Past/Forward: The LA Phil At 100

These two huge volumes show such promise to music lovers, particularly those in the Los Angeles area. Past/Forward: The LA Phil at 100 is a commemorative volume celebrating and summing up LA Philharmonic orchestra’s one-hundredth birthday. Volume I was written by Derek Taub and Volume II by Julie Ward and Robin Rauzi. Unfortunately, the tremendous work to assemble the information for these volumes was not fulfilled by the results. These are not coffee table books with plain soft paper covers, and it would be hard to imagine anyone reading these from cover to cover. The first volume is filled with historical facts, historic photos, placards, program covers, hundreds of quotes and so on. Featured are past music directors, conductors, and soloists, and the famed Hollywood Bowl is everywhere. These are just too much information for anyone to absorb comfortably. A long bibliography ends the volume. The second volume is in the future of the Philharmonic and as such, this volume is futuristic in design and content. It “…explores what kind of organization the LA Phil might be tomorrow.” Common with Volume I, this volume is also filled with facts, quotes, and visuals the reader may look at once.