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Archives for March 2013

Preview: Newberry Consort to celebrate Church of the Covenant’s new Richards, Fowkes & Co. organ on March 20: a chat with Ellen Hargis

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by Daniel Hathaway

Newberry-Consort-SpanishChicago’s Newberry Consort will mark the arrival of the new 17th-century-style gallery organ at the Church of the Covenant in Cleveland’s University Circle with a concert entitled “Celestial Sirens” on Wednesday, March 20 at 7:30 pm. “It all came about with a handshake in the parking lot”, Ellen Hargis said in a phone conversation from her home in Chicago. Hargis is also on the faculty at Case, whose music department shares parking with the church. “One day I ran into Jonathan Moyer who told me about the new organ and I said ‘you need my Celestial Sirens concert.’”

That program, which features choral and instrumental music from 17th century Italian and Mexican convents, was itself the result of a chance encounter. Hargis was already thinking of constructing an Italian program drawing on the vast collections of unpublished music in convent libraries — partly suggested by Craig Monson’s book, Nuns Behaving Badly: Tales of Music, Magic, Art, and Arson in the Convents of Italy. [Read more…]

Review: Cathartic moments from the Canton Symphony Chorus (March 15)

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by Tom Wachunas

CSO-Chorus-Cable-March-2013The Canton Symphony Orchestra “casual series” concerts presented in Cable Recital Hall are generally chamber music affairs featuring small instrumental ensembles – duos, trios, quartets or quintets. For scaled-down concerts of this sort, the acoustics in this modest hall, which can seat an audience of approximately 140 listeners, are more than suitable.

So the first surprise about the concert on March 15 was that it featured a full chamber orchestra – some 30 pieces – as well as the superb 53-member Canton Symphony Chorus. One might have reasonably anticipated a sound far too deafening for this intimate venue. Surprise number two: Orchestra and chorus, both separately and together, delivered a deeply satisfying aural experience that was clear and balanced in every way. [Read more…]

Review: Tuesday Musical: Silk Road Ensemble with Yo-Yo Ma at E.J. Thomas Hall (March 14)

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by Nicholas Jones

Silk-Road-EnsembleThe Silk Road, the ancient trade route between China and the western world, was active for two millennia from before Alexander to the late Middle Ages. Across that highway traveled not only silks and spices but also inventions from gunpowder to printing and ideas from mathematics to Buddhism.

The Silk Road Ensemble, founded by American cellist Yo-Yo Ma over a decade ago, takes that East-West route as a metaphor for cultural exchange today, bringing western and non-western musicians into a vibrant, innovative, and deeply collaborative musical experience. The result is an evening of strange and wonderful sounds that might have delighted Marco Polo or Genghis Khan. [Read more…]

Review: Contemporary Youth Orchestra’s “Singer/Songwriters” — an embarassment of riches (March 16)

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by Timothy Robson

CYO-SS-031613Sometimes good ideas run amok, despite the best of intentions and excellent execution. Such was the case with the Contemporary Youth Orchestra’s “Singer / Songwriters” concert at CSU’s Waetjen Auditorium on March 16. The orchestra’s brilliantly inventive music director Liza Grossman hit on the idea of having singer/songwriters present their songs in full orchestral arrangements commissioned by the orchestra.

The performer/composers participated in a competition to have their songs chosen. There was a wealth of talent from Cleveland, Michigan, New York, Connecticut and California. And there’s the flaw: fourteen performers (some soloists, some groups) were chosen to perform two songs each. Then there was set up time and spoken commentary in between each performer. The concert was more than three hours long, and many in the audience fled long before the end, which was regrettable, because there were fine performances right through to the end of the evening. [Read more…]

Cleveland Orchestra announces 2013-2014 Severance Hall concerts

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Cleveland Orchestra and Chorus

Today, The Cleveland Orchestra released details of its 2013-2014 Severance Hall season. Beginning in September, evening performances (except for the Fridays @ 7 events) will begin at 7:30 pm rather than 8:00, opera returns to Severance Hall with two performances of Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen in May, and three concerts will mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of Benjamin Britten (1913-1976).

Thursday, SEPTEMBER 19 at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, SEPTEMBER 21 at 8 p.m.
Fabio Luisi, conductor
Hélène Grimaud, piano
Maureen McKay, soprano – Cleveland Orchestra debut

  • BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 5 (“Emperor”)
  • MAHLER Symphony No. 4

Friday, SEPTEMBER 20 at 7 p.m.
Fabio Luisi, conductor
Hélène Grimaud, piano
KeyBank Fridays@7

  • BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 5 (“Emperor”)
  • SCHUMANN Symphony No. 1 (“Spring”) [Read more…]

Review: Apollo’s Fire: The Intimate Bach, Part II at Fairlawn Lutheran Church (March 14)

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by Guytano Parks

AF-Intimate-BachApollo’s Fire presented the first of four performances of “The Intimate Bach, Part II” as part of a series entitled The “Fireside” Concerts at Fairlawn Lutheran Church on Thursday, March 14. Three of the ensemble’s principal players, violinist Olivier Brault, flutist Kathie Stewart, cellist René Schiffer and the ensemble’s director, harpsichordist Jeannette Sorrell, performed music by Bach and Telemann.

The principal players of Apollo’s Fire were of one mind and spirit and their rapport was apparent as they opened the program with Telemann’s Paris Quartet No. 12 in e minor. Phrases were delivered sensitively with nuance and expressive ornamentation. The interplay between the performers in sequential sections and the echoing of phrases in others sounded personal, much like a conversation. Improvisatory writing in the Prelude plus sections of lyricism within the other movements nicely offset the lively nature of this work. [Read more…]

Review: Oberlin Opera Theater — Johann Strauss II’s Die Fledermaus (March 13)

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by Daniel Hathaway

Fledermaus-1It was clear from the first notes of the overture on Wednesday evening in Hall Auditorium that Oberlin Opera Theater’s Die Fledermaus was going to be a musically distinguished production. Guest conductor Raphael Jiménez and the Oberlin Orchestra (which he regularly conducts in concerts) took brisk tempos and played all the tunes that would come around later with verve and precision, including some wicked violin licks. Jiménez, who has plenty of experience in the opera pit, led a tight performance of the entire operetta, closely partnering singers and infusing the orchestra playing with enough Viennese rhythmic nuance to sound authentic.

The opening night cast for Johann Strauss II’s dizzy tale of a Viennese practical joke that gets repaid with interest was strong, confident and wonderfully comedic. [Read more…]

Review: Rocky River Chamber Music Society — The Capitol Quartet (March 4)

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by Mike Telin

Capitol-Sax-QtIn the crowded world of chamber music, finding an accomplished group of players who easily transverse a myriad of musical styles with technical proficiency, astute musical sensibilities and who can be downright hilarious entertainers is rare.

On Monday, March 4, during their concert for the Rocky River Chamber Music Society at West Shore Unitarian Universalist Church before a large and thoroughly attentive audience, the members of the Capitol Quartet proved they are one of those rare ensembles. But there’s an important detail: the Capitol Quartet is not a string quartet; it is a quartet of saxophones. [Read more…]

Review: Oberlin Opera Theater: Johann Strauss Jr.’s Die Fledermaus (March 13)

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by Daniel Hathaway

 

OberlinOperaFledermausIt was clear from the first notes of the overture on Wednesday evening in Hall Auditorium that Oberlin Opera Theater’s Die Fledermaus was going to be a musically distinguished production. Guest conductor Raphael Jiménez and the Oberlin Orchestra (which he regularly conducts in concerts) took brisk tempos and played all the tunes that would come around later with verve and precision, including some wicked violin licks. Jiménez, who has plenty of experience in the opera pit, led a tight performance of the entire operetta, closely partnering singers and infusing the orchestra playing with enough Viennese rhythmic nuance to sound authentic. [Read more…]

Preview Apollo’s Fire: Intimate Bach, Part II— a conversation with flutist Kathie Stewart

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 by Daniel Hathaway

When Apollo’s FireApollo'sFireOutside resumes its “Intimate Bach” series with Part II — four concerts in Akron, Cleveland Heights and Rocky River from March 14-17 — one of the featured artists will be baroque flutist Kathie Stewart, who will solo in J.S. Bach’s Flute Sonata in e minor and join violinist Olivier Brault, cellist René Schiffer and harpsichordist Jeannette Sorrell in two of Georg Philipp Telemann’s Paris Quartets.

We reached Kathie Stewart in Houston where she was changing planes on the way back to Cleveland from Apollo’s Fire’s tour of “Come to the River”, with performances in Pennsylvania, Florida and California. “I’ve been playing on 19th century copies of Irish-style flutes and now I’m putting those away to play Bach and Telemann.” [Read more…]

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