by Joshua Rosner
On June 23, as beautiful light poured through Mixon Hall’s many windows, ChamberFest Cleveland presented “Hommage,” a program showcasing composers paying tribute to J.S. Bach. The concert began with the final two movements of Bach’s Suite No. 2 in b, replacing the originally programmed Cantata BWV 209 due to the withdrawal of mezzo-soprano Lauren Eberwein. [Read more…]
by Robert Rollin
On Sunday afternoon, June 18, Encore Chamber Music presented “Summer Tango,” an outstanding collaborative concert including the Jupiter and Cavani String Quartets and violinist Jinjoo Cho. The enthusiastic audience filled the small but opulent, wood-paneled room at Gilmour Academy’s Tudor House. [Read more…]
by Joshua Rosner
The audience at Mixon Hall was abuzz with anticipation Thursday night, June 22 for the fifth installment of the sixth season of ChamberFest Cleveland. “Fin de Siècle” (end of century) was a tapestry of compositions with roots in Austria from before and after the First World War. The evening consisted of works by Brahms, Ravel, and Korngold and was designed to showcase pianist Orion Weiss, a Lyndhurst native. [Read more…]
by Samantha Spaccasi
The Music Critics Association of North America presented composer Missy Mazzoli and librettist Royce Vavrek with its inaugural Best New Opera award for Breaking the Waves. Both will be honored on July 19 at the MCANA Annual Meeting in Santa Fe. [Read more…]
by Samantha Spaccasi
The Akron Symphony Orchestra has announced its outdoor summer concert series in collaboration with the City of Akron. The Orchestra will participate in Akron’s Independence Day celebrations with a free concert at Lock 3 on July 4 at 8:00 pm, the first performance of the series. [Read more…]
by Samantha Spaccasi
The Gilmour Academy’s Tuesdays at Tudor will initiate a new concert series sponsored by the Cleveland International Piano Competition, Steinway Piano Gallery Cleveland, and ArtsConnect this summer. [Read more…]
by Samantha Spaccasi
A hot and humid Friday night did not stop the Jupiter Quartet from putting on a stellar performance at the Gilmour Academy’s Tudor House. The group performed a “Beethoven sandwich” — two pieces by Beethoven with a delicious Ligeti work in the middle — for a fantastic opening to ENCORE Chamber Music’s second season.
The intimate setting was perfect for an evening of chamber music. Gathered in a richly decorated, wood-paneled room complete with grand portraits, the audience was transported back in time, as if we were aristocrats in a Parisian salon in the mid-1800s. [Read more…]
by Samantha Spaccasi
Itamar Zorman is enamored by chamber music. “I love the repertoire! There are so many fun works to play,” he said in a phone conversation. During the past year, the Israeli violinist played all over the world, making appearances in Dublin and Serbia. His next stop? ChamberFest Cleveland, performing this week in “Fin de Siècle,” “Hommage,” and “Youth.” See our Concert Listings for more details.
When he’s not touring, the 2011 International Tchaikovsky Competition winner remains busy with the Lysander Piano Trio. The group has a similar mission to ChamberFest, something that was attractive to Zorman. “The Lysanders are also working on creative repertoire and enriching our programming, not unlike what ChamberFest does,” he said. [Read more…]
by Jarrett Hoffman
Demarre McGill has guts.
“I enjoy challenging myself — I like to feel as hungry and energetic as I did before my first job, when I was a student,” he said in a recent conversation. “I grow from being in that particular zone. And because of that, I can do something a lot of people would question — resign from a wonderful orchestra like the Dallas Symphony to play a one-year contract with the Met.” McGill served as acting principal flute of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra this season.
“I knew that after having that experience, no matter what the result at the end of the year, I would be so much better. So leaving a great job to grow tremendously is something I would do — that I did — in a heartbeat.” [Read more…]
by Mike Telin
Fresh off his first-prize win at the 2017 Montreal International Musical Competition in May, Hungarian pianist Zoltán Fejérvári will return to North America this week to make his ChamberFest Cleveland debut on Thursday, June 22. “I’m excited about being part of the Festival,” the pianist said by telephone from Hungary. “I know a lot of people who have been, and will be there, and they all have had wonderful things to say about it.”
In addition to his success in Montreal, Zoltán Fejérvári is the 2016 recipient of a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship. He has given recitals at Carnegie’s Weill Hall, the Kimmel Center, and venues across Europe. As a concerto soloist, the pianist has performed with the Budapest Festival Orchestra, the Hungarian National Orchestra, and at the Verbier Festival. An active chamber musician, he participated in the Marlboro Music Festival during the summers of 2014 through 2016. [Read more…]