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To•Day

DIARY: Weekend of July 1-4, 2022

by Daniel Hathaway

IN THIS EDITION:

. June festivals wind up, July concerts blast off at Blossom

. News Briefs: CityMusic to go conductorless

. Interesting read: Culture Track survey dismantles some stereotypes about older Americans and the arts

. Almanac: The storks were busy this weekend. Celebrating the debuts of William Herbert Brewster, Carl Weinrich, Frederick Fennell, and Leoš Janáček

THIS WEEKEND’S EVENTS:

ChamberFest Cleveland ends the third week of its tenth season with performances of Debussy & Thorvaldsdottir on Friday at The Madison (note the correct start time is 7:30 pm and read a preview article here), Berio & Brahms on Saturday at 7:30 at the Maltz PAC (6:30 prelude concert by violinist Stephen Waarts), and on Sunday at 6:30 at The Grove Amphitheater (featuring soprano Lucy Fitz Gibbon, violinist Stephen Waarts, and harpist Sivan Magen). [Read More…]

Pre•Views & Features

ENCORE embraces the journey with “Tales of Travel & Transformation”

by Stephanie Manning

Summer 2022 has seen a surge in travel, as those who were kept from family, friends, and favorite places over the past two years try to make up for lost time. The upcoming July 4 weekend should be one of the busiest yet. But for those staying in the Cleveland area, the ENCORE Chamber Music Institute’s Music & Ideas Festival is offering audiences a musical getaway on July 3 at 4:00 pm with “Tales of Travel & Transformation.”

The featured performers, the Verona Quartet, are a group of world travelers themselves. Hailing from four different countries, the musicians — violinists Jonathan Ong and Dorothy Ro, violist Abigail Rojansky, and cellist Jonathan Dormand — have performed as a group across four continents. Over the past two years of their residency at Oberlin Conservatory, the Quartet has appeared in venues all over Northeast Ohio — this weekend, they will add the Gilmour Academy’s Dodero Center to that list.

[Read on…]

Pianist Juho Pohjonen returns to ChamberFest

by Mike Telin

Finnish pianist Juho Pohjonen enjoys a varied career that regularly takes him to recital and symphony halls across Europe, Asia, and North America. A computer enthusiast, in 2019 he launched MyPianist, an AI-based iOS app he both designed and programmed that provides interactive piano accompaniment for musicians. This week he makes his second appearance at ChamberFest.

I spoke to Pohjonen over Zoom from Minneapolis where he was performing Mendelssohn’s Concerto for Violin and Piano with Osmo Vänskä and the Minnesota Orchestra. I began by asking him to share his insights on Debussy’s Cello Sonata, which he will perform with Jonathan Swensen on June 30.

Juho Pohjonen: The interaction between the cello and the piano is so intimate. The music is like an exchange of ideas and that is one of the most rewarding aspects of the piece.

Debussy was able to create new colors without resorting to any fancy techniques like playing inside the piano or things like that. [Read on…]

ChamberFest Cleveland: A chat with violinist Stephen Waarts

by Mike Telin

Still in his mid-twenties, violinist Stephen Waarts has already amassed an impressive resumé. Among his successes, he was a prizewinner at the 2015 Queen Elisabeth Competition and secured the majority vote of the television audience. In March 2017 he was awarded the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant, and he was winner of the International Classical Music Awards Orchestra Award by the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra in 2019.

One of the few things Waarts has not done is to perform at ChamberFest Cleveland. That will change later this week. We reached the friendly violinist by telephone in Brussels where he was rehearsing for an upcoming recording project. [Read on…]

Soprano Lucy Fitz Gibbon to make ChamberFest Cleveland debut

by Mike Telin

This week music for voice will take center stage when the dynamic soprano Lucy Fitz Gibbon makes her ChamberFest debut.

Fitz Gibbon has appeared as a soloist with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Lucerne Festival Academy Orchestra, the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra, and the Albany, Richmond, Tulsa, and Eureka Symphonies.

Just prior to our telephone conversation she had performed a recital for the Berkeley Early Music Festival and was a guest artist at SongFest at the San Francisco Conservatory. There she sang contemporary works by American composers including a song-cycle by Sheila Silver and the West Coast premiere of a cycle by John Harbison.

Mike Telin: We’re looking forward to your ChamberFest performances, but this is not your first visit to Cleveland.

Lucy Fitz Gibbon: That’s right. I was there in 2018 for the Art Song Festival. [Read on…]

Harpist Sivan Magen returns to ChamberFest Cleveland

by Mike Telin

This week harpist Sivan Magen will make a return visit to ChamberFest Cleveland. “I’m excited to come back to Cleveland and play with those incredible players,” Magen said via Skype from Los Angeles, where he was preparing for a concert with his Israeli Chamber Project. “After that we’re heading to Sioux Falls, South Dakota for the American Harp Society Conference where we’ll be giving a concert, master classes, and talks.”

Born in Jerusalem, Magen studied at the Jerusalem Academy for Music and Dance. After completing his military service, he continued his studies at the Paris Conservatory and went on to complete his Master of Music degree at the Juilliard School. Magen is the only Israeli to win the International Harp Contest in Israel. He is also the winner of the Pro Musicis International Award, and in 2012 was the winner of the Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award. Since fall 2017 he has served as principal harp of the Finnish Radio Symphony.

Mike Telin: When you were here in 2016 you brought some cutting-edge repertoire. This year feels slightly more tame. [Read on…]

ChamberFest Cleveland: exploring the visual experience with Nicholas Houfek

by Stephanie Manning

It’s unconventional to interview a lighting designer for an upcoming chamber music concert. But then again, a performance of Anna Thorvaldsdottír’s In the Light of Air is unconventional, too.

The four-movement suite for viola, cello, harp, piano, percussion, and electronics has a long history with the International Contemporary Ensemble (IntCE), but a new group of players will take it on for a concert as part of ChamberFest Cleveland on July 1. As lighting designer and current IntCE member Nicholas Houfek explained in a recent conversation, the difficulty with programming the piece lies in the logistics of the installation.

“We’ve had other people reach out, but once they hear what’s needed and required to install it, a lot of them kind of get scared and back away. It’s a lot for a chamber music festival or organization to take on.”

Houfek knows these requirements better than most — he’s been involved with the piece since its inception, working closely with Thorvaldsdottír while she composed it for IntCE in 2014. Describing the piece’s soundscape as “warm” and “natural” but also “otherworldly,” he discussed how sound and light combine to create the finished product.

[Read on…]

ChamberFest Cleveland: Zooming with cellist & rising star Jonathan Swensen

by Mike Telin

When looking at cellist Jonathan Swensen’s Facebook page, you can’t help but think that he is one busy guy. And one who has a good time doing what he does.

“I’m enjoying the traveling and the discovery that come with this life,” he said over Zoom. “Every audience and every hall has its special charm. I love experiencing different cultures. But it’s funny because I can go to so many places where I don’t speak anyone’s language, and be able to share something that comes from the heart. Something which any listener can understand, and that is very nice.”

Leading up to Swensen’s ChamberFest Cleveland debut on Thursday, June 23 at 7:30 pm at the Cleveland Institute of Music’s Mixon Hall, I reached him at his home in Copenhagen. [Read on…]

Stars in the Classics to present al fresco Summer Shows

by Daniel Hathaway

Textile artist Jodi Kanter has developed a second career as a musical impresario. As artistic director of M.U.S.i.C. (Musical Upcoming Stars in the Classics), she heads a non-profit organization that searches out talented young musicians, gives them the opportunity to perform in concerts they curate themselves, and compensates them for their services.

Those opportunities come in the form of two styles of concerts each season: Classical Cabarets and Musical Salons. The latter, presented in the intimate settings of private homes, include Mid-Winter Musical Salons, Spring Salons, Halloween Salons, and Holiday Salons.

Recently, Kanter has added outdoor events to the mix. [Read on…]

See all previews

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