By Robert D. Thomas
Music Critic
Pasadena Star-News/San Gabriel Valley Tribune/Whittier Daily News
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Each Thursday, I list five events that pique my interest, including (ideally) at least one with free admission (or, at a minimum, inexpensive tickets). Here’s today’s grouping:
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• Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m.; Sunday at 2 p.m. at Walt Disney Concert Hall
Los Angeles Philharmonic, Osmo Vänskä, conductor
Finnish conductor Osmo Vänskä makes his Disney Hall leading the Philharmonic in Richard Strauss’ Rosenkavalier Suite and Sibelius’ Symphony No. 6. Friday is a “Casual Friday” concert. The Saturday and Sunday programs include Kalevi Aho’s 2005 Clarinet Concerto, with Martin Fröst (for whom it was written) as soloist. Information: www.laphil.com
• Saturday at 8 p.m. at Alex Theatre, Glendale
Sunday at 7 p.m. at Royce Hall, UCLA
Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra; Jeffrey Kahane, conductor
The latest LACO “Sound Investment” commission, Old Keys by Timothy Andres, will receive its first performances at this concert. Also on the agenda are Andres’ “reconstruction” of Mozart’s “Coronation” Concerto and Mozart’s Symphony No. 40. My preview story is HERE. Information: www.laco.org
• Saturday at 8 p.m. at First United Methodist Church, Pasadena
Angeles Chorale; John Sutton, conductor
“American Experience: Spirituals, Gospel and Jazz” will feature Robert Ray’s Gospel Mass as the centerpiece of what should be a rocking evening. Information: www.angeleschorale.org
• Sunday at 7:30 p.m. at Walt Disney Concert Hall
Isabelle Demers, organist
The Canadian organist makes her Disney Hall debut with a program that opens with Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in E-flat Major (St. Anne) and includes her transcriptions of Wagner’s Prelude to Die Meistersinger and music from Prokofiev’s ballet Romeo and Juliet. Information: www.laphil.com
And the weekend’s “free admission” program …
• Sunday at 4 at First United Methodist Church, Glendale
Cathedral Choir and Orchestra: Lenten concert
Nancy Sulahian leads her choir, soloist and an orchestra in a concert that concludes with the Fauré Requiem. Other pieces on the program are works by Bruckner, Roger-Ducasse, Stanford and Fauré, some sung by the full choir and others by a chamber ensemble. Information: www.glendalemethodist.org
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(c) Copyright 2012, Robert D. Thomas. All rights reserved. Portions may be quoted with attribution.