniversaries. Expect duets and piano trios, at 6 PM this Sunday the 28th.

Mahler's 5th symphony is one of the many pieces you can see and hear this summer at the Hollywood Bowl. This recording is performed by the Lucerne Festival Orchestra under Claudio Abbado.

Erich Korngold was an Academy Award winning film composer. He made his permanent residence in California and is buried in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. He is most famous for his collaborations with Errol Flynn and adaptations of other compositions for the big screen. For other film composers check out Johnny Greenwood (lead guitarist of Radiohead), Clint Mansell, Bernard Hermann, Henry Mancini, and Miklos Rosza. This week's classical pick also features the work of a film composer, Paul Chihara. This video contains a recording of Jascha Heifetz performing Korngold's famous Violin Concerto.

Video Games Live is a popular concert that features music from some of the greatest video games of all time. It's perfect for the whole family, you can bring out the inner nerd in you (or your child) at a concert featuring live music, videos, synchronized lighting, and some live action. With tunes from Mario, Zelda, Halo, Final Fantasy, Warcraft, Tron, Donkey Kong, Tetris, and Space Invaders, feel free to reminisce about the old days of playing video games at the laundromat or on your spoiled friend's new NES. Bond with your children with tales of games that used to be in 2-D or amaze them with stories of when games were all about substance rather than style. You can also impress your friends (real or imaginary) with anecdotes about some of these great composers (Tallarico, Wall, Uematsu, Kondo) that you'll get to hear.

This CNN excerpt shows the visually stunning organ at the Disney hall but the sound is not something easily duplicated. Check it out tonight at the Disney Hall at 7:30 for the full experience. Also, Christopher Eschenbach returns to the Disney Hall for a set of concerts showcasing his abilities as a conductor and pianist. Eschenbach has been conducting all weekend long, with a concert at 2 of Tchaikovsky and Prokofiev. If the 2 PM concert is too late for you, check out the organ concert tonight at 7:30 PM. If you haven't heard it, the Disney Hall organ provides one of the most exciting and intense sounds that you'll ever hear from any instrument. Naji Hakim is the soloist, of music by Hakim, Franck, and Couperin.

Beverly Sills was considered one of the premiere sopranos of her time, and you can see this youtube clip of her. She is singing "Sempre Libera", one of the most famous arias from this week's classical pick, La Traviata (Violetta from La Traviata was considered one of her signature roles). This clip is an excerpt from the Muppet Show, in which the muppets put on a show at the "Muppetipolitan Opera". You can hear excerpts from the operas of Wagner, Verdi, and Bizet. The most enjoyable moment is probably 1:30 into the clip, where Miss Piggy (Frank Oz) attempts to outsing Beverly Sills.

The clip above is an excerpt from an opera by John Adams. This opera will be one of the pieces performed this week in Los Angeles. It's interesting to see the progression of music from the Baroque period into the 21st century. These concerts this week allow you to see this progression first-hand (although the jump might be so drastic that you might find it difficult to make any connections, if at all).

LAist found several classical music-affiliated groups/organizations on Twitter this weekend and would like to share them with you. KUSC just joined the fray, and LACO has been tweeting for quite a while now. For pages that update you with the latest in classical music news and old performances, check out ClassicalTV and Classical_Music. You can also find the NY Phil, the London Symphony, Hillary Hahn (and her violin case), and Emmanuel Ax. Feel free to add any pages (yours too) we might have left out in the comments section. LAist is also on twitter, for those that were unaware.

Tonight LACMA presents “Sound & Image: A History of Bollywood Film Music with Robin Sukhadia” from 7-9 pm at the museum’s Bing Theater. The seminar is focused on the sound and music of Bollywood, including the works of master film composers Naushad, SD Burman, & RD Burman. The program will feature music videos and film clips, accompanied by historical and political commentary and context by Sukhadia. The evening’s free and kid friendly.

There's an abundance of interesting events about town tonight -- which is surprising because it is Monday, after all. Here are some of our favs:

Maurice Ravel was born on March 7th, 1875. The French composer is famous for his lush melodies and brilliant orchestration (see Ravel's orchestration of Mussgorsky's Pictures at an Exhibition). His piano works are considered some of the most difficult to perform on piano even to this day (see Scarbo). Martha Argerich is considered one of the premier interpreters of Ravel; she will perform La Valse and the Piano Concerto in G Major with the LA Phil this week. Since she is in high demand, she is scheduled to play four concerts this week, from Thursday to Sunday. She has been flaky in the past few years for various reasons, but there seems to be no issues this time (she performed Prokofiev 3rd last year as well) and you will be in for a treat.

For the first time, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra this year is producing a series of concerts, entitled Westside Connections, that take "a look at the connections between music and other artistic disciplines." Last month, former National Endowment for the Arts chairman and Californian poet Dana Gioia took the stage with the music group and next week Thursday three-time U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky will read poetry between Mozart's Quintet in E-flat major for Piano and Winds and Schoenberg's Verklärte Nacht (“Transfigured Night”).

Ahh President’s Day is a great holiday for many of us. Read: We don’t have to go into the office and get to stay in on this wet and dreary Monday. But if you suffer from cabin fever tonight, then there are a few interesting options to do while venturing out:

The first contemporary art project at the Getty Villa, “Jim Dine: Poet Singing (The Flowering Sheets), ends its run today at 5 pm. The installation presented new sculpture and poetry by Jim Dine inspired by ancient objects in the Museum's collection. “Dine's highly personal vision finds further expression in a poem drawn on the walls, with its Orphic themes of travel, loss, and the possibilities of art.”

There’s a screening of Sam Fuller’s The Crimson Kimono tonight at 8 pm in Ramo Auditorium. Here’s the premise: “A pair of LAPD detectives, a murdered stripper, and a love triangle—the quintessential mid-century L.A. story. The twist in director Sam Fuller's largely unseen gem are its interracial relationships and Little Tokyo setting.” A panel discussion, hosted by Larry Mantle of KPCC FM, will features Lon Kurashige, Associate Professor of History, American Studies, and Ethnicity, University of Southern California; Henry Sheehan, Film Critic; James Shigeta, actor from The Crimson Kimono..

NY-based comedian Kumail Nanjiani performs his one man show "Unpronounceable" tonight at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater. Directed by The Aristrocrats’ director Paul Provenza, "Unpronounceable" chronicles Kumail’s Muslim upbringing in Pakistan and his move to Grinnell, Iowa, for college.

If you're not into watching the Rose Bowl parade or game and are more of the 20th Century classical music type, KCRW 89.9 FM has been airing a marathon broadcast and live webstream simulcast of an 11-hour documentary series, Leonard Bernstein: An American Life. It started at 9 a.m. and goes 'til 5 p.m., then continues for two hours at 7 p.m. Bernstein is one of America's iconic composers--you might recognize his work from West Side Story, Candide or On The Town. Today's schedule is below...