LA Cultural Events May 24th, 25th, & 26th

Memorial Day weekend’s Cultural Cocktail recipe includes 1 dose of Doheny, 2 dashes of Balanchine, and a swirl of Medici Jewels. On the Rocks!

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Da Camera Society

Horszowski Piano Trio

May 24, 8 pm Doheny Mansion

Shostakovich Trio No. 1 in C, Op. 8; Dvorák’s Piano Trio No. 3 in f, Op. 65; Piano Trio No. 1 in F by Saint-Saëns

8 Chester Place, LA, CA, 90007. 213-477-2929

http://dacamera.org

Balanchine Festival: Red

May 25, 7:30pm

Valley Performing Arts Center. 18111 Nordhoff St. Northridge, CA 91330-8448

May 26, 2pm

Alex Theatre, Glendale. 216 North Brand Blvd. Glendale, CA 91203

http://losangelesballet.org/

Gems of the Medici

Bowers Museum. 2002 N. Main Street. Santa Ana, CA, 92706. 714.567.3600

http://www.bowers.org

Wagner, Robber,and the Flying Dutchman

                               Wagner, Robber, and the Flying Dutchman

By Leticia Marie Sanchez

Cultural Cocktail Hour® is a registered Trademark

He not have been an actual thief, but Richard Wagner’s Newfoundland dog Robber successfully stole the composer’s heart. In Wagner Without Fear, author William Berger regales us with colorful tales from Wagner’s life, including his tumultuous journey from Riga to Paris. When the debt-ridden Wagner and his wife Minna decided to escape from present-day Latvia, the composer insisted that Robber join them, despite the great risk. Cossack patrols guarded the Prussian border, with orders to shoot and kill the unlucky fugitives who caught their attention. Miraculously, the pooch did not make a peep as they dashed across the border. One little bark would have meant Sayonara Wagner. Welcome to Valhalla.Wagner then decided that the trio would henceforth travel by sea, avoiding land voyages that would tucker out the legs of his beloved canine.  Unfortunately, turbulence reigned during their voyage on the merchant ship Thetis. This tempest-filled odyssey endured for more than a month, with the sounds of sailors’ shrieks terrifying Wagner.Thankfully, the Wagners arrived safely in London and eventually, Paris. The traumatized composer refused to step foot on a ship for the rest of his days.

His angst-filled voyage, however, inspired the music for the Flying Dutchman. Thus, Robber’s influence on Wagner’s sailing itinerary had its rewards. A dog really can be a Man’s Best Friend and, in some cases, his Best Muse. 

Cultural Events: May 17, 18, & 19th

This weekend’s Cultural Cocktail includes: a tall glass of Mozart, a swirl of Tosca, and a Bollywood Pacific Asian Fusion on a museum dance floor!

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Mozart/Da Ponte Trilogy: The Marriage of Figaro

Walt Disney Concert Hall

Fri, May 17: 7:30 PM

Sun. May 19: 2:00pm

Gustavo Dudamel, conductor; Set design by Jean Nouvel; Costumes by Azzedine Alaïa; Los Angeles Master Chorale, Grant Gershon, music director

111 S. Grand Ave. LA, CA USA 90012. (323) 850-2000

http://www.laphil.com/

LA Opera presents Giacomo Puccini’s Tosca

Conducted by Plácido Domingo

Opening Night

May 18: 7:30 P.M.

135 North Grand Ave. LA, CA 90012 (213) 972-8001

http://www.laopera.com/

Fusion Friday

May 17: 7:30-10:30

Pacific Asia Museum

Art, DJ music, & drinks in the courtyard; gourmet food trucks, Indonesian shadow puppet performance; DJ Arshia’s Bollywood dance mix, Free for members, $15 general public. 46 North Los Robles Avenue. Pasadena, CA 91101-2071(626) 449-5269

For tickets, visit pacificasiamuseum.org/fusionfridays.

Cultural Cocktail Hour- Top Picks May 9th, 10th, & 11th

This week’s Cultural Cocktail recipe: 3 Tablespoons of a well-aged bottle of Bach, a soupçon of Sicily, and a shot of Schoenberg- enjoy!

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Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra

BAROQUE CONVERSATIONS

Thurs, May 9, 7pm

Zipper Concert Hall. Colburn School. 200 South Grand Ave. LA, CA 90012

Margaret Bajtier, leader & violin;Allan Vogel, oboe d’amore;

Wilhelm Friedemann Bach Sinfonia in D minor, “Adagio and Fugue,” FK 65; Johann Sebastian Bach Oboe d’amore Concerto in A major (orig. Harpsichord Concerto No. 4), BWV 1055; Johann Christian Bach Sinfonia in D major, Op. 3, No. 1; Johann Sebastian Bach’sViolin Concerto No. 2 in E major

For more information about tickets, please see: http://www.laco.org/

SICILY: ART AND INVENTION BETWEEN GREECE & ROME

VERKLARTE NACHT

May 10 8 p.m. Edye Second Space at the Broad Stage. 1310 11th Street, Santa Monica, CA 90401

May 11 8p.m. Zipper Hall.Colburn School. 200 South Grand Ave. LA, CA 90012

Guided tour through Arnold Schoenberg’s ultra-romantic original version for sextet of Verklarte Nacht (Transfigured Night), a sonic illustration of Richard Dehmel’s poem about the transformational power of love. KUSC Radio’s Brian Lauritzen will host.

Co-Artistic Directors Kevin Kumar & Maia Jasper, violins; Meredith Crawford &Luke Maurer, violas; Andrew Shulman & Rebecca Merblum, cellos

For information about tickets, please see:

www.salastinasociety.org

LA Cultural Events May 3rd, 4th, & 5th

This weekend’s Cultural Cocktail includes a Splash of Rodin, A Dash of Van Gogh, and a New World Symphony. Enjoy!

Rodin

SEGERSTROM HALL, Costa Mesa

Dates: May 3 – 5

Choreography and staging by Boris Eifman

Music by Camille Saint-Saëns, Jules Massenet and Maurice Ravel

Fri May 3: 7:30; Sat May 4 2:00 + 7:30; Sun May 5^th 2:00

600 Town Center Dr. Costa Mesa, CA 92626

For tickets and information, visit SCFTA.org or call (714) 556–2787

Lecture: Van Gogh under the Microscope: Investigating the “Portrait of a Peasant; (Patience Escalier)”

Sat May 4. 4:00 – 5:00 pm. Speakers: Devi Ormond, Associate Paintings Conservator, J. Paul Getty Museum &Lauren Bradley, Assistant Conservator, J. Paul Getty

Theater | Free with admission |

From the Norton Simon Website: “We encourage you to arrive no later than 3:00 p.m., when stickers for ensured seating are distributed in Main Entrance gallery. Members enjoy early seating between 3:30 and 3:45 p.m.; general admission seating begins at 3:45 p.m.”

Norton Simon Museum of Art. 411 W. Colorado Boulevard Pasadena, CA 91105 626.449.6840 http://www.nortonsimon.org/

Portrait of a Peasant (Patience Escalier), Vincent van Gogh. Oil on canvas. Norton Simon Art Foundation. M.1975.06.P © 2012 Norton Simon Art Foundation.

The Colburn School Orchestra

Sunday, May 5: 6 pm

Dvorák: Symphony No. 9, New World, and Wieniawski: Violin Concerto No. 2.,

Bing Theater | Free, no reservations

LACMA. 5905 Wilshire Blvd. Los Angeles CA 90036. 323 857-6000

http://www.lacma.org/

Stradivarius violins and Madrid’s Palacio Real

By Leticia Marie Sanchez

All Spain Photography © 2013 Leticia Marie Sanchez

Cultural Cocktail Hour® is a registered trademark

One of the largest collections of Stradivarius violins in the world can be found in…Madrid.

Madrid’s Palacio Real houses a collection of antique instruments by Antonio Stradivari that includes two violins, two cellos, and a viola. Four of the five instruments were commissioned at the same time, and this collection dubbed “the Spanish Quartet” is valued at more than 100 million euros.

During the eighteenth-century, Madrid boasted more than fifty Stradivarius violins and a royal court of internationally acclaimed musicians including Italian composer Luigi Boccherini.

King Carlos IV had a passion for the violin, an instrument that he studied as a young man in Italy. Alas, His Majesty’s musical enthusiasm did not translate into execution. Boccherini found the king’s technique rather like nails on a chalkboard. Moreover, the king’s tempo proved quite erratic. At a rehearsal, one of Carlos IV’s musicians gently suggested that the king should rest for three bars to let the others catch up. Robert Hughes, in his tome Goya, reveals Carlos IV’s swift reply:

“Kings never need wait for anyone.”

Cultural Cocktail Hour Photography: Córdoba, Andalucía, Spain

Cultural Cocktail Hour Photography: Córdoba, Andalucía, Spain

All Spain Photography © 2013 Leticia Marie Sanchez

Cultural Cocktail Hour® is a registered trademark

Cultural Cocktail Hour Madrid Photography:Almudena Cathedral

Cultural Cocktail Hour Madrid Photography:Almudena Cathedral

All Spain Photography © 2013 Leticia Marie Sanchez

Cultural Cocktail Hour® is a registered trademark

Cultural Cocktail Hour Madrid Photography: Palacio Real- April 2013

Cultural Cocktail Hour Madrid Photography: Palacio Real- April 2013

All Spain Photography © 2013 Leticia Marie Sanchez

Cultural Cocktail Hour® is a registered trademark

Cultural Cocktail Hour Heads to Spain!

Cultural Cocktail Hour is heading to Madrid and Andalusia. Check back in Mid-April for cultural reports on museums, architecture, and the landmark Cordoba cathedral!

In the meantime, check out April Highlights Calendar for LA Cultural Events.

During these two weeks , take the time at your leisure to peruse the categories to the right to explore ART CRIMES and ART ANECDOTES for your reading pleasure!

Editor-in-Chief. Leticia Marie Sanchez

Detail: Diego Velázquez. Las Meninas. 1656. Museo del Prado. Madrid, Spain.