[contextly_auto_sidebar] OVER the years I've attended several musical events put on by Rachael Worby, a human dynamo who has operated several series in and around Pasadena. Worby -- who was once, I think, the First Lady of West Virginia -- seems interested in something both populist and unorthodox, and the new season of her series MUSE/IQUE launches this weekend. What follows is our recent … [Read more...]
Guest Columnist: Empty Room at the Top
[contextly_auto_sidebar] Here is the latest piece by CultureCrash's regular guest columnist, Lawrence Christon. Christopher O'Riley, of course, is best known to some of us for his classical-piano interpretations of Radiohead, Nick Drake and Elliott Smith. EMPTY ROOM AT THE TOP By Lawrence Christon For years it’s been routine, whenever possible, for me to make … [Read more...]
Max Richter and Classical Minimalism
[contextly_auto_sidebar] When it comes to a classical concert, how long is too long? What do you do when you get restless? And what state -- one of heightened curiosity? a sharpened intellectual edge? greater empathy? physical relaxation? -- should a piece of art music put its audience members? In what way is art meant to be transformative? These are all questions addressed, implicitly, at … [Read more...]
“West Side Story,” and Leonard Bernstein at 100
[contextly_auto_sidebar] IT'S hard to think of a figure in American cultural history more complex and protean than Leonard Bernstein. For my generation, he was already in eclipse when we came of age in the '70s and '80s. But he was such a titan that many of us -- and those older and younger -- are looking forward to the performances of his work and the upcoming exhibit at the Skirball Cultural … [Read more...]
Camerata Pacifica and Chamber Music in SoCal
[contextly_auto_sidebar] RECENTLY I've enjoyed a performance by the chamber group Camerata Pacifica and several conversations with its founder, Adrian Spence. I disagree with the cheeky Ulsterman on some points -- I am in some ways an American Anglophile with a European bent, he is a Brit who prefers American ways -- but I find him insightful and, with his group, unorthodox in an intriguing … [Read more...]
Two Los Angeles Choral Groups
[contextly_auto_sidebar] FOR reasons I don't entirely understand, I've had a harder time with vocal and choral music than most other sorts of classical music. The human voice is the first ostensibly musical instrument we ever hear -- why should it not strike strike my ear and naturally as the violin, cello or piano? In any case, I've tried to make up for it this year by seeing more … [Read more...]
Jan Swafford and Classical Music
[contextly_auto_sidebar] YOUR humble blogger is a longtime fan of the classical music writer Jan Swafford, ever since friend gave me his lucid and wise Vintage guide. Swafford, who's known for biographies of Beethoven, Brahms, and Ives, has just released The Language of the Spirit, an introduction of a different sort. I corresponded with the author for a piece on the LA Review of … [Read more...]