The best of classical music 2014: Los Angeles Times critic Mark Swed lists his picks.
Gustavo Dudamel’s probing performances of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony at the Hollywood Bowl, followed by his Mahler’s Fifth in Walt Disney Concert Hall (pictured) revealed a young conductor’s exceptional maturation in the seven short years since he had first performed these symphonies. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)
Julia Wolfe’s “Anthracite Fields” (pictured) proved an unforgettably haunting evocation of the plight of Pennsylvania’s coal miners. At UCLA, filmmaker Bill Morrison’s “The Miner’s Hymns,” containing poignant found footage, was accompanied by somber, aptly sour brass. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)
Steven Stucky’s “The Classical Style” became the first opera to have its premiere at the Ojai Festival. It is also the first to have musical chords treated as needy characters at a bar. The opera’s real accomplishment, though, is as a study in how to transform the silly into the sublime. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)
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There is little if any connection between Purcell’s deliciously understated “Dido and Aeneas” (pictured) and Bartók’s psychosexual study, “Bluebeard’s Castle.” But Australian director Barrie Kosky’s kinky yet powerful production proved that L.A. Opera has its mojo back big time. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)
The composer’s late oratorio “Theodora” is a four-hour contemplation of spiritual constancy amid global chaos. A considered, probing performance by the English Consort conducted by Harry Bicket at Segerstrom Hall stayed a course few world leaders these days manage. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)
The two leading string quartets devoted to our time turned 40. Kronos celebrated at UCLA with Laurie Anderson’s magically melancholic response to Hurricane Sandy (pictured). Two days later, the Arditti featured exceptional performances of British, American and German modernist masters. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
Despite a half-century of accomplishments, the Music Center resembled a 50-year-old trying to act young. The anniversary gala became an outsourced, Vegas-style variety show, as though one of the world’s greatest performing arts centers were envious of the tacky Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
