The late days of summer are the best time of year in Los Angeles for an evening picnic; and if your main course pairs well with the finest music in LA, then what place could be better than the Hollywood Bowl?

Bramwell Tovey, principal guest conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, [...]

Southwest Chamber Music continued its great summer concert series at the Huntington Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 7 and 8, with music by Debussy, Ravel, Satie, and well-known local composer Anne Le Baron.
Debussy’s Danse sacrée et danse profane attracted me to the concert to begin with – and I was not disappointed.  Alison Bjorkedal’s harp [...]

Gustavo Dudamel had a ball at the Bowl with Gershwin and Bernstein kickin’ it Tuesday night, Aug. 3.
Gershwin’s eidetic An American in Paris was rapturous — take that, you East Coast snobs!
The large orchestration really resonated in the Hollywood Bowl, and Dudamel and the LA Phil delivered a knock-out performance. We could see the New [...]

Southwest Chamber Music continued its reputation for great programming on July 23, as Artistic Director Jeff von der Schmidt connected the dots for us between Mexico and Vienna with works by Silvestre Revueltas, Gabriela Ortiz, and Beethoven.
The setting was an idyllic Los Angeles summer’s eve at the Huntington.  As I strolled in the gardens, dusk [...]

The program was all French, and Martin Chalifour’s Saint-Saëns was brilliant.
Normally heard as the LA Phil’s Principal Concertmaster, Chalifour stepped up to center stage to star as soloist on July 13 at the Hollywood Bowl, performing Saint-Saëns’ Violin Concerto No. 3 to open the passionate all-French program with guest conductor Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos.
Have you [...]

The LA Phil’s summer season at the Hollywood Bowl began on July 6 with a grand celebration blast to honor its heroes. Grammy-winning alto Kelly O’Connor clearly demonstrated why she is one of the most sought-after of singers. The program honored Grant Gershon’s 10 years with the LA Master Chorale, and also gave tribute to [...]

The Los Angeles Philharmonic opens its 2010 Classical Series at the Hollywood Bowl in “A Glorious Celebration” with Grant Gershon and the Los Angeles Master Chorale (LAMC).
Gershon celebrates his 10th year as Music Director with the help of the LAMC, sopranos Jessica Rivera and Christine Brandes, and Grammy Award-winning mezzo-soprano Kelley O’Connor.
The evening features Haydn’s [...]

In Frequency
Here is yet another example of the tremendous quality in the new music scene of the Southland.  In Frequency presents works of major and lesser-known artists from the mid- 20th century to the present, including those of local and West Coast composers.
The performers are distinguished artists from LA’s top ensembles.  This week, founding members [...]

Music & Conversations
This Saturday evening consider hearing Ida Levin (violin), Lila Brown (viola), Antonio Lysy (cello), Delores Stevens (piano), Bryan Pezzone (piano), and M.B. Gordy (percussion) in the new venue for Music & Conversations in the Culver City Arts District.  Moreover, how especially nice it will be to mingle and chat with the artists and [...]

Afternoon delights await us both Saturday and Sunday.  Be sure to hear one of these outstanding concerts before the chamber music season slowly winds down for the season.  Each offers something musically unique and special in terms of the artists and programs, and cries testament to the depth and quality in the music scene in [...]