Monthly Archives: February 2004

There was a time in China, Chen Yi remembers, when playing Paganini on your violin – or Mozart or Beethoven – could land you in a labor prison, with your instrument confiscated or burned. “I was about 13,” she says, … Continue reading →

In Orange County last November, a production of Madama Butterfly opened on a stageful of bustle: a consular office in old Nagasaki with secretaries at typewriters, young Japanese clerks pushing papers around, girls singing “Quanti fiori!” with nary a flower … Continue reading →

Tchaikovsky at Royce Hall, Schumann at Disney: After three weeks of Berlioz’s hectoring, perhaps it was time to ride the warhorses for a couple of nights. Last week they ran sleek and handsome. It’s easy enough, in my line of … Continue reading →

Photo courtesy of L.A. Philharmonic The sounds of Hector Berlioz and the shape of Walt Disney Concert Hall are a perfect match. It was fitting, therefore, that the Philharmonic’s three wondrous weeks celebrating this most certifiably mad of certifiably sane … Continue reading →