Lessons from Liberace: Concert dress

Like Liberace, Carpenter takes style and entertainment seriously. But he also takes the organ seriously. Here, he takes a bow during an organ concert at the First Congregational Church in Los Angeles. (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

May 26, 2013 6:01 PM PT

Classical music, like much else in show business, happens to have entered into a new era of bling. Did some of them take notes on Liberace’s on-stage lavishness?

With his new Mohawk haircut and intense playing, Carpenter was soloist in Copland’s “Organ” Symphony with the L.A. Phil in April 2013. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

Chinese pianist Yuja Wang caused commotion at the Hollywood Bowl in 2011 when she wore a little orange dress as soloist in Rachmaninoff’s Third Piano Concerto. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

Wang has gotten flashier and less mechanical at the keyboard as she has grown increasingly comfortable sashaying on stage in sexy gowns. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

Some say violinist Leopold has gone too far in letting ostentatious fashion gaudily color his musicianship. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

Leopold, formerly Hahn-Bin, in the West Coast premiere of his new show “‘Til Dawn Sunday” at UCLA’s Royce Hall. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

Azzadine Alaia designed the striking costumes for L.A. Phil’s production of Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro” at Walt Disney Concert Hall.
Pictured: Rachel Frenkel as Cherubino. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

The sober violinist Hilary Hahn showed up in May 2013 for a Walt Disney Concert Hall recital in a gown with practically a bikini top. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

The Kronos Quartet has been annually changing its look for 40 years and has remained a vital ensemble.
Pictured: The Kronos Quartet at the Irvine Barclay Theatre in 1997. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

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Lessons from Liberace: Concert dress

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