LA Opera kicked off its new season at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion this weekend with a pair of classics. Saturday night delivered a visually odd but musically solid presentation of "Eugene Onegin," Tchaikovsky's take on the romantic tragedy by Pushkin. Sunday's matinee presented a fantastically entertaining performance of Mozart's "Così Fan Tutte," a sophisticated, slightly unsettling comedy of sexual manners. more ›

Gavrylyuk returns this Tuesday to the Hollywood Bowl in Tchaikovsky's masterful Piano Concerto in B Flat Minor. The Bowl is a perfect venue for a piece like this, don't miss out if you've never seen it live. more ›

Ken Russell's The Devils is one of the most controversial films ever made. Based on the Loudun possessions of medieval France, it's a brutal critique of theocracy and power, and its own poster frankly warns the matrimony of sex, violence, and sacrilege "is not for everyone". Nearly 40 years on, The Devils has yet to be released uncut on home media. But BAFTA and the American Cinematheque bring it to the Aero this weekend to tempt fate and pay tribute to Ken Russell. The "Brave New Worlds" series also features sci-fi-devo-mind-warp Altered States, the D.H. Lawrence adaptation Women in Love, and Tchaikovsky biopic The Music Lovers. If the name Ken Russell still leaves you wondering, "Who?", then head up to Hollywood, where the Egyptian hosts Russell's film version of The Who's Tommy, paired with Lisztomania, another Roger Daltrey-starring bizarro rock opera. more ›

Russia has the Tchaikovsky Competition, Poland the Chopin Competition, and Los Angeles gets the relatively new Jose Iturbi International Music Competition. The main drawing power of the new competition? A top prize of 50,000 dollars and it takes place every year (most of these competitions take place every 4-5 years and usually offer less money). Along with the addition of Dudamel at the LA Phil and recent faculty hiring at USC and Colburn, Los Angeles is definitely an exciting place to be for classical music. more ›

FILM + TV*: And now it's time for a very special Blossom...The Silent Movie Theatre hosts TV Tuesday, an homage to made-for-TV movies, special episodes and weird commercials. “We promise a magical night where every short attention span-style flip of the channel lands you on a different amazing piece of lost television you won't be able to take your eyes off of. We've got at least two great '70s TV movies, and a whole mess of other stuff you can barely remember from years past, or can't believe existed.” This sounds awesome. Ticket prices are $8 ($5 for members). more ›

This week didn't seem to be as hot as predicted, but this week's classical pick is packing some heat! Which is literally the case here, since they will have fireworks at the end of the show this Thursday at the Hollywood Bowl. The program has a distinctly Eastern flavor, with music from Russian and Chinese composers, with the world famous pianist Lang Lang and LA Phil's Assistant Principal cellist Ben Hong as the soloists. The program starts with Wu Zuqiang's arrangement of Hua Yanjun's Moon Reflected on the "Erquan" Fountain for string orchestra, followed by Tan Dun's Crouching Tiger Concerto for Cello and Orchestra, composed for the movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (if you couldn't figure that out). more ›