When it comes to staging a Bach in the Subways performance in or near West Hollywood, some creative thinking is required. After all, there’s not a subway stop very near our auto-centric burg. So the Bach in the Subways folks settled on the block of Robertson Boulevard between Rosewood and Beverly for the Friday outdoor performance. After all, it’s less than a block from the 14/37 bus stop.
Josh Gomez will be on the guitar and Riko Weimer will play the piano at the event, set to run from 2 to 4 p.m. this coming Friday. It’s one of seven Bach in the Subways performances in the Los Angeles area. Bach in the Subways public performances are planned for cities across the United States (such as New York City, which has lots of subway platforms) and for Canada, Germany and Taiwan.
The Bach in the Subways movement got its official start on March 21, 2011 – Johan Sebastian Bach’s 326th birthday – when three cellists performed on New York City subway platforms.
But the real instigator of the performances was cellist Dale Henderson, who in 2010 began performing the Bach Solo Cello Suites in the subways of New York City. Henderson was convinced that the classical music scene in the U.S. was struggling largely because the average American rarely if ever got the chance to hear live classical music. Henderson refused donations and instead passed out free cards explaining his intentions. Last year 45 musicians in five cities donated performances to the cause. A complete map of locations in Los Angeles is available online. http://bachinthesubways.com/bach-in-the-subways-day-2014/#la-map
