Year: 2006

What’s in a Name?

The Camerata Pacifica will open its season of chamber music concerts on Friday, September 15, in Santa Barbara, with a program of certified masterpieces: Ludwig Beethoven’s Violin Sonata No. 9 in A Major, Opus 47 “Kreutzer,” performed by violinist Catherine Leonard and pianist Warren Jones; Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Sonata for Cello and Piano in G Minor, Opus 19, with cellist Ani Aznavoorian and pianist Robert Thies; and concluding with Franz Schubert’s Piano Trio in E-flat Major, Opus 100, D. 929, played by Jones, Leonard, and Aznavoorian. With these artists and these works, the Camerata is obviously leading trumps.

The Missions in Art

From San Juan Capistrano to Taco Bell-and Back

From the gated George Washington Smith mansions of Hope Ranch and Montecito to the Taco Bell logo on the wrapper of last night’s chicken gordita, mission style and symbolism saturate Santa Barbara and all of California, providing a kind of aesthetic template for the architecture and imagery of the entire state. From a practical point of view, the resounding triumph of mission style here makes sense-the white walls, red-tiled roofs, and simple, dramatic arches work exceedingly well in our natural landscape.