By Ted AYALA The name of composer Alexander von Zemlinsky (1871-1942), when it’s remembered – if it’s remembered at all – is usually as a footnote in the biographies of more famous musicians: as a close friend of Brahms in the elder composer’s final years, as teacher and brother-in-law of Arnold Schoenberg, as teacher – […]
Pasadena Symphony presents an “Apotheosis of the Dance” where Germany and Armenia meet. By Ted AYALA Richard Wagner famously referred to the Beethoven 7th Symphony as the “apotheosis of the dance.” With its potent rhythmic intensity and dazzling harmonic modulations, the Beethoven 7th is definitely one of the Bonn master’s most propulsive and nearly visceral […]
By Ted AYALA “There only exists two kinds of music: good and bad.” This oft-quoted phrase – attributed to everyone from Duke Ellington to Dmitri Shostakovich – never rings more true than with the art of local tenor Timur Bekbosunov. His fusion of classical and pop sensibilities explored through his Dime Museum project – which […]