Blog
Music, thoughts, lessons and the latest from New West Symphony
When a cadenza goes bluegrass
In music, a cadenza is an "improvised or written out ornamental passage played or sung by a soloist," and it's often where a soloist can really shine. Violinist Tessa Lark certainly improvised her cadenza at this rehearsal of Dvořák's Violin Concerto with the...
read moreQuality Time with Yo-Yo Ma
NPR's Tiny Desk Concerts are such a delight. They're often such a casual and intimate look at an artist. Who better to spend time with one-on-one than the lovely cello legend Yo-Yo Ma? Spend some quality time with Ma, enjoying his sweet cello tone on selections...
read moreWhen Aretha subbed for Pavarotti at the Grammys
Pavarotti was too ill to perform. The story goes that Ken Ehrlich, producer of the 1998 Grammys, approached Aretha in her dressing room with a cassette. In Ehrlich's words: "When she heard it, she said, 'Yeah, I can do this.'" For one aria, the queen of soul became...
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Classical music stars who weren’t star students
The musical greats weren't always so great in an academic setting. We'll bet you didn't know these classical musicians were less than star students. George Gershwin, the great American songwriter and pianist, often played hooky as a hyperactive child. Richard Wagner...
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The Sackbut
https://youtu.be/xnRXhiC5SMA?t=5s The trombone is quite the instrument. It's a real favorite with the kids wherever the New West Symphony Music Van comes around. And it has a fascinating history, nearly falling into obscurity and once going by a name like "sackbut."...
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Is Jacob Collier our century’s Beethoven?
Jacob Collier, 23-year-old vocalist and multi-instrumentalist from London, has taken music by storm in recent years with his radical jazz reharmonizations and other-worldly music theorization. Known for his "Super-Ultra-Hyper-Mega-Meta-Lydian" scale and extensive use...
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Fugue…on themes by Michael Jackson?
Everybody loves a good fugue. Well okay, maybe not everybody, but at the very least a fugue is a dazzling display of intertwining lines, harmonious counterpoint, and melodic invention. Which is why it's so interesting to hear familiar melodies from the King of Pop in...
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Elephants love piano and cows love brass
On the banks of the River Kwai in Northern Thailand live a small group of old injured and distressed elephants in a sanctuary called ElephantsWorld. English pianist Paul Barton treats the elephants, many of whom are blind, to classical piano performances, and they...
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The flying fingers of Heifetz in slow motion
Russian-American violinist Jascha Heifetz has been considered by some to be the greatest violinist of all time. Fritz Kreisler, another legendary violinist of the time, said about Heifetz, "we might as well take our fiddles and break them across our knees." Take a...
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Watch these musicians rock the “Incredibles 2” movie score!
Another reason to love Los Angeles studio musicians: they don't just sound great performing in the concert hall, they're killer players for movie soundtracks! Michael Giacchino, who composed the score to "The Incredibles", gave the brass a significant role, almost...
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