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Cleveland Opera Theater to sing al fresco at the Dunham Tavern Museum

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by Mike Telin

Dunham-Tavern-FacadeWhy should tailgating parties be limited to sporting events — how about opera tailgating? On Sunday, August 14, gather your friends and family, pack up your blankets and lawn chairs, and head to Cleveland’s Midtown area for an evening of opera favorites presented by Cleveland Opera Theater at the Dunham Tavern Museum. The performance is part of the company’s Summer Series.

Hosted by WCLV’s “Queen of the Morn,” Jacqueline Gerber, the free concert will feature opera and light opera favorites performed by sopranos Rachel Copeland, Rebecca Freshwater, and Marian Vogel, tenor Timothy Culver, and baritone Brian Keith Johnson, assisted by pianist Judith Ryder. [Read more…]

All Piano Competition Prizes announced

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2016CIPCLaureatesAt the Awards Ceremony on Sunday, August 6, the 2016 Cleveland International Piano Competition bestowed the following awards.

Mixon First Prize
Nikita Mndoyants wins a cash award of $75,000 donated by Mr. and Mrs. A. Malachi Mixon; management services for the next three years; a New York Recital Debut at Weill Hall in Carnegie Hall to take place on June 7, 2017; and a compact disc recording on the Steinway & Sons label.

Second Prize
Knowlton Second Prize of $25,000 to Leonardo Colafelice, Italy
Presented by Karen Knowlton, with major support from Mr. and Mrs. Richard A. Manuel and Mrs. Marvin A. Evenchik, additional support from Clara T. Rankin. [Read more…]

Windborne’s “Music of Led Zeppelin” to visit Blossom Festival on August 20

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by Mike Telin

Windborne-Led-ZeppelinWhen guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist and keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham formed the band Led Zeppelin in 1968, little did they know that their guitar-driven sound and music rooted in blues, psychedelia, and folk music would lead them to become one of the most successful rock groups in history.

On Saturday, August 20 at 8:00 pm at Blossom Music Center, conductor and arranger Brent Havens will lead the Blossom Festival Orchestra in Windborne Productions’ “Music of Led Zeppelin.” The evening will feature classic Zeppelin tunes, including Good Times Bad Times, Black Dog, All My Love, Kashmir, and of course, Stairway to Heaven. [Read more…]

What makes it so great? An intimate look at ChamberFest Cleveland

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by Neil McCalmont

ChamberFest2016GolijovGroup“Dad, I think we should have a festival.” Recalling the words of his daughter Diana, Franklin Cohen related how ChamberFest Cleveland first got started. “We loved the way summer music festivals felt like a family,” he explained. “What a great way to reach the core of the average audience member.”

After more than a dozen thrilling concerts, the festival’s fifth season has come to a close. Though the number of artists and performances has grown since its 2012 inception, ChamberFest still holds this mission at its core: “To nurture a deep family-like connection between musicians and audiences of all ages.”

The father-daughter duo of Franklin and Diana Cohen founded and co-direct ChamberFest Cleveland. Diana is concertmaster of the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, her father the principal clarinet emeritus of The Cleveland Orchestra. They set out to found a festival — partly inspired by their experiences at the Marlboro Music Festival — with the goal of “great players, great music-making, and great community.” [Read more…]

McCalmont’s List 12: Joseph Haydn’s String Quartet in C, Op. 76, No. 3 (“Emperor”) (1797)

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by Neil McCalmont
Part of McCalmont’s List Series

Joseph_HaydnGenre: String Quartet
Scoring: 2 violins, viola, and cello
Era: Classical
Length: c. 20 minutes
Will you recognize it? Probably not — but the 2nd-movement theme did become Germany’s national anthem during the Nazi Era. It also became a Protestant Hymn titled “Austria.”
Recommended Recordings: Gewandhaus-Quartett or the Amadeus Quartet

Composer: Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) (pronounced hide-in). For generations, Haydn has been looked upon as the grand old man of music and is often referred to as the “Father of the String Quartet” as well as the symphony. [Read more…]

Cleveland International Piano Competition: conversations with the four finalists

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by Mike Telin

FourFinalistsNow that the four finalists of the Cleveland International Piano Competition have completed their chamber music performances with the Escher String Quartet, we had a chance to sit down and meet them for the first time in the Case Western Reserve University dormitory where the contestants are being housed. On Friday, August 5 and Saturday, August 6 the finalists will play their concertos with The Cleveland Orchestra under the direction of Bramwell Tovey at Severance Hall. (L-R: Leonardo Colafelice, Georgy Tchaidze, Dinara Klinton, and Nikita Mndoyants).

We first spoke with Nikita Mndoyants of Russia and Leonardo Colafelice of Italy.

Mike Telin: So far, what has been the most memorable moment of the competition?

Nikita Mndoyants: For me it was playing the chamber music round. It was a pleasure to play with such great musicians. And I am really looking forward to playing with The Cleveland Orchestra. [Read more…]

Behind the scenes at the Cleveland International Piano Competition

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by Mike Telin

CIPCBackstage2Long before the pianists arrive and each session begins, a whole group of people arrive to begin work backstage at Gartner Auditorium — making sure that microphones and cameras are properly placed and focused, that the audio and video feeds are working, that pianos are tuned, that radio broadcasts are announced, and that ushers are ready to take tickets, seat the audience, and deal with latecomers.

When I arrived in the lobby one hour prior to the 7:00 start time for the chamber music segment of the finals on Tuesday, the ushers were busy preparing to receive the audience, and volunteers were stocking the competition gift shop with program books, CDs and other CIPC items.

When audio engineer Alan Bise meets me and takes me backstage, the piano technician is busy tuning the Hamburg Steinway that both Georgy Tchaidze and Nikita Mndoyants had chosen for their performances with the Escher String Quartet. [Read more…]

Cleveland Orchestra at Blossom: a chat with guest conductor Nicholas McGegan

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by Mike Telin

McGegan-Nicholas-kbd“If I were to have a dinner party, whom would I invite from a list of composers?” conductor Nicholas McGegan asked himself during a recent telephone conversation. “You could pretty much count on Handel eating all your food, or on Mozart disgracing himself with the girls, but Haydn and Mendelssohn would be two of the most perfectly wonderful guests. Mendelssohn could talk to people in almost any language, and Haydn was just a charmer. And that comes through in their music.”

On Sunday, August 7 at 7:00 pm, Nicholas McGegan will return to Blossom Music Center to lead The Cleveland Orchestra in a concert that will feature music by his two preferred dinner guests: Joseph Haydn (Symphony No. 99) and Felix Mendelssohn (Symphony No. 3). The evening will also include George Benjamin’s Divertimento on Themes by Gluck with the Orchestra’s assistant principal oboe, Jeffrey Rathbun, as soloist.

McGegan, who admitted to be being a little bit of a foodie — he was putting vegetable soup on to simmer when I phoned — said that he looks forward to returning to Blossom. [Read more…]

Homes and music combine for Tuesday Musical’s new Arts-in-Residence Series

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by Mike Telin

Escher-SQ-New-2Is there a better way to spend a summer evening than enjoying refreshments while listening to a world-class string quartet in the elaborate ballroom of a historic Georgian Revival house?

On Thursday, August 4 at 7:30 pm, Tuesday Musical invites you to a  “Summer Soirée” featuring the Escher String Quartet at the Byron R. Barder House on West Market Street in Akron. Hosted by Braun & Steidl Architects, the event marks the inauguration of the Escher String Quartet as Tuesday Musical’s first Quartet-in-Residence.

The multi-year residency will include performances by the Escher on Tuesday Musical’s mainstage concert seasons, as well as programs at The University of Akron School of Music, Baldwin Wallace Conservatory, and others educational and community venues. [Read more…]

McCalmont’s List 11: W.A. Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21 in c, K. 467 (1785)

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by Neil McCalmont
Part of McCalmont’s List Series

Mozart-at-PianoGenre: Concerto —a work for soloist(s) and orchestra
Scoring: Piano and orchestra
Era: Classical
Length: c. 25 minutes
Will you recognize it? It was popularized by the 1967 Swedish movie Elvira Madigan
Recommended Recordings: Alfred Brendel, Neville Marriner and the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, or Mitsuko Uchida, conducting from the keyboard with The Cleveland Orchestra

Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791). Perhaps the most renowned child prodigy in history, Mozart began composing at age four and was playing the piano and violin for European royalty by age six, alongside his elder sister Nannerl. [Read more…]

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