A classical music website dedicated to Pacific Symphony
Is it just me, or do you hardly ever hear Rossini overtures in concerts anymore? At any rate, here’s a good one, the Overture to “Cenerentola” (“Cinderella), performed by the Philharmonia Orchestra and conducted by Carlo Maria Giulini. The
The December newsletter is out a day early … Pacific Overtures. December, 2017.
Sonata form is a rich and complex subject, often considered beyond the understanding of all except well schooled musicians. But some of the basics are pretty easy to understand and, more important, hear. First, there are three main sections in
This has long been one of my favorite pieces of Kleiberiana — “The Huntsmen’s Chorus” from Weber’s “Der Freischutz.” It’ll make you feel good. You’re welcome.
This seems appropriate for the day, one of my favorite recordings of Beethoven’s “Pastoral” Symphony, with Carlo Maria Giulini conducting the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Happy Thanksgiving.
The 1953 musical “Kismet” used the melodies of Russian composer Alexander Borodin (1833-1887), adapted and given different words by Robert Wright and George Forrest. One of the tunes, from the “Polovtsian Dances,” became a popular song called “Stranger in Paradise.”
Longtime Pacific Symphony tubist Jim Self has released a new recording. Like several others of Self’s recordings, this one is jazz. It’s called “Floating in Winter,” and it features both originals and standards. With John Chiding on guitars, Self plays tuba
Carl St.Clair and Pacific Symphony give the orchestra’s first performances of Anton Bruckner’s Symphony No. 8 on Nov. 9-11. To help you prepare, we’ve selected four wonderful examples of Bruckner’s music (all of them scherzos) from YouTube.
I won’t categorize this as a “neglected symphony,” but it doesn’t turn up on concert programs that often, especially when you consider how good it is. The piece is in a single movement; it’s the last symphony Sibelius wrote (in