By Nestor CASTIGLIONE Conductor Sonia Marie de León de Vega is excited. Not only because the Santa Cecilia Orchestra, the ensemble which she founded and leads, begins its new season in only a matter of days but also because the orchestra will be marking a milestone this Saturday night: It’ll be celebrating its silver anniversary. […]
By Nestor CASTIGLIONE The leaves are turning, the air is crisp, and the days draw shorter. Fall has arrived and with it arrives a new season for music in Los Angeles. A new year for Le Salon de Musiques begins this Sunday, Oct. 15 at 4 p.m. at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Downtown Los […]
By Néstor CASTIGLIONE Barely in his early 20s, Franco-Belgian composer Guillaume Lekeu seemed to have it all: the respect of César Franck, acceptance as an artistic peer by the literary luminaries of late 19th century France such as Stéphane Mallarmé, and mastery of a highly original idiom that augured a career of remarkable promise. Perhaps […]
By Nestor CASTIGLIONE On a rainy morning in January 1941, four musicians readied their ragged instruments before an outdoor audience of 400. As they prepared to sound the first notes of the piece they were about to perform, they could hardly know at the time that this premiere would be a historic one in the […]
By Nestor CASTIGLIONE For some of us, our life’s purpose is revealed to us only after much struggle and passing of years. For the more fortunate among us, however, our vocation is something that becomes apparent at an early age with crystalline clarity. In the latter camp can be included Annelle K. Gregory, a young […]
By Nestor CASTIGLIONE Glendale will be celebrating the birthday of a very special member of the community this weekend, which has aged so gracefully that one would never guess it’s only a few years shy of the century mark. The Alex Theatre, the crown jewel of Glendale’s cultural life, will be holding a bash for […]
By Néstor CASTIGLIONE Classical music often conjures up visions of dour looking old men and seemingly complex behavioral protocols for concerts. In short, people regard it as the past, not the active present or future. But, as Brad Keimach is willing to tell you, classical music isn’t just thriving today – it’s also growing the […]
By Nestor CASTIGLIONE It’s already a humbling and moving experience to watch life unfold and grow before oneself, but to have a hand in its nurturing is something else altogether. On Wednesday, cellist Ruslan Biryukov will be joined by fellow cellist Nathan Le at the Luxe Hotel in Bel Air in a concert in which […]
By Nestor CASTIGLIONE Next week’s recital at the Glendale Noon Concerts will comprise a pair of chamber works by composers who, to some degree or other and for varying reasons, never quite fit into the mainstream. Played by violinist Nancy Roth and pianist Lorenzo Sanchez, it will open with the “Poema de una sanluqueña” (“Poem […]
By Nestor CASTIGLIONE Locals and businesses still mourning the loss of Rocky Cola Café, which had formerly occupied the crucial northwest corner of Honolulu Avenue and Verdugo Boulevard and has sat empty since its closure in 2012, will soon have reason to rejoice. Tom Christopoulos, a longtime resident of La Cañada-Flintridge, is planning to open […]