L.A. Times - Music Reviews

Paul Lewis gets to the heart of the matter

Sun, 12 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

British pianist Paul Lewis' main focus is Beethoven, but he also tackles other masters of the Austro-German classical repertoire.

Some pianists launch their career by challenging the work of the composers they play -- making a piece their own with a radical re-interpretation. The young Glenn Gould took J.S. Bach at an unheard-of speed, while Vladimir Horowitz found an unplumbed neurotic intensity in Robert Schumann.

Paul Lewis with the Los Angeles Philharmonic

Sun, 12 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Paul Lewis with the Los Angeles Philharmonic What: "Bravo Beethoven!"

Quincy Jones on Michael Jackson: 'We made history together'

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

The man who produced 'Off the Wall' and 'Thriller' remembers his protege.

Like the world, last week I was devastated by the news that Michael Jackson had suddenly left the room. This blessed artist commanded the stage with the grace of an antelope, shattered recording industry records and broke down cultural boundaries around the world, yet remained the gentlest of souls.

It's frankly Scandinavian

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

In Norway, Sweden and Denmark, the embrace of classical music can tend toward the lusty, with Bergman overtones. And a younger generation is making its influence felt.

In his 1979 film, "Manhattan," Woody Allen, ever the sarcastic pessimist, wonders why life is worth living. He comes up with Brando, Sinatra, Groucho, the second movement of Mozart's "Jupiter" Symphony and Cézanne's pears among the few things that make it worthwhile. And "Swedish movies, naturally." Director Ingmar Bergman was the best-known Scandinavian artist, and Swedish cinema was a voyeuristic American's most likely contact with a supposedly sexually liberated Scandinavia.

André Previn's place in L.A. Philharmonic history

Sun, 31 May 2009 00:00:00 -0700

He helped make some of Esa-Pekka Salonen's accomplishments possible. Recordings revisit some of his work.

Sir André, come home.

Herb Alpert donates to CalArts

Wed, 9 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

The multi-Grammy winner has given $15 million to the School of Music at the California Institute of the Arts.

Eight-time Grammy winner and Los Angeles native Herb Alpert, who in November pledged $30 million to UCLA to establish the cross-disciplinary UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, has now given $15 million to the School of Music at the California Institute of the Arts. In recognition of the gift, to be announced today, the school will be renamed the Herb Alpert School of Music.

La La La Human Steps

Mon, 7 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Édouard Lock's Montreal company rethinks Tchaikovsky with 'Amjad' at Royce Hall.

WE can refuse history, but we can't forget about it, even with the new technologies. Those are Luciano Berio's words. They were also the theme of the late Italian composer's Norton Lectures at Harvard 15 years ago. Last week, I was sure I had long ago proved Berio wrong. Having shuffled dying swans and such into the category of ritual rather than renewable art, I not only, good Modernist that I am, refused Tchaikovsky's ballets but also had put them out of my mind. Would good reviews have made American Ballet Theatre's "Swan Lake" at the Music Center an event? Not for me.

Dylan, Hendrix DVDs show rock 'n' roll history in action

Wed, 17 Oct 2007 00:00:00 -0700

New DVDs show Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix performances that changed the course of pop music.

There haven't been that many nights in rock 'n' roll when you could say after a performance that music will probably never be the same again, but two marvelous new DVDs let us revisit two such evenings.

Reviews of James Blunt and Kenneth 'Babyface' Edmonds

Sun, 16 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0700

"All the Lost Souls" (Atlantic Records) "Playlist" (Mercury Records)

James Blunt AS oxymorons go, "soft rock" wields more power than most people admit. Largely dismissed as a watered-down, blown-dry corruption of liberated youth culture, it's been shoved into the category of "guilty pleasure" practically since its inception.

Hockey star Boyd Devereaux plays music mogul too

Sun, 16 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0700

The Toronto Maple Leaves center joins a pal from Reprise Records in service of hyper-obscure noise-rock.

WHEN Toronto Maple Leafs center Boyd Devereaux caught a set from the Canadian psych-rock group Black Mountain at a Phoenix record store in 2004, he was so blown away that he let the band stay over at his house that night. The group was grateful for a place to crash but was taken aback by Devereaux's day job, then a member of the Phoenix Coyotes.