Libbey Bowl
201 S Signal St
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Ojai Music Festival
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- When
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June 10, 2010 – June 13, 2010
Daily
- Where
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- Price
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Various prices
- Links
“Building on a tradition that spans five decades, the legendary Ojai Music Festival is known around the world for its top-notch musical engagements of the classical avant-garde and ancillary scholarship — not to mention its idyllic setting. But after this year's intoxicatingly eclectic and progressive program, there will be left little doubt as to the wit, edge, modernity, and risky business in its character as well. Their classical pedigree is in no jeopardy; but their major get — the sensational 18-soloist international consortium Ensemble Modern in their first West Coast appearance — is in on the subversion, as they perform works by Frank Zappa as part of a sort of mini-ZappaFest throughout the weekend.”
Shana Nys Dambrot, Flavorpill
Note:
A special Zappa Package is offered to those who want to immerse themselves in the life and work of this extraordinary musician.
Ojai Music Festival says:
Each year, the Ojai Music Festival reflects the tastes and personality of its music director. George Benjamin, widely known as one of today's most inventive composers, is also a soughtafter conductor, an imaginative programmer, and an acclaimed pianist.
The 2010 Ojai Music Festival explores the music of Benjamin's teachers and mentors, Pierre Boulez and Oliver Messiaen; of his students, Steve Potter and Saed Haddad; by his colleague and friend, Oliver Knussen; and music he simply enjoys, from Ligeti to Stravinsky to Henry Purcell to Indian ragas. Highlights of the upcoming Festival include Messiaen's Vingt regards sur l'enfant Jésus and Oiseaux exotiques, Ligeti's Chamber Concerto, and the West Coast premiere of Benjamin's chamber opera, Into the Little Hill. The Frankfurt-based Ensemble Modern will perform four varied concerts — two conducted by Benjamin, one of chamber music and the other including works by Varèse and American icon Frank Zappa.
Frank Zappa, America's great musical iconoclast and innovator, once said, "a composer is a guy who goes around forcing his will on unsuspecting air molecules, often with the assistance of unsuspecting musicians." Famous to some for his rock band The Mothers of Invention, and to others for his sharp tongue and avant-garde classical music, Zappa enjoyed a legendary career that spanned more than 30 years and astonished the world by breaching the barriers of musical genres. At the 2010 Ojai Music Festival patrons will have a unique opportunity to experience Zappa's music and learn more about his legacy. On Friday afternoon, June 11, the Festival Symposium will address The World of Frank Zappa. His widow, Gail Zappa, will be among the panelists connected with Zappa who will discuss his genre-bending career. Also present will be Dietmar Wiesner of the Ensemble Modern, recounting the group's tours and their recordings with Zappa in the 1990s; Ian Underwood, a member of the Mothers of Invention; Todd Yvega, Zappa's right-hand man with respect to the Synclavier; and Steve Vai, electric guitarist, also former Zappa band-member.
