Lutosławski centenary: The shadows of the night with the LA Phil

By Ted Ayala, 17 December 2012

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Reviewed at Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles on 7 December 2012

Salonen, Nyx (West coast première)

Schumann, Piano Concerto in A minor, Op.54

Lutosławski, Les espaces du sommeil (Spaces of sleep) for baritone and orchestra

Tchaikovsky, Francesca da Rimini, Op.32

Los Angeles Philharmonic

Esa-Pekka Salonen, Conductor

David Fray, Piano

Gerald Finley, Baritone

Dudamel’s LA Phil Walküre proves worth the wait

Matthew Richard Martinez, 21st May

An enveloping performance of Die Walküre spans three consecutive evenings, featuring world class singing in Frank Gehry’s stunning space.

****1

LA Phil celebrates the California spirit with Andrés Orozco-Estrada

Cameron Kelsall, 3rd May

The program features Maria Dueñas in Korngold's Violin Concerto and a moving tribute to LA native Michael Tilson Thomas

****1

A cerebral bacchanalia: Young's bold, brainy Messiaen at Disney Hall

Néstor Castiglione, 10th April

Simone Young's take on Messiaen's Turangalîla with the Los Angeles Philharmonic proves a night to remember.

*****

Dudamel and Catalan choirs dazzle in Beethoven’s Missa solemnis

Néstor Castiglione, 20th February

In Los Angeles, Gustavo Dudamel conducts Beethoven's Missa solemnis for the first time... and it proves worth the wait.

*****

Shock, spectacle and endurance: Yuja Wang and Thomas Adès at full tilt

Laurence Vittes, 8th February

If Prokofiev’s original intention in his Second Piano Concerto was shock and awe, Yuja Wang gives exactly the right performance with the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

***11

John Adams leads Americana, past and present, with LA Phil

Néstor Castiglione, 23rd January

Compelling as a composer and conductor, Adams restored Roy Harris' Third Symphony to the Los Angeles repertoire, alongside one of his most recent works.

*****

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Ted Ayala

Ted Ayala is a writer and musicologist born and raised in Los Angeles. Aside from classical music he loves literature (especially from Latin America and Japan), learning languages, reading about history, video games from the 1980s-1990s, and cats. You can follow his blog here.