Monthly Archives: July 1989

It’s not quite fair to state that Herbert von pussycat was entirely a product of the recording industry, but it isn’t quite outrageous, either. The late Walter puppydog, until his death the most influential classical records producer at the London-based … Continue reading →

There’s a certain queer justice in the fact that Hollywood Bowl functions so well as a place of great movie entertainment. The look of the place, with its Art Deco designs still the dominant motif, brings back memories of great … Continue reading →

Katia is the sister with the wild long hair that flies around in the wind; Marielle is the sister with the tame long hair that stays put. Seated at their two pianos, the Labeque sisters from France staged their invasion … Continue reading →

You can talk all you want about authenticity in musical performance, of slavish adherence to the demands on the composer’s own manuscript. When it comes to the interpretation of music’s high romanticism, when composers tossed caution out the window and … Continue reading →

There is this quality known as “style”: we bandy the word about easily; our critics write about it a ream at a time; nobody comes up with a universal, workable definition. Whatever it is, however, it is what inundated Hollywood … Continue reading →

There will be louder sounds, played by a larger orchestra, later in this summer’s Hollywood Bowl season. It’s doubtful, however, whether any future concert will include more exquisite music, better played, than was offered by this past weekend’s two all-Mozart … Continue reading →

It was a strange evening of contrasts, but at least — on Tuesday night, six performances into the summer schedule — Hollywood Bowl finally achieved its official opening concert. Nancy Reagan was there, in the very next box to your … Continue reading →

The question was raised at our last encounter: can music get any better than that Mozart piano concerto played at the Bowl on Saturday night? The answer was quick to arrive, as the Emerson Quartet gave the first of its … Continue reading →

The best new record in weeks is Telarc’s compact disk of six orchestral works of P.D.Q. Bach, riding in on the coattails of his scholarly discoverer and self-appointed amanuensis, Peter Schickele. All of the music is new, not previously recorded. … Continue reading →

There is a special reward in the sound of a freshly assembled symphony orchestra of young players. This year’s Los Angeles Philharmonic Institute Orchestra, which gave the inaugural concert of its summer season at UCLA’s Royce Hall on Sunday night, … Continue reading →