You don't have to be this old to enjoy classical music. An article in this mornings LA Times reveals that the audience is not necessarily "dying" or as old as one might think, and talks about the benefits of classical music. Some basic points are that it's never too early to start enjoying it, attendance is solid and growing for most concerts, and people go not just for the music, but the experiences one......

The LACO has been a major contributor to the music scene in Los Angeles for 40 years. You've probably heard their musicians in many movies, music recordings, and seen them (the mural of an orchestra on the 110? The LACO). How about seeing them live? LAist has covered them several times before, and this year is a good year to check them out for yourself. The LACO is celebrating its 40th anniversary, and bringing......

Woody Allen (Vicky Cristy Barcelona, Manhattan, Annie Hall) and William Friedkin (the Exorcist, the French Connection) collaborate with the Los Angeles to bring you their vision of Giacomo Puccini's Il Trittico. Il Trittico is made up of three one-act operas, "Il Tabarro", "Suor Angelica", and "Gianni Schicchi". James Conlon conducts the orchestra and Tony-award winning Santo Loquasto will design the set. "Il Tabarro" is about a tragic love triangle, filled with dark and violent......

A preview of Mahler, conducted here by Simon Rattle at the BBC Proms Mahler's 8th Symphony is titled the Symphony of a Thousand because the premiere had over 800 vocalists on stage accompanying an orchestra of around 200. It's epic. It's the last appearance of Salonen as the Music Director, and due to the lack of opportunities to see the 8th symphony, this a program that should not be missed. There are eight soloists,......

Here's a fact that surprised us: "The latest Arbitron ratings rank [KUSC] as the most listened-to public radio station in Southern California, ahead of public radio powerhouses KPCC and KCRW." So says USC themselves. However, KCRW has extended its reach beyond the immediate Los Angeles area to include many other cities including Santa Barbara and Palm Springs. And beyond that with its aggressive internet expansion. KCRW says their non-commercial broadcast signal reaches 550,000 listeners weekly......

Itzak Perlman performing the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto, which will be performed at the Hollywood Bowl this weekend. Russia has the Tchaikovsky Competition, Poland the Chopin Competition, and Los Angeles gets the relatively new Jose Iturbi International Music Competition. The main drawing power of the new competition? A top prize of 50,000 dollars and it takes place every year (most of these competitions take place every 4-5 years and usually offer less money). Along with......

One wouldn't really expect to go to the LACMA to go see great classical music, but during the season every Sunday at 6 there is a free concert of some great mid-career musicians or student virtuosos, broadcasted on 88.5 KCSN. Today we have violinist Hahn-Bin and pianist John Blacklow performing the Mozart and Franck violin sonatas. Next week on Friday we have jazz singer/songwriter/pianist Bill Cantos takes the stage, and on Sunday we have cellist......

This week didn't seem to be as hot as predicted, but this week's classical pick is packing some heat! Which is literally the case here, since they will have fireworks at the end of the show this Thursday at the Hollywood Bowl. The program has a distinctly Eastern flavor, with music from Russian and Chinese composers, with the world famous pianist Lang Lang and LA Phil's Assistant Principal cellist Ben Hong as the soloists. The......

LAist was able to check out a couple of concerts last weekend, in two completely different venues. The program included some very patriotic affair, with the California Phil providing all of the fireworks. These concerts were mentioned as last week's classical pick, and did not disappoint. Although the program was exactly the same, the orchestra was able to adjust accordingly to the acoustics at each venue and offered a different interpretation but the same unbridled......

Every Summer the number of outdoor concerts increase significantly. Why not? It's beautiful outside. In Marina Del Rey, they hold classical and popular concerts every Thursday and Saturday. This Thursday we have the opening ceremonies including two pre-concert events Trooping the Colors and a Water Show on the main channel. The highlight of this concert is USC professor Marek Szpakiewicz performing the Elgar Cello Concerto in E Minor. According to our all-powerful all-knowing editor, "you'll......

the Rabbit of Seville, with a "cameo" by Leopold Stokowski This week we revisit some classic cartoons at the Hollywood Bowl. It pairs the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Looney Tunes characters as it incorporates the music and the cartoons live on stage. This is the final performance of the show before 2010 when they present a new 20th anniversary edition. It includes the Rabbit of Seville and What's Opera Doc? This is a fun......

part 1 of "Rhapsody in Blue" from Fantasia 2000 The California Phil is one of the many great orchestras in the Los Angeles area that offers varied and exciting programming in the Ambassador and the Walt Disney Concert Hall throughout the year. They open up their summer season with a concert at the Arboretum, a beautiful botanic garden located in the heart of Arcadia. The Arboretum is a 127-acre park which includes the famous......

Photo by power corruption and lies via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr. FESTIVAL Come out to the 11th SoRo (South Robertson) Community Festival. There will be lots to do for the whole family including food, live music, and vendor booths. 11 a.m. // Between Beverlywood and Cattaraugus, S. Robertson Blvd, Los Angeles // Free SPEAK Artists Danny Jauregui and Rubén Ortiz-Torres are featured today at LACMA’s Conversations with the Artists series. Their......

Interesting interview with Menotti Go next weekend to UCLA to see the Medium, an opera by Gian Carlo Menotti, who sadly passed away last year. Seating is extremely limited, but you guys are in for a treat because its playing four days in a row, it’s FREE, and it’s in English. You can also join us in our dubious distinction as the oddest group of people ever (see the comments). The opera is structured......

If Wagner was still alive today, he would have just celebrated his 195th (!) birthday yesterday. His influence was felt by many including Baudelaire, Freud, Joyce, Nietzsche, and any/every important contemporary of his. Some recent adaptations in mainstream media that come to mind include a terrible Tristan + Isolde movie and Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy (based off of Wagner's Ring cycle). For me most memorable tribute to Wagner comes from a not-too-recent......

This week’s classical pick doesn’t really have anything to do with erotica, unless you reason that Beethoven’s "Eroica" Symphony ushered in the Romantic Era of classical music, which was said to have encouraged intimate and passionate (erotic?) feelings inside the listener. Anyways, the Los Angeles Philharmonic is performing this heroic third symphony (Eroica means heroic in Italian) and continue the year long celebration of Messiaen. Pierre-Laurent Amard (I just heard a wonderful recording of Ligeti's......

Photo by coffeextv via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr. MUSIC Check out the Viper Room’s Sunday night music special, Free Form Orchestra, free with RSVP. Original music created by some of L.A.’s finest young emerging talent, these guys and girls will really blow you away with their jazz-funk beats. 8:30 p.m. // Viper Room // 8852 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles // (310) 358-1881 // Free ART The Pasadena Museum of California Art......

Jazz pianist and Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra composer-in-residence Uri Caine will be making an in-store appearance at Amoeba Music tonight at 7:00 p.m. A legendary improviser, Caine’s source music and influences runs far and wide from Mozart to Monk to the Beatles and beyond. Definitely worth checking out, especially since it's free (video profile of Caine embedded below) Tonight The Heavy @ Bordello The Oohlas @ Spaceland Uri Caine @ Amoeba Records Blank Blue (CD......

Matt Haimovitz is not your everyday cellist. His resume includes performances with every major orchestra, but his choice of venues include nightclubs, bars, coffee houses, and a stop at CBCG. He is known for his performances of contemporary pieces, and his MySpace page showcases interpretations of Bach and Led Zeppelin. This classical pick actually takes place next Sunday, featuring two world premieres, a west coast premiere, and the Ligeti Cello Concerto. Ligeti was considered Stanley......

Photo by toastycakes via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr HELP The biggest city-wide community service event happens today all around L.A. It’s the 10th Anniversary of Big Sunday, an event dedicated to bringing people together of all ages to help others. There will be a massive flea market and an art show to raise money for the underprivileged. 9 a.m. // Several locations around the city // Los Angeles // Free MUSIC......

the Kronos Quartet performing "Lux Aeterna" The Kronos Quartet is a highly regarded avant-garde string quartet, recognized outside of classical music circles for their collaborations with artists including David Bowie, Allen Ginsberg, Dave Matthews, Nelly Furtado, and playing on soundtracks of the popular Aronofsky films The Fountain and Requiem For a Dream ("Lux Aeterna" is the popular composition used regularly outside of the film). This weekend KCRW presents a concert of the Kronos Quartet......

The kind folks who read LAist every week (that’s YOU!) live all over this fantastic city and we try to have a little something for everyone. This week’s classical pick has us hanging out at the Norton Simon Museum in the Pasadena/SGV area for a concert featuring musicians of the Grammy-Award winning Southwest Chamber Music group. This Saturday’s program includes Charles Ives’ Children’s Day at the Camp Meeting, Schubert’s Shepherd of the Rock (believed to......

Photo by Tha_Sco via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr Because it’s supposed to be such a beautiful day, I suggest heading out to the beach immediately, and then enjoying some of these free (or close to free) events going on in the evening. But that’s just me… LISTEN Ann Whitford Paul, author of the children’s books If Animals Kissed Goodnight and Snail’s Good Night, will be hosting a signing and reading of......

This week’s classical pick comes a little earlier in the day since one of the events is in the early afternoon. The picks showcase two well-recognized Germans, one of whom is making a rare visit to LA and one who has made his presence known in Los Angeles as the “Poet Laureate of Skid Row”. The Goethe-Institut of Los Angeles is collaborating with Monday Evening Concerts to celebrate the life and works of Helmut......

This week's classical pick takes us to the Westside (believe it or not) with the Seattle Symphony making their debut at Royce Hall. The Seattle Symphony is headed by Gerard Schwarz, who has turned this once struggling group into a top notch orchestra that is recognized internationally with the help of frequent recordings and its support of American composers. Although they are often known for their performances of later 20th century repertoire, the symphony......

The Green Umbrella series is a distinctive program of the LA Phil that features cutting edge programming rarely seen in a major concert hall.. New works are commissioned and performed along with works that have become staples in classical music repertory over the last 50 years or so. This weeks classical pick takes us to the Disney Hall this Tuesday and includes two WORLD premieres and works by Elliot Carter and Ginastera. The works......

Jaws. Star Wars. Indiana Jones. ET. Jurassic Park. Harry Potter. These are some timeless tales that captivated our youth (and for some people, their lives). The memories should be flooding back now, reminding you of the good ol’ days, when big blockbuster movies were held together not just by special effects, but with memorable characters, plots (!), and most of all, the music. The minor second motif from Jaws will always run through your mind......

2008 marks the 100 year anniversary of the birth of French composer Olivier Messiaen, best known for his masterpiece Quatuor por la fin du temps ("Quartet for the end of time"). Piano Spheres is commemorating his birth with a concert at Zipper Hall this Tuesday featuring pianists Mark Robson and Joanne Pearce Martin. The program begins with Maurice Ravel's "Gaspard de la Nuit" (which includes the fiendishly difficult Scarbo) followed by short pieces by Satie......

DANCE The State Ballet of Georgia arrives for their Los Angeles premiere at UCLA's Royce Hall to perform Giselle. This historic Russian dance company is taking on a classic, with Nina Ananiashvili in the spotlight as the company's artistic director and prima ballerina in the title role. 8 p.m. // Royce Hall, UCLA // Westwood Plz at Charles E Young Dr S// (310) 825-2101 // $20 - 90 SPOKEN WORD It's an Anything Goes Open......

You still have time to take part in the Lunar New Year festivities in Chinatown today! CELEBRATE THE YEAR OF THE RAT The annual Lunar New Year Festival continues today in Chinatown. Catch pan- Asian entertainers including Chinese acrobats, as well as Thai dancers and Taiko drummers. Food, games, children’s activities, and more will also be on tap during the free festival. Until 5 p.m. // Chinatown // Free FUNDRAISER BASH! OPEN BAR! The......