Los Angeles Philharmonic, Walt Disney Concert Hall – January 25, 2026
Another score from the LA Phil friends and family sale. I got this ticket for $33. I’m on my own now until I find a new concert buddy. This ticket was $33 for the seat I prefer in front row of the West Terrace. Parking was another $10 as always. I got a bit of a late start and was super worried I’d be late, but I ended up having time to use the restroom and still got to my seat with 5 minutes to spare. Shout out to the ticket taker a few shows ago who said “walk to the back and take the elevator to the 4th floor. The elevator opens right in front of Door 12 which leads directly to my seat. Also, the giant bin full of cough drops is right next to the elevator. I took 2 and the first one lasted until intermission. I almost handed the second one to the guy sitting behind me who kept coughing, but opted to keep it for the second half. I noticed that the arrangement of the orchestra onstage had been reversed. The harps were set up on my side, instead of across from me. So from my seat I had a clear view of the celli and basses. I usually see their backs.
We were warned before the concert began that they would be recording and they asked us to hold our applause until the end of each piece and to minimize noise. And then John Adams took the stage and led us through The Unanswered Question by Charles Ives, which is orchestrated for 4 flutes, trumpet, and strings. They had the 4 flutes spotlighted in the orchestra view seats near the organ. I spent the entire time (it wasn’t very long – 5 minutes) looking for the trumpet. I never did find him – I guess that was MY unanswered question. During bows, John Adams seemed to acknowledge someone in the house, so I think that’s where he was – maybe in the orchestra section, maybe in the front terrace? I wish I knew. I love the idea of the show starting and having the guy sitting next to you stand up and play the trumpet, but my guess is that he was in an aisle. Maybe not though. At the the last show I saw at WDCH, the composer introduced her song and then walked off the stage and into the audience to take her seat.
Next up was John Adams’ After The Fall. This was the LA Phil premiere (at least the Friday performance was), but not the premiere of the piece. It was commissioned by the San Francisco Symphony for pianist Vikingur Ólafsson, who was there playing for us. This was the piece they were recording. I have to say, of the modern classical music I have heard lately, this one was definitely the best. There were several distinct “movements” but with no break between them. Ólafsson was as fantastic as one would hope he would be when considering the piece was written for him. He put his entire heart and soul into the piece and delivered an outstanding performance. A hallmark of the modern pieces I have seen lately seems to be lots of percussion and this one was no exception. For this one at least they were playing traditional percussion instruments rather than upside-down bicycles and metal bowls. I hope they got a good recording. I’ll be on the lookout for it. The applause was rousing and Ólafsson returned to the stage for an encore. The Mozart piece he chose was completely different from the one he had just played and really highlighted his range and virtuosity.
After intermission, John Adams took the stage to introduce Symphony No. 3 In One Movement by Roy Harris. He explained that Harris made a big point of being from Oklahoma but in reality his family moved to Southern California when he was a young child and he grew up in Covina. Like the last piece, this one had several distinctive “movements” but with no breaks between them. It was a really nice piece.
The program concluded with Copland’s Appalachian Spring, which was the reason I had wanted to see this show. Since this was written for Martha Graham as a ballet, I must take a moment to just be thankful there was no terrible AI animation behind this one. Instead, I had the opportunity to just sit in my seat and listen and enjoy the music.