[contextly_auto_sidebar id="CRRqStIBmpYdmSguLgIo8y1dooOQBZsV"] ONE of the several nice things about conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen being back more solidly in Los Angeles, where he has a post with the LA Phil, is the steady infusion of strong new or modern music from Scandinavia, a region which has been on a roll for the last few decades. Last night I saw a Salonen-conducted concert at Walt … [Read more...]
The Savage Brilliance of Jo Nesbo
[contextly_auto_sidebar id="862z7etB0M2rQ0o5trkD8bwrkhOQ67rT"] THE Norwegian crime writer Jo Nesbo is being read and discussed on our shores these days, with a new novel, The Son, out earlier this month. (The book, set in Oslo, is not one of those built around troubled detective Harry Hole. I spoke to Nesbo when he and his publisher were making a big push into the U.S. market in the wake of … [Read more...]
LA Phil Goes to Scandinavia
[contextly_auto_sidebar id="8kEqCdbcCqQwhdKRJpToOBscTE4zIEM7"] ON Saturday night, I caught an all-Scandinavian Los Angeles Philharmonic concert that included a West Coast premiere of an Anders Hillborg piece and violinist Hilary Hahn playing a Nielsen concerto. The whole concert was strong -- I was amazed at the sounds Hahn was able to coax out of her violin -- but Hillborg's King Tide was so … [Read more...]
Jo Nesbo and Nordic Noir
FOR years now we've been hearing about a charismatic Norwegian crime writer whose novels were plotted with verve and driven by a weirdly compelling alcoholic detective. With the success of Stieg Larsson's Girl trilogy, the time may be ripe for Jo Nesbo, whose sometimes horrifying new novel, The Snowman, kicks ass.I spoke to Nesbo from his home in Oslo recently for a profile in this Sunday's Los … [Read more...]
Stieg Larsson’s "Girl"
THE international explosion of the Millennium trilogy -- which begins with The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo -- remains baffling even to those who know and love the books. In fact, even Sonny Mehta, the Knopf head who brought the books to the States, considers their popularity a happy enigma.HERE is my piece in today's LA Times about the books and their world takeover. (The story is timed to … [Read more...]
Nordic Noir Finally Arrives
SOME called 1991 – a decade and a half after the rumbles in London – “the year punk broke.” If so, 2009 is shaping up as the year Nordic Noir finally arrived. Stieg Larsson – a Trotskyist sci-fi fan now, inconveniently, dead – is the movement’s Nirvana, and “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,” a mystery novel with Nordic Noir’s coolest heroine ever, his “Nevermind.” The book’s recent sequel, “The … [Read more...]
Wagner’s Ring Cycle vs. The Gods
ON wednesday night -- that's wotan's day to those of you who speak norse -- i caught "das rheingold," the los angeles opera's take on the first of wagner's ring cycle. it's directed by the avant-german achim freyer and has received quite mixed reviews in my circle. i found it intriguing in parts, hard to fathom in others; my former colleague mark swed mostly admired the production, here. and my … [Read more...]