The Los Angeles Baroque Orchestra is often referred to as a well-kept secret in Los Angeles, but I actually think their profile is deservedly low. I'm not going to totally disparage them, they serve a purpose by performing the baroque repertoire and they aren't all bad. But, man, I'll never forget seeing them at the Watercourt in downtown LA when they played Handel's "Water Music." Striving to be authentic, they used period French horns that were valveless rather than the kind that have been refined since Handel's day. Now, I admire their attempt to recreate the music the way it was written, but the horn players were not able to play the instruments in tune. It defeated the purpose; Handel didn't write the horn parts to be flat, I'm pretty sure, and I think playing them that way is a greater sin than using modern instruments would've been. That was a free show and it was still entertaining, but I can't imagine paying to hear this orchestra.
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