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Cleveland Chamber Music Society: a chat with CMS pianist Alessio Bax

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by Mike Telin

Alessio-Bax-Lisa-Marie-MazzuccoWhether it’s a sports team or a chamber music ensemble, it’s all about assembling the perfect combination of people who together can achieve the highest performance standards. “This is a dream team,” pianist Alessio Bax said of his Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center colleagues during a recent telephone conversation. “I’ve worked with each of them separately on many occasions, but to have them all together for these concerts is amazing. They are all fantastic musicians, great people, and we all like each other, so it’s going to be a lot of fun.”

On Tuesday, January 17 at 7:30 pm at Plymouth Church, Bax will be joined by violinist  Ani Kavafian, violist Yura Lee, and cellist Paul Watkins for a Cleveland Chamber Music Society concert that will feature piano quartets by Brahms and Fauré. [Read more…]

Zeitgeist to join No Exit for three Cleveland concerts

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by Mike Telin

zeitgeist“Groups like ours appeal to the most adventurous of listeners,” Zeitgeist percussionist Heather Barringer said during a recent Skype conversation. “They’re people who enjoy listening to something that hasn’t been listened to before.”

Beginning on Friday, January 13 at 7:30 pm at Happy Dog at the Euclid Tavern, the St. Paul, Minnesota-based new music ensemble will join forces with Cleveland’s own No Exit for three free concerts featuring experimental music that explores the possibilities of multimedia, improvisation, and electroacoustics.  Performances continue through Sunday. See below for a complete list of programs, times, and locations.

“These concerts are going to be really amazing, and each program is a little different,” No Exit artistic director Timothy Beyer wrote in an email. “These Cleveland concerts are the second leg of our multi-city collaboration. The first part of this season’s ensemble exchange program took place in St. Paul in the fall, and now Zeitgeist will be in Cleveland to return the favor.” The collaboration grew out of the two ensembles’ shared goal to bring greater national visibility to composers and performing artists who make their homes in the Midwest. [Read more…]

Cleveland Orchestra: a conversation with piano soloist Kirill Gerstein

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by Mike Telin

gerstein-kirillThis week the Cleveland Orchestra will kick off 2017 with what is arguably one of the most varied and interesting programs of the season. On Thursday, January 5 at 7:30 pm conductor James Gaffigan and pianist Kirill Gerstein return to Severance Hall for a performance that will feature Arnold Schoenberg’s Piano Concerto and the original, jazz band version George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. The program will also include Bernard Herrmann’s Suite from Psycho and Béla Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra. Performances continue through Saturday. Check our concert listings page for additional information.

“I think this is a fantastic program. It’s one of my favorite combinations of pieces,” Kirill Gerstein said during a recent telephone conversation, noting that although he had entertained the idea of pairing the two piano concertos for some time, James Gaffigan was the first conductor to pick up on the idea. “He liked it, and we’ve performed it a couple of times now,” the pianist said. “It is logical to put the two together. I think there are many who love Rhapsody in Blue but may not have explored the Schoenberg Piano Concerto. So they will get a chance to hear both and find out that the Schoenberg is a much more user-friendly piece then perhaps they imagine.” [Read more…]

ChamberFest Cleveland: pianist Roman Rabinovich in Haydn sonatas at Dunham Tavern Museum (Dec. 16)

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by Mike Telin

rabinovichOver the course of three concerts, the outstanding pianist Roman Rabinovich performed fifteen of Haydn’s keyboard sonatas as part of ChamberFest Cleveland’s Winter Mini Festival. I heard the final recital at Dunham Tavern Museum on Friday, December 16. [Read more…]

CMA: Violinist Francesco D’Orazio at Transformer Station (Dec. 9)

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by Mike Telin

dorazioAlthough Luciano Berio composed his Sequenza VIII for Carlo Chiarappa, it was the violinist’s student, Francesco D’Orazio, whose performance of the piece from memory ultimately left a lasting impression on the composer. On Friday, December 9 at Transformer Station, D’Orazio gave a stunning performance of that work and other contemporary Italian compositions for solo violin. [Read more…]

Cleveland POPS New Year’s Eve: meet vocalist Melinda Doolittle

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by Mike Telin

doolittle-melinda“Some of my favorite shows are singing with pops orchestras,” vocalist and American Idol winner Melinda Doolittle said during a recent telephone conversation. “It’s such an exhilarating feeling. There’s nothing like having a massive orchestra behind you playing the songs you love. And this is my very first New Year’s Eve symphony show, so I’m even more excited.”

On Saturday, December 31st at Severance Hall, Carl Topilow and the Cleveland POPS Orchestra will ring in 2017 with their 21st Annual New Year’s Eve Celebration. The festivities begin at 9:00 pm with a two-hour concert featuring Melinda Doolittle and the Orchestra  performing Broadway songs, contemporary pops and jazz hits, and a tribute to some of the great American soul singers — Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight, Tina Turner, Gloria Gaynor, and Marvin Gaye. [Read more…]

Cleveland International Piano Competition announces its 2017 Concert Series

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by Mike Telin

Westhuizen“It’s all about keeping the fun going,” executive director Pierre van der Westhuizen said in a recent telephone conversation about the Cleveland International Piano Competition’s 2017 concert series — one of several piano-centric activities the organization is planning between now and the next competition in 2020.

Now that CIPC is on a four-year cycle, the Concert Series will take place every other year (in 2017 and 2019), with a Young Artists Competition in between (2018).

The 2017 Concert Series will feature the Westhuizen Duo (Pierre and Sofié van der Westhuizen) on February 10 at the Shaker Heights Country Club, Marc-André Hamelin on March 21 in Gartner Auditorium at the Cleveland Museum of Art, and 2016 CIPC Gold Medalist Nikita Mndoyants on April 30 at the Maltz Performing Arts Center. [Read more…]

CD Review Infusion: Jason Vieaux & Julien Labro

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by Mike Telin

vieaux-labro-cdIn June of 2014, the dynamic duo of Jason Vieaux (guitar) and Julien Labro (bandoneón, accordion, and accordina) gave a spectacular closing concert of that year’s Cleveland International Classical Guitar Festival. For those of us who were lucky enough to be in attendance, we can now relive that evening via Vieaux’s and Labro’s latest studio recording, Infusion, released on Azica Records on October 28, 2016. If you were not there, buy this album ASAP. It’s a must-have. [Read more…]

CD Review
Lina Bahn — Mean Fiddle Summer: Modern American Violin Works

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by Mike Telin

bahn-cdFor her latest recording, Mean Fiddle Summer: Modern American Violin Works, Lina Bahn has tapped the repertoire of composers she has admired and championed during her impressive, yet still young career. With a playing time of one hour and fifteen minutes, the CD is a fascinating listen as Bahn performs pieces representing a variety of styles ranging from fiddling to works inspired by Ysaÿe and Bartók. From start to finish, the violinist demonstrates her adroit technical facility, kaleidoscope of colors, and consummate musical taste. [Read more…]

CD Review
Jake Swanson: Invisible Cities, American Music for Soprano Saxophone

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by Mike Telin

invisiblecitiescdSaxophonist Jacob Swanson has become a familiar face on the Cleveland music scene. Audiences have come to know his artistry through outstanding performances with his longtime collaborator Sarah Marchitelli (Jake & Sarah) on Trinity Cathedral’s Brownbag Concert series. In recent years, the Duo has also appeared on Lorain County Community College’s Signature Series and at the Bop Stop as members of the Decho Ensemble. On his recently released CD — Invisible Cities, American Music for Soprano Saxophone — Swanson reveals himself as a soloist of impeccable taste. [Read more…]

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