Opera Chic

Tim Mangan's New Blog: Classical Life

Timothy Mangan, one of America's most insightful music critics, a Paul Bowles scholar, and the last man to interview Carlo Maria Giulini in the English-speaking press, has a new blog, called Classical Life, now that Mangan's paper, The OC Register, unwisely chose to shut down the OC Register's wonderful Arts blog.

Tim Mangan's "Classical Life" Turns 3

"Classical Life" blog is 3 years old today.

The OC Register's Tim Mangan -- a friend of Opera Chic -- links to some very cool highlights: auguri!

Serafin In LA? Guess Not.

Opera Chic would be surprised if Martina Serafin were to actually appear in LA Opera's Ring as Sieglinde -- OC has good reason to think Serafin will be replaced, replacement name to be announced later (when they find one).

Anyway, replacements aside. Friend of Opera Chic Tim Mangan in February's issue of Opera News has all you ever wanted to know -- with pictures -- about Achim Freyer's staging.

Wherefore Art Thou, Gustavo? Dudi Does Shakespeare, Gets Swallowed By Merciless PR Machine

Gustavo Dudamel, always counterintuitive, learns English by immersing himself in iambic pentameter: (and as someone who once tried to learn Italian by reading the libretto for Ernani, Opera Chic has only this to say: bad idea)

"I was trying to read in English, like, (as) exercise for me."

Shakespeare in the original?

"The original Shakespeare. I hope it was one, because it was a very old book that my wife have, and she speak perfect English. Yes, because she was living in London. And this is also part of my little knowledge about English."

Then, young man of the people that he is, he proceeds to grant critic Tim Mangan -- who used to hang out with Carlo Maria Giulini when Dudi was in diapers -- all of 10 minutes of his time, until the fearsome MLFalcone Agency whips him, their new subject, into submission. To be fair, his PR people do rent him out in 10 minute installments, period, it's not personal; and, Dudi was probably late for a Duda Meal of tailor-made hot dogs. But he's happy to admit that the awesome Eloisa is the smarter half of the family anyway (she's also the taller half), so he's kinda forgiven, for now.

Where Hilary Hahn Instantly Becomes The Coolest Person In Showbusiness

In a show of coolness, sprezzatura and sense of humor almost unheard of in the tragically self-loving classical music business, Hilary Hahn has answered readers questions on her YouTube channel. Including a particularly zany one from friend of OC Timothy Mangan.

And, she operated her own cam.

Hilary's words of wisdom for a fellow violinist quite stumped by Schoenberg's Gears Of War-like difficulty level:

"Just chip away at it".

Salonen's Hollywood Thousand: Esa-Pekka Says Goodbye To The Bowl

E-Pek's final Hollywood Bowl concert as LA Phil Music Director: Tim Mangan reports

Isaac Albéniz: The Real Housewives Addresses Of Orange County

Appropriately enough, soon after moving here Opera Chic discovered that Milan's most insanely expensive -- and impossible to get unless you're super plugged-in, think Park Ave co-op -- real estate quietly lies in Via Mozart. And oh how it makes us happy that our beloved Mascagni has been awarded choice real estate here, and even a forgotten genius like Antonio Caldara got himself his big boulevard here. Luchino Visconti has a tiny little street adjacent to cool Corso Garibaldi, a few minutes walk from la Scala. Via Verdi leads you to la Scala itself (Puccini lived there his last, very rich years). Even Victor de Sabata has his little plaque, in a small side passage off of Via Verdi. Now, if only they gave Alexander Zemlinsky his well-deserved street, it'd all be perfect.

But sometimes quirky classical music lovers do surprise you, and name streets after artists you'd never imagine could get such honors: friend of Opera Chic Tim Mangan, running errands, discovered that somewhere in Orange County, it has been seen fit to honor Isaac Albeniz with a street:

Just inside the gated community that Albeniz leads into are a cluster of streets named for Spanish composers, including Granados, Rodrigo (he must still have been alive when they named it), Sarasate, Torroba and Turina.

Maybe Zemlinsky Lane is right around the corner, let Opera Chic mapgoogle it...

Stay On Top Of The Season's Trends With These Catwalk-To-Boardwalk Winners... Steve Reich @ Ojai, No 12-Tone, No Denim

He has never wanted to write 12-tone music. Back in his student days he was forced to, but tried to do it in his own way. He remembers bringing in a 12-tone work to his teacher, the Italian avant-gardist Luciano Berio, at Mills College.

"My solution was simple," Reich said. Instead of putting the 12-tone row through its de rigueur permutations, he simply repeated it, over and over.

"So, Berio saw this and he said 'You know, if you want to write tonal music why don't you write tonal music?' And I said, 'That's what I'm trying to do.'"

Steve Reich's New Deal

(as Tim Mangan alerts us, even if Reich seems to have a penchant for corduroy and khakis, composers nowadays wear denim -- a GAP ad can't be that far in the future).

"What Audiences Want": Tim Mangan's Fighting Words

One of our favorite quotes from Riccardo Chailly, that passionate optimist, is that  "one day, not now, but one day, you'll hear people whistling Varèse's Ameriques as they walk down the street".

Tim Mangan, to say the least, disagrees:

The average classical music listener – that is, the majority of those who attend concerts and opera performances and listen to the radio – is a simple soul. Looking into it, one finds that he prizes melody above all else. But not just any melody. The melodies of Hindemith, Stravinsky or Schoenberg, Lutoslawski, Glass or Adams, to name a few, will not do at all, and the average listener, in so far as he is able to define what a melody is, would not recognize these composers’ efforts as such. No, by melody, the average listener means something narrower in scope, a tune, really, a song.

His definition of melody, though he doesn’t realize it, also includes a type of phrasing, regular and foursquare, and a question-and-answer design to the harmony. It’s this whole melody package that he enjoys most, which limits his aesthetic scope to the music from roughly 1750-1900. Beyond that he can find himself in rough waters.

...

The Moderns are a problem, of course, and will ever remain so, because they require a musical ear and curious mind that the average listener doesn’t have now nor ever will. The Moderns require the engagement of the mind as much as the heart. Schoenberg’s claim that his time would come is nonsense. Whether you make a case for the human brain being hardwired this way or just that the average listener is aurally dim, it amounts to the same thing. Much of the great music of the 20th century is lost on him and always will be.

But then, a great deal of 20th century music, including Schoenberg’s, was written for the elite ear, not the average one, so we shouldn’t be surprised, nor blame the average listener all that much. But to the extent that the average listener limits the repertoire – dictates concert programming by his taste – he has a lot to answer for. And that, in sum, is just what he does. Thus the endless rehashing of Brahms and Tchaikovsky on our concert programs, and of Puccini in the opera house.

zing!

Salonen's Last Dance in Orange County: LA Phil Years Coming To A Close

Sunday afternoon at 3, the Philharmonic Society will present Esa-Pekka Salonen’s last concert in Orange County as music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. It could be a while before we see him conduct in Segerstrom Concert Hall again. Yes, he has a year to go on his contract with the Phil, but the ensemble visits our clime next season with a guest conductor on the podium. And Esa-Pekka’s future conducting plans with the orchestra are sketchy.

After the concert on Sunday, the Philharmonic Society is throwing Esa-Pekka a supper

Tim Mangan will be there. E-Pek Deserves one monster ovation for all the great work he's done in California.

Big sausages aside, Gustavo Dudamel should only be so lucky.

Unleash The Dogs Of Dudamel: L.A. Goes Crazy For Gustavo's Sausage

Dear Tim Mangan made our weekend in a very tasty way: he has the porky goods on the hot dog party thrown for Gustavo Dudamel at the L.A. Phil.

As you might know, the d00ds at Pink's hot dog stand in L.A. like the D00damel so much they named a hot dog after him. Now there's photo evidence of Gustavo's "meaty bacchanal" at Disney Hall (poor Frank Gehry must be very worried about mustard stains on the upholstery).

Photos by Joanne Pearce Martin, also via The Mangan Man's arts blog over at the OC Register.

A Story Of Two Tims: Page In California

(photo via The Arts Blog)

Memo to all of us who miss Tim Page's illuminating writings: as demonstrated in a recent meetup with friend of OC (where OC = Opera Chic) and critic/blogger for the OC Register (where OC = Orange County) Timothy Mangan, il Signor Page (on the left in the photo) seems to be happy in his (temporary?) teaching post at USC; of course, OC hopes that Mr. Page gets out of California  soon because she misses his Washington Post stuff. And, frankly, it's easier to go to the WaPo website than to have to move to L.A. and enroll at USC.

Not to mention, he'd probably flunk us.

pleez b bak soon k thx bi