Cleveland Orchestra to present “Bach in Focus” (October 15-25)

October 13, 2014 by Daniel Hathaway

by Daniel Hathaway

TCO&COC In conjunction with performances of J.S. Bach’s Mass in B Minor (October 16 and 18) and one of his solo cantatas by soprano Yulia van Doren (October 23, 24 & 24), The Cleveland Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra Chorus and Youth Chorus will offer a free concert of the Kyrie and Gloria from the Mass at St. John’s Cathedral in downtown Cleveland on Friday, October 17 at 8:00 pm, and a “Make Music! Marathon” at Severance Hall on Saturday afternoon, October 18.

Franz Welser-Möst will lead the October 17 concert on the Helen D. Schubert Concert Series at St. John’s, with soloists Joélle Harvey, soprano, Iestyn Davies, countertenor, Nicholas Phan, tenor and Hanno Müller-Brachmann, bass. The performance, consisting of the “Missa Brevis” or the Kyrie and Gloria from the B-Minor Mass, will last about an hour. No tickets are required. (CWRU professor Ross W. Duffin will give pre-concert lectures one hour before the Severance Hall performances in Reinberger Chamber Hall).

The Marathon on October 18 will run from 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm and will feature simultaneous performances in the main concert hall and Reinberger Chamber Hall. Here is the schedule:

Concert Hall
2:00-2:45 p.m. – Case Western Reserve University/Cleveland Institute of Music baroque orchestra and chamber ensemble
3:00-3:45 p.m. – Organists from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music

Reinberger Chamber Hall
4:00 – 4:40 p.m. – Burning River Baroque
4:45 – 5:15 p.m. – Oberlin Conservatory of Music chamber ensembles
5:20 – 6:00 p.m. – Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra chamber ensembles

Violinist Hilary Hahn having withdrawn from the second weekend of concerts, Soprano Yulia van Doren will perform Bach’s cantata, Mein Herze schwimmt im Blut, BWV 199 with James Gaffigan and the Orchestra in evening concerts on October 23, 24 and 25, preceded by conversations with Gaffigan and CWRU musicologist David J. Rothenberg in Kulas Chamber Hall one hour before each performance (free to ticket holders).

Jung-Min Amy Lee, associate concertmaster of The Cleveland Orchestra, will replace Hahn for the masterclass with students from area colleges and universities in Reinberger Chamber Hall on Tuesday, October 21 at 4:00 pm. The event is free and open to music teachers, students and parents, but tickets are required.

About Daniel Hathaway

Daniel Hathaway founded ClevelandClassical.com in September, 2008, after a thirty-one year tenure as music director of Cleveland’s Trinity Cathedral, where he founded the Wednesday Noon Brownbag Concert Series and Trinity Chamber Orchestra. A graduate of Harvard College and the Episcopal Divinity School, he also studied historical musicology at Princeton and Harvard Universities. Before coming to Cleveland in 1977, he served as head of humanities at the Sunset Hill School in Kansas City and as head of arts at Groton School in Massachusetts. In Cleveland, he has served on the music staff of Cleveland Opera, Great Lakes Theater Festival, and the faculty of Laurel School. As an organist, Hathaway has played recitals in the U.S., England, France, Germany, and Austria. He team-teaches Music Journalism at Oberlin College and Conservatory and is a member of the Music Critics Association of North America.

Pianist Yuja Wang creates magic with The Cleveland Orchestra (Nov. 28)

by Stephanie Manning

This article was originally published on Cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Thanksgiving weekend concerts by The Cleveland Orchestra often center around a big-ticket soloist or a popular piece.

This year’s program offers both, thanks to star pianist Yuja Wang and Maurice Ravel’s brilliant orchestration of Modest Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition.”

On Friday November 28, the snow cleared just in time for the crowds to arrive at Severance Music Center for the evening event. Led by conductor Petr Popelka, the resulting concert equally displayed the prowess of Orchestra and soloist over the course of three fascinating works.

György Ligeti’s Piano Concerto stood out in contrast to the lush textures and easy-to-follow melodies of the works that surrounded it. Premiered in 1988, its dissonant and avant-garde music might have come from another world. But both Wang and the Orchestra rose to meet the challenge of its devilishly tricky rhythms with an assured confidence.

[Read on…]

Les Arts Florissants make Vivaldi’s Four Seasons feel fresh and inspired (Nov. 18)

by Stephanie Manning

Performing a work as ubiquitous as Antonio Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons requires a delicate balance. At its best, the musicality and intention must be crystal clear, so that the end result feels as fresh as it does familiar. It’s a high bar, but one that Les Arts Florissants cleared with the utmost ease.

On November 18, the renowned French baroque ensemble visited Tuesday Musical to celebrate the 300th anniversary of Vivaldi’s famous quartet of violin concertos. Soloist Théotime Langlois de Swarte led the spirited group in the Vivaldi-focused program, which also included works by Marco Uccellini and Claudio Monteverdi. [Read on…]

BlueWater Chamber Orchestra with violinist David McCarroll in Rocky River (Nov. 23)

by Daniel Hathaway

Let’s cut to the chase and simply say that it would be difficult to imagine a more perfect and moving performance of Beethoven’s Violin Concerto than the one David McCarroll gave with Daniel Meyer and BlueWater Chamber Orchestra on Sunday afternoon, November 23 at Rocky River Presbyterian Church. We’ll come back to that thought.

The straight-through performance preceded the Beethoven with works by Cleveland composer Margaret Brouwer and a youngish Aaron Copland.

Brouwer’s engaging and popular The Art of Sailing at Dawn evokes memories of growing up on the Great Lakes. A flute conjures sonic images of gulls, and subtle waves support a lovely oboe solo before the wind kicks up and dark clouds assemble. A storm erupts, but soon passes, leading to a quiet ending. [Read on…]

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