This weekend, James Conlon is leading the LA Phil in a series of all-Prokofiev concerts, including the Symphony No. 1 in D major, Op. 25, the “Classical Symphony”; the Piano Concerto No. 1 in D-flat major, Op. 10; and selections from “Romeo and Juliet.”
The concert on Saturday night began a little late not just because [...]

Enjoy something old and something new this week with two great concerts, both at Walt Disney Concert Hall.  The first is Sunday, when three of LA’s finest groups — the Los Angeles Master Chorale, Musica Angelica, and the Los Angeles Children’s Chorus — combine to perform Bach’s St. Matthew Passion. The second is Tuesday: listen [...]

Southwest Chamber Music’s Ascending Dragon Festival opened this weekend with a set of three pre-tour concerts Friday, Saturday, and Monday.  I was able to hear the Monday, March 1, concert downtown at Zipper Hall, and left not only impressed by the ensemble and programming, but also enthused about the project generally and the fine events [...]

The last weekend of February I attended three different opera performances with varying degrees of scope and competency. As an opera impresario myself, let me preface my remarks by saying I believe each performance must be judged within its own context, not with the same plumb line.
Opera Buffs
On Feb. 27 at 2:30 p.m., I experienced [...]

In Classical Focus, Theodore Bell selects highlights from Jim Eninger’s Clickable Chamber Music Newsletter.

The chamber music spotlight is focused on the much-anticipated Ascending Dragon Music Festival and Cultural Exchange this week. Jeff von der Schmidt and the Southwest Chamber Music ensemble are flying high with concerts featuring new music of American and Vietnamese composers.
The U.S. [...]

First New York got one. Then LA did. It may be the future of classical music, or not. But one thing is for certain: It is an attempt to bring new vitality to the genre and appeal to a younger — or bored, or ADD — crowd. And that can only be a good thing. [...]

Music Director John Kennedy crafted an intriguing and satisfying program of three 20th-century pieces for the Chamber Players of Los Angeles’ Feb. 20 concert at the Church of the Master on the Westside.  Carl Nielsen’s iconic Wind Quintet, Op. 43 was the main course, with Jaques Ibert’s popular Wind Trio as the opening work.  Steven [...]

On Saturday night, Charles Dutoit conducted the Los Angeles Philharmonic in three works all composed within a period of about 40 years of one another, the Variaciones concertantes by Alberto Ginastera (1953), Concerto for the Left Hand by Maurice Ravel (1931) and Petrushka by Igor Stravinsky (1911).
Because of their relatively close temporal contiguity, all three [...]

In Classical Focus, Theodore Bell selects highlights from Jim Eninger’s Clickable Chamber Music Newsletter. Here are his top picks:
The most exciting news this week is that the Calder Quartet starts a two-concert series of the complete Bartók String Quartets. The first concert is this Tuesday, and the next will be in April.  What an [...]

Mercy! Mercy! Merci!  The Quatour Ebène, err, Trio Ebène, managed to impress Valentine revelers on a fine Sunday afternoon of Music at the Clark – even while playing on only three strings!  Violinist Pierre Colombet was unable to travel for medical reasons, so ebony (ebène) was added by noted pianist Orion Weiss as he joined [...]