(Updated) Five-Spot: What caught my eye on March 1, 2012

By Robert D. Thomas

Music Critic

Pasadena Star-News/San Gabriel Valley Tribune/Whittier Daily
News

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UPDATE:  I forgot The Colburn Orchestra concert on Saturday! Of course, I won’t be able to see it because I will be singing in the Pasadena Singers’ concert (see bottom of this post), but the Colburn kids deserve to be included.

Can it really be March 1 already??? Each Thursday, I list five events that pique my interest,
including (ideally) at least one with free admission (or, at a minimum, inexpensive
tickets). Here’s today’s grouping:

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Tomorrow at 8 p.m.,
Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m. at Walt Disney Concert Hall

Los Angeles
Philharmonic; Pablo Heras-Casado, conductor

The 34-year-old Spanish conductor, who last December was
named Principal Conductor of the Orchestra of St Luke’s in New York City,
returns to conduct the Phil in a program that includes the west coast premiere
of James Matheson’s Violin Concerto (with LAPO Principal Concertmaster, Martin
Chalifour as soloist) and Richard Strauss’ tone poem Ein Heldenleben. Tomorrow night is a “Casual Friday” program; the
Saturday and Sunday concerts add Beethoven’s Egmont Overture. Information:
www.laphil.com

Saturday at 7:30 p.m. in Ambassador Auditorium
The Colburn Orchestra; Bramwell Tovey, conductor

Tovey — music director of the Vancouver Symphony and for the past three summers principal guest conductor of the L.A. Phil at Hollywood Bowl– leads a program of Richard Strauss’ Ein Heldenleben (yes, we seem to be awash in Strauss’ autobiographical tone poem — see L.A. Phil above)) and Brahms Piano Concerto No. 2, with Sichen Ma as soloist. Information: www.colburnschool.edu

Sunday at 4 p.m. at
Neighborhood Church, Pasadena

Pacific Serenades

Known for presenting world premieres, Pacific Serenades unveils
a new work by the group’s artistic director, Mark Carlson, which is entitled Cave Paintings, for alto saxophone,
violin, viola, cello, and piano. Carlson
describes Cave Paintings as a
tribute to music from American popular culture of the 1930s and 1940s. “I grew
up hearing that music,” he explains, “partly because my mother loved it […] and
partly because it was always such an integral part of our culture, and still
is.” He cites noir film scores and the Great
American Songbook
— music principally from Broadway and Hollywood musicals
and from jazz by the likes of George Gershwin, Jerome Kern, Billy Strayhorn,
Harold Arlen, and Cole Porter–as inspirations.

 

The concert
also plays Saturday night at a private home in Altadena and Tuesday night at
UCLA (where Carlson teaches). Information:
www.pacser.org

 

Sunday at 7:30 p.m.
at Walt Disney Concert Hall

Los Angeles
Children’s Chorus and American Youth Symphony; James Conlon, Anne Tomlinson and
Alexander Treger, conductors

There are several reasons to consider attending this
concert. First (and most important) it’s a concert that combines two of the
Southland’s major youth-oriented organizations. Now in its second quarter
century, the Pasadena-based Los Angeles Children’s Chorus is one of the world’s
premiere children’s choirs whose singers regularly perform with such groups as
the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Los Angeles Opera.  From the time it was founded, in 1964 by conductor Mehli
Mehta (father of Zubin), the American Youth Symphony has trained thousands of
orchestral musicians, many of whom now play in major orchestras throughout the
U.S.

 

Second, the Shakespeare-themed program will see the
conductors of both ensembles on the podium (albeit at different times), along
with Los Angeles Opera Music Director James Conlon, who will lead both
ensembles in the world premiere of Icelandic composer Daniel Bjarnason’s The isle is full of noises, a
three-movement work based on Shakespeare’s The
Tempest.

 

Anne Tomlinson, LACC artistic director, will lead the
opening half, conducting music by Vaughan Williams, Britten, Douglas Beam and
David Wilcocks. After intermission and before the Bjornason work, Alexander
Treger, AYS music director, will lead his ensemble in a suite from Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet.

 

Another reason to attend is that this concert is part of the
L.A. Phil’s “Sounds About Town” series, which provides people with an
inexpensive way to see a concert in the Disney Hall auditorium. Tickets for
this concert range from $20.75 to $45, far less than you would pay for an L.A.
Phil concert, so if you’ve never been inside Disney Hall, this is a great
opportunity. Since the two ensembles will undoubtedly have lots of relatives in
attendance, check with the box office before you make the trip downtown. Information: www.laphil.com

 

Wednesday at 8 p.m.
at Walt Disney Concert Hall

Jeffrey Kahane and
friends

Kahane, who is celebrating his 15th anniversary
as music director of Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, appears with LACO’s
Concertmaster Margaret Batjer and Principal Cellist Andrew Shulman in a recital
on the Phil’s Colburn Celebrity Series. Kahane, who continues to be a
world-class pianist, will play music by Chopin, as well. Information: www.laphil.com

 

And the weekend’s
“free admission” program …

 

Saturday at 7:30 at
Pasadena Presbyterian Church

The Pasadena Singers:
“Choral Favorites from Two Continents”

Since I sing with this chamber choral ensemble, you can (as
I often say, quoting the late, great Molly Ivins) take this recommendation with
a grain of salt or a pound of salt. The program features the world premiere of
three Scottish/Irish folk songs arranged by Philip Lawson, who for 20 years
sang with and was the principal arranger for The King’s Singers. Also on the
agenda is music by Brahms (a healthy selection of the Liebeslieder Waltzes), Copland, Vaughan Williams and a rollicking
arrangement of Cindy by Mormon
Tabernacle Choir director Mack Wilberg. Information:
www.ppc.net

_______________________

 

(c) Copyright 2012, Robert D. Thomas. All rights reserved.
Portions may be quoted with attribution.

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Five-Spot: What caught my eye on January 26, 2012

By Robert D. Thomas

Music Critic

Pasadena Star-News/San Gabriel Valley Tribune/Whittier Daily
News

______________________

 

Each Thursday morning, I list five events that pique my
interest, including (ideally) at least one with free admission (or, at a minimum,
inexpensive tickets). Here’s today’s grouping:

______________________

 

Tonight at 8 p.m. at
Walt Disney Concert Hall

Simn Bolivr
Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela; Gustavo Dudamel, conductor

Mahler: Symphony No.
5

This was one of the works with which Gustavo Dudamel
introduced Los Angeles to this dynamic orchestra in 2007. Thus, part of the
intrigue will be to see what changes have occurred in Dudamel’s interpretation
and in the orchestra’s playing. The Bolivrs conclude their individual portion
of the cycle on Tuesday with Symphony No. 7 Information: www.laphil.com

 

Tonight at 8 p.m.
at Zipper Hall (The Colburn School)

Los Angeles Chamber
Orchestra’s Baroque Conversations

LACO begins its season of baroque chamber-music programs
when Principal Oboist Alan Vogel leads five of his colleagues and soprano
Elissa Johnston in a program of music by J.S. Bach and Heinrich Ignaz Franz
Bieber. Information: www.laco.org

 

Friday and Saturday
at 8 p.m., Sunday at 2 p.m.

Los Angeles
Philharmonic; Gustavo Dudamel, conductor

Mahler: Symphony No.
6

The Phil swings back into action with what is perhaps the
darkest of Mahler’s symphonies. Information:
www.laphil.com

 

Saturday at 8 p.m.
at AT&T Center Theatre, Los Angeles

Sunday at 3 p.m.,
First Presbyterian Church, Santa Monica

Musica Angelica:
Pergolesi/Bach: Stabat Mater

Although Giovanni Pergolesi set a version of Stabat Mater, the work is at least as
well known through its German edition when J.S. Bach put different German text
atop Pergolesi’s music (composers during that time were freer about “borrowing”
music both from themselves and others). Martin Hasselbck will lead his
top-notch period-instrument ensemble along with soloists Dame Emma Kirkby,
soprano, and countertenor Daniel Taylor. Sacred arias by Bach and Handel will
fill out the program.

 

The Saturday performance will be the group’s first time in
the AT&T Center Theater in downtown Los Angeles. Old-timers will recognize
this as the old Transamerica Life headquarters. Radio station KUSC 95.1 FM
recently moved to the AT&T Center. Originally used as a conference hall,
the performing space reportedly has been acoustically retrofitted by KUSC to
accommodate small- and medium-size musical groups.

 

Information: www.musicaangelica.org

 

Sunday at 4 p.m. at
Neighborhood Church, Pasadena

Pacific Serenades

For more than a quarter-century, Pacific Serenades has been
known for (a) beginning its season after the New Year holiday and (b)
commissioning new works. The inaugural concert of its 2012 season will feature
its 103rd commissioned work: the world premiere of Different Lanes for string quartet and
iPad by Los Angeles native and Emmy-award winning composer Laura Karpman (the
title refers to five L.A. freeways) The program will also include Beethoven’s
String Quartet in D Major, Op. 18, No. 3, and Ravel’s Sonata for Violin and
Cello (2001).

 

Information:
www.pacser.org

 

And the weekend’s
“free admission” program …

 

Friday at 8 p.m. at
First Church of the Nazarene, Pasadena

Pasadena Community
Orchestra; Alan Reinecke, conductor

PCO opens its 28th season with a program of
Smetna’s Sarka (from Ma Vlast), Mozart’s Symphony No. 39, and
Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 2, with Joyce Pan as soloist. Pan is a member
of the orchestra’s violin section; in her “other” life, she’s a technical
director for Dreamworks Animation. Information:
www.pcomusic.org

  

OPERA NOTES

Both Long Beach Opera and San Diego Opera open their seasons
this weekend. Long Beach presents Maria
de Buenos Aires
by Astor Pizzola and Horacio Ferrer on Sunday at 2 p.m. and
Feb. 4 at 8 p.m. at The Warner Grand Theatre in San Pedro. Information: www.longbeachopera.org

 

San Diego Opera begins with Richard Strauss’ Salome, which opens Saturday at 7 p.m.
and also plays Tuesday at 7 p.m., Feb. 3 at 8 p.m. and Feb. 5 at 2 p.m. Lise
Lindstrom sings the title role. Information:
www.sdopera.com

_______________________

 

(c) Copyright 2012, Robert D. Thomas. All rights reserved.
Portions may be quoted with attribution.

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Around Town/Music: Chamber music admidst Mahler

By Robert D. Thomas

Music Critic

Pasadena Star-News/San Gabriel Valley Tribune/Whittier Daily
News

This article was first
published today in the above papers.

 

In the midst of a busy month for orchestral concerts, a
couple of chamber music presentations are worth noting.

 

For more than a quarter-century, Pacific Serenades has
been known for (a) beginning its season after the New Year holiday and (b)
commissioning new works. The inaugural concert of its 2012 season — locally on
Jan. 29 at 4 p.m. in Pasadena’s Neighborhood Church — will feature its 103rd
commissioned work: the world premiere of Different
Lanes
for string quartet and iPad by Los Angeles native and Emmy-award
winning composer Laura Karpman (the title refers to five L.A. freeways) The
program will also include Beethoven’s String Quartet in D Major, Op. 18, No. 3,
and Ravel’s Sonata for Violin and Cello (2001).

 

Information:
www.pacser.org

 

Musica Angelica’s concerts next weekend will feature a
performance of Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater,
a work at least as well known through its German version when J.S. Bach put
different German text atop Pergolesi’s music (composers during that time were
freer about “borrowing” music both from themselves and others). Martin Hasselbck
will lead his top-notch period-instrument ensemble along with soloists Dame
Emma Kirkby, soprano, and countertenor Daniel Taylor. Sacred arias by Bach and
Handel will fill out the program.

 

The Jan. 28 performance, at 8 p.m., will be the group’s first
time in the AT&T Center Theater in downtown Los Angeles. Old-timers will
recognize this as the old Transamerica Life headquarters. Radio station KUSC
95.1 FM recently moved to the AT&T Center. Originally used as a conference
hall, the performing space reportedly will be acoustically retrofitted by KUSC
to accommodate small- and medium-size musical groups.

The January 29 (3 p.m.) performance will be at First Presbyterian Church, Santa Monica.

 

Information:
www.musicaangelica.org

 

The Simn Bolivr Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela moves
into Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s “Mahler
Project” gets much busier during the next couple of weeks. Gustavo Dudamel,
music director of both the LAPO and SBSOV, will conduct all performances:

* Today at 7:30 p.m. Symphony No. 2 (Resurrection) with the SBSOV, Los Angeles Master Chorale, and
soloists Miah Persson, soprano, and Christianne
Stotijn
, mezzo-soprano.

* Tuesday at 8 p.m., Symphony No. 3 with the SBSOV, women of
the L.A. Master Chorale, L.A. Children’s Chorus, and Stotijn.

* Thursday at 8 p.m., Symphony No. 5 with the SBSOV.

* Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. with
the LAPO playing Symphony No. 6.

* Jan. 31 at 8 p.m., Symphony No. 7 with the SBSOV.

* Feb. 2 and 3 at 8 p.m. and 5 at 2 p.m. Symphony No. 9 with
the LAPO.

* Feb. 4 at 8 p.m. at the Shrine Auditorium (near USC).
Dudamel will lead members of both orchestras, eight soloists, and more than 800
singers from 16 choruses in a performance of Symphony No. 8 that will live up
to its billing (appended not by Mahler but by a promoter) as”Symphony of a
Thousand.” Note, however, that at Friday night’s L.A. Phil performance of
Mahler’s Symphony No. 1, LAPO President announced that tickets for the
performance has sold out. Check the Phil’s box office (323/850-2000) for
returns and cancellations.

 

Information on the
“Mahler Project” concerts:
www.laphil.com

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My reviews of the LA Phil’s performance of Mahler’s Symphony
No. 4 and Songs of a Wayfarer on Jan.
13 is HERE. My review of the Phil’s performance of Symphony No. 1 is HERE. My
reviews of the upcoming performances will be posted the day after each concert.

_______________________

 

(c) Copyright 2012, Robert D. Thomas. All rights reserved.
Portions may be quoted with attribution.

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