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Kent Nagano Triumphs in SummerFest Finale

By Ken Herman | August 26, 2012 |
Kent Nagano

Ending a summer concert with a blinding display of fireworks is a widespread tradition, but Friday’s (August 24) grand finale of the La Jolla Music Society’s SummerFest 2012 kept all of the dramatic fireworks on the Sherwood Auditorium stage. Under the demanding baton of guest conductor Kent Nagano, the festival chamber orchestra tore into what could have been just another neat program of standard repertory and kept us alert with consistently exhilarating playing. From the breakneck tempo of Rossini’s Overture to The Barber of Seville, a felicitous program-opener, Nagano pushed his 40-member ensemble beyond their evident comfort zone. He demanded…

Airy Anything Goes Makes an Enjoyable Evening

By Bill Eadie | August 24, 2012 |
Anything goes featured

Airy is good for summer musicals staged outdoors, and Moonlight Stage Productions version of Anything Goes doesn’t push the envelope at all in making an enjoyable evening for its audiences.

Brahms Piano Trios Disappoint

By Ken Herman | August 24, 2012 |
Jon Kimura Parker [photo (c) Maurice Beznos]

The prospect of hearing all three Piano Trios by Johannes Brahms in one concert was more than enticing. And SummerFest 2012’s A-list roster of violinist Cho-Liang Lin, cellist Gary Hoffman, and pianist Jon Kimura Parker as the program’s performers shot my expectations through the roof. At the intermission of Wednesday’s (Aug. 22) Brahms Piano Trio concert, however, I found myself wishing I had kept my inflated anticipation in check. Yes, we were hearing some of the most plush and ingeniously crafted chamber music in western music, and, without question, the performers were engaging their prodigious musical proficiency with clear-eyed precision.…

Dances with Trees

By Kris Eitland | August 23, 2012 |

Ideas for dance often come from nature.  In “Bare Arm Branches,” Blythe Barton creates a stark forest narrative:  six women scramble to protect their precious potted trees and ultimately find common ground. Set to a collection of indie favorites by artists such as Andrew Bird, “Bare Arm Branches” opened with the sound of birds chirping at The Vine last weekend.  The little box theater at the Rancho Bernardo Winery is an intimate space that works well for smaller dance troupes, but not during a heat wave.  If real birdies had been inside the theater, they may have died from heat…

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