Here's the thing about Gustavo Dudamel...
I've never particularly cared for the third movement of Dvořák's New World Symphony. I mean, there's nothing wrong with it, but for me it has only ever been the thing that happens in between the...
View ArticleMozart at the Bat
With opening week of the new baseball season upon us, I was thinking about the various songs the players choose for their walk-up music as they head up to bat. It's totally their choice and the picks...
View ArticleThe KUSC Classical Top 100 Analyzed
Well, the KUSC Classical Top 100 has been fully revealed and with it, some predictable results...and more than a few surprises as well. To recap, we asked KUSC listeners to vote on their favorite...
View ArticleDido & Aeneas on KUSC's LA Opera On Air this Saturday: Hear our Interview...
Los Angeles opera fans met countertenor John Holiday just recently, but he made a big impression. He was a 2014 winner of Operalia and performed as the Sorceress in Barrie Kosky's production of Dido...
View ArticleOjai Music Festival 2015 Preview
This year marks the 69th annual Ojai Music Festival. The venerable gathering of contemporary musicians and new music enthusiasts has boasted such music directors as Pierre Boulez, Igor Stravinsky,...
View ArticleThe Sounds of Sunrise
Sunrise. It's beautiful. Or so I'm told. I am *not* a morning person and can count the number of sunrises I've actually seen on my two hands and still have a finger left over to tap the snooze button...
View ArticleBrian Lauritzen's 10 Pieces of Classical Music Everyone Should Know
Welcome to a new series on the KUSC blog. Over the next several weeks, each of the KUSC on-air hosts will unveil a list of 10 essential pieces of classical music that we think everyone should know....
View Article5 Questions for Michael Giacchino
This weekend, the American Youth Symphony will present a screening of Star Trek Into Darkness with the film score played live to picture. David Newman will conduct Michael Giacchino's exhilarating...
View ArticleAlan Chapman's 10 Pieces of Classical Music Everyone Should Know
Here at KUSC we’ve been coming up with our personal lists of “ten pieces of classical music everyone should know.” I can’t come close to covering all the music I love in so short a list, so I offer you...
View ArticleDennis Bartel's 10 Pieces of Classical Music Everyone Should Know
1 – Johannes Brahms, Symphony #4 in E Minor. A teacher I trusted once said to me, “I can’t trust anyone who doesn’t like Brahms.” Brahms represents a base line of cynicism. Go beyond the base line,...
View ArticleICYOLA Triumphant in Season Opener
Last week I attended a noteworthy concert, which was nearly note-perfect and attended by local notables. The Inner City Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles (ICYOLA) opened its eighth season under its...
View ArticleA Classical Christmas
Let's face it, most Christmas music is lame. And it's that same lame Christmas music that gets blared over loudspeakers in shopping malls all across this great country of ours. Ask most people about...
View ArticleMost Popular Christmas Carols
What are the most popular Christmas carols? If popularity can be determined statistically, we would do well to examine the number of times a Christmas carol is recorded by artists in America. If they...
View ArticleThose we lost in 2015
As 2015 passes before our eyes, let us remember those in the classical music community who passed in the passing year.• January 12 – Elena Obraztsova, Russian operatic mezzo-soprano, 75. • January 13 –...
View ArticleScouting Report on KUSC CLASSICALS for Sunday’s Big Game (offense)
Center – G.Stav Mahler. Awesome athletic skill set for a center, even after a decade wayfaring from team to team. Quick interior lineman, a titan who can single-block defensive tackles in pass...
View ArticleScouting Report on KUSC CLASSICALS for Sunday’s Big Game (defense)
RIGHT END – FranJo Haydn, “FJ” to the media. Long with deceptive strength, this 6’6”, 294 lb. former All-Pro bench presses 104 reps of four movements. In college, FJ also lettered in basketball and...
View ArticleHave a Slice of Musical Pi
March 14 is National Pi Day. 3/14. The day celebrates the number that never ends. It’s also the birthday of Albert Einstein, 1879. Seven years ago the U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution...
View ArticleA Rare DJ Sighting at the Pops
Early music maestro and music director of the Philharmoina Baroque Orchestrra, Nicholas McGegan (pictured) comes down from Frisco to lead the Pasadena Pops Orchestra, Saturday at 2:00 and 8:00, at...
View Article5 Questions for Michael Giacchino
This weekend, the American Youth Symphony will present a screening of Star Trek Into Darkness with the film score played live to picture. David Newman will conduct Michael Giacchino's exhilarating...
View ArticleBrian Lauritzen's 10 Pieces of Classical Music Everyone Should Know
Welcome to a new series on the KUSC blog. Over the next several weeks, each of the KUSC on-air hosts will unveil a list of 10 essential pieces of classical music that we think everyone should know....
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