The Broad Stage: A great new concert hall in Los Angeles

Bob Attiyeh · « **on:** 6 Oct 2008, 08:52 pm »

For those of you who love good sound, we have a special treat in Los Angeles. The new Eli and Edythe Broad Stage opens its doors this month. The gala is sold out, but the first concert in the instrumental series is October 16th, and we invite you to come as our guests. John Casler wrote Yarlung Records' first online review on Audio Circle over two years ago, and we are grateful and thankful for his and your support. ( http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=31982.0 )

Yarlung Artists co-presents pianist Ryan MacEvoy McCullough in concert at 7:30pm on October 16th at The Broad Stage in Santa Monica. What an honor to play a part in the opening of this magnificent theater.

To prepare for this concert, Ryan and 'cellist Antonio Lysy and I went to test the acoustics and try the new piano at The Broad Stage about a month ago. The acoustics are magnificent: the sound is warm but transparent. I like this combination for live concerts and recordings both. And it also happens to be a magnificent piano, one of the last New York Steinway concert pianos signed by Henry Steinway himself before his death in September.

Antonio went with Ryan and me to test the acoustics because we are considering an Argentine album (yes, including tangos) which we may record in the hall this coming June.

Yarlung Artists has 18 tickets for October 16th, which we would like to offer to the Audio Circle Family, in appreciation.

If you happen to be in Los Angeles on October 16th, come as our guests if you don't yet have tickets of your own. I want you to hear Ryan live in concert, and I want you to experience this new hall.

We'll assign these 18 tickets in order of receipt of your RSVP. For information about Ryan and this concert, see www.yarlungrecords.com and http://www.thebroadstage.com/pages/macevoy.php

Please RSVP by replying to me privately through my profile, use "Yarlung Artists invitation to Ryan's Concert" as your header, and include whether you want one or two tickets, your full name, mailing address and telephone number.
(If you want more than two tickets, write to me and we will try to accommodate your request)

We look forward to seeing many of you on October 16th!

Sincerely and best wishes,

Bob.

Bob Attiyeh · « **Reply #1 on:** 8 Oct 2008, 11:58 pm »

Dear AudioCircle,

Your response has been so supportive that we're going to arrange a couple pairs more tickets for you. I'll keep the invitation open for another day or two. As before, write an email to me using the email address in my profile if you would like to be our guests for the concert on October 16th.

Thanks and looking forward to seeing many of you next week in Santa Monica,

Bob.

ooheadsoo · « **Reply #2 on:** 17 Oct 2008, 07:43 am »

Thanks for a GREAT concert, Bob! The new venue looks great both outside and inside. The sound was very good. Your description of "warm but transparent" seems apt. The noise floor was quite low, we were able to hear the softest notes Ryan played with ease. Clean, a hint of warmth, and clear sound throughout. Very good performance! The guest violinist was a pleasant surprise. Laser like precision in his intonation and articulation at times, especially in the upper registers of the E string, it was thoroughly enjoyable. I believed in their command over their instruments - these performers may have been young, but don't let that fool you into thinking they aren't worth the price of admission. I even met some of my TAs from when I was in school, whom I hadn't seen in several years.

My only regrets are that I was not able to stay after the concert to get to know you guys better. I can't apologize enough, especially after receiving such a wonderful gift. I can only offer the fact that I live over 50 miles away, have to wake up in a handful of hours, and hadn't eaten dinner yet

I look forward to hearing the CD! Wow, with you at the helm, and Steve Hoffman and co. mastering...I can't wait to dig in as soon as I get a chance!

Ok, I admit there is one more regret - I saw some people taking pictures during the concert and wish I had brought my camera. Would I be allowed to do so, if I brought it next time? No flash, of course.

Bob Attiyeh · « **Reply #3 on:** 17 Oct 2008, 12:47 pm »

I'm so glad so many of you were able to join us at the concert. We were proud of Ryan's performance, and equally proud of Petteri Iivonen, who was able to join us for the surprise addition of the Debussy violin sonata and the Milosz Magin encore Andante.

Petteri's album, which we recorded last June in Alfred Newman Hall, will be one of our very finest. We recorded the Debussy for him as well, with Canadian pianist Kevin Fitz-Gerald. It will be available in a couple of months.

I don't know what the concert hall policy is for photography. It is probably not allowed. Yarlung Records was taking pictures, and I remember that photographers from Santa Monica College and the Los Angeles Times picked up their tickets. So who knows. No one seemed to be taking photographs during the performance itself, which was the important thing.

What a glorious hall. We can look forward to decades of great concerts in Santa Monica. It was an incredible honor to be part of the opening of this magnificent theater.

ooheadsoo · « **Reply #4 on:** 17 Oct 2008, 01:34 pm »

Bob, it would be fantastic if you could post the revised program for the evening.

Bob Attiyeh · « **Reply #5 on:** 18 Oct 2008, 10:22 pm »

Certainly. The program changed because Ryan invited Petteri Iivonen to join him. Petteri is one of the finest violinists I have heard, and it was a pleasure to work with him this year as we recorded his album.

Ryan's concert:

Schubert F-Minor Impromptu
Haydn C-Minor Sonata
Magin Five Preludes (these were not only spectacular, but largely new to our audience)
Debussy Estampes: Pagodas, Evening in Granada, and Jardins sous la Pluie (Gardens in the rain)

After the intermission, Petteri joined Ryan for Debussy's violin sonata.
Ryan continued the concert with Bach's prelude and Fugue in C Major from Book 2 BWV 870, I think,
and concluded with Beethoven's Pastoral Sonata, Opus 28

For an encore, Petteri rejoined Ryan for Milosz Magin's Andante for violin and piano.

What a pleasure it was to participate in the opening of this great concert hall. I'm so glad you were able to join us!

Happy weekend to all of you,

Bob.

ooheadsoo · « **Reply #6 on:** 19 Oct 2008, 04:24 am »

The Magin pieces were my favorites of the evening. It was an enjoyable combination of technique and accessibility, unlike some of the more academic post modernists. I will definitely have my eye out for more Magin and Petteri.

Bob Attiyeh · « **Reply #7 on:** 19 Oct 2008, 03:27 pm »

I would be annoyed if I weren't so delighted about something. Ryan sent me a link this morning to a YouTube clip someone in the audience took of the Magin encore. While not "audiophile," this tickles my funny bone. I told Ryan it is an honor to have entered the realm of Maria Callas with pirate recordings.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RoJ8QiqRTO4

I agree with you that the Milosz Magin's music is extremely good. The Five Preludes are so much deeper and more serious than this Andante, which Ryan and Petteri played as their encore, but I loved their choice of encore for something light and fun to end the evening.