With its reputation for slick modernity, Los Angeles has the unfortunate (and inaccurate) reputation as being a place without much history. But L.A.’s story as an official settlement began in 1781, and the city has a strong connection to the…
June 21 marks the 35th year of Make Music Day, a global celebration of music involving 800 cities and 120 countries. This year NAMM’s Museum of Making Music will offer a special treat to Make Music Day participants when it…
By Brian Wise When the Los Angeles Philharmonic announced plans for its 100th anniversary season, which begins in September, it became evident that this would be a consummately, only-in-L.A. undertaking. There would be more than 50 commissions of new works,…
By Inge Kjemtrup The music of the great 20th-century Argentine composer Alberto Ginastera invariably invites comparisons with better-known European composers. His vitally energetic first opus, the orchestral suite Panambí (1934–37), is rightfully likened to The Rite of Spring, and for…
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By Anne Akiko Meyers To quote Randy Newman, “I love L.A.!” I feel very fortunate to again call Los Angeles my home base. The year-round warm climate, beautiful ocean and mountain views, thriving music scene, world-class restaurants, and friendly people…
If you’ve ever wondered how the theme song for Star Wars would sound on ancient string instruments—and really, how could you not?—then wonder no more. A group of amateur and professional musicians (all Star Wars fans, naturally) gathered in an old…
How an obsession with the gear that helped Stuff Smith achieve his distinctive sound brought me closer to a musical idol, 50 years after his death By David Schulman There are a lot of stories about jazz violinist Hezekiah Leroy…
By Inge Kjemtrup Every three years 12 of the finest young string quartets in the world vie for first prize at the Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition in London. Laureates of this competition include the Takács, Alexander, Belcea, Endellion, and…
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By Louise Lee Ask double bassists about the downsides of playing the instrument, and they will likely point to travel. Small cars can’t accommodate the instrument in the trunk or back seat. Train operators and bus drivers scowl when they…
By Cristina Schreil For Nikolaj Znaider, recording all of Mozart’s violin concertos with the London Symphony Orchestra wasn’t simply a chance to delve deep into the work of his favorite composer. It was also a tribute to a special bond.…
By Brian Wise Aisha Syed-Castro, a violinist from the Dominican Republic who is now based in Miami, came to Weill Recital Hall on February 27 with a program that recognized her musical and cultural roots. A native of Santiago, Syed-Castro…
By Stephanie Powell The New York–based Aizuri Quartet took home the grand prize at the University of Michigan’s M-Prize Chamber Music Competition. The quartet, made up of violinists Ariana Kim and Miho Saegusa, violist Ayane Kozasa, and cellist Karen Ouzounian,…
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Under the guise of complex art music, composer and ethnomusicologist Béla Bartók brought Hungarian peasant culture into the concert halls of Europe.
Violinist Christian Howes stopped by the Strings studio to perform two pieces: Herbie Hancock’s Chameleon and Postlude, a Howes original inspired in part by Bach’s Preludio (available for download).
I like the challenge of newly discovered repertoire, particularly solo repertoire. I’ve given this piece a couple of tries in performance, but I feel I have not given justice to it. It is an interesting example of polyphonic solo violin music…
By Laurence Vittes On April 27, violinist Paul Huang kicked off a very busy stretch with a Kennedy Center recital with pianist Orion Weiss. The program included Dvorak, Prokofiev, Brahms, and Conrad Tao’s new Threads of Contact. In May, Huang…
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By Miranda Wilson “Your bow’s not straight.” I found myself writing this comment again and again in undergraduate string juries, often for good players who had heard this criticism before. It’s become axiomatic that the bow must be pulled in…
The Swedish Lapland town of Luleå near the Arctic Circle is home to the coolest orchestra you’ve (possibly never) heard of, where musicians play hand-carved ICEstruments (instruments made out of ice, naturally) inside a gently lit, pulsing, rainbow-colored igloo concert hall.…
By Drew Alexander Forde As the electric, final chord of Astor Piazzolla’s “Primavera Porteña” washes over the audience at the end of our third performance of the night, the room erupts with applause. It is just another hard day’s work…
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