Expressive Conducting by Stelluto Achieves Bright Sound
REVIEW… The Pasadena Symphony’s next-to-last concert of the 2010-2011 season last Saturday demonstrated the wisdom of the orchestra’s move from the somber acoustics of the Pasadena Civic Auditorium to the bright—and exacting—sound that its current home at Ambassador Auditorium produces. Led by guest conductor George Stelluto in a program of the music of Felix Mendelssohn, [...]
Brahms Like You’ve Never Heard it Before
CD Review… Zuill Bailey represents all the best in classical music: training at the Peabody Conservatory of Music and the Julliard School; fabulous cello to perform on—a 1693 Matteo Gofriller cello; a performer increasingly sought as cello soloist with orchestras across the country; good press reviews that don’t seem to stop; recording artist that saw [...]
Pasadena Symphony Brewing with Success
REVIEW… The Pasadena Symphony’s second concert of the four-concert season at Ambassador Auditorium last Saturday was an occasion brewing with success: a sure-handed guest conductor, a full-spectrum pull-out-the-stops guest pianist, beautiful ensemble playing by the symphony’s musicians, the sonic purity of a famed auditorium, and a check for $500,000. Nothing was amiss other than a [...]
‘Amahl’ a Magical Holiday Offering at Playhouse
REVIEW… The Pasadena Playhouse has an offering that just may be the thing that will return the celebrated State Theater to a vibrant showcase for theater. The main stage production presented by Intimate Opera of Pasadena, now named the resident opera company of the Pasadena Playhouse, is “Amahl and the Night Visitors” the one-act opera [...]
Successful Pasadena Master Chorale Concert Opens Season
REVIEW… There have been many chorale groups in the San Gabriel Valley, lots of them performing for decades. The new kid on the block is the Pasadena Master Chorale, established in 2009. The response Artistic Director/conductor Jeffrey Bernstein received from a nearly full house at the Altadena Community Church on Sunday afternoon foretells that this [...]
The Classical Music Fall Season – Listings Below
The Peters Music News webpage will be quiesscent until late in September while its editor takes a vacation break. But the Fall season for classical music in the San Gabriel Valley has never looked so strong. Consider subscription tickets, plan to attend benefits, and by all means, financially support our local groups of musicians.
Music for the Ages at Cal Phil
REVIEW….. The California Philharmonic Orchestra’s next-to-last concert for the 2010 summer series was held last week-end presenting a program more focused on musical dates than any particular mode or style. These concerts are presented at the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Gardens and Walt Disney Concert Hall. For this review, I attended Disney [...]
Picture-Perfect Music at Norton Simon Museum
REVIEW… Like twentieth-century art, twentieth Century music takes many forms. Two ends of that spectrum were on view at the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena last Friday night when the California String Quartet performed the music of Maurice Ravel and Bela Bartok in front of modern arts works in the museum’s 20th-century art gallery. The [...]
Los Angeles Guitar Quartet – Classically Groovy in CDs
Late note: Helios Quartet to perform at Sundays Live this Sunday, Aug. 1. Details at end of review. BP REVIEW… I have always been a purist about my CDs—only hearing one album at a time. But, a friend of mine insisted that I would enjoy a multiple disc player to hear various tracks of changing [...]
Gloria, Gloria, Hallelujah, Bowl Fireworks Sparkle at Classical series
REVIEW Deborah Borda, President of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association, gave a heartwarming tribute to recently deceased Ernest Fleischmann who served as Executive Director of the LA Phil organization from 1969-1997 after which the Los Angeles Master Chorale, the performing group for the opening of the Classical series at the Hollywood Bowl, performed “Lacrymosa” from [...]
