L.A. Chamber Orchestra plumbs Mozart’s Requiem; L.A. Phil takes on “Alice in Wonderland”

By Robert D. Thomas
Music Critic
Los Angeles Newspaper Group

• When Jeffrey Kahane began his “Discover” series of one-off concerts with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra at Ambassador Auditorium several years ago, it was to examine Beethoven symphonies in depth. Having exhausted most of those works (at least the familiar ones), Kahane & Co. turn to Mozart’s Requiem in D Minor on Thursday at 8 p.m. for the next installment.

There are plenty of opportunities for examination. Mozart left the piece unfinished and most conductors have used an ending supposedly finished by the composer’s friend, Franz Süssmayr. However in the 1990s, fortepianist and Mozart scholar Robert Levin published his own completion and this is the edition Kahane will use when he conducts the orchestra, Los Angeles Master Chorale and soloists in the second half of the program.

In the first half, actors John Sloan and JD Cullum from The Antaeus Company will join with Kahane to tell the Requiem’s story.

Single tickets are $25-$115. BTW: check the Web site for parking instructions, which are different than for Pasadena Symphony concerts.

Information: www.laco.org

• While Los Angeles Opera remains immersed in its “Figaro Trilogy” — The Ghost of Versailles continues its run through March 1, The Barber of Seville opens Feb. 28 and The Marriage of Figaro begins March 21 — the Los Angeles Philharmonic jumps into the operatic fray on Feb. 27 and 28 in Walt Disney Concert Hall with West Coast-premiere performances of Alice in Wonderland by Korean composer Unsuk Chin.

This is a new production by video artist Netia Jones who, in addition to being director, also designed the costumes and sets. She will use illustrations by Ralph Steadman (Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas) and combine those with live action and interactive animated projections.

There’s a cast of 12 in the opera — many playing multiple roles — along with members of the L.A. Master Chorale and L.A. Children’s Chorus. The performances will be conducted by rising Finnish star Susanna Mälkki, who was recently named chief conductor of the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra and has made a strong impression in previous L.A. Phil concerts.

Incidentally, LA Opera is listed as a “collaborator” on this production although the company has made no mention of this on its Web site or publicity materials. LAO reportedly has been miffed about the Phil invading its turf with opera productions at Disney Hall in recent years so perhaps this “collaboration” was a way to mollify hurt feelings.

Information: www.laphil.com

If Chin’s contemporary take on Lewis Carroll’s classic isn’t your cup of tea, another young woman conductor with a growing rep, Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla — the Phil’s new assistant conductor — will lead a program of Mozart’s The Abduction from the Seraglio overture, Stravinsky’s Petrushka and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 on March 1 at Disney Hall.

Information: www.laphil.com
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(c) Copyright 2015, Robert D. Thomas. All rights reserved. Portions may be quoted with attribution.

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