My Favorite Summer Tradition

Now that I've lived in Los Angeles for a year, I feel sure that going to the Hollywood Bowl is my favorite summer tradition. 

Jeff and I went twice last year, and in the past two weeks, I've gone three times. I love it! So far, I stick to the LA Phil concerts and have yet to see one of the pop performances, but the Bowl is easily one of my favorite places in LA. Jeff and I pack a picnic, and a bottle of wine or a few beers and typically sit in the cheap seats at the back. I don't go there for the acoustics, or the incredible sightlines –– but I adore the ambiance. Feeling the cool summer breeze, being in a relaxed environment, enjoying some snacks and beverages, and hanging out with friends, takes some of the snobbery out of orchestra attendance. Musical connoisseurs sit next to people who came for a chance to be outside, season ticket holders are side-by-side with first-time orchestra concert-goers, and people who want to socialize share a row with those who wish to enjoy an evening of beautiful music. And I bet that everyone is having a fantastic time. If I could go every week, I probably would.

Last week, Jeff and I packed a bottle of wine, some cheese and crackers, and a blanket and headed to the Bowl to watch the Carnival of the Animals by Saint Saëns, and Symphonie Fantastique by Berlioz. Typically, I might skip this concert, but the ladies of Sounding Point gave me tickets, and I have never seen Carnival live (plus I will take any excuse to get to the Bowl), so off we went. The show featured the Labèque Sisters on piano and the actor Sean Hayes as narrator. Hayes made his entry in a cage, and I chuckled throughout his performance, PARTICULARLY when he sat down at one of the pianos and performed part of a movement. It was hilarious. He played up the flamboyance and stage antics of a concert pianist and then "critiqued" one of the sisters while out of breath, sweating, and dramatically recovering from his performance. It was excellent.

Then, on the following Thursday, I was invited to the Falla and Flamenco performance featuring Siudy Flamenco Dance Theater performing El Amor Brujo – or Spell-bound Love. I was entranced, spellbound, and mesmerized by the music, singer, and especially the dancers. If I wasn't a fan before, I certainly am now! I could not get over the choreography, costumes, and footwork. I love how rhythmic flamenco is; how sometimes the feet are moving incredibly fast while the rest of the body is very fluid or even still, and how it fits with and enhances the sound of the orchestra. I don't know anything about flamenco, but I know that I want to see and hear more. This was one of the best "classical" concerts I have seen in a while. I've never felt more inspired to jump to my feet and scream encore at the end of a show.  Before this concert, I was unfamiliar with this piece, as it is not performed very often, to my knowledge. The synopsis (thank you Wikipedia) is:

El Amor Brujo is the story of an Andalusian gypsy woman called Candela. Although her affection is for a man named Carmelo, as a girl, she was promised to be married to another man (then a boy). After many years Candela's husband has died (at the hands of the husband of a woman named Lucia), but he continues to haunt his wife.

The entire village knows about the haunting, but still brands Candela as crazy because she dances every night with her husband's ghost. Candela, now a widow, is free to establish a relationship with Carmelo but continues to be haunted by her husband's ghost.

After a conversation with other women of the village, Candela finally comes to realize that her husband was unfaithful to her, despite all her efforts to make their marriage work; her husband's lover is revealed to have been Lucia.

Candela and Carmelo get advice that a ritual dance is necessary to cast the ghost off, but it does not work. The ghost is still obsessed with Candela's soul.

Candela manages to trick Lucía to come that night, with the excuse of hooking her up with Carmelo. As she turns up, the nightly ritual of Candela's dance with her husband's ghost begins, but at the last moment Candela moves away from her husband and Lucía is taken away by her now dead lover.

Dawn breaks, Candela and Carmelo are now truly free to enjoy their love.

Before the concert, we attended a special picnic catered by the James Beard Award-winning chefs Suzanne Goin and Caroline Styne (of celebrated local restaurants Lucques, a.o.c., Tavern, and The Larder). The food was incredible. The octopus tacos still haunt my dreams, and I think about the Tuna every day. I have yet to visit these restaurants, but the flavor compels me.

This week, unexpectedly, Maestro Juan Felipe of YOLA invited me and Caroline to join him in box seats to see the Dvorák Cello Concerto and Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet featuring Gustavo Dudamel, cellist Pablo Ferrández, and Benjamin Millepied's choreography. I was so excited to sit close enough to see the soloist interact with Dudamel. I loved how the choreography took over the entire Bowl with fight scenes in the aisles, balcony scenes in the "lobby" areas, and party scenes in backstage storage rooms. Millepied was the cameraman (which I did not realize until later), and he made the camera work feel like part of the choreography. You watch the screens and feel intimately engaged in the drama that is taking place all around you, then turn your head and watch the action happen right beside you, then two minutes later, and it is back on the stage. While the focus was not on the orchestra, they played exquisitely – I could hear every not of those ferocious violin passages. In the words of Mark Swed from the LA Times, "This should be the future of virtual reality — not those silly headsets, pixilated video, cheapo headphones, and compressed audio." It was such a treat.

Are you interested in free tickets to the Bowl this summer? Follow me on Instagram @activeviolinist for opportunities to win tickets to upcoming performances like Yuja Wang next week!