Gabriela Montero

Audiences at the Hollywood Bowl can expect a little more bang for their buck when the "Tchaikovsky Spectacular" lights up the Cahuenga Pass next weekend. Adding to the annual event's signature pyrotechnics, fiery, unconventional pianist Gabriela Montero will be making her Bowl debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. This rising -- and eyebrow-raising -- classical music star, 37, is scheduled to play Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 on the all-Tchaikovsky program.

One mark of a competent chief executive - especially one responsible for leading a nation - is an ability to learn from past mistakes. On that count, President Obama's omission of classical music from his second inauguration ceremony on Monday (barring last-minute additions to the announced musical lineup of Beyoncé , Kelly Clarkson and James Taylor singing, respectively, “The Star Spangled Banner,” “My Country 'Tis of Thee” and “America...

Rachmaninoff, Scriabin, Falla, Ginastera, Chopin, Liszt, Improvisations Gabriela Montero, piano (EMI Classics) * * * A 35-year-old Venezuelan protegee of Martha Argerich, Gabriela Montero is a classical pianist with a big difference, one who can improvise on the spot.

Conductor Carl St.Clair celebrated the 95th anniversary of the Paris premiere of Stravinsky's once-scandalous "Rite of Spring" by having his Pacific Symphony play it well on Thursday night at the Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall in Costa Mesa. Music of other Russian masters -- Schnittke and Rachmaninoff -- made for a program of Slavic melancholy and cerebral playfulness, all part of the orchestra's Springfest 2008.

One mark of a competent chief executive - especially one responsible for leading a nation - is an ability to learn from past mistakes. On that count, President Obama's omission of classical music from his second inauguration ceremony on Monday (barring last-minute additions to the announced musical lineup of Beyoncé , Kelly Clarkson and James Taylor singing, respectively, “The Star Spangled Banner,” “My Country 'Tis of Thee” and “America...

Conductor Carl St.Clair celebrated the 95th anniversary of the Paris premiere of Stravinsky's once-scandalous "Rite of Spring" by having his Pacific Symphony play it well on Thursday night at the Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall in Costa Mesa. Music of other Russian masters -- Schnittke and Rachmaninoff -- made for a program of Slavic melancholy and cerebral playfulness, all part of the orchestra's Springfest 2008.

Only those within earshot heard the celebrated classical musicians playing at President Obama's inauguration. Cellist Yo-Yo Ma, violinist Itzhak Perlman, pianist Gabriela Montero and clarinetist Anthony McGill decided after a sound check Monday to use a recording. Carole Florman, a spokeswoman for the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, said it was too cold for their instruments to stay in tune. Washington's temperature hovered near 30 on Tuesday. "They were very insistent on playing live until it became clear that it would be too cold," Florman said.

Gabriela Montero says she and the other members of the Obama inauguration quartet were not trying to fool anybody by having recorded music played in the biting cold. Shaken by comparisons to lip-syncers Milli Vanilli, the pianist insists she and fellow musicians Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman and Anthony McGill "did the right thing." "We decided that it would have been a disaster if we went out there with that cold, with the wind, and played our instruments out of tune," the Venezuelan American pianist said Tuesday in a telephone interview from Boston.

Gabriela Montero, the Venezuelan-born classical pianist, is enjoying a hearty last laugh over those who once scoffed at her unusual ability to improvise. She's been on "60 Minutes." Her concert schedule is full. Her second CD for EMI, "Bach and Beyond," which consists of nothing but freewheeling improvisations, is a classical bestseller. Starting in October, she will be improvising live on her website, with free downloads available for three days after each event.

No city loves its stars quite like Los Angeles, and no star has felt that embrace more warmly in recent years than Gustavo Dudamel, artistic director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. The 29-year-old Venezuelan's first season wielding the baton here quite simply turned the town on its music-loving ear, and the love fest resumes this weekend with the first of three special performances at the Hollywood Bowl. On Sunday, he'll conduct a concert version of Bizet's "Carmen," with Natasha Petrinksy singing the title role.

Audiences at the Hollywood Bowl can expect a little more bang for their buck when the "Tchaikovsky Spectacular" lights up the Cahuenga Pass next weekend. Adding to the annual event's signature pyrotechnics, fiery, unconventional pianist Gabriela Montero will be making her Bowl debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. This rising -- and eyebrow-raising -- classical music star, 37, is scheduled to play Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 on the all-Tchaikovsky program.

Rachmaninoff, Scriabin, Falla, Ginastera, Chopin, Liszt, Improvisations Gabriela Montero, piano (EMI Classics) * * * A 35-year-old Venezuelan protegee of Martha Argerich, Gabriela Montero is a classical pianist with a big difference, one who can improvise on the spot.

10-Year Dry Spell: For the second consecutive time in its 68-year history, the jury in Poland's Frederic Chopin piano competition has declined to award a first prize. The contest, held every five years, ended Friday with an announcement by the international jury that none of the 140 young contestants had reached the top standard.

There are many foolish attempts to change concert life, such as surveying young people who aren't interested in classical music about what bait would draw them in. Say we served pizza in cellphone-friendly concert halls, installed sofas and video screens, and guaranteed that no "song" would last more than five minutes? What if we made that gourmet pizza and supplied a fine Gewurztraminer to wash it down? Free iPhones to the first 50 who log on to our website?