Gail Eichenthal

Benjamin Britten's "The Heart of the Matter," for tenor, horn, piano and reader is an odd duck in an unconventional oeuvre . Essentially an ambitious chamber cantata that spotlights some generally grim, if ultimately optimistic, wartime and war-touched poetry by Edith Sitwell, the piece holds at its center the composer's "Canticle III," Opus 55. And it succeeds by the tight integration of mood and text and by maintaining its perspective of stoicism through several mood changes.

Having left you in such a state of good humor, the musicians almost made you forget the fact that they had delivered crackerjack performances at Gindi Auditorium, site of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Chamber Music Society concert Wednesday evening. Seven instrumentalists--drawn mostly from the younger generation of Philharmonic players--brought punch and point to Stravinsky's "Histoire du Soldat," the closing work.

Five candidates for the post of music director of the Long Beach Symphony will lead the orchestra in its 1988-89 season, the orchestra's management announced Thursday. These conductors--Paul Polivnick, David Alan Miller, Kenneth Kiesler, Jon Robertson and JoAnn Falletta--were chosen from a field of 250 applicants by a search committee of musicians and arts and community leaders from the greater Los Angeles area.

The summer's predicted drought of classical music will end Aug. 22, when the La Jolla Chamber Music Society will open its eight-concert Summerfest '87. After the success of the society's inaugural chamber music series last year, this year's 10-day festival has been expanded to include a chamber orchestra concert, wider participation of San Diego musicians and an appearance by in the role of ensemble pianist.

A significant series of events in memory of Lawrence Morton has been planned for October at several locations in the Los Angeles area. Morton, who died in May, was paterfamilias of the local New Music establishment, and best known as director of Monday Evening Concerts from 1953 to 1971. Appropriately, then, the tribute begins with the first event of the Monday series' 50th season, in Bing Theater at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Oct. 12.

Krystian Zimerman is a pianist who can make a mighty noise. We all knew that. But he didn't make the mighty noise heard at the Hollywood Bowl Tuesday night. At least he didn't make it alone. In an essentially heroic performance of the D-minor Brahms Concerto with Edo de Waart and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Zimerman's Steinway didn't just roar and thunder. It crashed and blasted. It created vast sonic cataclysms.

Classical music station KUSC-FM (91.5) is honoring outgoing Los Angeles Philharmonic music director Esa-Pekka Salonen with special programs this month, including live broadcasts of two of his final performances and a documentary commemorating the maestro's 17 years with the orchestra. First up is "E-P in L.A.: Reinventing the Los Angeles Philharmonic," a two-hour documentary featuring interviews with collaborators Frank Gehry, Peter Sellars, Deborah Borda and Ernest Fleischmann, musicians and commentary from Salonen.

When a solicitor phoned the other night, Topanga resident Lynn Dickhoff cut him short. "All of Southern California is on fire," she explained. "I don't think this is a good time to talk!" The solicitor hung up without saying a word. A haunting we shall go: To get you in the mood for Halloween, I offer the following goodies from my files (see accompanying): * An eerie seafood sighting (photo by Milt Long).

KNX-AM (1070) reporter and anchor Gail Eichenthal resigned from the outlet where she started working 19 years ago, saying she was uncomfortable with what she saw as a new direction for the station and a softening of its hard-news edge. Although station management had offered what she called a "dream job," anchoring the afternoon-drive newscast, Eich enthal said Monday that she quit in part because she would be partnered with former traffic reporter Jim Thornton.