Category: music

“‘Eine Brise: Transient Action for 111 Cyclists,’ by the late Argentinian composer Mauricio Kagel, … will have its L.A. premiere Feb. 22 outdoors on Grand Avenue’s pavement. Kagel’s quickie composition, no more than two minutes long, calls for 111 bicycle riders to ring their bells, whistle and emit vocalized effects in unison, on command.”

“[F]or all the publicity about the new 28-year-old Venezuelan music director and the freshness he brings to a supposedly staid classical music, the most extraordinary aspect of the program itself was just how much it represented business as usual for the Los Angeles Philharmonic. … No musical lollipops were on offer Thursday.”

Philippa Ibbotson: “Conductors are a mysterious breed. Oozing self-belief, elevated on a podium, they are endowed by critics and public alike with magical abilities. … [But the] truth is that almost the last place you look as a musician is towards the conductor. There simply isn’t time.”

Tom Service: “Yes, some of them earn too much and a handful are in the game to make the most of the money sloshing around … But it’s also true that, love them or hate them, the conductor – or, more accurately, the chemistry between the conductor and the players … defines the musical experience.”

“[F]or the first time an orchestra in mainland China is taking on a foreign music director: the French conductor Michel Plasson is becoming music director of the China National Symphony Orchestra.” Plasson’s contract runs for a year, during which he will conduct 10 concerts.

“Part of the craze is inspired by Dudamel himself — his manner, his easy rapport with audiences and his talent. But something else is at work here too. Deborah Borda, the L.A. Phil’s visionary president, understood two things in bringing the exuberant 28-year-old Venezuelan to Los Angeles: the city’s widespread hunger for music, and how Dudamel could help sate it.”

“[F]ormer Beach Boy Brian Wilson has been authorized by the estate of George Gershwin to complete unfinished songs Gershwin left behind when he died in 1937. He plans to finish and record at least two such pieces on an album of Gershwin music he hopes to release next year.”

“Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra musicians will take a 12 percent reduction in salary this season, followed by incremental increases in the second and third years of a newly ratified three-year contract.”

“Utah Symphony musicians, in what officials are calling an ‘unprecedented’ agreement, will become this year’s largest donor to the state’s largest arts organization … The union musicians, who made the proposal in the face of the nation’s continuing economic downturn, will donate $1.3 million in salary and benefits to their employer.”

The choice is violinist and conductor Thomas Zehetmair, who – in addition to a successful career as a soloist – is music director of England’s Northern Sinfonia and heads up his own string quartet. He starts with the SPCO in the 2010-11 season.