Is there a Los Angeles musical style?
The composer and critic Virgil Thomson once defined American music as music written by Americans. There is no arguing with that. Less obvious, however, is figuring out what, if anything, describes L.A. music.
Los Angeles is the home of film music. The two most influential classical composers of the first half of the 20th century, Stravinsky and Schoenberg, lived here. (In Stravinsky's case, the Russian composer spent more of his life in L.A. than in any other city.) The composer with the most radical influence on the second half of the 20th century, John Cage, was born and grew up here. Ferreting out L.A.'s bearing on jazz and the many, many aspects of popular music, as well as world music, is a lifetime's effort.
Yet these seeming incongruities of musical life are what fascinate the most. Schoenberg and Stravinsky, for instance, flirted, if futilely, with writing Hollywood film scores. The money was a lure. The possibility of reaching the masses, irresistible.
Picture Schoenberg, in 1935, in the office of Hollywood's prevailing film producer, Irving Thalberg, offering untenable requirements to score MGM's feature film adaptation of Pearl S. Buck's 'The Good Earth.' Picture the composer, considered by many the instigator of the most daunting music of all time, asking for $50,000 (more than $1.1 million today adjusted for inflation) and full control of the movie's sound, including having the actors recite their lines to his rhythms and suggested pitches. Picture, again, eight decades later and 3,000 miles away, the head of the Opera of the Future project in his office at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's ultra-futuristic Media Lab, mulling over an idea for an opera based on that remarkable Thalberg incident as a way to examine the profound implications of art and entertainment had Schoenberg been given the green light.
A new production of Tod Machover's 'Schoenberg in Hollywood,' which had its premiere in Boston seven years ago, finally reaches L.A. on Sunday afternoon for the first of four performances by the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music at the Nimoy. Those very names — Schoenberg, who taught at UCLA from 1936 to 1944, Alpert and Leonard Nimoy — couldn't better illustrate the marvelous fantasy of L.A. musical juxtapositions.
Also Sunday at First Lutheran Church of Venice, the Hear Now Music Festival concludes its 2025 season of three concerts. This festival is L.A.'s most dedicated resource for surveying local music. Over the last 14 years, it has featured more than 200 composers, from the most famous to the most obscure, from academia and from Hollywood, be they John Williams, an electronic wizard at CalArts or a kid fiddling away with a guitar in the garage.
The idea of artistic place and physical place are at the heart of Hear Now. If L.A. music is anything, it is a music that challenges the notions of borders. The festival came about because its co-founder, composer Hugh Levick — who divides his time between France, Spain and Venice Beach — said the music that his L.A. colleagues were writing was easier to hear being performed abroad than in venues here.
Composers in L.A. are far-flung. Looking at universities alone, UCLA, USC, CalArts, UC Santa Barbara, UC San Diego, Pomona College and the Cal State campuses in Northridge, Long Beach and Fullerton are all centers of musical activity that have had widespread influence.
The seeds of Minimalism, the most prominent style of late 20th century music as propagated most famously by Philip Glass and Steve Reich, can be traced to Los Angeles City College in the 1950s. That's where La Monte Young — while studying with, and finding encouragement from, pianist Leonard Stein (who had been Schoenberg's assistant) — began to consider what would happen if he radically slowed everything down.
I sat down with Levick recently to discover what he had learned from the festival. Having coffee at a Santa Monica cafe, we were near a cottage where Cage had lived in the early 1930s, when he found his first music job. It was as an assistant to pioneering animator Oskar Fischinger, who came into artistic conflict with Walt Disney over 'Fantasia.' Cage didn't last long, falling asleep on the job and dropping a lighted cigarette on flammable celluloid.
Levick has probably encountered a greater variety of composers in this part of the world than anyone else. The way Hear Now works is that any composer can submit scores, so I asked the obvious questions. Could he detect any commonality, as one might in, say, Paris or Berlin? Is there West Coast and East Coast music as there once seemed to be? Does L.A. have its own sound or maybe laid-back sensibility?
'Not really,' Levick said. 'There are people whom you could vaguely put together stylistically. They may have obvious influences, but mostly they have gone their own way. What is a little different about the West Coast and the East Coast is there is a certain fluidity and flexibility here and certain rigidity on the East Coast.'
When asked what has surprised him over the years, Levick pointed to the fact that although John Williams, John Adams, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Thomas Adès and Andrew Norman may attract audiences, curiosity also drives crowds. Of this year's festival, which features works by 28 composers, I've previously encountered only four.
Even Levick was surprised by the great many submissions from composers he didn't know. Yet that turns out to be a draw. At this year's festival, the first two programs were sold out. I attended the first at 2220 Arts + Archives in March devoted to often arcane electro-acoustic music, and it attracted a diverse and enthusiastic audience taking pleasure in not knowing what to expect. No two works were remotely the same.
If Levick shies away from generalization, he too is a composer not easily pinned down. He started out as a fiction writer who, while living in Paris, chanced upon avant-garde jazz and took up the saxophone. That led him naturally to classical avant-garde. The concert Sunday will feature his latest work, 'The Song of Prophet X,' for speaker/singer and piano quartet, a similar configuration that Schoenberg used in his antiwar 'Ode to Napoleon,'
We cannot escape Schoenberg. This season has seen widespread celebration of the 150th anniversary of his birth. Last year, on April 30, Hear Now ended its festival with a large-scale concert given at the UCLA music department's Schoenberg Hall and featuring the UCLA Philharmonia conducted by Neal Stulberg, the same forces tackling Machover's 'Schoenberg in Hollywood.'
The campus was on edge from news of a violent attack on a Palestinian protest that day just across from Schoenberg Hall. Hear Now, nevertheless, went on as scheduled. The concert was not a political statement, the music had nothing to do with protest movements. Even so, the symbolism of the occasion was impossible to ignore. Schoenberg, who had fled Nazi Germany, wrote scores of protest music such as 'Ode to Napoleon' and 'Survivor From Warsaw.' He also dallied with Hollywood.
Schoenberg might ultimately be seen as the great juxtaposition. Leonard Stein and John Cage were in Schoenberg's UCLA classes. Film composers David Raksin ('Laura') and Leonard Rosenman ('East of Eden') studied with Schoenberg. Both Miles Davis and Ornette Coleman brought up Schoenberg when I interviewed them, and it was their world of progressive jazz that led Hugh Levick to Hear Now.
Could we then define L.A. music as simply be music of, and open to, juxtapositions?
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
3 hours ago
- New York Post
WWE monitoring US-Iran situation with two Saudi Arabia shows set for next weekend
The United States' recent bombings of Iran are leaving WWE's Night of Champions event in some question. The company is scheduled to have Friday and Saturday events in Saudi Arabia, with SmackDown and the Night of Champions premium live event on back-to-back days in Riyadh. WWE officials are closely evaluating upcoming events following the recent U.S. airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, according to Fightful Select. Advertisement Randy Orton in action against Sami Zayn during SmackDown at Van Andel Arena on June 20, 2025 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. WWE via Getty Images While neither event has been officially postponed or relocated, a WWE insider told Fightful that the situation is being 'monitored accordingly.' The overall concern stems largely from an official warning broadcast on Iranian state television saying 'every American citizen or military personnel in the Middle East is now on Tehran's target' following the strikes. Advertisement A senior adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader added that any American in the region would be considered a target. Construction is underway in the Kingdom Arena, where production is proceeding 'full steam ahead,' a source told Fightful, anticipating no cancellation due to the significant investment and upcoming Royal Rumble taping also set for Saudi Arabia in January. Talent, as of now, is set to fly mid‑week by charter from the U.S. to Riyadh, with only around 10 names confirmed to travel so far, Fightful notes. John Cena speaks to CM Punk during SmackDown at Van Andel Arena on June 20, 2025 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. WWE via Getty Images Advertisement As of now, only ten wrestlers are slated to compete on Night of Champions. Night of Champions is slated to be main evented by John Cena's Undisputed WWE championship defense against CM Punk. Also on the card, Jacob Fatu will defend his United States title match against Solo Sikoa, Dominik Mysterio will defend his Intercontinental championship against AJ Styles, and the King and Queen of the Ring finals are also set to take place. Randy Orton will take on RAW's winner, either Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso, in the King of the Ring final at and Asuka will face Monday's winner, between Jade Cargill and Roxanne Perez to decide who is Queen of the Ring Advertisement The winner earn world championship matches at SummerSlam at MetLife Stadium on Aug 2-3. Though decisions have yet to be made public, WWE anticipates assurances on protection and contingency options, Fightful reported WWE signed a 10-year deal with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 2018, worth around $50 million per show and $100 million annually, according to Wrestlenomics. WWE did not immediatly return The Post's request for comment.
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Yahoo
Men reveal shocking reasons why they dish out big bucks on OnlyFans
Talk about a costly conversation. Attention-starved men are forking over mega bucks on their favourite OnlyFans models — not for naughty content, but for … wait for it … conversation. A new report from Supercreator, a management platform, revealed that 78% of chats between creators and their top spenders are about everything other than doing the deed. The hottest topics covered: Pets, work, childhood memories, TV shows and hobbies. Sophie Rain, dubbed the 'MVP of OnlyFans,' offered one such example, saying her top fan, Charley, a married American man, has paid more than $6 million over two years, yet rarely requests nude pics. 'We talk every single day, without fail,' Rain, who has 7 million Instagram followers (@sophieraiin), told NeedtoKnow, per the New York Post. 'Charley, who is married and lives in the US, will send voice notes wondering how my day is going, and he loves getting to know me on a personal level. I am more of an emotional support system for him.' She added: 'People often think that high-paying clients want kinky stuff. But funnily enough, he prefers to see me fully clothed and doing everyday tasks.' The top seven topics men chat about with OnlyFans models, according to the report, were their hometown and upbringing, work, hobbies, pets, the model's latest holidays or social posts, TV shows and fitness and workouts. Yuval, CEO of Supercreator, offered his insights. 'Contrary to popular belief, our data shows that top spenders on OnlyFans aren't just looking for explicit content, they're seeking emotional connection,' he told the outlet. 'Nudity is easy to find online, but meaningful, consistent attention from the creator of your dreams? That's what drives loyalty and revenue.' The so-called 'girlfriend experience' is massive business, with top adult models earning up to $300,000 a month, according to Supercreator. OnlyFans star's fiancé 'proud' after she hits goal of having sex with 1,000 men Brazilian futsal player claims she was cut from team over explicit OnlyFans content
Elle
8 hours ago
- Elle
Kate Upton and Husband Justin Verlander Welcome Baby Boy
Every item on this page was chosen by an ELLE editor. We may earn commission on some of the items you choose to buy. Model and actress Kate Upton and baseball pitcher Justin Verlander reportedly welcomed their second child together, per a report published on Thursday, June 19, by TMZ. The baby is a boy, named Bellamy Brooks Verlander. The pair already share a six-year-old daughter, Genevieve. Here's everything to know about the couple and their growing family. Justin Verlander was born and raised in Manakin Sabot, Virginia. His parents, Richard and Kathy Verlander, got him and his younger brother, Ben Verlander, into sports early. Verlander played Little League at Tuckahoe Little League in Richmond, Virginia, then attended the The Richmond Baseball Academy. For college, he went to Old Dominion University (ODU) and played college baseball for their team, the Monarchs. His professional baseball career began after he became the second overall pick in the 2004 MLB Draft, signing with the Detroit Tigers. Now 42-years-old, Verlander is the oldest active player in the Majors and the 'most senior active athlete in any of the four major American sports,' per Elias. He's won three Cy Young Awards, nine All-Star selections, and two World Series rings and currently plays for the San Francisco Giants. Verlander is also very active in charity work, starting the Wins For Warriors Foundation in 2016 for veterans of the United States Military. The foundation also raised money in 2017 to help Houston recover from Hurricane Harvey. Verlander was honored with the Bob Feller Act of Valor Award in 2013. The pair started dating in 2014. In 2016, Verlander told Forbes magazine he and Upton have a 'normal relationship.' 'Kate's there a lot for me,' he said. 'And we're just normal people. You know, a normal relationship—believe it or not.' He proposed soon after, which she confirmed on the red carpet at the 2016 Met Gala, wearing her engagement ring. 'I'm really excited, he asked me right before season started so we've been keeping it on the down low for quite a while,' she told E! News at the time. 'So I'm excited to finally be able to share it with the world!' The pair tied the knot in November 2017 in Tuscany, Italy. Upton first announced she was expecting with an Instagram post in 2018, writing, '#PregnantinMiami,' and tagging her husband. Genevieve, sometimes called Vivi, was born that November. In an interview with The Houston Chronicle, Verlander said Vivi is 'really starting to get into it' when Verlander is playing on TV, sharing how she saw him playing at the clubhouse. 'She just stopped, looking at the screen, and said, 'Daddy, that's you!'' he explained. Upton told Extra in early 2019 that she was not considering having another baby anytime soon, because she had just started 'sleeping through the night' again. But bay number two arrived on June 19, 2025. In 2019, Verlander told People about how fatherhood changed how he plays ball. 'I would like to be able to play long enough that my daughter can see me and remember me playing baseball when she grows older,' he explained. 'Maybe if anything, it's going to push me to stay in shape and stay healthy, and be a good pitcher as long as I possibly can. I want her to be able to remember me on the field.'
