For your highbrow video lunch today, on the anniversary of its Paris debut, a clip of Esa-Pekka Salonen conducting the L.A. Phil doing "The Rite of Spring." And, for a more, err, lowbrow moment, a sped-up clip showing the fury of Salonen's conductors arms as he conducts the same piece. more ›

The musicians of the Los Angeles Philharmonic will have their talented hands full tonight at the Walt Disney Concert Hall. Conducted by Susanna Malkki of Finland, the program begins with the U.S. premiere of Hammered Out by Turnage and Violin Concerto No.1 in B-flat major, composed by a seventeen-year-old Mozart. more ›

Tonight UK-bred electronic mastermind Four Tet will be taking on Echoplex, ringing in his latest tour de force—2010's There Is Love in You. Local classical-violinist-turned-singer-songwriter Emily Wells will be performing at the Getty Center, kicking off the series Saturday Nights at the Getty. And, lastly, English singer-songwriter Scoutt Niblett will be gracing Spaceland with LA-based garage rock outfit Dirt Dress. But we strongly suggest doing whatever it takes to get into the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Downtown to experience Brooklyn's crown jewel, the erratic experimental indie rock collective known as Dirty Projectors (LAist Review), who will be performing alongside the Los Angeles Philharmonic. more ›

Homeless musician Nathaniel Anthony Ayers, the subject of the book and film The Soloist, has recorded his first album, and today LA Times columnist and longtime advocate of Ayers Steve Lopez tells the story of the tenuous process. more ›

LAist met Robert Vijay Gupta at a show in November at a Casual Friday concert where the LA Philharmonic played an Alban Berg violin concerto with Gil Shaham and a Mozart Symphony No. 41 "Jupiter". Then when the audience was invited to stay after for a discussion of the music, we learned that Dudamel could play the theme from the Simpsons on violin and that the deep respect between Gupta, Shaham, and Dudamel has an authenticity that makes everyone envy not only their talent, but the deep bond that is formed between great musicians who play together. To make the evening even more magical, later in the lobby, we met Robert Gupta and shamelessly asked for to come to rehearsal and interview him. more ›

Carbuncle is an independent film made over the course of five years. It’s about a director with Asperger’s Syndrome making a movie about a mentally challenged woman who is manipulated by her alcoholic social worker.” We think it’s a comedy. more ›

more ›

Of all the indie bands with some sort of animal in their title, Grizzly Bear might be the top dogs. After all, can Deerhoof, Deerhunter, Caribou, Panda Bear or even Animal Collective claim they are co-headlining a show with the Los Angeles Philharmonic? more ›

As the year enters week two, organizations are programming newer music, that which was composed in the last century. This weekend, the Los Angeles Philharmonic began their Concrete Frequency series to an excellent start wth Aaron Copland's "The City" played to film and Edgard Varèse's "Amériques." After the concert, hip-hop violinist duo Paul Dateh and inka one (we interviewed Paul him this summer) played in the lobby by the cafe while Breakestra funked up the BP Hall. more ›

You Me and Iowa more ›

For the third year, the Los Angeles Philharmonic is producing a series that explores a single topic, usually one that reaches from the hardcore to the non-traditional classical going audiences. In 2006, it was Minimalist Fest. featuring famed compositions of the minimalism movement and an all night concert til 4 a.m. with The Orb and other trance artists. This past year was From Shadow to Stalin, an exploration of Eastern Europe, classical musics to the band, DeVotchka. more ›

Conor Oberst and friends were lucky to have one of the finest backing bands of all time Saturday night at the Hollywood Bowl -- the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Suzie Katayama's arrangements made even Bright Eyes' small songs sound huge, leaving us wondering who picked the setlist -- Katayama or Oberst? (Correction: (Thanks commenter) Bright Eyes multi-instrumentalist (and third permanent member) Nate Walcott arranged, Katayama only conducted.) In recent Hollywood Bowl history the Phil has teamed... more ›

The pairing of rock and classical orchestration has become an interesting and exciting trend in the past few years. The Los Angeles Philharmonic has become a "backup" band of sorts to the likes of Air, Belle and Sebastian, the Decemberists and now Bright Eyes, providing a unique, one of a kind listening experience that sometimes seems a perfect fit while other times a bit off. The Bright Eyes experience was my first in this... more ›

Jimmy Buffett @ Irvine Meadows more ›

For the past 16 years, as part of the Los Angeles Philharmonic's dedication to making music accessible to the widest possible audience, they have been presenting free neighborhood concerts in the community at churches, community centers and other local venues around Southern California. The series for this year begins this week in San Gabriel. The Latin-flavored program includes Bizet’s Suite No. 1 from Carmen; Falla’s Suite from El amor brujo; Villa-Lobos’ Bachianas Brasileiras No.... more ›

We all have heard Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 (in D minor, Op. 125 "Choral"), mostly in sound bytes, mostly the 'Ode to Joy' theme. But have you really heard it? Have you sat through the whole thing sucking in the craziness? Have you been there live? Have you? Have you? Simply put, it's simply amazing. This is rock and roll folks. Beethoven's 9th! Tuesday, July 31, 2007, 8:00 PM Hollywood Bowl 2301 N. Highland Avenue... more ›

Tambuco Percussion Ensemble Free at Grand Performances in Downtown LA From contemporary percussion chamber music to world rhythms, this Mexico City based quartet is a staple of the percussion scene . While they do their own thing, you may see the three time grammy nominated ensemble collaborate with the likes of Kronos Quartet and the locally based Southwest Chamber Music. Check out the tunes "Hook" and "Metro Chabacano" on their MySpace page for two... more ›

This week's top pick comes in the form of a Los Angeles tradition that has been happening since 1948, yet goes by unnoticed every week by many in this city. Welcome to Sundays Live -- it's free, lasts only an hour and there is no need to call ahead for reservations. In fact, if you can't make it, the concert will be heard by delayed broadcast on Wednesday at noon on KCSN, 88.5FM (a... more ›

Grand Performances Downtown, Free, Outdoors, Take the Red Line Thursday - Musicology 102, Music Theory: Melody/Harmony with Alan Chapman Friday - Paulist Choristers of California and Sinfonia Orchestra Saturday - Alan Chapman and Karen Benjamin Celebrate the American Songbook www.GrandPerformances.org Hollywood Bowl Outdoors, Drink Wine, Fireworks Monday thru Wednesday - July 4th Fireworks Spectacular Saturday - The Decemberists with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Sunday - Mozart's Magic Flute www.HollywoodBowl.com LA Opera in Beverly HIlls Outdoors,... more ›

As we mentioned earlier, two rare violins stolen from a member of the Los Angeles Philharmonic were recovered by French authorities last week. The prime suspect in the case raised suspicions, when he offered the instruments for sale to antique dealers for far under their value. However, before purchasing the violins, the dealers went through the internet looking for a more nefarious reason behind the sketchy deal. They found the LAPD’s website which has a page devoted to stolen art, and listed there were the violins in question. more ›

In the classical music world, Los Angeles has something to brag about. It's the LA Phil series - Green Umbrella. The colorfully named series (there is no reason why the umbrella is green) is dedicated to new music, rather, contemporary classical, or if you will, music by composers who are not dead yet (or may have passed post 1950). At last night's performance, the LA Phil celebrated Green Umbrella's 20th Birthday (25th for LA... more ›

I call it Performance Row. That stretch downtown along Grand Avenue between Temple St. and the California Plaza. You can easily walk between 9 performance spaces in 5 minutes. Starting at the Music Center Plaza at Temple and heading South, you first are at the Ahmanson, Center Theatre Group's (CTG) proscenium stage that is used for dance, musicals and other traditional performances. Next is the Mark Taper Forum, a theatre used for newer theatrical... more ›

Jedi Mind Tricks, Ra the Rugged Man @ Troubadour more ›

Of the hundreds of shows going down in LA this week, heres two that we're thinking about checking out. more ›