by Daniel Hathaway
Having survived Tuesday’s concerto rounds, the six remaining violinists in the Cooper International Competition returned to their solo repertoire, playing half-hour long recitals in Oberlin’s Warner Concert Hall on Wednesday evening, July 24. The lucky three who prevailed would move on to play concertos with The Cleveland Orchestra under the baton of Gemma New on Friday evening at Severance Hall. [Read more…]
by Rory O’Donoghue
New research published in The New York Times last week touts the benefits of going barefoot, based on case studies in Kenya, but the scientists could have simply attended a Conrad Tao performance instead, and reached the same conclusion. The pianist bounded onstage with unshod feet at Blossom on July 13 to play Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3 with The Cleveland Orchestra conducted by Jahja Ling — and it was miraculous. [Read more…]
by Mike Telin
The 2019 Thomas and Evon Cooper International Competition got underway on Saturday afternoon, July 20, when 24 young violinists representing seven U.S. States and eight countries played their Semifinal Rounds in Warner Concert Hall at the Oberlin Conservatory. On Monday evening the field was narrowed to ten. On Tuesday, July 23, those competitors played full concertos, and each of the musicians brought solid technique and musical flair to their performances. [Read more…]
by Rory O’Donoghue
“We don’t discuss much when we’re playing in orchestra,” Cleveland Orchestra principal oboe Frank Rosenwein said in an interview this week. “It’s funny, there’s opportunity to point something out if anything is amiss — you can say, ‘Oh, can we go over this or that’ — but essentially, it’s a silent collaboration. In chamber music, however, we have the luxury of getting together and discussing things, and teasing out people’s individual personalities and musical concepts.”
Rosenwein will showcase the fruits of that process this week as part of the Kent Blossom Music Festival Faculty Concert Series. He’ll join his fellow Cleveland Orchestra members, assistant principal bassoon Barrick Stees and principal clarinet Afendi Yusuf, for an evening of woodwind repertoire this Wednesday, July 24 at 7:30 pm in Kent State University’s Ludwig Recital Hall.
The evening will begin with Shapes for Bassoon and Piano, a new work by assistant principal oboe Jeffrey Rathbun. [Read more…]
by Daniel Hathaway
As Scandinavians, Finnish conductor Klaus Mäkelä and Swedish violinist Daniel Lozakovich should be well-accustomed to the intentional high temperatures and humidity of saunas, though they probably don’t expect to encounter those while plying their craft on the concert stage. On Saturday, July 20, they rose above miserable weather conditions to make impressive joint debuts with The Cleveland Orchestra at Blossom. [Read more…]
by Nicholas Stevens
Much of the magic of summer festivals remains forever hidden from the outside world. The masterclass that permanently rewires a student’s artistic circuitry, the rehearsal that converts a passing interest into a lifelong specialty, the practice-room collaboration that sows the seeds of a friendship or ensemble: these all elude public view. However, communities do have one point of access: concerts. If the recent Faculty Concert on the 2019 Credo Festival is any indication, then this Oberlin institution has maintained a steady rhythm over its twenty years in operation. [Read more…]
by Nicholas Stevens
Amid the recent heat wave, the Kent Blossom Music Festival offered refuge with events in cool, tranquil spaces. Rarities, favorites, and unexpected delights packed one concert last week, a showcase for members of The Cleveland Orchestra who also serve as Festival Faculty. The music on Wednesday, July 17 filled Kent State University’s Ludwig Recital Hall without overwhelming it. This may seem unexceptional for a space purpose-built for duos, quartets, and the like, but the program included both whisper-soft moments for cello and a spirited duet for piccolos — noted for their carrying power, but perfectly balanced in this room. [Read more…]
by Mike Telin
With the passing of Aretha Franklin on August 16, 2018, the world lost a musical treasure. One that day, Jon Pareles, chief popular music critic at The New York Times wrote in an obituary: “Aretha Franklin, universally acclaimed as the ‘Queen of Soul’ and one of America’s greatest singers in any style, died on Thursday at her home in Detroit. She was 76.” Pareles also noted that “in a musical career of more than five decades, Aretha Franklin had more than 100 singles on the Billboard charts. But more important, she freed other singers to let their voices fly.”
“That moniker — Queen of Soul — she was literally a Queen,” vocalist Capathia Jenkins said during a telephone interview. “Anyone who has been singing and living on the planet for any length of time has drawn from and perhaps tried to emulate her. She was such an influence on so many.”
Franklin’s musical legacy will be celebrated on Sunday, July 28 at 7:00 pm at Blossom Music Center, when Jenkins and vocalist Ryan Shaw join The Cleveland Orchestra and the Blossom Festival Chorus, under the direction of Lucas Waldin to present Aretha Franklin: Queen of Soul. Tickets are available online. [Read more…]
by Timothy Robson
There were unexpected changes in July 19th’s Summers@Severance concert due to the illness of previously announced conductor Pablo Heras-Casado and the substitution of Swiss conductor Thierry Fischer, who is currently music director of the Utah Symphony. This necessitated a change in program as well: Debussy’s La Mer was played instead of the same composer’s Iberia. [Read more…]
by Mike Telin
When French cellist Gautier Capuçon appeared with The Cleveland Orchestra in April of 2015, he thrilled audiences with his performances of Saint-Saëns’ Concerto No. 1. In his review for this publication Daniel Hathaway wrote that the cellist “embraced the concerto with passion, flair and freedom… [and] alternated between visceral power and alluring poetry.”
On Saturday, July 27 at 8:00 pm at Blossom Music Center, Gautier Capuçon will once again join The Cleveland Orchestra in a performance of the same Concerto. Under the direction of Gemma New (replacing Bramwell Tovey), the program will also include Sibelius’ Finlandia as well as Elgar’s Enigma Variations in a side-by-side with Kent Blossom Music Festival Chamber Orchestra. That ensemble will present a pre-concert program at 7:00 pm led by Vinay Parameswaren, which features Mendelssohn’s Hebrides Overture and Ravel’s Suite from Mother Goose. Tickets are available online. [Read more…]