Pasadena Symphony presents an “Apotheosis of the Dance” where Germany and Armenia meet. By Ted AYALA Richard Wagner famously referred to the Beethoven 7th Symphony as the “apotheosis of the dance.” With its potent rhythmic intensity and dazzling harmonic modulations, the Beethoven 7th is definitely one of the Bonn master’s most propulsive and nearly visceral […]
By Ted AYALA Genius. Fraud. Visionary. Charlatan. John Cage’s music and philosophy has a quality that very few composers possess: the ability to inspire – even decades after his death – fiery debate and profound contemplation from his audience. Perhaps no other composer of the latter half of the 20th Century so fundamentally altered the […]
By Brandon HENSLEY It’s not every day jazz singers are asking around asking for help in calculus right before they’re about to go onstage, but Tricia Tahara is different. When the time came for her to take the stage Tuesday night at Catalina Bar & Grill in Hollywood, she pulled off her numbers with ease, […]
By Ted AYALA After a prolonged hiatus, the Glendale Philharmonic Orchestra (GPO) is back. Reorganized into a more robust organization, the GPO will once again bring their fiery artistry to the residents of Glendale. Many local lovers of classical music were stunned by the GPO’s sudden cancellation of its January concert mere days before the […]
By Susan JAMES The 22nd Annual North American Doctor Who Convention, sponsored by Gallifrey One Conventions, was held over the weekend of Feb. 18-20 at the Los Angeles Airport Marriott Hotel. “Whovians” of all shapes and sizes, in costume and out, swarmed the conference rooms where panels on Doctor Who arcanea kept fans enthralled. Dressed […]
Well its official – we have a winner of the 2nd Annual Oscar Ballot Contest! Raquel Matta of San Pablo, Calif. had 18 correct predictions out of 24 categories total. “The King’s Speech,” “The Social Network,” and “Inception” took home quite a few awards between them. Surprisingly, “Black Swan” only got one award, Natalie Portman […]
By Ted AYALA If last year was a turbulent year for the Pasadena Symphony Orchestra (PSO) you would never have guessed it when listening to their performance on Saturday, Feb. 19 at Pasadena’s Ambassador Auditorium. Indeed, there was something almost defiant about the orchestra, under guest conductor Matthias Bamert, filling the despite a powerful rain […]
By Charly SHELTON Have you ever felt as though something was just meant to happen? Like no matter what you do, it is going to happen. As though some force is causing things, either good or bad, to happen to you and direct your life in a certain way. This is the job of The […]
By Ted AYALA “There only exists two kinds of music: good and bad.” This oft-quoted phrase – attributed to everyone from Duke Ellington to Dmitri Shostakovich – never rings more true than with the art of local tenor Timur Bekbosunov. His fusion of classical and pop sensibilities explored through his Dime Museum project – which […]
By Ted AYALA Synchromy – a collective of Los Angeles area composers – presented their second concert of the season at Occidental College’s Bird Studio on Saturday night, Feb. 12. Joining Synchromy composers Daniel Gall and Jenni Brandon were the works of their fellow Synchromy members Eric Guinivan, Jason Barabba, Vera Ivanova and Yalil Guerra. […]