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Preview: ChamberFest Cleveland — conversations with cellist Gabriel Cabezas, speaker Patrick Castillo and composer Andrew Norman

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by Mike Telin

CABEZAS-GabrielBeginning on Thursday, June 20 and running through Sunday, June 30 with performances and activities in traditional concert and non-traditional venues around Cleveland, the 2013 edition of ChamberFest Cleveland has something to offer to all. During the past week we have had the opportunity to speak with three ChamberFest artists: returning guest speaker Patrick Castillo, composer Andrew Norman and the renowned young cellist Gabriel Cabezas (left), who will open this season’s festival with a free prelude recital on June 20 in Mixon Hall beginning at 7:00 pm. Cabezas, the winner of the 15th annual Sphinx Competition, and Sphinx’s 2012 Isaac Stern Award, will be joined by pianist Orion Weiss in a program that features the music of Janáček and Debussy.

Although Cabezas has already amassed an impressive list of performances with orchestras including the New York Philharmonic, The Cleveland Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony, the National Symphony of Costa Rica, the Pittsburgh Symphony, the New World Symphony, and the Nashville Symphony, he says that he equally enjoys playing chamber music, “I really look forward to working with Orion and all of the musicians who will be part of ChamberFest.” In addition to Thursday’s recital Cabezas will also be part of the performances at the Transformer Station on June 21 andin Harkness Chapel on June 23. [Read more…]

Preview: Two concerts of Vietnamese music to feature Phạm Thị Huệ on June 14 and 19

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By Mike Telin

Pham-Thi-Hue-2For the past two and a half months, Vietnamese musician Phạm Thị Huệ has been presenting workshops with Cleveland area students about the traditional music of her country known as Ca trù, as part of the Cleveland Foundation’s Creative Fusion program. During her stay, Phạm Thị Huệ’s host organization has been Young Audiences of Northeast Ohio. “It has been wonderful to be part of this program,” Huệ says “It has been great to meet the all of the other artists from other countries who are also here.”

On Friday, June 14 at 7:30 pm at the Spiritual Life Society (Old Church on the Green) in Hudson, Phạm Thị Huệ, voice, đàn đáy (long-necked trapezoid lute), and đàn tỳ bà (pear-shaped lute), joined by her 14-year-old daughter Nguyễn Huệ Phương, voice and phách (Vietnamese percussion instrument) will present a concert that will also feature a reception with a tasting of rare Vietnamese green and flower-scented teas. On Wednesday, June 19 at 7:00 pm at the First Unitarian Church of Cleveland in Shaker Heights, Huệ will present a solo concert of traditional Vietnamese music. [Read more…]

Preview: Opera Circle’s Rigoletto — conversations with conductor Andrea Raffanini and baritone Marco Stella

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by Mike Telin

RAFFANINI-Andrea“I love this opera!” exclaims Italian conductor Andrea Raffanini. “Rigoletto is one of the best, not just for Verdi but for all of the nineteenth century opera repertoire.” On Saturday, June 15 beginning at 7:30 in the Ohio Theatre at PlayhouseSquare, Opera Circle presents one performance of Verdi’s masterpiece under the direction of Maestro Andrea Raffanini.

Based on Victor Hugo’s play Le roi s’amuse, the opera was premiered on March 11, 1851 in Venice and was an instant success. Its tragic story centers around the Duke of Mantua, his court jester, Rigoletto, and his daughter Gilda (read a synopsis here). “Rigoletto is a complex character, but it’s a role that is a baritone’s dream,” says Marco Stella, who will make his Opera Circle debut in the title role. Performed in the original Italian with English subtitles, the cast includes tenor Isaac Hurtado as the Duke, soprano Dorota Sobieska as Gilda and bass Nathan Baer as the assassin, Sparafucile.

We spoke to conductor Andrea Raffanini and dramatic baritone Marco Stella by telephone to hear their perspectives on Verdi’s masterpiece. [Read more…]

Preview: Cleveland Chamber Symphony re-emerges for BW concert with Verb Ballets on June 13

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by Daniel Hathaway

CCS-at-BW-WellerNearly a quarter-century ago, composer-conductor Edwin London founded the Cleveland Chamber Symphony at Cleveland State University. With the directive of performing “music of our time that dares to explore”, CCS developed a reputation and a dedicated following for offering professional performances and recordings of new works, and, along the way, copped an impressive list of awards including a Grammy.

After London retired, a series of hosting, leadership and funding vicissitudes left the organization essentially homeless but doggedly determined to keep itself alive through new relationships with the Cleveland Music School Settlement and Baldwin Wallace University. Its “Meet the Composers” and “New and Emerging Composers” series have continued on an annual basis, and last season CCS teamed with Verb Ballets for performances at Cleveland Public Theater.

The Verb Ballets relationship will be renewed on Thursday, June 13 at 7:30 pm in Gamble Auditorium at Baldwin Wallace, when music director Steven Smith will conduct the premiere of James A. Hirt’s Chromatophores, Clint Needham’s Urban Sprawl, and Michael Leese’s Harp, Percussion and Strings. Also on the program is Smith’s own String Quartet. Smith talked about some of the repertory by phone from his home in Richmond, VA, where he serves as music director of the Richmond Symphony. [Read more…]

Preview: Second Cleveland Trombone Seminar draws 34 participants to CSU June 8-16

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by Daniel Hathaway

ISRAEL-ShacharIt’s a fine thing when your business doubles from one year to the next. In June of 2012, when Cleveland Orchestra assistant principal trombonist Shachar Israel launched the Cleveland Trombone Seminar, the week-long event brought seventeen trombonists to the Cleveland State University campus for master classes, workshops and performances. This year CTS expects thirty-four participants and associates. “We’re extremely happy with the response,” Israel told us last week in a cell phone conversation while he was enroute to Penn State to rehearse and play a recital. “This year they’re coming from as far away as California and ages range from 18 to 45. Thirteen out of the seventeen from last year were going to come back, though two eventually had to back out. Return customers were not something we were planning on, but we seem to offer something they want and need.”

This year’s seminar, which runs from June 8 through June 16, is a day and a half longer and two new faculty members have been added. [Read more…]

Preview: ChamberFest Cleveland season two — (It’s) About Time — June 20-30

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by Mike Telin

COHEN-Frank-&-DianaFollowing on the heels of their highly successful premiere season, ChamberFest Cleveland artistic directors Frank and Diana Cohen have again assembled an impressive lineup of artists who will perform a variety of musical offerings in an expanded array of diverse venues.

Beginning on Thursday, June 20, and running through Sunday, June 30, (IT’S) ABOUT TIME explores the different elements of time as related to the musical experience, through metaphoric and literal representations of musical time. “We struggled a lot with the title,” Diana Cohen told us by Skype. “Our returning guest speaker, Patrick Castillo, had the idea that the title should be about the interesting aspects that exist in the relationship between time and music. We couldn’t come up with a name, then somebody said, ‘so, it’s about time,’ and it stuck.”

Cohen says the decision to expand to eight ticketed concerts as well as increasing the number of free programs this season was not easy. “There was a lot of debate in terms of how much we should expand, in part because what we liked about last season was the fact that everything was sold out in addition to the incredible amount of community support we received.” Cohen says that last season’s audience surveys, which were full of “honest” feedback,  helped them a lot in making decisions about this season. [Read more…]

Preview: Russian Duo kicks off Music by Nature series in Cuyahoga Valley National Park on June 9

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by Mike Telin

Russian-DuoOn Sunday, June 9 beginning at 6:30 pm at the Happy Days Lodge in Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Music By Nature presents Russian Duo, Oleg Kruglyakov, balalaika & Terry Boyarsky, piano in a concert featuring Russian, classical, Soviet & folk music. As always, Music By Nature audiences are invited to picnic on the grounds beginning at 5 pm, and a dessert reception follows the performance.

Although the combination of balalaika and piano may seem a bit unusual, Terry Boyarsky and Oleg Kruglyakov think the variety of musical styles that are included in their nature-inspired program highlight the range of possibilities the combination of instruments are capable of producing. “I think the idea is that we are taking music from different parts of the planet and blending them [together] with these instruments and it does sound like nature re-united, like the United Nations,” says Kruglyakov. [Read more…]

Preview: Apollo’s Fire Countryside Concerts — My Father Was a Matchmaker

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by Mike Telin

FOLEY-TomáseenJune is finally here, which means it’s time for many musical groups to move into Summer Mode. For Apollo’s Fire, that means the 2013 edition of the group’s popular Countryside Concerts is just around the corner. Beginning on Thursday, June 6 and running through Tuesday, June 11, with a special children’s concert on Tuesday June 11, (check our Concert Listings page for locations and times), the acclaimed Irish storyteller Tomáseen Foley returns to Northeast Ohio with a new show titled My Father Was a Matchmaker: Tunes & Tales of Love from Old Ireland.

Foley will be joined by his longtime collaborator and Grammy Award-winning artist William Coulter, guest music director & guitarist, vocalist Ross Hauck, Irish piper & dancer Brian Bigley, hammered dulcimer player Tina Bergmann & Canadian fiddler Edwin Huizinga.

Foley says the idea for My Father Was a Matchmaker came after last season’s highly successful Celtic Crossings: Songs & Stories of the Irish-American Journey. “Jeannette Sorrell and I were discussing some ideas for the future and I told her about my father. She thought it was a great idea and so it developed from there.” [Read more…]

Preview: Summer Events in Northeast Ohio

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by Daniel Hathaway

Blossom-Lawn-by-Roger-Mastroianni-CLO81703_408Concert series began spinning down just before Memorial Day weekend, but looking ahead, there’s a long list of summertime classical music events to enjoy in Northeast Ohio. Here’s an overview in alphabetical order of major summer concert series and events (keep an eye on the ClevelandClassical concert listings for details and more single events). Click on the links in the headers below for further information and online ticketing.

Apollo’s Fire, June 6-11, in Hunting Valley, Chardon, Olmsted Township, & Bath

Cleveland’s Baroque Orchestra turns into a folk ensemble for its summertime “Countryside Concerts.” This year’s series, “My Father was a Matchmaker,” features Irish storyteller Tomaséen Foley.

Blossom Festival, July 3 – September 1, Cuyahoga Falls

After playing its annual “Star-Spangled Spectacular” in Public Square on July 1, The Cleveland Orchestra opens its summer season at the Blossom Music Center in Cuyahoga Valley National Park on July 5 and 6 with music director Franz Welser-Möst conducting. His third concert at Blossom on July 13 will mark the 200th anniversary of Richard Wagner’s birth with opera selections featuring soprano Christine Brewer and bass Alan Held. [Read more…]

Preview: Classical Guitar Weekend: a conversation with Cleveland guitarist Jason Vieaux

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by Mike Telin

VIEAUX-JasonWhiteOn Thursday, May 23rd beginning at 8:00 pm in CIM’s Mixon Hall, Classical Guitar Weekend kicks off its 2013 edition with a recital by Jason Vieaux that features the music of Paganini, Piazzolla, Ponce, and Sor. Vieaux, who heads the Cleveland Institute of Music’s Guitar department and serves on the faculty at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, will be joined by hi CIM colleagues violinist Jinjoo Cho, violist Jeffrey Irvine, and cellist Melissa Kraut.

On Friday, May 24 beginning at 9:00 am, also in Mixon Hall, Vieaux will lead a master class via Distance Learning. Guitar students from the Cleveland Institute of Music and the Royal Danish Academy of Music will perform on and off site via CIM’s innovative Distance Learning audio/video hook up and be coached by Jesper Sivebak, head of the RDAM guitar department.

Since winning the Guitar Foundation of America’s International Competition at the age of nineteen, Jason Vieaux has earned a reputation for putting his expressive gifts and virtuosity at the service of a remarkably wide range of music. [Read more…]

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