by Noah Auby
If their first tale of July 2022 was any indication, ENCORE Chamber Music Institute’s “Storytelling” Music & Ideas Festival is true to its name. On July 1, ENCORE premiered and livestreamed “Tales of Wünderkinds: The Hunt & Chase” — a formidable continuation of this year’s primarily narrative-driven Music & Ideas Festival. Interestingly, Jorg Widmann’s Hunt would be the only piece from the evening’s program to share a word with this title. I watched the livestream.
Performed by a string quartet with periodic shouting from violinist (and ENCORE artistic director) Jinjoo Cho, the players flawlessly executed the intended discordant quality of the piece. [Read more…]
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The closing line in the description of Yolanda Kondonassis’ latest CD FIVE MINUTES for Earth is “What is at stake…is only everything we have.” With a line like that, one can reflect on the consequences of their actions, which are often irreversible when applied to such imperative matters like climate change and Earth conservation. A labor-of-love project that commissioned fifteen composers to write for solo harp, this album — released by Azica Records on April 1 — cherishes, urges to protect, and aims to preserve the planet.
Take a look at pianist Aaron Diehl’s upcoming concerts and you’ll see a little bit of everything. There’s “Jazz in July” at New York’s 92nd Street Y, “Bach to Bebop” with his Trio in Irvine, CA, and Gershwin’s Concerto in F with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra — all in the span of a few months. Much of Diehl’s work lies at the intersection of jazz and classical, and so does Mary Lou Williams’ Zodiac Suite, which he’ll be performing this weekend with The Cleveland Orchestra.
What is PianoDays @CLE? “It’s a festival that celebrates the piano in all of its forms,” Piano Cleveland president Yaron Kohlberg said during a recent Zoom conversation. “We want piano lovers from around the city and the region to be able to enjoy not only traditional classical performances but also performances that offer something for everybody.”
Over the years, performances by pianist Spencer Myer with the Miami String Quartet at the Kent Blossom Music Festival have happened so regularly that you could almost set your watch to them. But 2020 derailed that, and in 2021 schedules didn’t line up to make it happen either.