Getting ready to strut that stuff

This is our two-week Thanksgiving issue, which means that a LOT is happening in the Next 14: Thanksgiving, Black Friday, the first Sunday of Advent, Giving Tuesday, and the start of the roller-coaster ride that is the Christmas concert season. This is the time of year when musicians and other performers are juggling packed schedules … Read more

Arts journalism matters, even on Twitter

If you’re not on the Essential Arts mailing list from the Los Angeles Times, you should be. This week’s issue tackles the upheaval at Twitter in both thoughtful and pithy tones and rightly ponders what the blue birdie’s undoing might do to arts journalism. The newsletter is usually helmed by Carolina A. Miranda, and includes … Read more

Spending this Tuesday with TED

I’ve been on TED’s mailing list for years, as they make interesting recommendations each week from their extensive library of short “talks” on just about any subject you can imagine. Doing a TED Talk can make a career, even in classical music. (Just ask Eric Whitacre, Gustavo Dudamel or any of the other numerous musicians … Read more

[Updated] LA’s penchant for fresh works bears fruit

This week, the Los Angeles music scene shows off their new music prowess with two new operas and a special concert of art song, just to start. We’re lucky to be served by a community that makes music groundbreaking and not just good, surrounded as we are by excellent musicians who don’t shy away from the … Read more

NewMusicUSA invests in our local musicians

One of the nation’s biggest proponents of new classical music runs many helpful programs to help composers and presenters of new stuff in our field. They have also, however, developed a reputation over the years for being highly biased toward NYC-based recipients. Whether or not that reputation is deserved, it’s nice to have an excuse … Read more

To say and not to say

I’ve spent most of the last few days trying to formulate a statement on last week’s news out of our nation’s capital. What keeps issuing forth from my keyboard is angry, garbled and very, very preachy. I’ll try to spare you from the worst of the tirades, and will instead address a behavioral imperative that … Read more

Causes of art

From the dawn of civilization, creators have connected their work with things they believed in.  Not all artists are political, and no one will support every cause or every work of art.  But beauty does not exist in a vacuum, and the meaning it conveys can move mountains, change society and bring profound change to … Read more

Very big week

So, let’s start with the GRAMMYs and all the people who were honored in one fell swoop with LA Phil’s recording of Mahler’s 8th. Controversy is still in the air:  California is backing away from mask requirements for indoor venues (while local and venue rules still apply), yet surveys reveal on both coasts that audiences seem to favor an abundance … Read more

%d bloggers like this: