“Rumors about the impending exit have swirled for months, reaching a crescendo in recent days.” – Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times, July 24, 2013. Awhile back I commented on music critic Scott Cantrell’s non-use of the word “crescendo,” his contention
Interviewing the talent
By TIMOTHY MANGAN The stories behind the stories: I won’t assert that they are more interesting than the stories themselves, but they’re not without interest. I’ve learned a lot about classical musicians, both individually and as a group, interviewing them
Spotify playlist: Exotic concertos
A fun, little Spotify playlist of concertos you don’t run across too often. –TM
Rodion Shchedrin: ‘Naughty Limericks’
The Concerto for Orchestra No. 1, “Naughty Limericks,” by the brilliant Russian composer Rodion Shchedrin (born 1932), composed in 1963. Great fun. Evgeni Svetlanov conducts the USSR Symphony Orchestra.
Classical cover: ‘Also Sprach Zarathustra’
From 1972. Here’s how the opening of Richard Strauss’s Also Sprach Zarathustra sounds in its original form, as famously used to launch Stanley Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey.”
Recommended recordings: September
Recommended recordings of the pieces performed by the Pacific Symphony on its programs in September. Shostakovich: Festive Overture. Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Neeme Jarvi, conductor. Chandos. Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1. Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Krill Kondrashin, conductor. Martha Argerich, piano.
Pacific Overtures: September
Here’s the latest edition of my newsletter. Contents: September Concerts Roundup Interview: Dennis Kim Interview: Meredith Crawford Listen to This: Boléro Single Tickets Connections Series Renamed Video: Festive Overture Essential Books (4) Miscellany Pacific Overtures. September, 2018.
Listen to this: ‘Boléro’
First in a series. Videographer: Paul Harkins.
Interview: Meredith Crawford, principal viola
By ERICA SHARP Meredith Crawford, principal viola of Pacific Symphony, cheerfully picked up the phone to talk to an interviewer at the appointed time. She said she had just come back from a walk on the beach. She currently resides
Interview: Dennis Kim, concertmaster
By TIMOTHY MANGAN Dennis Kim is the new concertmaster of Pacific Symphony, named in April to the position after a long search, replacing Raymond Kobler, who retired in 2016 after 17 years with the orchestra. Kim just moved to Irvine