ClevelandClassical.com Header
Ad

Pre•Views

ChamberFest Cleveland: Robin VanLear has fun with The Carnival of the Animals

by

by Mike Telin

There are times when we all — even composers — need a little fun in our lives.

On February 9, 1886 Camille Saint-Saëns wrote to his publisher, saying that although he should be working on his Third Symphony, he was writing a piece for Shrove Tuesday that was “… mais c’est si amusant!” (such fun). That “fun” piece, which premiered on March 3, 1886, was none other than Le Carnaval des animaux (“The Carnival of the Animals”).

While Saint-Saëns forbade the 14-movement comical piece to be performed in public, feeling it would damage his reputation as a serious composer, lucky for us, the piece was published after the composer’s death and has since become one of his most popular works.

On Saturday, June 24 at 7:30 pm, ChamberFest Cleveland will present a staged production of the zoological fantasy at CIM’s Kulas Hall. The program also features György Ligeti’s Six Bagatelles, Salina Fisher’s Kintsugi for Piano Trio, and Lukas Foss’s Capriccio for Cello and Piano. Tickets are available online.

[Read more…]

A chat with Ohio Light Opera choreographer, director, singer, and dancer Spencer Reese

by

by Daniel Hathaway

When I interviewed Ohio Light Opera artistic director Steven Daigle about the six shows the company is producing this summer in Freedlander Theater at The College of Wooster, he suggested that I also contact music director Michael Borowitz and choreographer Spencer Reese to find out what excites them about the 43rd season.

Reese has been with OLO since 2014, serving as assistant director and choreographer for more than 30 shows. I caught up with him early one morning for a fast-paced conversation that covered a lot of material in only ten minutes.

Daniel Hathaway: Thanks for agreeing to chat this early in the morning. I’m glad I got on your call board before other people did.

Spencer Reese: Thank you for letting it be early. Once nine o’clock hits, I’m not available again until 10 pm.

DH: I won’t take much of your time, but Steve Daigle thought I should talk to you because you turn out in many ways to be the MVP of the company.  [Read more…]

ChamberFest Cleveland: Giving Birth to the Imagination

by

The following is posted with the permission of ChamberFest Cleveland and the author.

By Donald Rosenberg

What a difference a year can make. In 2022, we were still overwhelmed by the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, which had an impact on every phase of life. Arts organizations responded by programming with an ear toward symbolism, inclusivity, and hope. ChamberFest Cleveland was among the groups that reflected the times with a spectrum of enlightening repertoire if not solemn, then often serious in expression.

ChamberFest’s 2023 season has a markedly different thrust.

“We wanted this season to be lighter and more upbeat,” says co-director Diana Cohen. “Last year was the fog of Covid. There were a lot of dark pieces.”

The season’s theme began to come into focus after co-director Roman Rabinovich reread Milan Kundera’s The Unbearable Lightness of Being. The 1984 novel’s musings about the human condition and music, Rabinovich sensed, would be a big help in inspiring a compelling selection of works, which they clearly did, without rigidly dictating the season’s content. “We didn’t want it to be a literal translation in musical terms, but to give birth to the imagination,” Rabinovich says. “It gives us a frame. That’s what we’re after — that telescope to look through, a certain lens of ideas, and then we can be free with it.”

[Read more…]

ENCORE Chamber Music Institute Music & Ideas Festival gets underway

by

by Mike Telin

Since June of 2016, young violinists, violists, and cellists have made their way to Northeast Ohio to take part in the ENCORE Chamber Music Institute. Earlier this week, 92 students ages 13 to 26 arrived on the campuses of Gilmour Academy and John Carroll University to participate in either the String Quartet Intensive or the Summer Academy.

Both programs include masterclasses and workshops under the guidance of renowned artists, teachers, and guests. Over the course of three weeks, students will also perform fifteen community concerts as part of ENCORE in Cle and the concluding Blooming Young Artist Concerts.

“The students also have movement classes, morning practice sessions, and lessons in the afternoon,” ENCORE founder and artistic director Jinjoo Cho said during a recent telephone conversation. “It’s a lot to handle, but this is probably the highest-level student pool that we have ever had. They come from all over the world, and it’s very exciting to hear them.”

[Read more…]

A chat with Ohio Light Opera music director Michael Borowitz about the OLO Orchestra

by

by Daniel Hathaway

Ohio Light Opera music director Michael Borowitz, who spends most of the year in Baton Rouge as assistant professor of opera at Louisiana State University, rejoined the Wooster company last summer. “I had taken a hiatus for a few years, and so this is my second year back,” he told me in a telephone conversation. He’s very pleased about that.

“The OLO Orchestra arrived yesterday, and I have to say that based on our auditions this year, which were really tremendous, we have some really fine artists who love to play in the pit. Some of them prefer playing in symphony orchestras, but the majority of our players here are really hungry to play all of these pit jobs,” Borowitz said. “And they love the festival atmosphere — being able to play Camelot in the afternoon, and then Orpheus in the Underworld in the evening. They like that challenge. I’m excited. I think it’s a good group of people.”

Borowitz added that the OLO Orchestra has built an extensive national reputation that results in referrals from the players’ teachers, many of whom have performed with the ensemble before. [Read more…]

ChamberFest Cleveland: Music, literature, nature, and beer!

by

by Mike Telin

From the beginning, ChamberFest Cleveland’s programming has centered around creative themes. For season eleven, which runs from June 14 through July 1, the Festival takes on a literary slant with Lightness of Being.

During a recent conversation with Roman Rabinovich and Diana Cohen — two of the Festival’s three artistic directors — Rabinovich said that he has been a fan of Milan Kundera’s 1984 novel The Unbearable Lightness of Being for many years. “It’s rich in ideas that are very deep but also entertaining and timeless. And Kundera is also an amazing writer about music — you can tell he has a deep knowledge of classical music.”

Cohen added that like music, that novel explores every aspect of the human condition with its archetypes of personalities, relationships, politics, war, and culture. “It explores so many different multitudes that we decided to see what we could do with it.”

On Thursday, June 8 at 7:00 pm at Loganberry Books, there will be a panel discussion that will view the novel through its historical context, cultural perspective, and place in modern fiction. Panelists include Dr. James Krukones (Professor of History at John Carroll University), Charles Oberndorf (Local Author and Instructor at University School), and John Sabol (Host of “New Czech Voice of Cleveland” on WHKW 1220 AM and Co-Author of Cleveland Czechs). Students from CIM’s Advanced String Quartet program will give a pop-up performance in the store leading up to the panel. The event is free.

[Read more…]

Ohio Light Opera Tools Up For Its 44th season at the College of Wooster

by

by Daniel Hathaway

In mid-May, the annual influx of a special summer population brought more than 120 singing actors and instrumentalists to Wooster for the 44th season of Ohio Light Opera. Between the opening downbeat of Lerner &  Loewe’s Camelot (1960) on June 10 and its final curtain call on July 30, OLO will have presented 50 performances of six shows from the lyric theater repertoire in Freedlander Theater at The College of Wooster.

The launching of Camelot will be followed by opening performances of Frank Loesser’s How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1961) on June 15, Vincent Youmans’ No, No, Nanette (1925) on June 22, Gilbert & Sullivan’s H.M.S. Pinafore (1878) on June 29, Emmerich Kálmán’s Arizona Lady (1954) on July 6, and Jacques Offenbach’s Orpheus in the Underworld (1858) on July 13 — all on Thursdays at 2pm.

Once each title has been rolled out, all six shows will be running “in repertory” during the last three weeks in July. That means you could spend a week at the Festival and see all of them in rotation — a type of binge watching to which some OLO devotees are addicted, and for which Wooster lodging and restaurant packages are available.

I caught up with artistic director Steven Daigle by phone to ask him what personally excites him about the coming season, which will be his 33rd with the company. [Read more…]

A Conversation with James Stroud About His Youth Guitar Competition

by

by Daniel Hathaway

On Sunday, June 4, after all the professional classical guitarists have played their recitals at the Cleveland International Classical Guitar Festival, the next generation of artists will take over Mixon Hall at the Cleveland Institute of Music.

The semi-final rounds of the James Stroud Youth Competition are scheduled for Saturday morning and afternoon, June 3m and the final round will close the Festival on Sunday evening, June 4. Fifteen young musicians will play on Saturday, and the remaining four will perform in the final round on Sunday evening at 6:30. The final round is free, and will be available on a live stream. Click here for the list of contestants and their performance schedule.

On Wednesday, I spoke to James Stroud, the generous founder of the Stroud Competition as he was packing to travel to Cleveland, to ask how arrangements were shaping up for the Youth Competition this weekend.

James Stroud: I live in Montana now and so I’m getting ready to fly into Cleveland tonight for the festival, but taking care of a lot of logistics, so it’s been a little busier than normal, but all in all, very good. [Read more…]

Click, Click, Click: ChamberFest Cleveland

by

by Mike Telin

(This article was originally posted on April 12, 2023)

ChamberFest Cleveland is looking for metronomes! If you have a wind-up metronome, ChamberFest would love to borrow it for this performance of Ligeti’s Poème symphonique on Friday, June 30. Please contact the office at 216-471-8887 or info@chamberfestcleveland.com to arrange a pick-up. All metronomes will be returned to their owners after the festival ends.

There are a few works in the classical repertoire that leave you wondering what is going on. One example that comes to mind is John Cage’s 4’33” where the performers are instructed not to play for the duration of the work’s three movements.

[Read more…]

ChamberFest 2023:
Lightness of Being

by

by Mike Telin

From the beginning, ChamberFest Cleveland’s programming has centered around creative themes such as The Big Bang (2012), Crossing Borders (2015), and most recently X (2022). For season eleven, which runs from June 14 through July 1, the Festival takes on a literary slant with Lightness of Being.

During a Zoom conversation with Roman Rabinovich and Diana Cohen — two of the Festival’s three artistic directors — Rabinovich said that he has been a fan of Milan Kundera’s 1984 novel The Unbearable Lightness of Being for many years. “Last summer I reread it, I think for the third time, and it really pulled me in. It’s rich in ideas that are very deep but also entertaining and timeless. And Kundera is also an amazing writer about music — you can tell he has a deep knowledge of classical music.”

Cohen added that like music, that novel explores every aspect of the human condition with its archetypes of personalities, relationships, politics, war, and culture. “It explores so many different multitudes that we decided to see what we could do with it.”

[Read more…]

Follow ClevelandClassical.com

Contact us