by Jeremy Reynolds
Paul Hindemith’s woodwind sonatas are gems, displaying the timbres of each instrument to great effect. Experiencing their individual personalities back-to-back on Convergent Winds: Music of Paul Hindemith is what makes the recently released Oberlin Music album so engaging. [Read more…]
by Mike Telin
A long-overdue collaboration between two of the area’s eminent chamber ensembles yielded divine results when Les Délices and Quire Cleveland came together on Saturday, April 28 at Lakewood Congregational Church for “Let the Heavens Rejoice!” The program showcased celebratory French Baroque psalms for 22 voices, 14 instruments, and a quartet of vocal soloists, all under the direction of guest conductor Scott Metcalfe.
by Jeremy Reynolds
In the eight years since Martina Filjak won the gold medal at the 2009 Cleveland International Piano Competition the Croatian pianist has performed around the world with distinguished orchestras and conductors. In December 2016 Filjak released a solo album titled simply Martina Filjak, Piano on the German Solo Musica label. [Read more…]
by Jeremy Reynolds
In addition to being the founder of one of the premiere piano competitions in the world — the predecessor of the Cleveland International Piano Competition — Robert Casadesus was one of the finest pianists of the 20th century, as well as a prolific composer. In December of 2016, Indonesian-born pianist and Youngstown State University piano professor Cicilia Yudha released an album of selected works for piano by Casadesus and his contemporary Henri Dutilleux. [Read more…]
by Jeremy Reynolds
Guitar and flute may be a standard instrumental duo, but guitar and saxophone? Travel Notebook convincingly combines the talents of guitarist Krystin O’Mara and saxophonist Ethan Miller on Cleveland-based Duende’s debut album, released earlier this year on the Centaur label. [Read more…]
by Jeremy Reynolds
There’s something special about a musical collaboration that has spanned many years — a level of comfort in each other’s styles coupled with a delightful joie de vivre that produces some tight, sparkling ensemble. There’s a solid hour of this nuanced joy in pianist James Howsmon and violinist Marilyn McDonald new album, Mozart Among Friends, a collection of sonatas released on May 26 on the Oberlin Music label. [Read more…]
by Jeremy Reynolds
On Sunday, April 2 at 4:00 pm in Mixon Hall at the Cleveland Institute of Music, CIM New Music Ensemble will present a concert including George Tsontakis’ Gravity Plus, selections from Midnight Rain, and Portraits by El Greco, as well as music by Morton Feldman and Stephen Stucky. Tsontakis will be featured in a New Music Symposium on Saturday, April 1 at 1:30 pm, in Studio 113 at CIM. Both events are free and open to the public.
Keith Fitch, head of composition and director of the New Music Ensemble at CIM, said that the school generally hosts three composers each year for guest residencies of a few days. The composers spend time working with the CIM Orchestra and New Music Ensemble, as well as holding masterclasses with the composition students. [Read more…]
by Jeremy Reynolds
“In China, I was the very first guitarist to enter a conservatory,” said Xuefei Yang. “Now some people call me a pioneer because, looking back, it was a very brave thing to do, even though I didn’t really realize it at the time.” On Saturday, March 25, Yang will play on the Cleveland Classical Guitar Society’s International Series at Plymouth Church UCC in Shaker Heights at 7:30 pm. Her program features music by Bach, Paganini, Changjun, and Brazilian composers including Villa-Lobos.
Yang, who has performed in Cleveland twice before, began studying classical guitar shortly after the Cultural Revolution’s ban on Western music was lifted. She is the first Chinese guitarist to have launched an international career and has performed in more than 50 countries. [Read more…]
by Mike Telin
The Jerusalem Quartet are regulars on the Cleveland Chamber Music Society series. On Tuesday, March 21 at 7:30 pm, violinists Alexander Pavlovsky and Sergei Bresler, violist Ori Kam, and cellist Kyril Zlotnikov will return for their fourth visit in eight years to perform music by Haydn, Prokofiev, and Dvořák at Plymouth Church in Shaker Heights. WCLV’s Mark Satola will give a pre-concert lecture at 6:30 pm.
Though the quartet was unavailable for a telephone interview, violist Ori Kam kindly agreed to respond to questions by email. [Read more…]
by Jeremy Reynolds
For the past three years, the Cleveland Chamber Symphony has sponsored NEOSonicFest, a new music festival that spotlights musicians and groups in Northeast Ohio. The festival begins on Friday, March 17 and runs through Sunday, March 26 (see below for concert dates and times).
“There’s always been an incredibly active new music scene in Cleveland,” said Steven Smith, music director of the Grammy Award-winning Cleveland Chamber Symphony. “Cleveland is unique in terms of the high level of its artistic institutions for a city of its size, and it’s been that way for a very long time.” New to the 2017 roster are the ensembles No Exit, the percussion and saxophone duo Patchwork, and harpist Stephan Haluska. [Read more…]