Jaap van Zweden’s long-awaited Beethoven Fifth does not disappoint
/From the famous opening ‘fate’ motif, the listener was treated to a thrilling roller-coaster ride of light and darkness, purposeful and suspenseful, lyrical and dramatic.
Read MorePianist Hélène Grimaud lends a sensitive hand to Brahms Second Concerto
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Ms. Grimaud showed us in the first two movements that passion and poetry could be sharply contrasting two sides of the same coin
Read MoreViolinist Batiashvili makes auspicious L.A. debut in Tchaikovsky
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The latest to visit L.A. was German/Georgian violinist Lisa Batiashvili, who played the Tchaikovsky d-minor Violin Concerto in a glossy, lyrical fashion that matched the shine of her flowing silver gown.
Read MoreNew Year’s Eve Bash with Pink Martini, Rita Moreno, Mariachi Band
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The international theme continued with Rita Moreno reprising her Anita in the rousing “America” dance number from the 1961 film “West Side Story” – with contributions from Storm Large, China Forbes and the fabulous Aztlán de Pueblo High School mariachi band.
Read MoreTaiwan Philharmonic Impresses in Historic First U.S. Concert
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Maestro Shao-Chia Lu conducted with elegant precision, bringing out surprising Brahmsian warmth from the Taiwanese strings.
Read MoreDespite Low Attendance, China Philharmonic Is a Force to Be Reckoned With
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The impressively high standard of playing was credited to Long Yu, a Berlin-trained conductor who single-handedly built up two major orchestras in Shanghai and Beijing
Read MoreRussian Tornado Trifonov Touches Down in L.A.'s Disney Hall
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Trifonov maintained an aristocratic poise and an upright posture even during the hairiest, most thunderous passages
Read MoreSimon Rattle brings Berlin Philharmonic to Disney Hall in final tour
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Fifteen years after its first visit to the Southland, the Berliners gave a déjà vu performance of undiminished power and brilliance more than a decade later.
Read MoreA zany Finn and a political cellist in Dvorak and Sibelius
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Cellist Johannes Moser dedicated his encore to Hillary Clinton and Leonard Cohen.
Read MoreViolinist Hilary Hahn’s classy artistry a balm for new music
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Her Bach was pristine and classy, reminiscent of her incandescent Partita No. 2 “Chaconne” in the same hall a few years ago
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