articles / Christmas
The Sugar Plum Fairy in the City of Angels
Gustavo Dudamel and the LA Phil | Photo by Sam Comen
The year was 2013. The Oxford dictionary’s “Word of the Year” was “selfie.” The cronut was captivating taste buds around the world. Prince George and North West were born just five weeks apart. Game of Thrones fans were still reeling from The Red Wedding. Everybody was dancing the “Harlem Shake” and many were also wondering, “What Does the Fox Say?”
The LA Phil was a mere 95 years old. Gustavo Dudamel was still relatively new in town. That December, Dudamel and the LA Phil teamed up for performances of Tchaikovsky’s iconic holiday ballet The Nutcracker. (It was a preview of the orchestra’s TchaikovskyFest which was coming later that season.) The performances were jaw-dropping and well-received. They were also recorded for future release.
The future is now as that 2013 recording of The Nutcracker by the LA Phil and Gustavo Dudamel was finally released last week. It is our album of the week this week and we’ll be sampling it in high rotation all week long on KUSC. Something tells me we’ll keep playing it beyond this week and all the way through Christmas Day.
As you listen, I hope you enjoy, not only the excellent performance but also a bit of additional hometown pride.
