Live Music
Since Christmas is done we’re going to return to our Beethoven Five playlist. We’re using Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 as a loose reference point for a curated playlist. It’s something like six degrees of Beethoven’s …
With the New Year coming I feel as though it's time to take an intellectual inventory. The inventory reveals that I’m in need of some new ideas. The one’s I have right now are solid …
We haven’t had an “esoteric pick of the week” for a while so let’s take a look at a seasonal piece. The Gloria has a long and complicated history concerning its inclusion in the Catholic …
Whose woods these are I think I know.His house is in the village, though;He will not see me stopping hereTo watch his woods fill up with snow. My little horse must think it queerTo stop …
A post by Gustavo Dudamel started running around Facebook on Tuesday morning. Back in October John Williams contacted Dudamel and asked him to conduct the opening and closing credits of the upcoming Star Wars: The …
Brahms once again proved to be the go-to composer for Maestro Ling and the San Diego Symphony. I can’t think of another composer whose music has been so consistently excellent within the confines of the …
Time for the depressed Disneyland-dad at Christmas when his ex has the kids playlist — also known as "a brief contemplation on the mysteries of solitude at Christmas playlist." We’ve got Es Ist Ein Ros …
Conductor John Mauceri just wrote an excellent piece in the Huffington Post which explores some of the themes we’ve touched upon here in this column/blog. A few of those themes are sports versus classical music, …
I’m feeling like the best way to experience Handel’s Messiah is at a sing-along. My kids (ages 11 and 8) and I went to the Greater San Diego Music Coterie Chamber Orchestra and Chorus sing-along …
A gentle snow falls at dusk in a pristine Finnish forest. The long arctic night is descending near the winter solstice and a solitary figure wanders the wood, lost in the trees. And so the …
Why San Diego Opera's second act won't end in tragedy.
The first weekend in December is stacked with concerts. 'Tis the season to make a choice because many of these promising events conflict. Sunday is like a battle to the death, with no fewer than …
For Christmas we’re going to move our curated playlist over to The depressed Disneyland dad at Christmas when his ex has the kids playlist. This list is also known as a brief contemplation on the …
In the opera La Rondine by Puccini, the young Ruggero arrives in Paris for the first time and Puccini lets him sing an ode to the City of Light. The aria is difficult to find. …
Never in my life did I expect to hear a timpani concerto, let alone two, and those two in back-to-back seasons. Opening weekend of 2014 included a timpani concerto by William Kraft, and this last …