by Mike Telin
When it comes to groups whose music combines a myriad of musical styles ranging from classical to pop, jazz to bluegrass, and everything in between, there’s Time for Three, and there’s everybody else. On Wednesday, July 13 Tf3 returned to Northeast Ohio for a concert at Cartwright Hall on the campus of Kent State University, violinists Nikki Chooi and Nicholas (Nick) Kendall and bassist Ranaan Meyer once again proving that nobody does it better than they do. [Read more…]
by Mike Telin
Musical sparks will fly on Wednesday, July 13 at 7:30 pm when Time for Three, this year’s Kent/Blossom Kulas Guest Artists, will present a free concert at Cartwright Hall on the campus of Kent State University. (Tickets are required and can be reserved by calling 330.672.2787)
In addition to Wednesday’s performance, the band members — violinists Nikki Chooi and Nicholas (Nick) Kendall and bassist Ranaan Meyer — will coach student chamber music ensembles, conduct master classes and workshops, and participate in a Q&A session. “Wherever we go, organizations ask us to talk about the entrepreneurial side of the group,” Ranaan Meyer said during a recent telephone conversation. [Read more…]
by Mike Telin
Since its inauguration in 2010, the Thomas and Evon Cooper International Competition has established an impressive track record for identifying young pianists with potential. That year 14 year-old American pianist George Li took home the top prize. Since then, Li has quickly established himself as a young pianist to watch on the international concert scene. In 2015, Li won 2nd prize at the XV International Tchaikovsky Competition.
In 2012, 16-year-old Italian Leonardo Colafelice won the top honors, and he too quickly cultivated an impressive career. In 2014 the first prize was awarded to 15 year-old Canadian Tony Yike Yang (left, with Jahja Ling and The Cleveland Orchestra), who at the age of 16 won the fifth prize at the International Chopin Piano Competition, making him the youngest prizewinner in the history of that competition. [Read more…]
by Mike Telin
At 5:00 pm on Sunday, July 17, cellist Steuart Pincombe will bring his Music in Familiar Spaces series back to Northeast Ohio for a free performance at Oberlin’s Slow Train Café in cooperation with Credo Chamber Music. The concert, titled Adaptation through form and function, will feature music by Domenico Gabrielli, J.S. Bach, Jean-Louis Duport, and Carlo Alfredo Piatti for cello without endpin using baroque, transitional, and modern bows. [Read more…]
by Mike Telin
“This summer is going to be a full-immersion experience for our audiences,” Pierre van der Westhuizen (left), President and CEO of the Cleveland International Piano Competition, exclaimed during a recent telephone conversation. “They can attend something in the morning, afternoon, and evening, with lunch and dinner in between.”
When the 2016 Cleveland International Piano Competition and Festival gets underway on July 24 at the Cleveland Museum of Art, patrons will discover that CIPC is a true destination event. [Read more…]
by Mike Telin
If you’re looking for something to do with this weekend, why not head to the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo? On Sunday, July 10 beginning at 2:00 pm, a fun-filled afternoon will benefit the Cleveland Classical Guitar Society’s education programs, which provide guitar lessons to 150 young people in Cleveland and Akron. Tickets include admission to the Zoo, a 2:00 pm Meet and Greet with hors d’oeuvres. Bosnian guitarist Denis Azabagić will perform at 3:00 pm, and the Brazilian sounds of Moises Borges will begin at 4:00 pm. Tickets can be reserved online.
Prior to his solo appearance on the Society’s International Series in October of 2011, we spoke with Azabagić about his career and his thoughts on music education. The following is an excerpt from that conversation. [Read more…]
by Mike Telin
The seventh in a series of articles highlighting ChamberFest artists
Composers can be inspired by many things. A visit to a special place, an event, or listening to a piece of music can serve as the impetus to sit down and start writing. Composer and violist Kurt Rohde said that he found inspiration while preparing for a performance of Beethoven’s Op. 127 string quartet with the Left Coast Chamber Ensemble.
“Op. 127 happens to be my favorite Beethoven Quartet,” the Rome and Berlin prize-winner said during a telephone conversation. “I was inspired by the first movement because musically it does everything wrong in the most perfect way, and the result is this sublime, even extra-musical experience.”
On Friday, July 1 at 8:00 pm in Reinberger Chamber Music Hall at Severance Hall, ChamberFest Cleveland will present Kurt Rohde’s …maestoso…misterioso for amplified violin, viola and assorted items. [Read more…]
by Mike Telin
When is the tempo of a waltz too slow? For composer Christopher Auerbach-Brown the answer may well be never, as was evident during the first full performance of his 2014 work titled The Slow Waltzes at the Bop Stop on Sunday, June 12. [Read more…]
by Mike Telin
Following Colin Davin’s May 2013 performance at the Cleveland International Classical Guitar Festival, ClevelandClassical.com wrote: “Davin is in his twenties, and it is rare to have such a young guitarist achieve the level of sophistication and refinement that was on display throughout his distinguished program.” [Read more…]
by Mike Telin
There are competitions for everything, so why not one for snare drummers? Anyone who might have scoffed at the notion need only to have attended the final rounds of the Modern Snare Drum Competition on Saturday afternoon, May 28 in Gartner Auditorium at the Cleveland Museum of Art. The eight finalists competing in two divisions all brought superb artistry to their performances of a required work as well as a solo of their choice. [Read more…]