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Archives for March 2018

Cleveland Classical Guitar Society: Paul Galbraith at Plymouth (March 17)

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by Nicholas Stevens

Galbraith@PlymouthLet’s clarify this right away: Paul Galbraith, the Scottish guitarist, plays a custom-built, 8-stringed instrument that sets him apart in the classical guitar world. Called the “Brahms guitar” after the first piece Galbraith transcribed for it — that composer’s Variations on an Original Theme for piano — it allows the player to tackle a wide range of transcribed repertoire thanks to its two extra strings: a bass A, and a high A. He plays the instrument upright, cello-style, its end pin inserted into a resonating box. [Read more…]

Syndicate for the New Arts at Historic St. John’s (Mar. 16)

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by David Kulma

default_tashi_damin_170914_milwaukeThis past Friday evening, the Parish Hall at Ohio City’s Historic St. John’s Episcopal Church buzzed with egalitarian noise brimming with vigorous life during the three-set free-improvisation concert presented by the Syndicate for the New Arts and New Ghosts. The first half hour was filled with the sweeping sounds of electronic musician Judy Jackson. [Read more…]

Cleveland Orchestra with Alan Gilbert and Alisa Weilerstein (March 15)

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by Daniel Hathaway

Dvořák’s Eighth Symphony The Cleveland Orchestra Alan Gilbert, conductor Alisa Weilerstein, cello DVOŘÁK - The Watersprite BARBER - Cello Concerto DVOŘÁK - Symphony No. 8 Photo by Roger Mastroianni

A tone poem and a symphony by Antonín Dvořák framed Samuel Barber’s dauntingly virtuosic Cello Concerto at Severance Hall on Thursday evening, March 15, when Alan Gilbert and Alisa Weilerstein returned for guest appearances with The Cleveland Orchestra. Weilerstein’s performance of the rarely-heard concerto was as breathtaking for its virtuosity as her encore of a Bach sarabande was for its simple poignancy. [Read more…]

BW’s The Secret Marriage: questions for Covent Garden guest director Noa Naamat

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by Daniel Hathaway

Noa NaamatBaldwin Wallace Conservatory will present four performances of Domenico Cimarosa’s late-18th-century opera, Il matrimonio segreto (“The Secret Marriage”) this week at the John Patrick Theater on the school’s campus in Berea. The performances, from Thursday, March 22 through Saturday, March 24 at 7:30 pm and Sunday, March 25 at 2:00 pm, will be guest directed by Noa Naamat of London’s Royal Opera at Covent Garden. Tiffany Chang will conduct the BW Symphony Orchestra.

Although Cimarosa wrote over 80 operas, Il matrimonio is the only title to have won a permanent place in the canon, where it is favorably compared to the comic operas of Mozart. It became a hit at its first performance in Vienna in 1792, when Emperor Leopold II commanded the entire piece to be encored — after thoughtfully treating the performers to supper.

A native of Israel, Noa Naamat joined the Jette Parker Young Artists Programme at Covent Garden in the fall of 2017 after studying in Florence and Scotland and directing theater and opera productions in Israel, Germany, Italy, Austria, the UK, and Ireland. [Read more…]

Pianist Sandra Shapiro: “In My Father’s Footsteps — a daughter’s search for answers”

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by Mike Telin

ShapiroLike many first-generation Americans whose families had been forced to leave their homes because of Nazi atrocities during World War II, pianist Sandra Shapiro grew up not fully understanding the circumstances that led to her father’s arrival in the United States.

“I grew up in Milwaukee but moved away to study at Juilliard when I was fourteen,” Shapiro said during a telephone conversation, “so my relationship with him did not go beyond that until the very end when he was dying, and then it was too late to ask questions. When you’re fourteen you don’t think about your parents’ lives — they’re just your mother and father. Sadly, I was not interested, and he didn’t talk about his past. There was a sense of taboo to even talk about those years.”

Shapiro’s quest to discover her father’s past has led to the creation of her four-concert project, Musical Roots: an exploration of cultural heritage and influences. The first installment, “In My Father’s Footsteps — a daughter’s search for answers,” will be presented on Wednesday, March 21 at 8:00 pm at the Cleveland Institute of Music’s Mixon Hall. Shapiro’s musical documentary will include works by Liadov, Chopin, Rachmaninoff, and Schubert. The concert is free, but seating passes are required. Call 216.795.3211.

[Read more…]

Cleveland Orchestra: a debut both for Jory Vinikour and Francis Poulenc

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by Daniel Hathaway

Vinikour, JoryWhen American harpsichordist Jory Vinikour plays Francis Poulenc’s Concert champêtre with guest conductor Stéphane Denève and The Cleveland Orchestra this weekend, the occasion will mark both Vinikour’s first appearance with the Orchestra and the Orchestra’s first performance of the Poulenc concerto, which has been around since 1928. Performances take place on Thursday, March 22 at 7:30 pm, Saturday, March 24 at 8:00 pm, and Sunday, March 25 at 2:00 pm.

“It was one of Poulenc’s favorites, and a very special work,” Vinikour said in a telephone conversation from his home in Chicago. “He wrote it with his dear friend Wanda Landowska in mind, the giant of the Baroque and harpsichord revival in the first decades of the 20th century. I think there is a bit of portrait painting of her in the Concert champêtre — the coy little references to Scarlatti and Handel, as well as some sideways glances toward Stravinsky.”

Born in Poland, Landowska emigrated to Paris around the turn of the 20th century and soon became famous for her efforts to repopularize the plucked-string keyboard instrument that had reigned supreme in Baroque music. [Read more…]

Cleveland Chamber Music Society: Two Nights, Six Trios — a conversation with Wu Han and David Finckel

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by Mike Telin

WuHan-Setzer-Finckel“Beethoven’s six piano trios are important touch points in his development as a composer,” pianist Wu Han said during a telephone conversation. “Hearing all of them is the equivalent of hearing all of the string quartets — not only is it a rich and unusual experience, but you become a different listener.”

Thanks to the Cleveland Chamber Music Society, audiences will have the opportunity to hear all six trios when Wu Han, violinist Philip Setzer, and cellist David Finckel perform them on two adjacent nights at Fairmount Temple.

On Monday, March 26 at 7:30 pm, the program includes Op. 1, Nos. 1 and 3, and Op. 70, No. 1 (“Ghost”). The following evening — same time — you can hear Op. 1, No. 2, Op. 70, No. 2, and Op. 97 (“Archduke”). Tickets are available online.

The pianist said that hearing the three trios that make up Opus 1 will help listeners understand Beethoven in a deeper way. “He made his debut in Vienna with them. They were played in one evening and Haydn was there. Each of the three are completely different, but it was the most innovative piano trio writing of that time. He pushed the art form forward. You gain a sense of the evolution of the art form in Opus 70, and of course Opus 97 set the stage for the trios of Brahms, Mendelssohn, and Dvořák.”

[Read more…]

Hub New Music to premiere Andrew Rindfleisch’s Fun House at CSU and LCCC

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by Jarrett Hoffman

hub3Next week, Boston-based quartet Hub New Music will make their Cleveland debut in two free concerts, highlighted by the premiere of Fun House by Andrew Rindfleisch, director of the composition department at Cleveland State.

Flutist Michael Avitabile, clarinetist David Dziardziel, violinist Zenas Hsu, and cellist Jesse Christesen can be heard at CSU’s Drinko Recital Hall on Monday, March 26 at 8:00 pm, after a short residence working with the university’s composition department. Then they’ll head to Cirigliano Studio Theatre on Wednesday, March 28 at 7:30 pm to perform on LCCC’s Signature Series.

Opposite Fun House on the program is Soul House (2017), a commission from composer Robert Honstein, but there’s no connection between the two Houses. “Our program sounds like something off of HGTV,” Avitabile joked. “It’s funny that the pieces turned out that way,” he said in a recent conversation from Jamaica Plain in Boston — “I’m at the very end of the Orange Line.”

[Read more…]

Tuesday Musical to present Orpheus Chamber Orchestra: a conversation with violinist Augustin Hadelich

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by Mike Telin

Hadelich by Suxiao YangA highlight of last summer’s Cleveland Orchestra concerts at Blossom Music Center was Augustin Hadelich’s performance of Dvořák’s Violin Concerto. On Wednesday, March 28 at 7:30 pm at E.J. Thomas Hall, the 2018 Musical America Instrumentalist of the Year will return to the area as soloist with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra.

Presented by Tuesday Musical, the program will include Irving Fine’s Serious Song (lament for string orchestra), Schubert’s Rondo in A for violin and strings, Haydn’s Violin Concerto in C, and Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for Strings. A pre-concert talk by Akron Symphony bassoonist Coltan Foster begins at 6:30 pm. Tickets are available online.

“The Haydn Concerto has been one of my favorite classical pieces to play for a long time — I’m in love with it,” the 33-year-old said by telephone from Vancouver, where he was performing Bernstein’s Serenade with Bramwell Tovey and the Vancouver Symphony. [Read more…]

Opera Western Reserve presents Porgy and Bess at Stambaugh (March 9)

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by Robert Rollin

PorgyandBess1Last Friday evening, March 9, Opera Western Reserve joined The Warren Philharmonic for an outstanding performance of George & Ira Gershwin’s iconic Porgy and Bess at Stambaugh Auditorium. Karen Clark Green and David Vosburgh, collaborating as stage directors, successfully propelled the action along. [Read more…]

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