The Russians Are Coming ~ Hollywood Bowl

The Russians Are Coming
Classical Thursdays TH2
Thursday, August 30, 2007, 8:00 PM
Hollywood Bowl
2301 N. Highland Avenue
Hollywood, CA
(323) 850-2000

Artists:
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Kirill Petrenko, conductor
Nicolai Lugansky, piano

Program:
Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 3
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 1
Stravinsky: The Firebird, Suite (1919)

Powerhouse pianist Nikolai Lugansky plays Rachmaninoff's colossal Third Concerto to conclude an electric all-Russian program.

Hollywood Bowl [ official website ]
Gallery [ pw required ]

Sunday Hike through Smoke

After eight years, I finally got a chance to go and hike Mount Pinos.
Mount Pinos is a mountain peak located in the Los Padres National Forest. It is the highest point in Ventura county at 8,831 ft (2,692 m). The goal was to reach the summit in order to enjoy a wonderful view. Who had thought it would end in a hike through smoke!

Unbelievable but true: We made it up to the trail head in the early afternoon on Sunday, August 19, 2007.
Everything seemed to be alright until someone in the group mentioned that a sign is up: Trail closed. ... After putting on hiking shoes and sunscreen we all went to read the message. Since people were coming down the trail, we decided to hike up anyway. We didn't know better...After a short walk we noticed the sky gets darker. The smell of smoke increased rapidly. A part of our small group wanted to turn around right away... we continued hiking up. But half way up we split into two groups: One part would proceed to the summit while the other part turned around and went downhill ... breathing in that air was definitely not healthy anymore.

Gallery [ pw required ]
Panorama View of the scenery [ click for large image ]
More Links:
Mount Pinos [ Wikipedia ]
Google Search Result [ all about Mt. Pinos ]

Mini Trip: Santa Fe

On August 1, 2007 Silke, Jan, Uli and I are on our way to Santa Fe in New Mexico. The purpose of this trip is the annual opera festival. We visit two great operas in a beautiful open air facility: Platée [best opera I have every seen] and Tea: Mirror of Soul.
In addition we enjoy the interesting scenery (desert surrounded by thunderstorms day and night), go hiking, play golf, drive to Taos/ Pueblo Taos... Enjoy the three galleries that emerged from our 5-day-vacation:
Gallery Santa Fe [ pw required ]
Gallery Taos [ pw required ]
Gallery SF Golf [ pw required ]

Additional Links:
Santa Fe Opera [ official website ]
Hair Lock

Long Time No Post

It's been a long time since my last post. It's not that there isn't anything to post...it's just I don't find the time right now. Too much is going on.
Anyway, I'll try my best to get some new events on my blog asap!