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No Exit launches new season online October 2

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by Mike Telin

The show must go on! Although the 19th-century phrase was originally associated with circuses, its spirit lives on to this day as performing arts groups across Northeast Ohio and around the world figure out how to bring their shows to the public.

On Friday, October 2 at 7:00 pm, the area’s premier new music ensemble, No Exit, will present the debut performance of their 12th season online. The program will feature William Grant Still’s mystical Seven Traceries (solo piano), Villa-Lobos’ Deux Chôros (violin and piano), Harald Genzmar’s Sonata (solo flute), Adam Roberts’ Bell Threads (solo viola), and the world premiere of Downfall by No Exit percussionist Luke Rinderknecht. Listeners can access the free, pre-recorded concert and download the concert program by visiting the ensemble’s website or Facebook page.

“COVID-19 has forced us all to rethink how we live, work, and go about our lives,” No Exit artistic director Tim Beyer said during a recent telephone conversation. “At the moment, the members don’t feel comfortable playing together as a group, and since I am one to err on the side of safety, that’s where the idea for solo pieces came from.”  

Although a program of mostly solo works is a little out of the ordinary, Beyer sees it as the perfect opportunity to showcase each of the ensemble’s musicians. “About mid-summer we commissioned some talented composers to write solo works for all of the members of the group. So as we move forward, we’ll have a healthy supply of new music to present.”

[Read more…]

“Gather Around the Music” at Riverside Park with ENCORE

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by Mike Telin 

With the local weather forecast predicting a sunny 78 degrees with zero percent chance of rain on Friday, September 25, why not pack a picnic, put your lawn chairs and blankets in the car, and head to Riverside Park in Chagrin Falls for a 6:00 pm family-friendly concert presented by ENCORE Chamber Music.

The program, “Gather Around the Music,” will feature classical favorites and American popular music performed by artistic director and violinist Jinjoo Cho, faculty violist Eric Wong, and a pair of ENCORE alums: violinist Kiarra Saito-Beckman and cellist Maya Enstad.

ENCORE staff will enforce social distancing via designated sitting areas on the park lawn. Audience members are asked to bring their masks and be considerate of their fellow listeners’ personal space.

“We think of this concert as a contribution to the community that has embraced us over the years,” Jinjoo Cho said during a recent telephone conversation. “We wanted to give something back that would bring people together in a safe way, and Riverside Park is the perfect venue to do that. We’ll perform in the small courtyard, and people will be able to sit in the Park’s large open area — social distancing tapes will mark the available spots.”

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Harpist Parker Ramsay releases Debut CD: Bach’s Goldberg Variations 

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by Mike Telin

“To transcribe the music of Bach is to undertake the spirit of Bach,” harpist Parker Ramsay said during a Zoom interview. “He would often transcribe his own music for other instruments, as well as music of other composers.”

On Friday, September 18, Ramsay’s debut recording, Bach: Goldberg Variations, will be released on the King’s College Recordings label. The album will be available on CD and to stream and download via all major digital music services. Recorded in King’s College Chapel in Cambridge, England, the album includes liner notes by Pulitzer Prize-winning music critic Tim Page and leading Bach scholar Burkhard Schwalbach.

Ramsay noted that people have been transcribing Bach’s music for many years for a variety of instruments including the Moog synthesizer. “I love Wendy Carlos’ Switched-on Bach,” he said. “It’s just incredible.” In his recent New York Times essay, Ramsay muses on Bach, transcriptions, and instrumentation.

When asked why he chose such an iconic work for his debut recording, Ramsay said that he wanted to present the harp as an instrument that is not just capable of playing new music or idiomatic music, but one that is worthy of the great works in the classical canon. “I also wanted to highlight all the different types of education that I have had.” [Read more…]

CD Review—
Cloud-Polyphonies
Oberlin Percussion Group 

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by Mike Telin

With the vast number of instruments at its disposal — guaranteeing a nearly limitless sound palette — the percussion ensemble might be the most musically versatile of all chamber music groups. Although percussion music has existed since the beginning of time, it was the premiere of Edgar Varèse’s Ionisation in 1933 that thrust the percussion ensemble into contemporary classical music. [Read more…]

CD Review:
Rands at Oberlin

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by Mike Telin

To say that the music of Bernard Rands is tinged with Ravel and Debussy doesn’t tell the whole story. In reality, his music extends beyond that into a post-modern, impressionistic world. On the recently-released CD, Rands at Oberlin, the composer’s engaging musical voice is brought to life in stellar performances by Robert Walters of the Concerto for English Horn and Orchestra (2015) and by tenor Magnus Staveland of the Pulitzer prize-winning Canti del Sole (1983). [Read more…]

M.U.S.i.C. – Stars in the Classics to host backyard garden concert Aug. 15

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by Mike Telin

Over the past few weeks, area musicians and performing arts organizations have presented concerts on front porches, parking lots, and even at a baseball field. Another obvious place would be a spacious backyard — should you be lucky enough to have one.

When everything shut down, M.U.S.i.C. – Stars in the Classics began posting archival videos and later employing their musicians to create new ones. “We’re still doing that,” M.U.S.i.C’s Artistic Director Jodi Kanter said by telephone. “Then one of our musicians asked, ‘Why can’t we create an outdoor performance where everyone can be socially distanced?’” As luck would have it, Kanter happens to have a large backyard.

On Saturday, August 15, M.U.S.i.C. invites you to spend “A Musical Summer Evening in the Garden.” The outdoor event will be held at the artistic director’s house in Orange Village, where audiences can enjoy a live program while maintaining social distancing. Seating will begin at 6:30 pm and the concert starts at 7:00 pm. The audience will be limited to 40 people. Click here for tickets and location information. The rain date is Sunday, August 16 at 7:00 pm.

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Sun Valley Music Festival: Conversations with Marc Damoulakis and Si-Yan Darren Li 

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by Mike Telin

With the absence of Northeast Ohio’s annual feast of live summertime classical music offerings, I’m thankful that we live in a time when technology can help fill the void in the artistic soul. That technology can also take you to far-off festivals that you’ve always wished you could attend, but never have had the opportunity.

From Monday, July 27, to Wednesday, August 19, you can attend the 36th annual Sun Valley Music Festival Summer Season for free from the comfort of your own home, or backyard. The free, one-time-only webcasts were developed by Festival Music Director Alasdair Neale in collaboration with Creative Director James Darrah, who served as stage director for The Cleveland Orchestra’s 2015 production of Richard Strauss’ Daphne.

The performances, recorded in Chicago, Cleveland, Denver, Houston, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, New York, Rochester, San Francisco, St. Louis, and Toronto, feature single-location, socially distanced performances and multi-location, video-synced performances which will also include commentary by Alasdair Neale and conversations with guest artists and Orchestra musicians. The free, one-time-only concerts will be broadcast at 8:30 pm Eastern time on the Idaho-based Festival’s website. [Read more…]

CD Review
Kendra Colton: Late Air —  
Music by John Harbison

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by Mike Telin

Composer John Harbison has done it all. His numerous awards include a MacArthur Fellowship and a Pulitzer Prize. He has written works for many of America’s leading musical organizations and has served as composer in residence with the Pittsburgh Symphony and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. His catalogue includes three operas, seven symphonies, twelve concerti, a ballet, six string quartets, numerous chamber works, and a large body of sacred music. On her latest CD, Late Air — Music by John Harbison, soprano and Oberlin voice professor Kendra Colton reminds us that the celebrated composer has a special talent for writing art songs — she also proves herself to be a sensitive interpreter of them. [Read more…]

Cleveland Orchestra Musicians’ “Summer Salute to Healthcare Workers”

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by Mike Telin

Never has it been more important to thank a healthcare worker than the present. And for the past four-plus months, people have expressed their gratitude to workers on the frontline of the Coronavirus Pandemic in a multitude of ways, from banging on pots to flyovers by the U.S. Navy Blue Angels.

For the past six weeks, more than 40 members of The Cleveland Orchestra have shown their appreciation with a “Summer Salute to Healthcare Workers.” The idea for the concerts came from Lynne Ramsey, the Orchestra’s first assistant principal viola.

“During the early part of the shutdown, Lynne saw military planes doing flybys over hospitals as a salute to healthcare workers,” violinist Isabel Trautwein said during a telephone conversation. “So she thought, what if musicians would do ‘playbys’?” [Read more…]

Miró Quartet to perform Beethoven Cycle for Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival

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by Mike Telin

In case anyone has forgotten, 2020 is the 250th anniversary of the birth of Ludwig van Beethoven. And while COVID-19 has interrupted most of the performances that were planned to honor the composer, at least one celebration will go on. But not without some redesigns.

Beginning on Thursday, July 16 and continuing through August 8, the Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival will present Beethoven’s complete string quartet cycle as performed by the Miró Quartet. The concerts will be streamed live in real time from a private venue in the Quartet’s base in Austin, Texas. For a complete schedule and to purchase tickets, click here.

Like most musicians and ensembles, the Miró — Daniel Ching and William Fedkenheuer (violins), John Largess (viola), and Joshua Gindele (cello) — began their unplanned hiatus in mid-March. Soon after, the Quartet began thinking about what the future held. 

[Read more…]

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