Category Archives: A Little Night Music

Several weeks ago I wrote off the symphonies of Robert Schumann as some of music’s “most honorable failures.” Esa-Pekka Salonen had performed the “Rhenish” Symphony in an acceptable but hardly stirring manner – as he had the “Spring” Symphony a … Continue reading →

One thing is certain: Royce Hall, grand architectural landmark on the UCLA campus, 1,829-seat concert hall of matchless comfort, beauty and sonic amenities, reopens next Wednesday. After four years and three months of repair, reconstruction and retrofitting in the wake … Continue reading →

Every year around this time, the excellent local ensemble called the Armadillo String Quartet puts on a concert of music by its anointed composer-in-nonresidence, Peter Schickele. Peter comes out from New York for the concert; sometimes – as a pretty … Continue reading →

“Now that’s music,” whispered the man behind me to his companion, as Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Los Angeles Philharmonic launched into the merry A-major opening bars of Mendelssohn’s “Italian” Symphony. After a stiff dose of forward-marching works from his own … Continue reading →

Robert Ashley’s music offends me, insults my intelligence, wearies my posterior. Twice in my career as ear-for-hire I have been moved to issue a resonant “boo” at a public event. Once was at a Bang on a Can marathon concert … Continue reading →

It was Magnus Lindberg’s week: music long awaited, handsomely produced, agreeably if not ecstatically received. Finnish-born in 1958 – three days older than Esa-Pekka Salonen – Lindberg is already known here for some extraordinary works on disc, music of intense, … Continue reading →

A few weeks ago I expressed some rude thoughts in this space concerning the program chosen for the Philharmonic debut concert of the young British conductor Daniel Harding. Specifically, I feared that a string-orchestra version of Anton Bruckner’s String Quintet, … Continue reading →

In the realm of symphony-orchestra management there was some delicious double talk last week. On Friday, The New York Times broke the story that Kurt Masur, who has led the New York Philharmonic since 1991 and brought it out of … Continue reading →

Here’s a letter, one of many. Its writer – whom I’ll identify only by noting that we have the same initials – has been rendered morose by my words that suggest a negative reaction to music closer to his heart … Continue reading →

Well, that was more like it. After a season pretty far down in the operatic dumps so far, our aspiring if not yet perfect company has rediscovered enchantment at the most likely fountainhead, the music of Mozart. Last week’s Magic … Continue reading →