About 20 years ago the late Finnish composer Einojuhani Rautavaara professed himself delighted to be able to compose music in this era. No longer were composers bound to this or that predominating style. Rather, in an era where the consensus on what direction modern music was moving had been shattered into thousands of arrow points, […]
By Nestor CASTIGLIONE Significant changes may be in looming this year for the Glendale City Council. Incumbents Ara Najarian and Zareh Sinanyan will be seeking reelection this year, while a third seat, formerly occupied by Laura Friedman, will be wide open. Ten candidates altogether, some of them familiar faces, some of them new to local […]
By Nestor CASTIGLIONE The City of Glendale was found in violation of Prop 26, according to a judgment handed down last week. The judgment follows a ruling made in June by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge James Chalfant, which found that Glendale also violated its city charter when it transferred $85 million from its electric […]
By Nestor CASTIGLIONE Franz Schubert and Gustav Mahler, the two composers who bookended 19th century musical Vienna, shared much in common, despite the surface disparities in their styles and the genres in which they worked. Schubert, for one, was a prolific composer, composing not only songs and symphonies, but sundry string quartets, piano trios and […]
By Nestor CASTIGLIONE Piano Spheres continues its 2016-17 season with a recital on Tuesday, Jan. 31 by pianist Vicki Ray. Among the works on her wide-ranging program of contemporary music will be pieces by Pulitzer Prize winning composers David Lang and Julia Wolfe. Both have entrusted Ray with the world premieres of their “spring and […]
By Nestor CASTIGLIONE A crowd of over 300 people braved the rain on the night of Jan. 18, crowding into the Saban Auditorium over at Los Angeles Children’s Hospital. Not only were the seats packed, but dozens of people – along with a significant contingent of local media – spilled into the aisles and surrounding […]
By Nestor CASTIGLIONE On Jan. 5 Councilmember Ara J. Najarian was reelected to the Metro Board of Directors. He has held a position on the board since 2006 and served a stint as its chairman from 2009 to 2010. His new term on the board comes at a crucial moment, particularly for residents in Glendale. […]
By Nestor CASTIGLIONE “The people have spoken,” in-toned Glendale City Spokesperson Tom Lorenz at a forum held Jan. 11 at the Glendale Civic Auditorium. His words referred to the passage of Prop 64 last November, which legalized the recreational use and cultivation of marijuana across the state. Statewide support for Prop 64 carried the majority […]
By Nestor CASTIGLIONE n Tuesday, Jan. 17, the Los Angeles Philharmonic will celebrate the 80th birthday of composer Steve Reich, one of the great living musical masters. The Green Umbrella program will consist of two classics from the composer’s catalog bookending a West Coast premiere. Reich’s art, which crackles with that peculiarly American sense of […]
By Nestor CASTIGLIONE A veritable Shostakovich renaissance has swept the musical world in the past 25 years, his reputation – built on fame as well as notoriety in Russia and the West, often for extra-musical reasons – now hoisted aloft by public and not a few critics on a level that even exceeds such important […]