Cosi fan tutte at the L.A. Phil ThursdayLo

The Los Angeles Philharmonic orchestra under the direction of Gustavo Dudamel presented their third Mozart Opera at the Disney Hall last night.  All three of these operas were written by Mozart in partnership with Lorenzo da Ponte who wrote the words.  The opera presented 2 years ago was "Don Giovanni."  The second was "The Marriage of Figaro."  Currently the orchestra is presenting "Cosi fan tutte" which roughly means 'All women behave that way.'  The story is about two friends, Ferrando and Guglielmo, in love with sisters but are challenged by Don Alfonso to test their ladies' love by pretending to go away with the navy and instead dress up as Turks and attempt to woo the sisters. This turns into a bet with the maid, Despina, helping Don Alfonso by encouraging the sisters to have fun.  Well, the sisters do kind of fall for the two Turks, ending up with the one they to whom they are not engaged.  The ending is kind of happy with the original couples back together but not too happy about what had happen over this long one day in their lives.

The orchestra was great and the singing wonderful.  The set, designed by Zaha Hadid, architect was very interesting, kind of a white skate board park.  The costumes by Hussein Chalayan were also interesting.  In the first scene they look like they were wearing summer wear from J. Crew.  The last act, the wedding has all four, yes the men too, wearing dresses.

Here are some pictures from the performance:

Gustavo directing the smaller orchestra at the front left side of the stage.

Left is Roxana Constantinescu, (Dorabella), the Romanian mezzo-soprano.  To the right is Miah Perrson, (Fiordiligi) the second sister who is a renowned Swedish soprano.  Behind are lyric tenor Alek Shrader (Fernando) and Philippe Sly (Guglielmo) the French-Canadian bass-baritone all in their summer pastels.  

The dreamy sisters thinking about having fun with the strangers in town.

The guys in the "Turks" outfits with the girls preparing to marry the "strangers."

Here are the dismayed couples getting married to their original partners in their wedding dresses.

This is the maid, Despina, played by soprano Rosemary Joshua and the scheming Don Alfonso, Rod Gilfrey, bass.  They are celebrating the success of their plot. 

This photo shows a bit of the orchestra and the interesting set taken during a rehearsal.

Billy Joel at the Hollywood Bowl

Last night Colleen, Ginny, Lars and I had great fun with 18,000 others at the Billy Joel concert at the Hollywood Bowl.  At age 65, "The Entertainer" is still going strong and performed many of our favorites.  His band and backup singers were amazing with guitar riffs, saxophone interludes and great brass and percussion.  He is the master of the piano...playing fast and furious up and down the keyboard.  He even threw in a Beatles song and Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" in the middle of his famous songs.

The fans sang along to the top of our lungs, especially on "New York State of Mind" and "Piano Man." For a moment we were a close community all singing together.

The joy of music that defines the life of our generation is fantastic.  It was wonderful celebrating the music with the next generations who were also singing along.  It truly was an Ode to Joyfulness.

Mike Kelley's Kaleidoscope of Madness at MOCA

I visited the Geffen Contemporary Museum of the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art with my friend Teri yesterday.  We viewed the extensive collection of over 250 of his art works that include drawings, sculpture, performance, music, video, photography and painting.  As the program states he explored themes of American class relations, sexuality, repressed memory,  and systems of religion.

Kelley was born in suburban Detroit, Michigan in 1954 and lived and worked in Los Angeles from the mid-1070's until his death at the age of fifty-seven in 2012.  Here is a little bit of what we saw:

This exhibit quotes philosophers about life.  At the end of the hall is a drawing by a man on death row waiting to be executed.

"More Love Hours Than Can Every Be Repaid"

"Black Out," 1999-2001.  This is a large sculpture of the astronaut John Glenn for the 200th anniversary of his hometown, Detroit.  The surface is encrusted with pieces of broken ceramics, glass and other debris dredged from the Detroit River.

"Memory Ware" 2003, with everyday objects including shells, beads, buttons, pins, jewelry and other keepsakes.  

"In Memory of Camelot," 2000

"Seven Star Cavern," 1999

Kelley created this sign familiar outside of many towns across the country showing the clubs active in the community.  The name of this town is Tross City with the first letters covered.  Kelley had said it is an imaginary city that sounds like the work "atrocity."  Some of the club names are interesting such as The Anti-Christ Fan Club and Ding Dong School.

Jessye Norman at Aloud on Thursday

Last Thursday night I attended an Aloud program at the L.A. central library where Jessye Norman, the opera singer, was interviewed by Deborah Borda, President and CEO of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

Miss Norman was born in 1945 in the Jim Crowe South and as an African American, she grew up with the challenges of racism.  With the support of her strong family she pursued music at Howard University and the University of Michigan.  She has sung all over the world in concerts to honor the Dalai Lama, the bicentennial of the French republic and in opera houses everywhere.

When asked the difference between Spirituals and Gospels she explained that Spirituals were written during slavery and helped the African Americans through extremely difficult times.  Gospel songs are modern.

Maurice Hines "Tappin' Thru Life" on Tuesday

On Tuesday night I made my first visit to the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills to see Maurice Hines, his Diva Jazz Orchestra, and three great tap dancers.  Maurice and his younger brother Gregory became famous first tap dancing with their father and later as a duo 37 times on Johnny Carson tonight show before it left New York.  They performed with Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Junior and other jazz greats in Harlem, Las Vegas and around the country.

The 9 piece all woman orchestra was on a several levels platform on the stage and Maurice sang and danced (a little...he is 71) while he told his and his brother's life story.  The highlight was appearance of John and Leo Manzari who are young brothers in their 20's dancing much like the Hines brothers use to dance.  Then 9 year old Luke Spring sprung on the stage and danced up a storm.

Ceiling of the original post office now lobby

The 1930's Lobby.  The plaque on the far wall recognized the dedication by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933.

"Exaltation," 2013 by Emmanuel Fillion, France (b.1966) in the Sculpture Garden

The venue took the existing 1930's post office with all it's B.H. grandeur with a small auditorium and then behind is a modern building with the new theater along side a sculpture garden.  It is called The Wallis for the lady who gave the most money.

Maurice Hines and his Diva Orchestra

The Wallis from the Theater Side

Saturday Morning Art 101 Class at LACMA

On Saturday morning I attend an Art 101 class offered by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. This class, like the one I took the week before was given by Mary Lenihan, Director of Adult Programs at the museum.

This class was on the German Expressionists of which LACMA has a good sampling on the South sidie of the 2nd floor of the Ahmanson Bldg.  The term, "German Expressionists," refers to a group of artist from around Europe who worked in Germany from the early 1900's to the 1930's.  Most were members of a group called "De Brucke" (The Bridge)  in Dresden and later in Berlin.  The artists' use of bright colors identifies the influence of Van Gogh, Matisse, and the Fauvists ("Wild Beasts") they were called because of their wild use of bright colors).

One of these painters was Wassily Kandinsky, Russia, 1866-1844, who began his career in Munich where he co-founded the avant-garde artist group Der Blaue Reiter (the Blue Rider).

Beginning in June, LACMA will be opening a new temporary exhibit:  "Expressionism in Germany and France from Van Gogh to Kandinsky."  We saw a preview of this exhibit in the class as some of the paintings in the permanent collection will be featured along with others from other collections.

Here is a bit of what I saw on Saturday morning:

"Cows in the Lowland," 1090 by Emil Nolde, Denmark, 1867-1956, active in Germany

"Portrait of a Girl/Still Life with Fern," 1919-20 by Max Pechstein, German, 1881-1955

"Sunlight," 1921 by Max Pechstein

"Two Nudes in a Room," 1914 by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Germany, 1880-1938

"Two Women," 1911-12/1922 by Kirchner

"Standing Figure," 1924, stained wood, by Albert Muller, Switzerland, 1897-1926

"Sunday in the Alps," 1922 by Kirchner 

"Russian Lovers," 1908, Bronze, by Ernst Barlach, Germany, 1870-1938

"The Fluteplayer," 1936 by Barlach

er

"Anger," 1920 by Hans-Siebert von Heister, Germany 1888-1967

"Sign," 1925, oil on cardboard, by Wassily Kandinsky, Russia, 1866-1944, active Germany and France.

"Apocalyptic Landscape," 1913 by Ludwig Meidner, Germany, 1884-1966

"God the Father Hovering," 1922, plaster, by Barlach

"Variation VII," 1906 by Alexei von Jawlensky, Russia, 1864-1941

"Untitled Improvisation III," 1914 by Wassily Kandinsky

Thursday, May 8th, LA Philharmonic at Disney Hall

Gustavo Dudamel conducted the Phil in and evening of Ravel waltzes, Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 3 in C major, and a new piece by Desnne called "Sinfonia Burocratica ed'Amazzonica."  The Ravel waltzes were enjoyable and yet challenging.  He opened the program with "Valses nobles et sentimentales," composed in 1911-12, consists of seven waltzes and an epilogue.  The program described the pieces as "sometimes caustic, sometimes sentimental, always bracing view of Vienese dances as filter through sophisticated Galic eyes."

Lang Lang, the Chinese pianoists, plaed the Prokofiev piano concerto with the orchestra.  He played it with flair and drama which I enjoyed very much.  The 32 year-old wonder was born in China and by the age of 13 he wond international competions.  By age 15 he began studies at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.

Mark Swed, the L.A. Times critic, was not happy with Lang Lang's performance last Thursday.  I and most of the audience loved it, we gave him a standing ovation.  He plays with great ease and style...it is fun to watch him with his high hair and lofty demenor.  Swed called him over confident and seem to be urging humility.

Paul Desennne was in the audience to hear his 2004 Sinfonia performed.  The composed like Dudamel are from Argentina.  The orchestra convey the mood of the Amazon, Andes, and the frontier of South America.  The five tableaux protrayed included "Anaconda"..."a slow-moving orchestral reptile, slimy at times."  You may imagine the scenes portrayed were intertaining with lots of creative percussion.

The final "La valse" by Maurice Ravel was composed in 1919 after the First World War  and at a time the Frenchman was less enamered of the music of Vienna... so the music that began before the war as a tribute to the city turned into a piece with a "brooding character...with a darker undercurrent."

This L.A. Times photo of Lang Lang shows his intensity and the fast movement of his fingers on the pianol

Jeremy Denk and Jeffrey Kahane at ALOUD, L.A. Public Library

Last Saturday I enjoyed Jeffrey Kahane, director of the L.A. Chamber Orchestra, interviewing and playing four hands on the piano with Jeremy Denk, pianist, composer, and writer.  Denk is playing with the Chamber Orchestra in future concerts.  He is also Music Director at the Ojai Music Festival in June.

Jeremy Denk was named Musical America's 2014 Instrumentalist of the year.  He wrote an article for the 4/9/13 entitled "Every Good Boy Does Fine - A Life in Piano Lessons."  He said that he is happy that he stayed with all the difficult piano lessons and practices as now he experiences "sheer joy' when he play from muscle memory and he doesn't have to think.  "Think Denk" is the name of his blog.

Both artist have worked with famous artists.  Kahane has collaborated with Yo Yo Ma.  Denke has toured with Joshua Bell.

The greatest part of the afternoon was when they sat side-by-side at the grand piano and played together.

Jeremy Denk on the left and Jeffrey Kahane on the Right in lively dialogue.

Yes, they like each other too.

Kahane and Denk having fun playing a duet on the piano.

Back to the Norton Simon on Friday

I enjoyed lunch with my friend Bonnie at the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena yesterday.  We strolled around the water lily covered lagoon and enjoyed revising great sculptures by Henry Moore, Aristide Maillol and Pierre-Auguste Renoir and then we went inside to enjoy the Barbara Hepworth sculptures and works of the modern artists.  Here is what grabbed my attention:

"Mountain" 1937 by Aristide Maillol

Close up

"Two-Piece Reclining Figure," 1968 by Henry Moore

"Reclining Figure," 1956-60 by Henry Moore

"Venus Victorious," 1914 by Pierre-Auguste Renoir

"Sitting Cheetah," 1996 by Gwen Murrill 

"River," 1939-43 by Aristide Maillol

"Air," 1938 by Aristide Maillol

"Assembly of Sea Forms," 1972 by Barbara Hepworth

"Unequal," 1932 by Vasily Kandinsky

"Open Green," 1923 by Vasily Kandinsky, Russian, 1866-1944 part of the German Expressionists.

"Heavy Circles," 1927 Kandinsky

"Metalogical," 1930's by Paul Klee, (Swiss 1879-1940)

"Two Heads," 1932 by Paul Klee

"Bathing Girls," 1910 by Franz Marc (German 1880-1916).  Marc's art was considered "degenerate" by the Nazi's and siezed in 1937.

"Bathers Beneath Trees Fehmarn," 1913 by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (German 1880-1938)

"The Sea I," 1912 by Emil Nolde (German 1867-1956)

"
Artist and Model," 1939 oil and sand on canvas by George Braque (French 1882-1962)

"Woman with a Book," 1932 by Pablo Picasso, (Spanish 1881-1973)

"The Ram's Head," 1925 by Pablo Picasso

"Sketch for Deluge I," 1912 by Kandinsky