Email Author Mary Beth Crain

2013 Stories by Mary Beth Crain

• He Walked the Line

  published May 16, 2013

  For most of his life, Dmitri Shostakovich walked a nerve-jangling tightrope, trying to please his country's repressive communist regime while... More >>

• Sound and Dance

  published May 9, 2013

  The great thing about Laurel Tentindo (how often, one wonders, has she been called Laurel Nintendo?) is, well, about 10 things. Her daring... More >>

• Hilary Hahn in Recital

  published May 2, 2013

  Superstar violinist Hilary Hahn isn't just a performer. She's also a champion of new music, as evidenced by her commissioning project, In 27... More >>

• 400 Years of Cool

  published April 25, 2013

  "One of the reasons I enjoy contemporary music so much is that it presents languages that are completely unknown in advance of the encounter,"... More >>

• If It Ain't Baroque

  published April 18, 2013

  There's a reason that Trio Sonnerie is widely considered the cream of the baroque music crop: The group is good. Really, really good. And there's... More >>

• Back-to-Back Bach

  published April 4, 2013

  Bach's Partita No. 2 in D minor for unaccompanied violin is one of the major rites of passage for any aspiring violinist. A suite of dances... More >>

• Roll Over Rossini

  published March 28, 2013

  "Non Piu Mesta" ("No Longer Sad") is a little aria in Rossini's comic opera La Cenerentola -- Cinderella, in inglese -- that's the... More >>

• Not Bad for 20

  published March 21, 2013

  One could argue that Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart set the gold standard for sacred music. His wizardry with instrumental combinations and choral... More >>

• Awake and Sing

  published March 14, 2013

  When it comes to putting on a show, nobody beats the Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles. The group's programming runs the gamut of vocal music --... More >>

• The Secret of Brahms' Sextet

  published February 28, 2013

  There's sexting, and then there's sextetting, which might have been the 19th-century equivalent of today's activity -- at least in the case of... More >>

• This One Was a Keeper

  published February 14, 2013

  When it comes to violin concerti, there's none greater than the Brahms. "The" because it's the only violin concerto Brahms ever wrote—and... More >>

• Eagle Rock Festival

  published February 7, 2013

  Chamber Music in Historic Sites, that creative bunch that can always be counted on to come up with an unusual afternoon, has one coming this... More >>

• The Industrious Revolution

  published January 31, 2013

  In 2006, a bunch of musicians decided it was time for classical music to go clubbing. So they got together at Revolution Café in San... More >>

• Don't Flip This House

  published January 24, 2013

  The Fall of the House of Usher is one of Edgar Allan Poe's creepiest creations — a journey into nightmare and self-destruction that... More >>

• Here Come the Divas

  published January 17, 2013

  It's spectacular enough to hear one fab soprano like Susan Graham or Renee Fleming. But when they pool their prodigious forces, make sure your... More >>

• A Dizi-ing Talent

  published January 10, 2013

  The Chinese bamboo flute, or dizi (pronounced titsi) is, on the surface, a simple instrument, popular among the Chinese people for a couple... More >>

• The Tears of Nature

  published January 3, 2013

  Get ready for a treat when the L.A. Phil, under the baton of Christoph Eschenbach, presents the U.S. premiere of extraordinary Chinese composer... More >>