There are famous orchestras around the world. We’ve all heard of Vienna and Berlin Philharmonics. We know about the London Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Concertgebouw. The United States used to have a “big five” …

The internet was astir regarding an article in The Telegraph. The headline reads, “Musical notation branded 'colonialist' by Oxford professors hoping to 'decolonise' the curriculum.” Musical pundits picked up on this as “the woke” trying …

In its most recent online streaming concert, the San Diego Symphony showed off the string section in a concert entitled A Shimmer of Strings. This is the way I will now refer to all gatherings …

Since the 2021 Academy Awards come up later this month on April 25, let’s take a moment to consider some of the greatest movie music ever written. The acid test for great movie music is …

If there is one thing I’ve bemoaned about modern music, all modern music, it’s the lack of melody. From the concert hall to the opera stage to popular music, melody is on the decline. Within …

A few weeks ago we did the best second-best symphonies. This week we’re going to do the best second-best operas. For the sake of argument, a composer’s second-best opera is any opera that isn’t his …

I cast a jaundiced eye at music composed based on current events. We’ve had several compositions along such lines performed in San Diego. We’ve had compositions about climate change, receding glaciers. immigration, police shootings, and …

The San Diego Symphony streamed its second concert of the year on Friday, February 26. The concert presented three contrasting pieces of music. The first piece, by Carlos Simon, was entitled Elegy, A Cry from …

The last few days of unabated San Diego sunshine have me feeling particularly spring-ish even though we are technically in the dead of winter with spring still a month or so away. However, it did …

Lent came quickly this year. With no buildup to Carnival and Mardi Gras/Fat Tuesday, because of you know what, Ash Wednesday suddenly appeared. I thought we’d explore a few musical carnivals since the season didn’t …

I’ve had dozens of conversations that discussed the greatest symphonies of all time. I’ve read dozens of articles on the same topic. The usual suspects are all there, Beethoven’s Ninth, Mahler’s Ninth, Bruckner’s Eighth, Brahms' …

I wrote a little preview of the San Diego Symphony livestream entitled Wagner meets Mozart and mentioned that I didn’t quite understand how the concert hung together. After watching the livestream, I still don’t get …

Recently I realized I had some holes in my listening habits for one of my favorite composers, Ralph Vaughan Williams. I have listened to some of Vaughan Williams’s most popular pieces to death. These would …

San Diego Symphony and Music Director Rafael Payare have announced a special 2021 digital season that strives to inspire and connect with its audience while in-person performances cannot occur due to Covid. From January to …

At this point, Mainly Mozart has gone far beyond turning lemons into lemonade. They are now turning lemons into a sumptuous limoncello from the Amalfi Coast. In February and April, Mainly Mozart will be producing …

Since it’s a new year and many of us have resolutions, let’s consider some resolutions for some of opera’s most famous characters. Don Ottavio, from Mozart’s Don Giovanni, is the fiancé of Donna Anna whom …

Over the holidays, I had what I’ll call a spirited conversation regarding objective truth versus subjective truth. Since neither myself nor the other participants are professionals in the cognitive disciplines, the conversation lacked a certain …

Christmas always has a nip of melancholy in the eggnog for me these days. It could be because my children are growing older. It could be because I myself am growing older. For many of …

Opera, opera, opera. What are we to do with opera? Even those who love opera can’t agree on what it is, what it should be, or what it could be. I recently shared a meme …

There will be no Nutcracker this year, at least not a live version. The ballet has become such a part of the holiday season that it is difficult to believe that for most of its …

The La Jolla Symphony recently released a performance of Sibelius’s Symphony No. 5 from their performance vault. I gave it a listen and have concluded that it is a fine, fine, performance. For those who …

The San Diego Symphony streamed their second concert on Friday, November 20. This concert was performed in Symphony Hall. It is available in its entirety on YouTube. This is exactly the type of concert the …

Thanksgiving is nigh, so how about two pieces by George Frederic Handel that give thanks? The first is “But Thanks be to God” from Handel’s Oratorio Messiah. The second is Dank sei dir Herr (Thanks …

The end of October saw a flurry of live classical music and opera suddenly descend upon San Diego. October 24 was the conclusion of the Drive-In Mainly Mozart Festival and the opening of the Drive-In …

It would appear as though our political system is at the start of Wagner’s Ring Cycle. You may recall that The Ring starts with the dwarf, Alberich, stealing the Rhinegold in order to create a …

The drive-in Mainly Mozart Festival concerts have concluded. The Mainly Mozart Festival presented four classical music concerts between October 17 and 24. San Diego Opera is in the middle of four drive-in performances of Puccini’s …

The Mainly Mozart Festival has gotten underway and now it’s almost over. The festival concludes on Saturday, October 24 at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. On opening night, Saturday, October 17, the event was sold out …

I’ve never heard Mozart’s Jupiter Symphony. Can you believe that? After all these years, it has avoided me. I’ve heard Mozart’s Haffner Symphony at least three times. I’ve heard his Symphony No 29 twice. I’ve …

Mainly Mozart is putting on a full-scale orchestra festival from October 17 - 24 and you can attend it live, no streaming required. The concerts are in a drive-up format at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. …

The post-modern politics of power are now trying to tack their sloppy thought processes onto Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5. An article at vox.com claims: “Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony starts with an anguished opening theme — dun …

There is some live music in San Diego these days. On Friday, September 11, I and my kids were able to attend Mainly Mozart’s drive-up Resilience concert at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. According to Mainly …

Shame on Amazon UK and their new Alexa commercial that asks Alexa to stop playing Mozart and start playing “something more fun.” The entire commercial makes Mozart’s Queen of the Night in The Magic Flute …

Last week I unfairly accused the brass and winds of forcing Covid-19-laden breath through their instruments. I venerated the strings section for their safer approach to music. None of that is accurate. I was having …

One of the issues orchestras is facing is brass and wind instruments. Brass instruments have “water keys” to drain the accumulated moisture from the instrument. Another, and more accurate, term for water key is “spit …

Giovanni Sgambati conducted the Italian premiere of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 in 1867. He conducted the Italian premiere of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 in 1870. Let that sink in for a moment. Beethoven composed his …

It’s August, a month in which I usually begin to look forward to the Masterworks Season at the San Diego Symphony. However, in my opinion, there will be no fall concerts this year. One of …

When considering “blind auditions” for orchestras I began to wish opera companies were forced to cast their operas based on blind auditions. A blind audition means the auditors do not know anything about the musician …

The author of a thought piece in the New York Times wants to get rid of blind auditions for top tier orchestras in order to create more diversity in orchestras. A blind audition means the …

Well, we are back to square one with the reopening of the county, and that is bad news for San Diego classical music. The good news is that the restriction on concerts is forcing our …

Having spent the last eight days in the Santa Cruz Mountains and having walked many a forest path, I began to consider the greatest music inspired by nature. What follows is by no means a …

I’m spending some time in the Santa Cruz mountains and a redwood forest. A redwood forest is often compared to a cathedral and for good reason. I must admit there is something of a sacred …

There are a multitude of stories currently presenting the idea that Beethoven was black. The claim is that he had a Moorish background through his mother’s side. His mother’s family came from Flanders which was …

Since Father’s Day is coming up, let’s look at some operatic fathers and decide if they deserve a Father’s Day card or not. First up is Rigoletto from Verdi’s Rigoletto. We see Rigoletto as a …

I’ve been sitting in on some voice lessons at the studio of a good friend. In the course of the conversation between lessons, the topic of sports performance came up, and then we realized the …

What could an early 20th Century British composer and a 19th century American poet possibly have to say about the context of police brutality in early 21st Century America? First of all, I am growing …

I wish I could find the wherewithal to be a fan of classical music in the age of streaming. For a while I watched out of obligation. Obligation turned to watching out of guilt and …

Summer classical music in San Diego has followed a glorious pattern for as long as most of us can remember. The Mainly Mozart Festival welcomes the summer in June. The San Diego Symphony Summer Bayside …

“To send light into the darkness of men's hearts - such is the duty of the artist.” – Robert Schumann “Art is whatever you can get away with.” – John Cage With no concerts to …

During the shelter-in-place era, I’ve been covering a lot of ground, relative to my normal consumption, in the realm of high culture. I’ve read books which I’ve been putting off for years such as Death …

There are some real concerns out there regarding the future of many classical music organizations. I don’t want to come off as unsympathetic, but the destruction of these organizations by the COVID-19 situation won’t mean …