Auditions & Appointments

American conductor Lorin Maazel died earlier today from complications of pneumonia at his home in Virginia. He was 84.

The former child prodigy was born in 1930, began playing violin in “the Karl Moldrem Baby Orchestra” by the age of five, and was conducting at seven years old. In 1938, he made his first appearance on the Los Angeles Philharmonic podium, sharing a program with Leopold Stokowski. He would eventually hold the top posts at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Vienna State Opera, the Pittsburgh Symphony, the Symphony Orchestra of the Bavarian Radio, and the New York Philharmonic, among many others.

He was a polarizing figure on the podium. He was universally praised for his baton technique and his knowledge of the scores, and some musicians loved him for always having a strong point of view. On the other hand, he could come across as cocky, dogmatic, and downright abrasive, especially during rehearsals. His interpretations were often idiosyncratic — fans would refer to them as “highly personal,” while others considered them merely weird; the last time I saw him with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, he conducted a Sibelius 2nd Symphony I described as “quirky and distorted thanks to [his] fussy interpretation.”

Regardless of one’s opinions about him or his conducting, he was certainly prolific: his website lists him as having “made more than 300 recordings, including symphonic cycles of complete orchestral works by Beethoven, Brahms, Debussy, Mahler, Schubert, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, and Richard Strauss, winning 10 Grands Prix du Disques.” He also dabbled in composing, with 1984, his opera based on George Orwell’s novel, receiving its world premiere at the Royal Opera House, Convent Garden and a revival at La Scala.

Some relevant links:

The New York Times obituary is HERE
A Los Angeles Times article and interview from his 80th birthday, republished by Maazel’s website, is HERE

UPDATE (July 15, 2014):

In The Wall Street Journal, David Mermelstein offers an excellent overview of Maestro Maazel’s life and career (HERE). A few excerpts:

“Even in his last years—when he increasingly devoted time to mentoring young artists at the Castleton Festival, held each summer since 2009 on his Virginia estate—Maazel could be fierce with his charges. A former conducting fellow at Castleton recently told me of rehearsals in which the maestro first exploded and then stormed out after finding the musicians not properly prepared.”

“Maazel’s interpretations had long divided listeners. No one could question his technique—the control of his beat was extraordinary—or his intelligence (musical and otherwise). Nor was his command of the music ever in doubt. But that very attribute led Maazel to pursue sometimes willful interpretations of the standard repertory—bending phrases, manipulating tempos and shifting dynamics in ways that many felt ill served the music.”

“Franz Welser-Möst, one of Maazel’s successors as music director in Cleveland, once told me that he regarded Maazel as the greatest living conductor—but only when he was “on.” The implication was clear: Maazel was so talented that avoiding boredom was a regular challenge, one that could not always be averted.”

(David Mermelstein, The Wall Street Journal, “A Great Conductor — When He Wanted to Be,” July 14, 2014)

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Photo credits:

Lorin Maazel with bust in his likeness at the Vienna State Opera: care of Lorin Maazel Facebook page
In rehearsal with the Los Angeles Philharmonic: photo by Robert Gauthier, care of the Los Angeles Times

Gustavo Dudamel is in the midst of a two-week stint at the Hollywood Bowl, conducting an eclectic mix of music ranging from the usual summer classical offerings by Beethoven to less common Bowl fare such as verismo opera and Pan-American music of various genres. Tonight’s program even includes the premiere performances of Mr. Dudamel’s own score for the movie Libertador.

His residency has also afforded the LA Phil an opportunity to try to fill some of their empty seats. The orchestra typically holds auditions and trials only when he is around since, as Music Director, he has the final say on any hiring decisions. And, according to the word on the street, make some decisions he has:

Last week, the orchestra held auditions for their 2nd/E-flat Clarinet chair vacated this past October when Monica Kaenzig left the orchestra for family reasons. At the end of the process, Andrew Lowy was offered the job. Mr. Lowy is currently Principal Clarinet of the North Carolina Symphony, a position he earned in 2010 at the ripe-ol’ age of 22 while still a graduate student of Yehuda Gilad at the USC Thornton School of Music. He did his undergraduate work at Harvard University.

Next, Stéphane Beaulac, was offered the Third Trumpet chair after a successful trial week. He is currently Solo Trumpet of Montreal’s Orchestre Métropolitain, having held the position since 2002.

I look forward to seeing and hearing both of these gentlemen with the Los Angeles Philharmonic soon. No word yet on when their official start date may be.

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Photo credits:

Andrew Lowy (in tuxedo): courtesy of The Courier-Tribune of Asheboro, NC
Andrew Lowy (in blue shirt): courtesy of the North Carolina Symphony
Stéphane Beaulac: courtesy of the Orchestre Métropolitain

Back by popular demand: our annual look at the changes in the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s roster of musicians at the start of this year. As usual, we’ve had a mix of arrivals and departures, some expected and explained, some . . . well, not so much.

Let’s start with the percussion section. Principal Percussionist Raynor Carroll will spend the year on sabbatical. Perry Dreiman will be acting principal in his absence.

The First Violin section is down two players. The orchestra announced the retirement of Lawrence Sonderling, a 37-year veteran of the orchestra. He was originally hired in 1977 by former Music Director Zubin Mehta, and played the final concert of distinguished tenure under the baton of Bramwell Tovey, who was kind enough to share a picture of the two of them via Twitter.

Another veteran name is missing from the first violin section: Mischa Lefkowitz. The Latvian native joined the orchestra the same year as Mr. Sonderling, but there was no comparable announcement about him. After inquiring with the LA Phil, I was told simply that Mr. Lefkowitz “is not an active member of the orchestra at this time.” Draw your own conclusions.

Akiko Tarumoto and Jin-Shan Dai, both currently members of the orchestra’s 2nd Violin section, have been regularly playing in the first violin section since the summer and are likely to be doing so at least until auditions are held for permanent replacements. Both are capable musicians in their own right and have experience playing first violin in major orchestras: Ms. Tarumoto previously played first violin in the Chicago Symphony and also during a previous stint with the LA Phil; Mr. Dai came to Los Angeles after being a first violinist with the Toronto Symphony.

The Associate Principal Cello chair remains vacant after last year’s auditions failed to yield any offers. When last I spoke to Principal Cellist Robert deMaine, he anticipated another round of auditions coming this season, but it has not yet been listed on the orchestra’s website.

Over in the woodwinds, the situation is much more defined. Relative newcomers Julien Beaudiment and Elise Shope Henry (yes, she recently got married) were both awarded tenure, giving the flute section some much-needed stability. The only vacant woodwind position is the 2nd/E-flat clarinet chair, and that will be filled once Andrew Lowy official joins the Los Angeles Philharmonic on December 1st. Mr. Lowy played with the orchestra during the opening night gala and first weekend’s concerts and sounded quite good.

Along similar lines, new third trumpet Stéphane Beaulac has sounded rather impressive since he officially took over the job at the end of the summer. I asked Tom Hooten, the orchestra’s star Principal Trumpet, about Mr. Beaulac’s first week playing in Walt Disney Concert Hall, and he spoke highly of how his new colleague handled a challenging mix of works by John Williams, a US Premiere of a David Lang composition, and Mahler’s towering Fifth Symphony. “It wasn’t his trial per se,” describes Mr. Hooten, “but it turned out to be kind of a ‘trial by fire.’ He’s great, a very strong player.”

The brass has the biggest hole to fill in the whole LA Phil given the departure of Nitzan Haroz, former Principal Trombone. Though he only spent two seasons with the orchestra, his warm tone, pinpoint accuracy, and rich timbre made a huge impact on the overall sound of the section and the orchestra. And even though Mr. Haroz still has to officially re-earn tenure in his old/new position with the Philadelphia Orchestra, he is not “on leave” from the LA Phil, and his position is listed as “Vacant.” He will most certainly be missed.

Filling the Principal Trombone chair will be no easy task. Previous vacancies since the departure of Ralph Sauer nearly ten years ago have led to multiple rounds of auditions with no winners and invited players being wooed by the orchestra (as was Mr. Haroz). An open audition was once again held a few weeks ago, and this time, two musicians were offered trial weeks: Jim Miller, the orchestra’s current Associate Principal Trombone making his fourth or fifth bid for the top job, and John Sipher, current Principal Trombone of the Richmond Symphony. Word on the street is that the trials will occur during Gustavo Dudamel’s next set of concerts with the orchestra, which would make them in late November and early December.

UPDATE (Mon, Oct 27): I have been informed that Mr. Sipher is the only remaining candidate for Principal Trombone, and that he’s being given a two-week trial to enable him and the orchestra to explore a broader range of repertoire together. More information available HERE.

Of all the sections in the LA Phil, the Horn section is experiencing the most fluctuation:

Eric Overholt, Associate Principal Horn, is no longer listed on the roster.
Brian Drake, long time Third Horn, has taken over the Fourth Horn chair that has been open since Bruce Hudson left for the Minnesota Orchestra a few years ago. The move brings Mr. Drake full circle; he was actually hired by Carlo Maria Giulini in 1979 as the orchestra’s Fourth Horn and didn’t take over the Third Horn chair until nine years later during Andre Previn’s Music Directorship.
Auditions to fill the new Third Horn vacancy are coming in November; in the meantime, Ethan Bearman, officially the orchestra’s Assistant Horn, will typically be playing in that chair for the near future (though let’s not forget that Dale Clevenger, Principal Horn Emeritus of the Chicago Symphony, played Third Horn during the first week of the new season).
Amy Jo Rhine, acting Principal Horn of the Colorado Music Festival and former Principal Horn of the Louisiana Philharmonic and Wichita Symphony, has been the LA Phil’s guest Associate Principal and Assistant Horn during the summer and the early part of this season, and you can bet she’ll continue in those roles as the season progresses. Ms. Rhine also happens to be married to Gregory Roosa (the orchestra’s Second Horn), a role in which she’s also likely to continue for the foreseeable future.

Perhaps most noteworthy in the section is, again, the move that did not happen: Andrew Bain is still Principal Horn of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and horn professor at The Colburn School, despite continued flirtations with the Chicago Symphony and Berlin Philharmonic over the spring and summer (see HERE and HERE). Many horn fans — and LA Phil fans in general — continue to be terrified at the notion that he’ll take over the vacant Principal Horn chair in Berlin, and Mr. Bain has kindly demurred when asked point-blank about how interested he’d be in trading in his seat in Walt Disney Concert Hall for one in the Philharmonie.

But I think that the odds of that happening in the near future are relatively small. Why am I so confident? The 47th International Horn Symposium (IHS) is being held in Los Angeles next summer (August 2-8, 2015), with Mr. Bain and Annie Bossler, a fellow Colburn School horn instructor, being listed as the co-hosts for the event. Mr. Bain is doing all the he can to promote the symposium, and if he were to consider backing out at this point, a hornist friend of mine joked that Ms. Bossler would devise some creative carrots and sticks to change his mind.

That’s because the 47th IHS is truly a big deal:

Prominent musicians will be featured, including Mr. Bain, Mr. Clevenger, Gail Williams (former Chicago Symphony Associate Principal), A. David Kriehbel (retired San Francisco Symphony Principal), legendary studio hornist James Thatcher, most of the Berlin Philharmonic’s horn section, including Principal Stefan Dohr, and others.
Various concerts will be held at The Colburn School, Grand Park, and Grand Performances (at Downtown LA’s California Plaza)
Two concerts at the Hollywood Bowl with the LA Phil are the splashiest events of the symposium.

It’s also worth reminding folks that Mr. Bain will be the featured soloist for the Mozart 4th Horn Concerto during LA Phil subscription concerts in February (with Mr. Hooten as the soloist in the Haydn Trumpet Concerto during the same concert).

After this season, who knows what Mr. Bain has planned, but I hope he continues as Principal Horn with the LA Phil and keeps playing as guest principal with prominent orchestras like Chicago and Berlin. Not only do the interpersonal relationships he develops during such visits help to deepen connections between the LA Phil and those great ensembles, they continue to raise the profile, influence, and reputation of the local band.

Of course, the LA Phil has always had musicians doing guest stints with other top-tier orchestras. What’s different with Mr. Bain’s involvement with the Berliners is the extremely high profile that orchestra has nurtured in the 21st century through its astute use of social media: their Digital Concert Hall series is the envy of orchestras around the globe; their jet-setting fourth horn, Sarah Willis, hosts all kinds of shows and interviews on YouTube, to the joy of her devoted followers. Mr. Bain has been part of many of those concerts and videos. That’s good for him, that’s good for the LA Phil, and ultimately, good for all of us fans.

You know what’s even better? His regular gig continues to be Principal Horn of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. We’ll revel in his playing for as long as we can, and we’ll hope that his tenure will last decades.

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Photo credits:

Lawrence Sonderling, Eric Overholt, and Stéphane Beaulac: courtesy of the Los Angeles Philharmonic
Bramwell Tovey and Lawrence Sonderling: courtesy of Bramwell Tovey
Mischa Lefkowitz: courtesy of http://www.mischalefkowitz.com
Andrew Bain: photo by CK Dexter Haven

I made the following update to my original post on the subject from this past Saturday, but in the spirit of providing some additional information . . .

I’ve recently been told that at this point:

John Sipher is the only remaining candidate for the open position of Principal Trombone with the Los Angeles Philharmonic
His trial will last two weeks, enabling the orchestra and him to explore a broader range of repertoire together

No word on exactly which two weeks he’ll be doing his trial, but they will likely be during Gustavo Dudamel’s upcoming three-week residency. Here are those programs:

Nov 20-23 (Cameron Carpenter, organ): Barber —Toccata Festiva; Hartke — Symphony No 4 (world premiere); Saint-Saëns — Symphony No. 3, Organ
Nov 28-30 (Gautier Capuçon, cello): Reger — Four Tone Poems after Arnold Böcklin; Haydn — Cello Concerto in D; Schubert — Symphony No. 6
Dec 4-7: Salonen — Helix; Rachmaninoff — Isle of the Dead; Mussorgsky — Pictures at an Exhibition (orch: Ravel)

Astute observers have already figured out that the Reger/Haydn/Schubert program requires no trombones, so if I were a betting man (and I am) who happened to be interested in seeing Mr. Sipher perform with the LA Phil (me again), I’d probably make plans for the other two programs.

Mr. Sipher became Principal Trombone of the Richmond Symphony earlier this year. Prior to that, he held the same position with the Syracuse Symphony and the Virginia Symphony. He did his undergraduate work at James Madison University, where he received a degree in music education with a minor in Jazz Studies, and followed that up with a Master’s degree in trombone performance from Yale University. He was also a New World Symphony fellow.

On his website, he talks about playing in ska bands in high school “culminating in a brief stint on the Van’s Warped Tour” and lists among his career highlights the chance to play with the rock band CAKE in 2009 — both of which, frankly, makes me root for the guy on general principles. Good luck to him during his trial weeks.

BTW: For those you of you unfamiliar with CAKE’s oeuvre, I’d say “Never There” and “The Distance” are my favorite songs, but “Short Skirt/Long Jacket” is my favorite video . . .

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Photo credit: courtesy of www.johnsipher.org

The Los Angeles Philharmonic held auditions for their vacant third horn chair during the week-and-a-half before Thanksgiving. According to multiple sources, Amy Jo Rhine was appointed to the position.

LA Phil concertgoers may recognize her face, and regular readers of All is Yar will certainly recognize her name: as mentioned in a recent post, Ms. Rhine has been frequently seen playing with the orchestra as guest Associate Principal, guest Assistant, and other spots in the section over the past year or so. No word yet on when she will officially take over the third horn chair.

For those of you thinking that guest musicians are shoe-ins for the regular gig, it’s actually not that common an occurrence. Many horn players have come and gone as non-roster musicians with the orchestra, including Julie Thayer’s multi-year stint as guest fourth horn, and none of them joined the orchestra on a full-time basis. In fact, if my memory serves, the only time in the past twenty years a regular guest musician won an audition in the LA Phil was when John Lofton took over as bass trombone, and it took him two auditions to get the job.

That said, Ms. Rhine has other connections with the orchestra. She is married to Gregory Roosa, the LA Phil’s second horn since 2012, whom she met when both were members of the Colorado Music Festival (CMF) Orchestra — an ensemble where Andrew Bain, the LA Phil’s Principal Horn, also happened to be Principal Horn from 2001 – 2012.

Now before too many eyebrows are raised over these relationships, I should point out that Ms. Rhine’s credentials are quite strong. She joined the CMF Orchestra in 1997 before Messrs. Roosa or Bain, has been the group’s Associate Principal Horn for many years, and has served as their acting Principal since Andrew Bain left. Her playing at the CMF is well-regarded, and after a performance with them as soloist in Mozart’s Horn Concerto No. 4 in E-flat major this past July, a local critic had this to say:

“Sunday’s all-Mozart program centered around the delightful CMF principal horn player, Amy Jo Rhine. Her performance of the lengthiest Mozart horn concerto, K. 495, was full of gorgeous tone and technical artistry. . . . Rhine also deftly wove ‘Happy Birthday’ into her cadenza (apparently a tribute to her father that night), managing to keep it in Mozart’s style.” (Kelly Dean Hansen, Boulder Daily Camera, 07/31/2014)

She was also part of the LA Phil’s horn sections during two of their best performances so far this 2014/15 season: the Mahler 5th Symphony and the Beethoven 3rd Symphony.

Ms. Rhine has strong local connections besides her work with the LA Phil, having studied with James Decker at the USC Thornton School of Music where she earned her Master of Music degree. She also has worked with James Thatcher, legendary Hollywood studio hornist, on his album, Now Playing.

In addition to her appearances with the LA Phil and in Colorado, Ms. Rhine has been an active musician with ensembles all over the country: she is a member of the Memphis-based IRIS Orchestra since 2001, as well as the QUADRE horn quartet since 2008, and she was Principal Horn in the Louisiana Philharmonic and Wichita Symphony, among many other positions. She plays a Geyer model horn by Karl Hill.

Congratulations to Ms. Rhine and to the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

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Photo credit: Dmitri Von Klein, monovita.com

The San Francisco Symphony issued a press release today announcing that Eugene Izotov will be their new Principal Oboe beginning with the 2015/16 season. Mr. Izotov is currently Principal Oboe of the Chicago Symphony, and was the SFS Associate Principal Oboe from 1996-2003 (during which time he went by “Evgeny Izotov”). He was also Principal Oboe of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra from 2003-2006.

“I am delighted to be joining the San Francisco Symphony as Principal Oboe,” said Izotov. “This is a deeply personal decision for me since much of my life is connected to these two great American orchestras and cities. As I look forward to making music with maestro Michael Tilson Thomas and my colleagues of the San Francisco Symphony, I know my heart will be filled with wonderful memories of music-making with Chicago Symphony and profound gratitude to maestro Riccardo Muti for his humanity, support, and inspiration.”

[UPDATE: Joshua Kosman’s report on SFGate.com is HERE, and includes some quotes from a phone conversation he had with Mr. Izotov]

The SFS announcement made no mention of whether he would officially resign his chair with the CSO or if he were planning on taking a year’s leave; however, according to the Chicago Classical Review, “CSO public relations director Rachelle Roe characterized Izotov’s departure as a ‘leave of absence’,” and the Chicago Tribune also described his departure as a leave (albeit without giving a source).

Mr. Izotov was offered the position in October. As Lisa Hirsch described, he has been one of many players who has served as guest principal with the orchestra since the tragic death of William Bennett, the 26-year veteran Principal Oboe of the SFS who suffered a cerebral hemorrhage on stage in the middle of performing the Strauss Oboe Concerto in 2013 and passed away less than a week later.

A few of my own thoughts on the announcement:

First of all, congratulations to the SFS and its fans. Mr. Izotov is truly a world-class player.
If I were a betting man (and I am), I’d put good money that Mr. Izotov won’t be returning to the CSO after his one year of leave is completed. He still needs to be offered tenure by the orchestra, after which he still would need to accept it. That said, he and the SFS already know each other fairly well, having spent seven seasons together, and therefore the oboist will experience few surprises working with Mr. Tilson Thomas and living in the Bay Area. Besides, Mr. Izotov’s official statement above already talks about his time with the CSO in the past tense; there aren’t even any token nods to going on leave or needing to gain tenure, as are often included in similar statements made by other prominent musicians making such moves.
This is the fourth time in the past few years that one of the Chicago Symphony principal woodwinds has said that they’re leaving the orchestra, temporarily or otherwise — it’s the fifth time if you count both of Principal Flute Mathieu Dufour’s announcements, once for the LA Phil in 2009 and another for the Berlin Philharmonic a few months ago. For those who may have forgotten: Steve Williamson (Principal Clarinet) left for the New York Philharmonic in 2013 only to return after a year; David McGill (Principal Bassoon) surprised many in June of this year by retiring early from the orchestra to take a full-time teaching position at Northwestern University.
Having all of these principals say they want to look elsewhere begs the question: what is going on with the Chicago Symphony woodwind section or the CSO overall? One departure is random, two may be a coincidence, but when four principals, all in their prime, decide to leave an orchestra of this stature in such quick succession, you’ve gotta ask yourself, “WTF?!!” I’m sure many classical music fans in Chicago are doing just that.
Despite the alarm bells that should be going off about this latest move, I would be rather shocked to see either of Chicago’s major newspapers or their music critics, John von Rhein of the Chicago Tribune or Andrew Patner of the Chicago Sun-Times, actually write about the issue, let alone investigate it. Both have a history of being rather defensive about the CSO, especially when players leave to go to other orchestras:
- In Mr. Von Rhein’s article about the announcement, he took great pains to point out that Mr. Izotov would be going on a one-year leave and attempting to reassure the local populace that, “It’s not uncommon in the symphonic world for players to occupy first-chair positions with two orchestras at the same time, trying on one post to see if it is a good fit without surrendering the other.” Of course, what he doesn’t say is that more often than not, those leaves end up becoming permanent.
- Mr.Patner is even more notorious in this regard. He famously shared personal conversations with Mr.Dufour after the flutist resigned from the LA Phil to return to Chicago, leading Mr.Dufour to issue his own statement distancing himself from those comments. That move seems to have backfired on him in a big way; even when he tries to pump up the CSO and its players, they distance themselves from him.
  - On August 26, a few months after Mr. Dufour won the auditions in Berlin, Mr. Patner wrote an article which said, “Chicago Symphony Orchestra administrators, musicians and patrons have been wondering for the past three months if [Mathieu Dufour] would leave the CSO for the same position at the Berlin Philharmonic. Berlin, a peer ensemble with Chicago, announced on its website in May that Dufour had won the auditions for the spot there. . . . Dufour will play with Chicago at least for the 2014-2015 season, the CSO spokeswoman said. The musician himself could not be reached for comment.” [Emphases mine. I chuckle that Mr. Patner felt the need to emphasize that the CSO is a “peer of ” Berlin Phil. Plus, after screwing over Mr. Dufour during his return from the LA Phil, did he really expect Dufour to give him a comment this time?]
  - In the same Aug 26 article, Mr. Patner mentions that while Mr. Izotov had been playing some concerts with the SFS, “he said he is ‘not going anywhere’ now.” Turns out the oboist gave him a true quote — he waited until today to announce he was going anywhere.
  - Finally, in writing about today’s announcement, Mr. Patner was not content to simply use Mr. Izotov’s official statement, choosing instead to post a screenshot from the oboist’s Facebook page of what appears to be a private message he only shared with his friends (if you go to his Facebook page HERE, no such message is publicly visible). Draw your own conclusions about the appropriateness and ethics of Mr. Patner doing this.

There are still nine months before Mr. Izotov officially joins the San Francisco Symphony, and almost two years before he is obligated to resign from the CSO if he chooses to remain in the Bay Area. That leaves a lot of time for San Franciscans to wait and Chicagoans to fret. It should be interesting to watch.

News about the LA Phil brass and a former principal flute, plus two guys named McGill and more

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Photo credits: Todd Rosenberg

The Los Angeles Philharmonic recently announced that this coming May, they will once again be holding auditions for their Principal Flute chair.

For fans of Julien Beaudiment, the current occupant of the position and budding star within the orchestra, this news is certainly a major disappointment.

For almost everyone who follows such things, musicians and audience members alike, this news is probably alarming.

Given that five people have now formally held the position since 2006, and after clouds of controversy covered each of the departures of the previous two Principal Flutes, Mathieu Dufour and David Buck, speculation has already begun to run rampant in certain orchestrally-obsessed corners of the internet: what is going on within the LA Phil and/or the woodwind section to consistently drive first chair flutists away??!!!

Well, at least in this case, absolutely nothing.

In mid-December 2014, Mr. Beaudiment shared the following statement with his friends on Facebook (reprinted here with his permission): “I’m deeply saddened to inform to all my friends that I’ll be leaving Los Angeles next year. This city and the orchestra have become my second home, but for personal reasons I must return to my first home of France. . . .”
Recently, he let me know that while the reasons behind his departure later this season are very private and delicate, he reiterated that his decision has “nothing to do with the orchestra which I truly love. More importantly it has absolutely NOTHING TO DO WITH ANY MUSICAL OR HUMAN RELATIONSHIP ISSUES” and that the members of the LA Phil and its administration have been “part of my family.”

Furthermore, I know of many members of the orchestra who think highly of Mr. Beaudiment and his playing and are very sad to see him have to make the decision to leave.

Mr. Beaudiment has not been playing with the LA Phil this month, but will return in a few weeks and will join them on their tour of Asia in March.

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Photo credit: CK Dexter Haven

The New York Philharmonic has named Frank Huang as its new Concertmaster. Mr. Huang, 36 years-old, has been Concertmaster of the Houston Symphony since 2010. He is also on the faculty of Rice University’s Sheppard School of Music. He officially begins his tenure in September.

The NY Phil’s concertmaster chair has been vacant since Glenn Dicterow retired last year. Mr. Dicterow is now the “Robert Mann Endowed Chair in Violin and Chamber Music” at the USC Thornton School of Music.

More details from:

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Photo credit: Jeff Fitlow

Earlier today, the Los Angeles Master Chorale announced that Jean Davidson will be its new President and CEO beginning August 31, 2015. She takes over the position from Terry Knowles, who is retiring at the end of this season after having led the organization for the past 15 years.

Ms. Davidson comes to the Master Chorale from New York where she has been working with dancer and choreographer Bill T. Jones for the past ten years, including serving as Executive Director & CEO of New York Live Arts since 2011 and being instrumental in its creation via the merger of the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company with Dance Theater Workshop. She has also been Managing Director of Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Project and Production Administrator for the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco.

Her appointment is noteworthy in that she does not have direct experience leading choral, vocal, or operatic groups, nor has she been in charge of any Southern California arts organizations. Much more than the other major arts organizations in Los Angeles, the Master Chorale has tended to draw talent with strong local and choral ties for its titled positions– in some cases, pulling from its own ranks:

Three of the four Music/Artistic Directors in the LAMC’s history (founder Roger Wagner, Paul Salamunovich, and Mr. Gershon) have been Angelenos; the mid-1980’s tenure of the lone exception, Scotsman John Currie, is perhaps remembered more fondly now than the critical reception of the time might have predicted.
The current Composer-in-Residence, Shawn Kirchner, is also a tenor in the Master Chorale. His predecessor, Morten Lauridsen, is a longtime professor at USC.
Ms. Knowles, in addition to having had senior administrative roles at numerous Southern California arts organizations, is married to one of the LAMC’s founding Board members, Marshall Rutter.

That said, Ms. Davidson does have at least one important connection to the area: she is married to Kojiro Umezaki, a musician and composer who is on the music faculty at the University of California, Irvine.

Regardless of where she’s from or the amount and quality of experience she’s, Ms. Davidson has some pretty big shoes to fill. Ms. Knowles led the Master Chorale’s move into Walt Disney Concert Hall, and under her leadership, they successfully toured globally, released six commercial CDs, created a recording partnership with Decca Classics, and twice received the ASCAP/Chorus America Award for Adventurous Programming as well as Chorus America’s prestigious Margaret Hillis Award for Choral Excellence, the nation’s highest choral music award.

It will be interesting to see how the newcomer brings to bear her experience in the dance and theatre world. The Master Chorale has a strong track-record of going beyond the standard stand-and-sing format expected of most choral groups, from its days as the house chorus of the LA Opera, to the gesticulations imposed upon them whenever Peter Sellars choreographs the singers, and most recently with their performance of Tan Dun’s Water Passion. It’d be hard to imagine a more adventurous choral organization — or arts organization of any ilk — of similar size, scope, and budget, so timidity won’t be an issue. However, this is vocal ensemble after all, and theatricality per se is not its mission. In the end, many will be interested to observe how she’ll support Mr. Gershon’s artistic vision while implementing innovations of her own. It should be interesting.

Some requisite quotes from three of the principals involved:

“It is a great honor to be asked to lead the Los Angeles Master Chorale,” says Ms. Davidson. “There has never been more creativity and talent, at least in my lifetime, energizing the field of choral music as there is now. Grant Gershon is one of the visionaries leading the field, and I feel privileged to be able to collaborate with him and the exceptional Chorale singers. I look forward to working with Chairman David Gindler, the Board, staff and community to broaden and deepen the recognition, support and audience for this unparalleled organization that has been nurtured by my predecessor, Terry Knowles. On a personal level, I was deeply moved the first time I heard the Chorale live at Walt Disney Concert Hall. It was one of those rare moments when the entire world stood still, and I was inside of this magical moment. It is moments like these that lift us out of our day-to-day worries, suspend our differences and unite us in our humanness. I think these moments are desperately important in our culture today.”

“This is a terrifically exciting time for the Los Angeles Master Chorale,” states Mr. Gershon. “Under the leadership of my dear friend and colleague Terry Knowles, we have enjoyed 15 years of phenomenal artistic growth and organizational stability. Jean Davidson is the perfect person to take us into the next phase of our development as we continue to redefine what a great choral organization can be. She has worked closely with many of the artists that I admire most, including Yo-Yo Ma, Bill T. Jones, Laurie Anderson and many others. Jean brings an invigorating world view to the Chorale, and I look forward to collaborating with her to expand the profile and impact of this amazing ensemble of singers.”

“As the Los Angeles Master Chorale launches a new era of artistic expansion under the inspired vision of Grant Gershon, we are enormously pleased to welcome Jean Davidson as LAMC’s next President & CEO,” says David Gindler, Chairman of the Board. “Jean brings to our organization a rich history of collaborating with notable artists and deep experience leading major arts institutions through growth and change. She has demonstrated real understanding of the crucial role of arts organizations in our society, an abiding dedication to good stewardship of resources, and strong dedication to visionary leadership that is grounded in reality. She will be a great asset to our organization, and I look forward to her partnership in the years ahead.”

The full text of the press release can be found HERE.

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Photo credit: Tilly Blair, Gruber Photographers

This year’s Hollywood Bowl season is upon us. Things kicked-off a few weeks ago, care of Journey, Ed Sheeran, and a sing-along Sound of Music, among other concerts. The Los Angeles Philharmonic made their summer debut on the Bowl stage playing the score to Back to the Future while the film was shown above their heads, though the classical music performances don’t begin in earnest until tomorrow night when Lionel Bringuier and Yuja Wang return for some fun with Borodin, Prokofiev, Debussy, and Ravel.

Given all that, now would be a good time to review the latest info about musicians in the LA Phil. The big news is in the woodwinds, where we’re anticipating one big gain in the flutes and a huge departure in the clarinets, so let’s start there . . .

Principal Flute

Open auditions for a new Principal Flute were held in May to replace Julien Beaudiment, who unfortunately returned home to his native France a few months prior. There was great trepidation going into the auditions given that this was the orchestra’s fifth attempt made since 2008 to find a permanent resident for this chair.

Fortunately for everyone, there was a clear-cut “winner:” Denis Bouriakov, one of two Principal Flutes of the Met Opera Orchestra, was offered the position without the need of playing a trial week. One second-hand account of his audition referred to his playing as “stellar.” You can judge for yourself by checking out some of his audio and video recordings HERE.

No official confirmation yet if he’ll accept or when he’ll start (yes, I asked the powers that be at the LA Phil), but given the continued financial and artistic turmoil at the Met, it’s almost certainly a matter of “when” not “if.” Count on seeing him on stage in Los Angeles at the beginning of the Fall/Winter season or thereabouts.

If that weren’t enough indication that the Met is still hemorrhaging musicians, the orchestra’s other Principal Flute, Stefán Ragnar Höskuldsson, recently won the audition for the same job at the Chicago Symphony; it’s the position recently vacated by Mathieu Dufour after winning an audition with the Berlin Philharmonic. Orchestral observers and frequent readers of All is Yar will note that both Messrs. Höskuldsson and Dufour have their own connections to the LA Phil: Mr. Höskuldsson was the runner-up when Mr. Beaudiment was given the LA job in 2013, while Mr. Dufour famously held the LA job for five months in 2009 before heading back to Chicago amid a PR mess. . . . It certainly is a tiny world at this level of orchestral playing.

Principal Clarinet

Of all the 100+ musicians in the Los Angeles Philharmonic, few if any can command the level of respect and admiration that Michele Zukovsky does. The orchestra’s legendary Principal Clarinet joined them in the wake Georg Solti’s aborted tenure as Music Director in the early 1960s while she was still a teenager. In the five-plus decades that have ensued, she’s played for five actual Music Directors (Mehta, Giulini, Previn, Salonen, and Dudamel), two notable Principal Guest Conductors (Simon Rattle and Michael Tilson Thomas), and countless other guest conductors. She’s played concertos, chamber music, solos, world premieres, you name it. And she still plays like a bad-ass.

Well, the Michele Zukovsky era is coming to an end. The LA Phil recently began advertising for auditions in October for a new Principal Clarinet.

UPDATE (July 8): A spokesperson from the orchestra confirmed that her last concert will be December 20, 2015, and she’ll retire 11 days later on December 31st. Additional info HERE. Preliminary information from the orchestra had estimated her retirement to be the end of the summer, not the end of the year, and this story originally reflected that timing.

We all knew it would happen sometime, but now that it is practically here, I can’t help but feel a combination of sadness and deep admiration. It’s a huge bummer to lose such a great musician, especially one with her skill and experience. Unlike some principal players who stubbornly hang on to their jobs long after their skills have diminished, Ms. Zukovsky still sounds remarkable. It’s a shame to lose her, but rather than lament her retirement, I’d like to paraphrase the great Vin Scully and say a prayer of thanksgiving that we’ve had the chance to hear her artistry for as long as we have. Huzzah to her and best wishes as she winds down a magnificent career. May she be fêted in every way imaginable.

In fact, they should name the position after her. Upon her retirement, I hope that one of the many philanthropists that help fund the LA Phil steps up to endow the Principal Clarinet chair in her honor. There is precedence: when iconic trumpeter Adolph “Bud” Herseth retired from the Chicago Symphony after a similarly long tenure, an anonymous benefactor donated enough funds to allow the CSO to endow the “Adolph Herseth Principal Trumpet chair.” Let’s hope someone in LA is equally appreciative of Ms. Zukovsky’s legacy.

Whether or not that happens, the orchestra’s clarinet section will still be in very good shape, especially with Burt Hara playing as acting principal. In fact, one would assume that Mr. Hara would be a leading candidate to take over the Principal chair permanently, especially given his many noteworthy years holding the same position in the Minnesota Orchestra. And I’m sure he’s not the only capable clarinetist who’ll throw his or her hat into the ring. Stay tuned . . .

Associate Principal Horn and Principal Trombone

The brass section has had some activity, but so far, nothing has come of it. Auditions held in May for a new Associate Principal Horn yielded no trial or job offers. No word yet on whether or not they’ll invite musicians for private auditions or wait and hold another round of public auditions next season.

The search for a new Principal Trombone to replace the departed Nitzan Haroz continues. As Principal Trumpet Tom Hooten told me during an interview last year, “We want to take the time to find the right player, and Nitzan set a very high bar.”

As mentioned last fall, John Sipher was given a two-week trial with the orchestra; however, he was not offered the position full-time. A few months ago, he was named as the new Principal Trombone of the Colorado Symphony.

Meanwhile, the LA Phil has been hosting various guest trombonists to play first chair, most notably David Rejano Cantero (Principal of the Munich Philharmonic) and Colin Williams (current NY Phil Associate Principal and on leave as Principal of the Atlanta Symphony). I’ve been told that the orchestra will continue to invite guest trombonists to sit in with the orchestra into the Fall/Winter season.

Strings

Not too much to report here. Auditions for Associate Principal Cello will be held this month. Tao Ni had been hired into the position a few years ago, but subsequently moved back into the section, and the chair has been open since then.

Still to come are auditions to fill the seats vacated by the retirement of Lawrence Sonderling and departure of Mischa Lefkowitz at the end of last summer; in the meantime, Akiko Tarumoto has already been promoted from the second violin section to permanent fifth chair in the first violins.

Comings and goings at the LA Phil (Fall 2014 edition) (UPDATED: Oct 27)

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Photo credits:

Denis Bouriakov: courtesy of http://www.bouriakov.com
Michele Zukovsky: courtesy of the Los Angeles Philharmonic

The Los Angeles Philharmonic has a new Associate Principal Cello, though to frequent concert-goers, things will seem rather status quo. That’s because multiple sources report that at the end of this past week’s auditions, the position was awarded to Ben Hong, the orchestra’s Assistant Principal Cello since 1993 and acting Associate Principal for the past two seasons.

When Mr. Hong joined the orchestra as Assistant Principal, he was only 24-years old and the youngest member of the orchestra at that time. He spent the 2011/2012 season as acting Principal when Peter Stumpf (former Principal) was on leave and Daniel Rothmuller (former Associate Principal) moved back into the section as Associate Principal Emeritus for a year before eventually retiring. He has been a soloist with the orchestra many times, including the U.S. premiere of Mark-Anthony Turnage’s cello concerto “Kai” at the 2000 Ojai Festival with Simon Rattle conducting and a non-traditional performance of Vivaldi’s Concerto for Two Cellos in 1997 when Mr. Hong played one lead part and vocalist Bobby McFerrin sang(!) the other.

He is on the faculty of the USC Thornton School of Music, where he was once attended as a student of Lynn Harrell. Mr. Hong also gained notoriety as the technical advisor, soloist, and Jamie Foxx’s personal cello coach for the movie, The Soloist.

No word yet on when Mr. Hong officially gets his promotion. Even when that happens, he still has to earn tenure in that job and the orchestra will almost certainly wait to backfill the Assistant Principal chair until that happens.

Congratulations to Mr. Hong, the cello section, and the orchestra on this wonderful news!

RELATED POSTS:

Boris Allakhverdyan (left) and Ilya Shterenberg

Once again, I do what I can to give you the latest and greatest news about the musicians of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Let’s begin:

Principal Flute

Denis Bouriakov officially begins his tenure as Principal Flute Nov 30. He makes his subscription concert debut soon after. (NOTE: an earlier version of this post had his start day as Nov 23. The Nov 30th date was confirmed by the LA Phil to me last week, but I transposed the calendar wrong when preparing the original version).

Even though the former Principal of the Met Opera Orchestra has yet to appear on stage at Walt Disney Concert Hall, he already began to make his presence felt in Southern California. He appeared last night as soloist with the Chamber Orchestra of the South Bay in CPE Bach’s Flute Concerto in d minor and the Fantasie by Fauré (very bummed to have missed that). In addition, he has already committed to being a guest artist for the 2016 “Beyond the Master Class” flute seminar run by Jim Walker, a former LA Phil Principal flute himself.

Principal Clarinet

Michele Zukovsky is still Principal Clarinet and sounding fantastic in the process, but her final appearance in that capacity on December 20th is fast approaching. I sit down with her this Wednesday to chat about it and, well, whatever comes to mind, and will share the interview with everyone a few days before her last concert.

As for Ms. Zukovsky’s potential replacement: nothing official from the orchestra, but multiple sources say that there are two finalists to fill the huge vacancy that will be created when she retires, and one of the sources mentioned these two names:

Boris Allakhverdyan, Principal Clarinet of the Met Opera Orchestra
Ilya Shterenberg, Principal Clarinet of the San Antonio Symphony

Examples of both of their playing are below:

No word on when the gentlemen will play their trial weeks. It would have to happen while Mr. Dudamel is in town, and I’d be shocked if they could schedule either of the musicians for the coming week since the auditions were only a few weeks ago. A more likely scenario would be during The Dude’s Spring 2016 appearances. His concerts Feb 25 – March 6 feature some interesting repertoire with meaty clarinet parts (including Copland’s Appalachian Spring and the Mahler 3rd Symphony); the programs from those two weeks will also be played on the LA Phil’s March 2016 tour to New York, Amsterdam, Paris, Luxembourg, and London, so if the trials occur in that time, it’ll be interesting to see if either of the candidates join the orchestra on that tour. If the trials don’t occur then, the next opportunity would be during the last three weeks of the season, May 19 – June 4.

If Mr. Allakhverdyan ultimately gets the position (and I’m not saying he should or shouldn’t), he’d not only be the third principal woodwind player to join the LA Phil directly from the Met in the past few years (Mr. Bouriakov and Principal Bassoon Whitney Crockett being the other two), he’d be the latest player to depart/escape the Met. The Met’s other Principal Clarinet, Anthony McGill, has already left to join the New York Philharmonic.

Many fans of the LA Phil might be shocked that Burt Hara isn’t among the finalists or perhaps that he wasn’t offered the job outright. Certainly, the orchestra’s distinguished Associate Principal and former Principal with both the Minnesota Orchestras and Philadelphia Orchestra has the credentials and the chops to do the job, and during his time in LA, his playing has been consistently magnificent. So what gives?

Apparently, Mr. Hara chose not to take the audition. This may not be as surprising as it first seems for two reasons:

When I spoke to him soon after he accepted tenure here and officially resigned from the Minnesota Orchestra, I asked him how he felt serving as Associate Principal instead of having the top job. His calm response foreshadowed his more recent decision: “If I were a younger musician, it might matter more. But after having been Principal in Minnesota and Philadelphia for 25 years, I have nothing left to prove as a musician, to me or to anyone else. Plus, I still get my share of opportunities to play first chair.”
It’s also worth noting that by not taking the audition, he’d almost certainly be on the committee selecting the finalists; in other words, he’d have a huge say on who’d be leading the section going forward. That has its own benefits.

Strings

I had previously reported that Ben Hong, the LA Phil’s Assistant Principal Cello, had won the audition to become Associate Principal, and that no date had been set for when he’d officially take the new position. Observant fans will note that according to the LA Phil’s roster, he still hasn’t moved into his new job. Final details are still being hammered out, and until that happens, Mr. Hong continues to be the “Acting Associate Principal.”

In the meantime, Dahae Kim, Assistant Principal of the Detroit Symphony, has taken over as “Acting Assistant Principal” as a substitute player. Once Mr. Hong officially gets his promotion and if/when he obtains tenure, Ms. Kim will officially join the LA Phil and begin her own tenure process.

Over in the violins, Nathan Cole (the orchestra’s First Associate Concertmaster) recently won the audition to be the Seattle Symphony’s new Concertmaster and was offered the position. No news yet on whether or not he will accept the position, and no announcement has been made from either orchestra. A couple things to note:

It’s a matter of opinion which position is “better” (a more prestigious job with a less prestigious orchestra or visa versa, living in LA vs. Seattle, etc.). What is indisputable is that according to the latest IRS public filings, Mr. Cole already has a higher compensation than all but eight concertmasters of US orchestras, so odds are good that he’d have to take a pay cut to join the SSO, potentially a large pay cut. According to the most recent applicable Form 990s, Mr. Cole has a total compensation over $300,000/year; Adaptistration.com shows the Seattle concertmaster’s total pay in the same year to be $205,000.
Mr. Cole’s wife, Akiko Tarumoto, holds the 5th Chair in the LA Phil’s First Violin section. I have no doubt that she could earn a job with the SSO if she wished; however, she’d have to wait for an actual audition to even attempt to join that orchestra, and even if/when she did take it, there’s no guarantee that she’d win the audition and stranger things have happened. Furthermore, she would also have to take a pay cut to move to Seattle.

Brass

No major updates with either the Principal Trombone or Associate Principal Horn chairs. What I can say is this:

I’m expecting that at least one more candidate for Principal Trombone will play a trial during the next two weeks. Jim Miller (LA Phil Associate Principal) continues to be Acting Principal. When needed, Kim Ohlemeyer, former Principal Trombone with the Phoenix Symphony, sits in with the orchestra.
UPDATED (Nov 27): With regards to the Associate Principal Horn position, auditions will be held in late February 2016. In the meantime, my understanding is that while there are no candidates officially under consideration currently, many horn players have played first chair with the orchestra over the past few months when Andrew Bain needed a break: Joseph Assi (Associate Principal, Dallas Symphony) has been the most frequent guest; others have included Karl Pituch (Principal, Detroit Symphony), Roger Kaza (Principal, St. Louis Symphony), and David Everson (Assistant Principal, Detroit Symphony). Amy Jo Rhine, the LA Phil’s 3rd Horn, has played first chair as well on occasion.

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Photo credits:

Denis Bouriakov: courtesy of the artist’s website (www.bouriakov.com)
Boris Allakhverdyan: courtesy of the artist’s website (http://www.borisallakhverdyan.com)
Ilya Shterenberg: courtesy of North Shore Chamber Music Festival
Burt Hara: courtesy of the Los Angeles Philharmonic
Dahae Kim: courtesy of National Repertory Orchestra

As I mentioned last November, Boris Allakhverdyan was one of two finalists in the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s open auditions to find a new Principal Clarinet to take over for the retiring Michele Zukovsky. Multiple sources have now indicated that Mr. Allakverdyan, current Principal Clarinet of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, won the last phase of the audition and was offered the job earlier this weekend.

Assuming he officially accepts the position, he will become the third LA Phil woodwind principal to have come directly from the MET orchestra: Whitney Crockett joined the LA Phil as Principal Bassoon in 2010, while Denis Bouriakov started as Principal Flute at the end of 2015.

So to recap for those of you trying to keep score of MET orchestra departures, here’s what I’ve got as far as principal players:

LA Phil: Messrs. Crockett (2010), Bouriakov (2015), and now Allakhverdyan (2016?)
NY Phil: Anthony McGill, Principal Clarinet (2014); Timothy Cobb, Principal Bass (2014)
Chicago Symphony: Steven Williamson, Principal Clarinet (2011); Stefán Ragnar Höskuldsson, flute (2015 but not starting officially until 2016)

Back in LA, a few additional titled chairs are still up for grabs. Auditions for Associate Principal Horn are supposed to wrap up today, another guest Principal Trombone plays with the orchestra this week, and the orchestra recently announced May auditions for Principal Percussion. I’ll continue to post updates as I get them.

RELATED POSTS

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Photo credit: courtesy of www.borisallakhverdyan.com

The Los Angeles Philharmonic announced this morning that Susanna Mälkki has been appointed as Principal Guest Conductor of the orchestra. The Finnish maestra’s tenure will officially begin with the 2017-18 season, with an initial contract to last three years. She will conduct three subscription weeks, Green Umbrella concerts, as well as other projects with the orchestra to be announced.

I was bummed out that she wasn’t appearing here in the coming season, but this totally makes up for it in its awesomeness. Why?

First and most importantly:

She’s definitely one of the best conductors of this generation. Many, including me, thought she should have been tapped as the New York Philharmonic’s Music Director instead of Jaap van Zweden. Their loss is our gain. Ms. Mälkki is a perfect fit for the LA Phil. She combines a stellar reputation in contemporary music with a proven ability to breathe new life into tired warhorses; her 2013 take of the Brahms 4th Symphony at Walt Disney Concert Hall is still the only rendition I’ve ever unequivocally enjoyed.
No matter the repertoire, the orchestra has always sounded in peak form when she’s been on the podium. I can’t say that of all the guest conductors waving his/her arms in front of them.

Secondly, her conducting style and repertoire nicely complements that of Gustavo Dudamel:

They both bring energy to the stage but in different ways. Saying that his interpretations are more spicy, heart-on-the-sleeve affairs whereas hers are more subtle and analytical would be over-simplifying things, but not by much.
More importantly, they have different centers of gravity when it comes to the composers they tend to perform. Do you automatically picture Mr. Dudamel conducting the premiere of Unsuk Chin opera or Ms. Mälkki helming a Tchaikovsky cycle? Um, probably the other way around.
Now, there are those among you that were hoping for hoping for more of an eminence grise in the role (e.g. Charles Dutoit, to toss out one popular name) and will point out that Ms. Mälkki musical point of view overlaps considerably with Esa-Pekka Salonen, the orchestra’s Conductor Laureate and extant baton wielding “FinnAngeleno.” I’d reply that this is beneficial, especially given that Mr. Salonen seems increasingly drawn to “projects” — next season’s Reykjavik Festival at WDCH and the recently announced Ring Cycle at Finnish Opera are just the latest example — than to subscription projects. Moreover, overlap is not the same thing as identical. While Mr. Salonen’s European base has been in London, Ms. Mälkki bring a more Continental perspective with past posts in Paris (Music Director of the Ensemble Intercontemporain) and Lisbon (Principal Guest Conductor of the Gulbenkian Orchestra), so their relationships and influences are going to be different. There are also the obvious differences in gender and generation which are bound to manifest themselves.

Third, this appointment enables the LA Phil — and us as the audience — to build a deeper relationship with her specifically because she’ll be spending at least three weeks per year in Southern California. That level of commitment between any orchestra and a guest conductor is noteworthy, and it is particularly rare with this orchestra.

In recent years, few guest conductors without any kind of official Los Angeles Philharmonic position conducted as many as two weeks, let alone three, in any given season. Since Walt Disney Concert Hall opened, you’ve had the occasional fortnight of Christoph von Dohnanyi, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, and Mr. Dutoit, but those were rare exceptions.
The orchestra hasn’t had anyone as Principal Guest Conductor since 1981 when Carlo Maria Giulini was Music Director (!!!) Of course, the two he picked were pretty good — you’ve heard of Simon Rattle and Michael Tilson Thomas perhaps?
The last person to be offered the Principal Guest Conductor title was Mr. Salonen himself back in the late 1980’s while Andre Previn was Music Director. Of course, that offer was made by former LA Phil impresario Ernest Fleischmann without Mr. Previn’s knowledge and the offer was withdrawn. The tussle that followed eventually led Mr. Previn stepping down as Music Director, with Mr. Salonen soon being named to take his place
The orchestra hasn’t had an official Principal Guest of any sort since Bramwell Tovey was “Principal Guest Conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl” from 2008 to 2010, with Leonard Slatkin holding the awkwardly-titled job for the two years before that.

Finally, it’s worth noting that Ms. Mälkki three-year tenure at the LA Phil ends one year before Mr. Dudamel’s own contract as Artistic & Music Director. That could end up being a completely meaningless coincidence — or it could make her the leading candidate to replace Mr. Dudamel in the top job once 2022 rolls around. There are neither guarantees nor precedents, but should the Phil and The Dude decide to part ways at that time, she’d probably be among the names floated even if she didn’t already have official ties to the orchestra. File that thought under, “Things that make you say, ‘Hmmmm . . . ‘ ”

In the end, this is terrific news for the orchestra and for Southern California classical music fans. To them and us, I offer an enthusiastic, “Huzzah!”

The full press release from the Los Angeles Philharmonic is HERE.

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Photo credit: Mathew Imaging

It’s time once again to talk about one of our favorite topics: musical chairs in major orchestras, particularly the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

There has been a lot happening since last we broached the topic, and by the end of the beginning of the 2016/17 season, one current principal will have retired and there’ll be three new principal players with the LA Phil that weren’t in their jobs at the end of this past Fall/Winter season. There’s more besides that in San Francisco, Portland, New York, and Chicago as well. Here are the specifics:

Principal Percussion

When the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Carlo Maria Giulini held auditions in 1983 to find a new percussionist, they chose a local. Raynor Carroll was in his last year of undergraduate studies at Cal State LA when Mitchell Peters, his teacher and the LA Phil’s Principal Timpanist at the time, encouraged him to try out for the job. Not only did he win the position, three years later he was promoted to Principal Percussionist. For a kid who had lived in Pasadena since he was four-years old, it was quite the coup.

More than thirty years have passed, and Mr. Carroll is retiring this Summer. His final concert with the orchestra will be on Sunday, September 4th, the last of the annual concerts John Williams spends at the Hollywood Bowl.

The musician filling his spot has already been chosen, and once again, the LA Phil selected a 20-something from the area who went to a local university and studied with orchestra members: Matthew Howard.

The Los Angeles native got his Bachelor of Music in 2012 from the USC Thornton School of Music, studying with Joseph Pereira (Principal Timpanist) and James Babor (Percussionist). He followed that up with a Master’s degree from the New England Conservatory and a year as a Fellow at the New World Symphony (NWS), Michael Tilson Thomas’s prestigious post-graduate training orchestra in Florida.

Despite the parallels between his journey to the LA Phil’s Principal Percussion chair vis-a-vis that of his predecessor, actually having it happen was not something he dared imagine. “It’s pretty ridiculous. I was not expecting getting my dream job off the bat,” he said in an interview with Tamika Bickham of the NWS about his new gig.

Yes, it’s hard for anyone to get any job in a professional orchestra. Make it a principal’s chair in one of the top orchestras in the world that happens to be in your hometown, and it’s that much harder. But that’s not all he was talking about.

Earlier this year, the LA Phil announced auditions to find a new Principal Percussionist. Mr. Howard applied for the opportunity — and was denied.

He was put on the standby list instead, and as luck would have it, the orchestra reached out to him two months later: a number of people offered an audition spot could not or chose not to take it, so Mr. Howard would have his shot after all. Unfortunately, by then the audition was merely a month away, giving him only one-third of the usual time to prepare.

“In order to get to that level you have to have months of intricate and stressful training on a two second blurb of music,” he said in same interview. “I was prepared enough and experienced enough in audition taking to know how to prepare for this most efficiently.”

Obviously, one month was enough. No word yet on when he’ll officially begin his new job, but don’t be surprised to see him at Walt Disney Concert Hall in late September when the new 2016/17 season begins.

Principal Trombone

Trying to replace Nitzan Haroz as Principal Trombone hasn’t been the fastest process, but this shouldn’t come as a surprise. As Tom Hooten, Principal Trumpet, told me in a 2014 interview, “We want to take the time to find the right player, and Nitzan set a very high bar.”

After open auditions held two years ago failed to yield a job offer, several musicians were invited for trial weeks and private auditions with the orchestra. The most recent of these candidates, Jörgen van Rijen (Principal Trombone of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam), played the iconic first trombone part in the Mahler 3rd Symphony with the orchestra at Walt Disney Concert Hall this past March and knocked it out of the park. He then joined them on their tour of Europe and New York, and appeared with the rest of the brass and percussion sections on The Tonight Show with Stephen Colbert to play Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man (BTW: videos of that performance were all over the internet when it was first broadcast; they’ve since been pulled, likely because of copyright issues). Mr. Rijen was offered the job, but after some consideration, decided to stay in Amsterdam.

Fortunately, he was not the only stellar trombonist under consideration. In May of 2015, David Rejano Cantero, Principal Trombone of the Munich Philharmonic, played as guest first chair for a program of works by Falla and Rodrigo. The concert wasn’t quite the showpiece for trombone that Mahler 3 is, but I thought that Mr. Rejano’s performance was superb nonetheless. In fact, more than one noteworthy listener was surprised when he wasn’t given the position outright.

Regardless of the delay in the decision making, he was eventually offered the job and subsequently accepted. His tenure as Principal Trombone of the Los Angeles Philharmonic officially begins on August 15. In the meantime, enjoy this video of him as soloist in the third movement of the Trombone Concerto by Launy Grøndahl:

Principal Clarinet, First Violins, Cellos, and Associate Principal Horn

There are a few other bits to mention

Boris Allakhverdyan officially took over as Principal Clarinet on July 4.
Nathan Cole is still First Associate Concertmaster. He had previously been offered the position as Concertmaster of the Seattle Symphony, but ultimately turned them down. Mr. Cole is an excellent violinist, and Seattle’s loss is Southern California’s continued good fortune.
After playing almost the entire 2015/16 WDCH season as Acting Assistant Principal Cello as a guest player, Dahae Kim officially joined the orchestra in that role in May. One source stated that she has already been given tenure.
Other relatively recent additions to the orchestra who’ve reportedly been given tenure: Denis Bouriakov (Principal Flute), Stéphane Beaulac (Third/Utility Trumpet), and Andrew Lowy (Second/E-flat Clarinet). They’ve all been fabulous additions to the orchestra, and I would’ve been surprised had any of them NOT been given tenure.
One titled chair still vacant: Associate Principal Horn. Open auditions held this past February yielded no offers or even trial weeks. The parade of guest hornists occupying the first chair has continued since then, many/most are likely passing through without actually vying for the job. One of them stood out: Robert Johnson, Associate Principal Horn of the Houston Symphony, who led the section in late April while LA Phil Principal Andrew Bain was doing a guest stint of his own with the Berlin Philharmonic. I saw one of the concerts in which Mr. Johnson performed works by Mussorgsky, Grieg, and Janacek, and he was excellent. His playing was full of nuance, bold without ever being bombastic. Rick Schultz also praised him in a concert review for the Los Angeles Times, saying that Mr. Johnson’s “horn playing in a warm duet with [pianist Jean-Yves] Thibaudet was especially impressive.” His appearance was not an official trial week, but let’s hope that Mr. Bain and the powers that be decide to give him one. IMHO, he’d be a great addition to the orchestra.

News from orchestras in San Francisco, Portland, New York, and Chicago

The Los Angeles Philharmonic isn’t the only orchestra with personnel news of note. Here are some quick updates from farther afield:

The San Francisco Symphony has been without a Principal Timpanist since David Herbert decamped the Bay Area in 2013 in the midst of that orchestra’s labor troubles for the Chicago Symphony, leaving a rather pointed indictment of SFS management in his wake. After three years and multiple auditions, they appear to be close to filling the void: an offer has been given to Edward Stephan, currently Principal Timpani of the Pittsburgh Symphony. No word yet on if he’s accepted. If he doesn’t, expect Michael Israelievitch to continue as Acting Principal.
News from the Pacific Northwest: the Oregon Symphony announced that the contract of Music Director Carlos Kalmar has been extended to the end of the 2020/21 season, after which he will step down. He will have held the position for 18 years, second only to James DePriest’s 23 years. (A tip of the hat to Charles Noble for mentioning it in light of the classical music vacuum that The Oregonian has sadly become.)
This happened in May, but for completeness sake, I’ll mention it anyways: Chris Martin, Principal Trumpet of the Chicago Symphony, is leaving the Midwest to take the same position with the New York Philharmonic. He fills the chair most recently held by the legendary Phil Smith, himself a former Chicago Symphony player. That a trumpeter would willingly vacate the CSO chair once held by the equally legendary (if not more so) Adolph “Bud” Herseth is a shock to begin with. That the NY Phil reportedly offered Mr. Martin the position WITH tenure is almost unheard of. Draw your own conclusions about the mad trumpet skillz [sic] he possesses. . . . As you might expect, there is much hand wringing and gnashing of teeth by classical music fans in the Windy City, to which Riccardo Muti, the CSO’s Music Director, replied to the Chicago Tribune: “I spoke with Chris Martin today. He is very close to the Chicago Symphony but he wants another experience (away from the orchestra). So we shall see. Change is natural in symphony orchestras. The important thing is to find replacements who are very good. Everybody wants to play in the CSO, so I’m not worried.” Everybody except Chris Martin. And Eugene Izotov. And Mathieu Dufour. And David McGill. And others. . . . There is no doubt that the CSO is still one of the premiere orchestras in the world and will have it’s share of top-notch musicians from whom to choose replacements. But with yet another principal player in his prime deciding to leave the orchestra, you can’t help but say, “Hmmmmm.”
Speaking of the Chicago Symphony, they did fill one of their empty principal chairs, reaching into their past to do it: Alex Klein is Principal Oboe once again. He had previously held the position from 1995 until 2004 when complications of focal hand dystonia forced him to step down. Thankfully for him and classical music fans in Chicago, he has recovered. He played as guest principal with the CSO in April and won an audition with the orchestra in late June.

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Photo credits:

Raynor Carroll holding cymbals: courtesy of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association
Matthew Howard playing: courtesy of the New World Symphony
David Rejano Cantero without glasses: courtesy of Antoine Curtois — Paris
Raynor Carroll in suit: courtesy of California State University, Los Angeles
Matthew Howard portrait: courtesy of the New World Symphony
David Rejano Cantero with glasses: courtesy of International Summer Brass Festival Alicante
Robert Johnson: courtesy of the Houston Symphony

Los Angeles Opera announced today that Plácido Domingo will continue on as General Director through at least the end of the 2021/22 season. He has held the title since 2003. (The complete press release is below)

The tenor/baritone cum conductor cum impresario has a long and storied history with the company, going back to 1984 when he was named Artistic Consultant during LA Opera’s nascency and singing the title role in Verdi’s Otello for the company’s first-ever opening night in 1986. In 2000, he was named Artistic Director before being promoted to General Director three years later.

While Mr. Domingo certainly gives LA Opera some critical star power, I would argue that conductor James Conlon, the company’s Music Director, is just as important a hire, perhaps even more so. He is the glue that holds the company together when Mr. Domingo is not in town (which is most of the time) and his presence ensures a level of musical excellence. In 2013, LA Opera extended Mr. Conlon’s contract through the end of the 2017/2018 season. I trust that all Southern California classical music fans will join me in hoping and praying that he gets his own extension as well.

Speaking of Mr. Conlon, he will be in town this coming weekend for the two-day “Recovered Voices International Symposium” at the Colburn School. It is the latest iteration of his life-long passion for bringing to light and examining in-depth the music and art suppressed during Nazi-era Germany. Other guests joining him include Jeffrey Kahane (LACO Music Director, pianist, and USC Thornton School of Music faculty member), Clive Greensmith (Professor of Cello at the Colburn School and former member of the Tokyo String Quartet), Alex Ross (author and music critic for The New Yorker), and many more. Tickets are free but you must register ahead of time at the Colburn website (HERE).

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Plácido Domingo Renews Contract with LA Opera as General Director

(Los Angeles) October 6, 2016 — Marc Stern, chairman of LA Opera’s board of directors, announced today that Plácido Domingo has renewed his contract as the company’s Eli and Edythe Broad General Director through the end of the 2021/22 season.

“Music is my life, and my three-decade association with LA Opera has been one of the most rewarding aspects of my career,” said Mr. Domingo. “I am incredibly grateful to have taken part in the company’s many artistic achievements, and I am thankful to be able to continue leading this extraordinary opera company well into the future. I have many hopes and dreams for LA Opera, and I’m truly excited about everything that lies ahead for us as we begin our next 30 years. I am so proud to call this company home.”

Plácido Domingo occupies a unique place in the history of Los Angeles, for he has played a vital role in making the city an international cultural center. Through his direct influence and leadership, he has transformed Los Angeles from the only major western city without a resident opera company to the home of one of the nation’s most creative and respected operatic centers. He made his debut with the company in the inaugural production of Verdi’s Otello in 1986 and has performed in every LA Opera season to date. By the end of the 2016/17 season, he will have sung in more than 160 performances of 28 different roles with LA Opera and he will have conducted more than 100 total performances of 23 different LA Opera productions.

In addition to appearing frequently on the stage, Plácido Domingo has been a leading presence in the administration of LA Opera since the company’s formation. After serving first as artistic consultant (1984-2000), then as artistic director (2000-2003), he has led the company as general director since 2003. A champion of emerging talent, he created the company’s prestigious Domingo-Colburn-Stein Young Artist Program, now in its tenth season, which has fostered the careers of scores of rising performers. He is a passionate advocate for any initiative that brings opera to a larger audience, such as the live simulcasts of Macbeth on October 13, presented free of charge to thousands of viewers at South Gate Park and at the Santa Monica Pier. He has also brought the prestigious international vocal competition Operalia, which he founded and oversees, to Los Angeles on three occasions.

“This is fantastic news for LA Opera and indeed for all of Los Angeles,” said Mr. Stern. “Not only is Plácido Domingo a world-class artist, he is an inspirational figure who has made LA Opera one of the most respected opera companies in the world. All of us on the company’s board of directors look forward to many more years of close collaboration with this dynamic leader and dear friend, as we continue to push the boundaries of what an opera company in the 21^st century can be.”

“Plácido Domingo was essential to the creation of the opera community in Los Angeles, with a nearly 50-year association with the city. His extraordinary impact on LA Opera’s artistic success and reputation in particular cannot be overstated,” said Christopher Koelsch, the company’s president and chief executive officer. “He has been an indispensable part of the company in every single season throughout our history, beginning with our very first production, and I am honored to continue working with him for many seasons to come.”

About LA Opera
In just three decades of existence, LA Opera has become one of America’s most exciting and ambitious opera companies. Under the leadership of Plácido Domingo (Eli and Edythe Broad General Director), James Conlon (Richard Seaver Music Director) and Christopher Koelsch (President and CEO), the company is dedicated to staging imaginative new productions, world premiere commissions and inventive stagings of the classics that preserve the foundational works while making them feel fresh and compelling.

In addition to its mainstage performances at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, the company explores unusual repertoire each season through the LA Opera Off Grand initiative, performed in a variety of venues throughout Los Angeles. The company also presents a robust variety of educational programming and innovative community engagement offerings, experienced by more than 135,000 people each season.

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Photo credit: CK Dexter Haven (2013)

Los Angeles Opera gets to keep James Conlon around for a little longer. Yesterday, the company announced that the New York-based conductor will remain as Music Director through the end of the 2020/2021 season. His current contract was to expire next year.

Mr. Conlon took over the position from Kent Nagano in 2006 and has been a huge presence ever since. Plácido Domingo, LA Opera’s General Director, is a bigger celebrity, but Mr. Conlon’s artistic influence on the company has probably been stronger given his more frequent appearances with them. Despite this, the conductor’s recent 10th anniversary with LA Opera was strangely ignored by them, with the company only now beginning to pay some lip service to the important milestone and the significance of his tenure. Given the number of high-profile operas and orchestras trying fill chief conductor vacancies, the LA Opera — and Southern California in general — is very fortunate to still have him.

His next appearances at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion will begin on January 28 with a six-show run of Mozart’s The Abduction from the Seraglio. He also will lead Pittance Chamber Music on February 3rd in a performance of Mozart’s Serenade No. 10 in B flat (“Gran Partita”) at The Colburn School’s Zipper Hall, a concert which also features the beloved Mendelssohn Octet for Strings.

The full press release from LA Opera, complete with quotes from Mr. Conlon and others, is below.

James Conlon extends contract to be Music Director of LA Opera until 2018

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Photo Credit: Brandise Danesewich for All is Yar

James Conlon Renews Contract with LA Opera as Music Director

(Los Angeles) January 13, 2017 — General Director Plácido Domingo announced today that James Conlon has renewed his contract as the company’s Richard Seaver Music Director through the end of the 2020/21 season. Currently celebrating his tenth anniversary with the company, Mr. Conlon has conducted 314 performances to date for LA Opera. When he returns to the podium of the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion on January 28 to conduct The Abduction from the Seraglio, he will have conducted 50 different operas at LA Opera.

“It is impossible to overstate what a profound impact James Conlon has made during his ten years in Los Angeles,” said Mr. Domingo. “The astounding energy and infectious enthusiasm that he brings to his work has made him a beloved figure for our audiences. Thanks to his prodigious musical talents, our magnificent orchestra sounds better and better every season. I myself have taken great pride in the numerous musical partnerships that James and I have shared—most recently in Verdi’s Macbeth earlier this season—and I look forward to many more such collaborations. I am thrilled that James will continue to shape the company’s artistic legacy for many years to come, for he has truly become an essential member of the LA Opera family.”

Since his sensational company debut in 2006, conducting La Traviata starring Renée Fleming, James Conlon has conducted more LA Opera performances than any other conductor in the company’s history. During his tenure in Los Angeles, he has conducted operas by 22 different composers and a total of 24 company premieres. These include the U.S. premiere of Franz Schreker’s The Stigmatized, which was the first American staging of any opera by that composer, and the U.S. premiere of Viktor Ullmann’s The Broken Jug, which was presented on a double bill with Alexander Zemlinsky’s The Dwarf to launch the celebrated Recovered Voices series, devoted to performing the works of composers suppressed by the Nazi regime. In 2010, he conducted LA Opera’s first presentations of Wagner’s Ring cycle, which inspired the countywide Ring Festival LA. Throughout 2013 and beyond, he spearheaded Britten 100/LA, a celebration honoring the centenary of English composer Benjamin Britten. In 2015, he was the principal figure behind Figaro Unbound, a season-long exploration of the leading character of Beaumarchais influential trilogy of plays and their operatic adaptations. In 2007, he launched LA Opera’s annual community operas for families, bringing together professional, amateur and student performers from every part of Los Angeles for large-scale productions at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, presented free of charge. His enormously popular pre-performance talks, which he gives before every performance he conducts at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, regularly draw capacity audiences. Later this season, in addition to The Abduction from the Seraglio, he will also conduct productions of Salome and Tosca at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, as well as a revival of Noah’s Flood at the Cathedral.

“My first ten seasons with LA Opera have been enormously meaningful and I am very happy to continue my associations with Plácido and Christopher,” said Mr. Conlon. “I am especially proud of our orchestra and chorus, and their unwavering devotion and uncompromising artistic standards. I am grateful of our loyal and devoted audience, with whom I have the pleasure of interacting in the context of our pre-performance talks. Most of all, I am thankful to be part of an opera company comprising so many creative, positive and dedicated individuals.”

“These past ten years with James at the podium have dramatically strengthened the power of the LA Opera Orchestra and solidified our world-class reputation,” said Marc Stern, chairman of the LA Opera board of directors. “His leadership and musical acumen have served as the backbone for our company’s artistic success. I’m grateful that we can continue to rely on him as we drive the company forward. On a personal note, one of the great joys my wife Eva and I have had through our association with the LA Opera is the wonderful and warm friendship we have developed with James, Jennifer and their family.”

About James Conlon
One of today’s most versatile and respected conductors, James Conlon is renowned for a vast symphonic, operatic and choral repertoire. Since his 1974 debut with the New York Philharmonic, he has conducted virtually every major American and European symphony orchestra. Through worldwide touring, an extensive discography and videography, numerous essays and commentaries, frequent television appearances and guest speaking engagements, he is one of classical music’s most recognized interpreters.

This season he became principal conductor of the RAI National Symphony Orchestra in Torino, Italy. He is the first American to hold that position in the orchestra’s 84-year history. He previously served as music director of the Ravinia Festival, summer home of the Chicago Symphony (2005-2015), principal conductor of the Paris National Opera (1995-2004), general music director of the City of Cologne (1989-2002), music director of the Rotterdam Philharmonic (1983-91), and music director of the Cincinnati May Festival (1979-2016). He has conducted more than 270 performances at the Metropolitan Opera since his debut there in 1976. He has won two Grammy Awards—for Best Classical Album and Best Opera Recording—for the LA Opera recording of Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny, and he was recently nominated for two Grammys for LA Opera’s recording of John Corigliano’s The Ghosts of Versailles. In 2002, he received the Légion d’Honneur, France’s highest distinction, from then-President of the French Republic Jacques Chirac. Learn more about Mr. Conlon at JamesConlon.com.

About LA Opera
In just three decades of existence, LA Opera has become one of America’s most exciting and ambitious opera companies. Under the leadership of Plácido Domingo (Eli and Edythe Broad General Director), James Conlon (Richard Seaver Music Director) and Christopher Koelsch (President and CEO), the company is dedicated to staging imaginative new productions, world premiere commissions and inventive stagings of the classics that preserve the foundational works while making them feel fresh and compelling.

Christopher Martin (trumpet) and Jaap van Zweden (conductor)

There are some jobs that people expect you to keep for life. Pope. US Supreme Court Justice. Principal Trumpet of the Chicago Symphony. But I guess if a Pope can quit early, we shouldn’t be shocked that the CSO’s first chair trumpet can do it too.

Chris Martin — the trumpeter, not the lead singer of Coldplay — caused a stir last year when he announced that he’d be taking a leave of absence from the CSO to become Principal Trumpet of the New York Philharmonic, at least temporarily.

Chicago’s brass section has been the standard-bearer of the entire orchestra for decades, a towering symbol of what many people think orchestral brass sections should be. The unquestioned leader of the section for more 50 years was Adolph “Bud” Herseth, the paragon of the modern American trumpeter. The well-regarded Mr. Martin was widely considered to be a worthy successor of that role.

The CSO has been losing first chair musicians at an alarming rate over the past few years, but the prospect of Bud Herseth’s chair going empty once again was a different matter entirely. Still, Chicago fans have held out hope that this was just something that Mr. Martin needed to get out of his system. That hope is now officially gone.

Earlier today, the Chicago Symphony officially announced that Mr. Martin has resigned as the orchestra’s Adolph Herseth Principal Trumpet. The move was effective as of yesterday.

It’s worth reminding everyone about a few noteworthy things:

According to more than a few unconfirmed reports, Mr. Martin was not only offered the job with the NY Phil, we was also offered tenure immediately instead of having to go through the usual one- to two-year process. That is almost unheard of, especially for a position of that stature in an orchestra of that prominence.
The prior holder of NY Phil’s Principal Trumpet, Phil Smith, was not only a legend in his own right but he too came to the NY Phil directly from the Chicago Symphony.
In response to Mr. Martin’s original announcement last year that he was taking his leave from the CSO, Riccardo Muti (the CSO’s Music Director) pointedly told the Chicago Tribune that “change is natural in symphony orchestras” and that “no player is indispensable in this orchestra.”
For those keeping score, the CSO is still in search for a Principal French Horn to replace the retired Dale Clevenger.
Mr. Martin had been Principal Trumpet of the CSO for eleven years. Prior to that, he held the same job with the Atlanta Symphony from 2000 to 2005, and was Associate Principal of the Philadelphia Orchestra for three years before that.
During his first year in Atlanta, Mr. Martin was offered the Principal Trumpet chair of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, a position that had opened up with the retirement of yet another legendary trumpeter, Thomas Stevens. He turned it down.The Atlanta Journal-Constitution later asked the Georgia native why he decided to stay in Atlanta instead of taking the higher paying (and arguably more prestigious) position in LA:”Actually, it was a combination of things,” explains Martin. “I had just gotten here. The orchestra was moving in a really positive direction. We had just hired a new principal trombone [Colin Williams ] who everybody liked; the new hall was looking good; [Conductor Robert] Spano was looking good. Plus, I grew up with this orchestra. Having seen where it had come from and where it could go, I wanted to be a part of that.” (Susan Elliott: “ASO’s top trumpeter taking solo bow,” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution; September 11, 2003).Not long afterwards, the LA Phil decided to promote Donald Green, who at the time still the orchestra’s Associate Principal Trumpet, to first chair.

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Photo credit: Todd Rosenberg

There’s been a fair amount of personnel movement at the Los Angeles Philharmonic over the past few months. Let’s get everybody caught up:

Filling empty seats in the Bass section

The LA Phil basses have had two openings since the 2014 retirement of John Schiavo and the sad passing of Fred Tinsley late last year. A few weeks ago, the orchestra held auditions in an attempt to fill both seats and it looks like they were successful. No official word from the orchestra, but multiple sources mention that Edward “Ted” Botsford and Jory Herman have been offered the positions.

Mr. Botsford is currently a member of the Seattle Symphony and Principal Bass of the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music in Santa Cruz, CA. He previously was in the Oregon Symphony where he was Assistant Principal Bass since 2010 – 2013 and Acting Principal Bass from 2013–2015. He holds both Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from Rice University. In a recent interview, he mentions how working with Christopher Hanulik (LA Phil Principal Bass) was critical to successfully winning the Oregon Symphony audition and beyond: “The thing that stuck in my mind is the sense I got when he’d demonstrate something, of the intensity and focus of his musical aesthetic. There was no beating around the bush, it was very clear what he wanted to do. And the sound was huge and rich and full, all the things you’d want from a bass sound. . . . It was eye opening for me to see that and to hear him talk about it.”

Mr. Herman has been a bassist with the San Diego Symphony since 2010. He has also played with the National Symphony and the New World Symphony. Like Mr. Botsford, he graduated with Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from Rice University. Among his many musical activities outside of his main gig, he is Director of Community Engagement for “Art of Élan,” a chamber music group that performs throughout the greater San Diego area. He also has released a solo album, J.S. Bach: Unaccompanied Suites Performed on Double Bass.

No word yet on when the two gentlemen will join the LA Phil, but we look forward to seeing them at Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Hollywood Bowl soon. Congratulations to them both.

New Assistant Concertmaster is a familiar face

Violinist Mark Baranov, LA Phil musician since the 1978/79 season, stepped down as Assistant Concertmaster at the end of last year while still remaining in the First Violin section. In anticipation of his move, the orchestra had already held auditions in Fall of last year for a new Assistant Concertmaster, and they didn’t have to look far to find a winner: Akiko Tarumoto, a current member of the orchestra.

Ms. Tarumoto is a formidable musician who easily made my very personal and admittedly biased 2014 list of “Top 10 favorite LA Phil hires of the past decade.” I still remember being bowled over by her playing back in 2002 when she sat first chair for the Shostakovich 3rd String Quartet in the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion’s Grand Hall lobby as part of Esa-Pekka Salonen’s Shostakovich cycle; the Los Angeles Times called her out as “electrifying” in that performance.

She originally joined the LA Phil’s 2nd Violin section in 1998. She was promoted to the 1st Violin section soon thereafter, but in 2004, left for the Chicago Symphony. The Windy City’s gain was Southern California’s loss; however, while there, she married Nathan Cole (at the time a fellow violinist with the CSO), and not long after that, he became the LA Phil’s First Associate Concertmaster.

In 2011, Ms. Tarumoto won an audition to return to the LA Phil’s 2nd violin section in 2011 and join her husband in the orchestra; in 2015, she was promoted to the permanent 5th Chair in the 1st violin sections, before officially starting her now job last month. Since the orchestra has a Principal Concertmaster (Martin Chalifour), a First Associate Concertmaster (Mr. Cole), and an Associate Concertmaster (Bing Wang), the promotion means that technically she has only stepped up one chair; however, the acquisition of a titled position in the orchestra is non-trivial and calls for major congratulations. So . . . congratulations!!

Trombone losses

Herbert “Sonny” Ausman, the orchestra’s 2nd Trombone since 1971, retired at the end of last year, ending an illustrious career with the LA Phil. He played for five Music Directors (Zubin Mehta, Carlo Maria Giulini, André Previn, Esa-Pekka Salonen, and Gustavo Dudamel) and with five Principals (Byron Peebles, Ralph Sauer, Steven Witser, Nitzan Haroz, and David Rejano Cantero). In addition to his trombone career, Mr. Ausman has also been a well-regarded recording engineer and, according to reliable sources, is a rather good home brewer of beer.

Mr. Sauer once wrote this about his former section mate:

“In a symphony orchestra, the 2nd trombonist is a crucial part of the brass section. The audition probably required that the playing be at the level of the principal, but the actual job requires a willingness to be an ensemble player (suppression of the ego), having a great ear for intonation (because the 2nd player is usually required to adjust more than the 1st or 3rd players), the necessary people skills to be diplomatic, and once a year or so, to be a soloist (Mozart, R-Korsakov, etc.).

Sonny Ausman was the “meat in the sandwitch [sic]” between Jeff Reynolds [retired LA Phil Bass Trombone] and myself. He always said that his job was “to make me sound good.” That’s why I always (well usually) bought the beer afterwards. The principal player should NEVER make the 2nd player mad. It’s the kiss of death. He can start playing those pesky major 3rds too high, and all of a sudden the music director is calling YOU in to discuss YOUR terrible intonation.

Having a compatible 2nd trombonist in the section makes going to work a pleasure. I’ve played with many great trombone sections at various music festivals over the years and with Summit Brass, but I’ve always been glad to return to LA and play with Jeff and Sonny.”

Auditions for a new Second Trombone will be held in early May 2017. In the meantime, various guest musicians will temporarily fill the role.

There was also a sadder departure from the LA Phil’s extended trombone family: Byron Peebles passed away this past January 16th, just two weeks shy of his 86th birthday.

He joined the orchestra in 1963 and retired in 1999, serving as Principal and Associate Principal during his tenure. Before joining the LA Phil, he had previously been a member of the Chicago Symphony and the Indianapolis Symphony He received his Bachelor’s degree from UC Santa Barbara and a Master’s degree from the University of Southern California where he studied with Robert Marsteller, another former LA Phil Principal Trombone.

Timothy Mangan, music critic and former trombone student of Mr. Peebles, wrote a touching obituary on his website, classicallife.net.

By the way . . . the foursome of Messrs. Sauer, Peebles, Ausman, and Reynolds spent nearly three decades together, becoming quite legendary in the process. As a quartet, they recorded their own albums and some of their tracks can be found on YouTube and can still be purchased on iTunes. Together with Roger Bobo, world-renowned former LA Phil tuba player who had previously played in the Concertgebouw Orchestra, they comprised one of the foremost low brass ensembles in the world.

Other news (or notable lack thereof) from the brass section

Still no movement on the open Associate Principal Horn chair. Roger Kaza, Principal Horn of the St. Louis Symphony, has been a frequent guest in first horn chair at Walt Disney Concert Hall, giving LA Phil Principal Andrew Bain some much rest.

Perhaps more importantly for SoCal fans of brass is that the Berlin Philharmonic recently hired a new Principal Horn of their own and it is NOT Mr. Bain (not that he was necessarily in the running anyway). Instead, the Berliners chose someone from a different American orchestra: David Cooper of the Dallas Symphony. Mr. Cooper fills the seat vacated when Radek Baborák left the orchestra in 2010.

According to some reports, Mr. Bain did throw his hat in the ring for the open Chicago Symphony job (Dale Clevenger’s former chair) and was one of the distinguished finalists under consideration in 2015, but the CSO extended no offers. That position remains vacant and there has been no word on when the next audition will be.

That said, antsy followers of the LA Phil brass now have something different to fret about. Given yesterday’s big news that Christopher Martin has officially resigned his post as Principal Trumpet in Chicago to stay with the New York Philharmonic, some are already wondering: would Tom Hooten — beloved first trumpet here in LA — be interested in going after the Chicago gig? If so, how much? He’s said in past interviews that as a student, it was his dream job but that he didn’t expect it to open up anytime soon. Yet now it has.

Be that as it may, he has also made it clear how much he loves playing with the LA Phil and his brass colleagues, and happy he is in LA in general . He also says how important being a teacher is to him, and he is now on the faculty at the USC Thornton School of Music. Things are going well in Los Angeles. Maybe he won’t pursue the Chicago position.

Time will tell. The CSO has not yet announced any audition dates but when it does, Mr. Martin’s move to New York is an indication, anything can happen. We’ll all just have to wait and see. In the meantime, I’ll pray — and you should too — that the impressive LA Phil brass section, now with new Principal Trombone David Rejano Cantero, remains intact.

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Photo credits:

Ted Botsford: courtesy of the University of Washington School of Music
Jory Herman: courtesy of the artist’s website
Mark Baranov: photo by Nathan Cole from his Instagram page @natesviolin
Akiko Tarumoto and Herbert Ausman: photos by Mathew Imaging for the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association
Byron Peebles: photo by Rebecca Dru (Rebecca Dru Photography)
Los Angeles Philharmonic Trombone Ensemble: courtesy of Western International Music, Inc.
Tom Hooten and Andrew Bain: photo by CK Dexter Haven

The Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra recently announced the hiring of two new musicians:

David Grossman (Principal Bass), currently a member of the New York Philharmonic. The New York City native was still a student at Juilliard when he won the 1999 audition to join the NY Phil, and waited until the following year before joining them full-time. In addition to his performances of both orchestral and chamber music, he is an accomplished jazz bassist, having been a member of the Marcus Roberts Trio and played with Wynton Marsalis and other jazz luminaries. He has released two albums, both named “The Bass of Both Worlds” (one featuring classical repertoire, the other jazz). He is also a composer. Mr. Grossman takes over the LACO chair previously held by Nico Abondolo.
Michael Thornton (Principal Horn), Principal Horn with the Colorado Symphony since 1997. Before that, he left studies at Juilliard with former Met Principal Horn Julie Landsman to become Principal with the Honolulu Symphony (he holds a Bachelor of Music from Temple University). He has also performed, toured and recorded as a guest with the Philadelphia Orchestra, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, KBS Symphony and Toronto Symphony, among others. In 1999, he was appointed to the faculty of the University of Colorado and is an Associate Professor there. In addition, he has taught and been a clinician at numerous other schools and festivals throughout the world. He fills the LACO position formerly occupied by Richard Todd for over 30 years.

They both begin their roles immediately, though interestingly enough, both will also keep their respective positions in New York and Denver.

While some LACO musicians past and present are/were active members of other orchestras, this is the first time I can think of where the commute between LA and the “other” jobs required regular flights from other states and time zones, not just a drive up the 405 or down the 110.

That said, Scott Harrison, LACO’s Executive Director, made a point of assuaging potential concerns about the arrangement, stating, “Both musicians are exceptional talents who bring artistic depth and an enthusiasm for community in equal doses. . . . The two have also communicated to me their eagerness to get to know our audiences and become active members of the LACO family.” Let’s hope that this translates to appearances by them in LACO’s many ancillary series — Baroque Conversations, in focus (fka “Westside Connections), à la carte, “Acoustic Caffeine,” etc. — and not just the regular orchestral concerts.

Both men had the chance to play concerts with LACO this past season. Not only did those experiences provide critical information on the chemistry the new musicians had with the established LACO members, it also helped to convince them to make a go of it in Los Angeles despite their established positions in other cities.

“I was eager to play as a guest with LACO,” explains Mr. Grossman about playing with LACO last fall, “but I wasn’t anticipating falling in love with such a fine ensemble. After such a richly artistically rewarding week, I learned there was an upcoming audition for principal bass. I thought of a dozen reasons why it was crazy to even consider a bi-coastal existence: maintaining my musical life in New York with the possibility of joining LACO. However, the singular immortal message of Joseph Campbell – ‘follow your bliss’ – rang true. So I am very excited to embark on what I hope will be the first of many deeply rewarding seasons making music with my wonderful LACO colleagues, as well as being part of the West Coast musical fabric in general.”

Mr. Thornton had a similar experience: “In March, I had the opportunity to play a concert series with LACO, and I knew then that I wanted to be a part of this wonderful group. Every musician was so committed and so excellent, and the concerts were stellar. I am thrilled to join this vibrant organization and look forward to many exciting performances in the future.”

The full press release of this announcement is available HERE.

One final question worth asking: What kind of horn will Mr. Thornton play in Los Angeles? Mind you, this is a non-trivial question.

The LACO horn section has traditionally played a Kruspe-style horn, the same as is favored by most of the Hollywood studio players (see this picture I took of Kristy McArthur Morrell, LACO’s 2nd horn and studio veteran, holding her Kruspe-style horn). It gives a round, mellow, dark tone. It is the style of horn Americans are probably most accustomed to hearing. The Cleveland Orchestra is famous for having their entire horn section playing Conn 8D horns of this style. The Los Angeles Philharmonic section also used to favor this kind of horn.

The primary alternative among American orchestras is a Geyer-style horn as is favored by, say, the current LA Phil horn section led by Andrew Bain (as pictured HERE), the Chicago Symphony, and others. It produces a brighter, more pointed, and generally more “brassy” sound than Kruspe-style horns.

Now if you do a quick Google search for pictures of Mr. Thornton, you will find pictures of him playing both styles of horn. And to make things even more complicated, the photo of him above (in the white dress shirt and jeans sitting on rocks) has him holding a triple horn, which is an entirely different beast. That’s noteworthy enough in that horn players don’t usually go back and for between different kinds of horns (though Mr. Bain himself is an exception to that — a discussion for another day), but there’s something more important . . .

As I mention above, the LACO horn sound — and therefore the overall LACO sound — has been based on a specific horn type, and a major change in that sound would be a surprise, especially since LACO still is without a Music Director. In fact, some hornists have been known to quit their orchestra jobs rather than deal with having to make a change in equipment. I’d say the odds are low that Ms. Morrell would change horns and/or leave, and given her excellent playing, let’s hope I’m right.

So, again, what horn will Mr. Thornton play? I guess we’ll know the answer in September. LACO’s first concert of the 2017-18 season will be a live accompaniment to the movie, Amadeus, at the Valley Performing Arts Center on September 16. Their first subscription concerts at the Alex Theatre in Glendale and Royce Hall at UCLA will be Saturday and Sunday, September 30 and October 1st, in a program of Mozart, Bernstein, and Brahms; violinist Joshua Bell is the featured soloist, and Jaime Martin conducts.

If I hear anything before those concerts, I’ll be sure to let everyone know.

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Photo credits:

David Grossman: photo by Henry Grossman
Michael Thornton playing horn: courtesy of the Colorado Symphony
Michael Thornton sitting: courtesy of Michael Thornton

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