Brian Lauritzen

@brianlauritzen.bsky.social

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3-8p weekdays on KUSC | nationally-syndicated host of LA Phil radio broadcasts | classical music enthusiast/advocate | opinions mine | he/him

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Perhaps the most unsung moment of President Biden’s Oval Office address last night is when he reminded us that this was the first time in a century that an American president could report to the American people that America was NOT at war anywhere in the world.

Even After All this time The Sun never says to the Earth, "You owe me." Look What happens With a love like that, It lights the whole sky. ☀️💛

What are some numbers in your field that anyone else in it would identify without even thinking about it, but folk outside may have no idea. Just the numbers, no explanations. 16 32 44.1 48 91.5

What are some numbers in your field that anyone else in it would identify without even thinking about it, but folk outside may have no idea. Just the numbers, no explanations. 440 131 12/8 59/1 120

The shit that some so-called classical music fans say to classical music presenters is truly awful. And women get it way way way worse than men do. JMH, btw, is one of the most thoughtful, engaging, curious, entertaining, and intelligent voices in classical music. FOH, guy who sent that nonsense.

So I was checking my mailbox at the office, and someone sent me what looked like a really nice greeting card but inside was this horribly mean awful message. Attacking my hair and weight - calling me insipid - Star Wars freak - worst DJ in the world. Come at me, bro. Sign your name next time.

That Brahms Intermezzo…you know which one I mean…is just so exquisitely delicious. 🫠

Hey BSO, y’all just got a really awesome concertmaster. 💛

🥰🥰🥰

Oh hi, classical music. Meet me at Camera 3. We don’t have to do this. TS is great and so is Lise Davidsen. One is not “the answer” to the other and one is not better than the other. We could just not with this nonsense and call it a day I am just saying.

I’m ridiculously proud of this program I put together for the 200th anniversary of Beethoven’s 9th and invite you to join me for it on the actual anniversary, tomorrow (5/7) at 7p on KUSC and/or KDFC (or websites/app/etc). A journey towards joy. www.kusc.org/articles/cel...

Celebrating the 200th Anniversary of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony | May 7th at 7PM - Classical KUSCwww.kusc.org On May 7th, 2024, at 7 pm, Classical California’s Brian Lauritzen will present a celebration and appreciation of Beethoven’s 9th. Together we’ll explore the question of how this symphony changed music...

The giddiness you see on my face is the fact that I’m literally sitting on Vikingur Ólafsson’s bench where, in a few minutes, he’s gonna play the Goldberg Variations. Bach is everything. 🤩🎹🇮🇸

Sometimes when I host concerts I end up in the fetal position on the stage floor idk. 🤷

Hi friends, I'm selling my cello: 1998 David Mahov from the workshop of Michael Goronok. A warm + lovely sound perfect for early career + pre-prof orch/chamber/solo musicians. Has been played in perfs in Carnegie Hall and with orch and opera companies across the US. DMs open.

1. CW 2. This is horrifying, the women are courageous, and it's important their story be told 3. The writer is delusional if they think--as they seem to posit here--that Dudamel (or any MD of any orch) is gonna get involved with HR issues. That's not how it works. www.vulture.com/article/new-...

A Hidden Sexual Assault Scandal at the New York Philharmonicwww.vulture.com Two musicians were fired for sexual misconduct. Why are they back with the orchestra?

Yeah, okay fine, get off my lawn and whatnot…but every year around this time, I imagine a world in which all ad/marketing copy is free of the word “eggcellent.”

I rarely say this. However: well said, Mark Swed. www.latimes.com/entertainmen...

Esa-Pekka Salonen's resignation in San Francisco is a wake-up call for arts groups nationwidewww.latimes.com Conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen's statement about the San Francisco Symphony board has crucial ramifications for arts organizations including the L.A. Phil.

We had a music programmer in our shop who used to NOT program very much music by by Black composers in February or women in March etc because he (cis/white/male) thought it was tokenism. We fought back hard saying these months are for celebration and also all other months should look similar.

I appreciate and agree with the activism happening on Facebook re: programming women in orchestral music but focusing on Women’s History Month as some kind of bellwether is weird to me. Don’t we also complain when orchestras only program things for/during observance months?

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Brian Lauritzen

A year+ ago, when the LA Phil announced its 2023-24 season, this was the first concert I circled. It did not disappoint: Victor Wooten playing his electric bass concerto with Thomas Wilkins conducting. Bernstein WSS and Sam Coleridge-Taylor to boot. Awesomeness all around. 🎸🎶

This is refreshingly honest. Salonen: “I have decided not to continue as Music Director of the San Francisco Symphony, because I do not share the same goals for the future of the institution as the Board of Governors does.” www.sfchronicle.com/entertainmen...

Esa-Pekka Salonen to leave S.F. Symphony: ‘I do not share the same goals’www.sfchronicle.com The orchestra’s innovative music director Esa-Pekka Salonen has decided not to renew his contract, citing differences with the board.

It's not at all a pet peeve of mine when a co-worker e-mails me a question or request and CCs my boss. Nor is it passive-aggressive. Nope. Not even a little bit. 😐

Prepping for my pre-concert for the Atlanta Sym tomorrow night in OC and came across this quote from Marin Alsop re Nathalie Stutzmann's appointment as ASO music director (only female MD of a top 25 US orch): “I hope it starts a trend. It’s a start. Let’s go, people.” #LetsGoPeople

LA Phil 2024-25 season announcement is tomorrow. I've seen some of it and there are a couple of pieces/projects I'm super excited about! More soon...

Pina Bausch + Rite of Spring last night at The Music Center was everything.

oh wow ok i have discovered some new (to me) tech for editing + playing back music clips during my pre-concert talks that i am unspeakably giddy about. as An Old™️ i am not prepared to discuss it at length On Here as i am sure it's genuinely only new to me, but it will indeed change my life so yay!

Robert Schumann, composer/pianist/villain: "[Clara], if you were to be forgotten as an artist, would you not be beloved as a wife? The first year of our marriage you shall forget the artist, you shall live only for yourself and your house and your husband. ...

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Brian Lauritzen

Symphonies and operas (and performances of them) were traditionally fully paid for by aristocrats as a way for them to flex their wealth and cultural power—orchestras as we know them were never designed to fund themselves

i do think it is worth a reminder that a lot of art is inherently expensive (like getting a few hundred people to produce a symphony or opera) and will never work super well in a capitalist model even if people do pay up for tickets or recordings

If you've ever wondered how much of An Old™️ you are at work, just ask your young co-workers if there were bookstores in the mall when they were growing up. If they say, "No," you're a Medium Old. If they say, "Malls?" you're an Extremely Old.

I just listened to the current #1 song in America and the best thing I can say is at least it’s only two minutes and nineteen seconds long. 😬🫥