We are driving through the streets of downtown LA, returning home from Disney Hall. The traffic is relatively light in comparison to our trip down at 5:30.
We are driving through Koreatown at the moment and many signs are written in Korean. I have no idea what they are advertising. Others are in Korean and English and say Chicken Day, for example. I assume that means today is the day for chicken.
Now we are moving through Hancock Park, “the Gentile Beverly Hills.” The houses here are huge, gorgeous and, unlike BH, all built in years gone by when quality workmanship was part of every aspect of the construction.
And now we are moving into West Hollywood, the “hipper” part of town. We are crossing 3rd Street now and The Grove, a new, high-end shopping mall popular among many Angelinos, and then the Beverly Center, which is more of the same.
And now we are headed through the west side of West Hollywood to our house.
We had a wonderful time at Disney Hall. The LA Phil played Nocturnes by Debussy, a world premiere Cello Concerto by Lindberg, and Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta by Bartok. At the talk before the concert, the host, Alan Chapman, interviewed the cellist and the composer of the world premiere – both from Finland and both very down-to-earth and interesting. After they left to prepare for the concert, Chapman talked about the Debussy and the Bartok pieces. I always come away from those talks with my brain synapses aglow with activity. I learn so much about the history of the composers, the sources of their inspiration and what is special about these particular pieces. Fabulous!
Here is a picture of the garden of Disney Hall at intermission. It was quite lovely in the dark:
All in all, a wonderful evening. I love the LA Phil. It is one of the primary reasons for me to live in Los Angeles.
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