Review: Yuja Wang, Yo-Yo Ma, Daniil Trifonov: new discs and downloads. The Orange County Register, Dec. 18, 2015.
photo: Deutsche Grammophon
Gustavo Dudamel is cameo conductor in ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’
Half the world is about to hear Gustavo Dudamel conduct, though probably few will know it.
The New York Times and The Los Angeles Times are reporting that composer John Williams invited Dudamel in October to direct part of the soundtrack to “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” which opens Thursday. The music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic was brought into the studio “in secret,” the publications say.
“When John called and asked if I would conduct the opening music and closing credits for this historic film, I remember thinking, ‘He’s joking,’” Dudamel said in a prepared statement released to the papers. He was told that he couldn’t tell anyone about it.
Dudamel, who composed the film score to “The Liberator,” is a self-described big fan of Williams’ music and conducted an entire program of it to open the Philharmonic’s 2014-15 season. Williams was a guest then, and took a turn leading the orchestra himself. The concert was later broadcast on PBS.
Will Dudamel be a credited conductor on the soundtrack album, sure to be a bestseller? Neither paper makes it clear.
Update: Saw the movie. Dudamel gets a “Special Guest Conductor” credit.
Mirga Grazinyte-Tyla conducts Los Angeles Philharmonic in Orange County
Review: Mirga Grazinyte-Tyla makes Orange County debut with Los Angeles Philharmonic. The Orange County Register, Dec. 14, 2015.
2015: Classic films on Blu-ray and DVD
For the cinephile on your Christmas list. Click on the titles to read my reviews:
“All at Sea,” Alec Guinness, Ealing Studios. Warner Archive
“The Palm Beach Story,” Joel McCrea, Claudette Colbert; Preston Sturges. The Criterion Collection
“Tootsie,” Dustin Hoffman, Jessica Lange, Teri Garr; Sydney Pollack. The Criterion Collection
“Union Station,” William Holden, Barry Fitzgerald, Nancy Olson; Rudolph Maté. Olive Films
See also: On film: 2014
Anonymous 4 says goodbye in Irvine
Review: Anonymous 4 says goodbye in Irvine. The Orange County Register, Dec. 6, 2015.
Interview: Mirga Grazinyte-Tyla
Dynamic young conductor will bring L.A. Philharmonic to Costa Mesa. The Orange County Register, Dec. 6, 2015.
Pacific Symphony performs Prokofiev, Beethoven
Review: Threes are the charm for Pacific Symphony. The Orange County Register, Dec. 4, 2015.
Noteworthy new and recent recordings
Beethoven: The Nine Symphonies; overtures. Vienna Philharmonic, London Symphony; Concertgebouw Orchestra, Pierre Monteux, conductor. (Decca Eloquence). Editor’s note: Since Monteux recorded the symphonies with different orchestras on different labels, this is the first time this distinguished stereo traversal of The Nine, including two Eroicas and a rehearsal sequence, has appeared all in one set. The conductor was well into his 80s when he made it.
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 10; Passacaglia from Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk. Boston Symphony, Andris Nelsons, conductor. (DG)
Stravinsky: Complete Edition. Various and celebrated artists. (DG)
Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini; Variations on a Theme of Chopin; Variations on a Theme of Corelli. Trifonov: Rachmaniana. Philadelphia Orchestra, Yannick Nezet-Seguin, conductor; Daniil Trifonov, piano. (DG)
Berlioz: Symphony Fantastique; Lelio. Gerard Depardieu, narrator; Chicago Symphony, Riccardo Muti, conductor. (CSO-Resound)
Bach: Goldberg Variations. Beethoven: Diabelli Variations. Rzewski: The People United Will Never Be Defeated! Igor Levit, piano. (Sony)
Ravel: Piano concertos; Faure: Ballade, Op. 19. Tonhalle-Orchester Zurich, Lionel Bringuier, conductor; Yuja Wang, piano.
Leopold Damrosch: Symphony in A; Festival Overture; Marche Militaire (Schubert/Damrosch). Azusa Pacific University Symphony Orchestra, Christopher Russell, conductor. (Toccata Classics)
Songs from the Arc of Life: Kathryn Stott, piano; Yo-Yo Ma, cello. (Sony)
Radu Lupu turns 70
Alex Ross calls him “probably the greatest pianist alive” and it’s hard to argue with the statement. Romanian pianist Radu Lupu turned 70 yesterday. Here’s a review someone wrote of his local solo recital in 1999.
Lupu takes piano to new places REVIEW: His command of tonal colors and musical structure makes for an astonishing recital.
TIMOTHY MANGAN
Published: WED, 2/10/1999
When Radu Lupu sits down at the keyboard and begins to play, you wonder if the thing has been tricked-up somehow. Such sounds, such colors, such a range of attacks seem impossible on a normal piano.
It certainly isn’t possible for a normal pianist.
But then, as he showed Monday night at the Irvine Barclay Theatre, in a recital given under Philharmonic Society auspices, Lupu is something out of this world. His famously gruff demeanor, icy stage presence (he stared down one latecomer) and refusal to grant interviews add to the 53-year-old Romanian pianist’s mystery, but first and foremost, there is the playing.
Ralph Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 8 (1956)
Leopold Stokowski conducts the BBC Symphony Orchestra.
To read my article on neglected symphonies click here.
To hear other works in my Neglected Symphonies series, click here.
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