by Daniel Hathaway
The Miró Quartet, two of whose current members formed the ensemble at the Oberlin Conservatory in 1995, visited the campus on Thursday, March 10 to play a gripping Beethoven marathon concert on the Oberlin Artist Recital Series. Founders violinist Daniel Ching and cellist Joshua Gindele joined violinist William Fedkenheuer and violist John Largess for Beethoven’s three “Razumovsky” Quartets, Op. 59. [Read more…]
by Daniel Hathaway
Just before the lights dimmed in Hall Auditorium on Wednesday evening, March 9, a young couple in the row behind me commented on the plot synopsis for George Frideric Handel’s Alcina. “I read it before I auditioned for the opera,” one of them said, “and I never figured it out.” The other replied, “I just read it now, and I don’t have a clue!” [Read more…]
by Daniel Hathaway
The second of two performances by contemporary flute guru Carlton Vickers sponsored by No Exit under the aegis of NEOSonicFest took over most of the available space in the Heights Arts gallery on Saturday evening, March 5. The audience, tucked in among a variety of exhibits of culinary-themed art, heard an intense hour’s worth of recent music written for one of the most ancient of musical instruments. [Read more…]
by Mike Telin
Is there a more fun-filled, accessible opera than Mozart’s The Magic Flute? Its classic fairy tale plot — good versus evil combined with a search for enlightenment and love — is timeless. Its characters are sympathetic, and it’s filled with beautiful arias and catchy tunes that are certain to cause earworms long after you have left the theater [Read more…]
by Daniel Hathaway
In an era when most pianists memorize their recital repertoire, it was refreshing to see Richard Goode using scores for all of his insightful performances on Tuesday, March 8 on the Cleveland Chamber Music Society series at Plymouth Church in Shaker Heights. Rather than forming a barrier between pianist and audience, the presence of printed music seemed to reflect a deeper immersion in each piece on the part of the artist. [Read more…]
by Daniel Hathaway
Tri-C’s excellent Classical Piano Series brought 2013 Cleveland International Piano Competition gold medalist Stanislav Khristenko back to Cleveland for the 3rd and final recital of its 9th season. His captivating program of music by Sergei Rachmaninoff, Samuel Barber, Ernest Bloch, and Igor Stravinsky drew a sizeable crowd to Gartner Auditorium on Sunday afternoon, March 6. [Read more…]
by Timothy Robson
The young British organist David Baskeyfield played a challenging recital program on Sunday afternoon, March 13, at Fairmount Presbyterian Church in Cleveland Heights. Baskeyfield was the winner of the 2014 Canadian International Organ Competition, as well as several other contests. He now lives in Rochester, New York, where he recently completed work on a doctorate in organ and improvisation at Eastman. He demonstrated fluent technique and generally strong musicianship, but still has room to grow as a concert artist. [Read more…]
by Robert Rollin
Last Saturday evening March 12, the Youngstown Symphony presented the second of its Classical Series programs in Powers Auditorium. The repertoire consisted of two classical era pieces sandwiched around Dave and Chris Brubeck’s Ansel Adams: America, inspired by the beauty of Adams’ monumental black and white photographs of California’s Yosemite National Park. The Classical Era works were Wolfgang Amadè Mozart’s Overture to The Magic Flute and Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 in E-Flat, Op. 55, “Eroica.” [Read more…]
by Timothy Robson
When the lists of notable concerts of the 2015/16 season are drawn up, the joint recital by pianists Maria João Pires and Julien Brocal before a packed Reinberger Chamber Hall at Severance Hall should be close to the top of everyone’s list. It was a remarkable concert, both musically and as a model for showcasing outstanding younger musicians. [Read more…]
by Daniel Hathaway
Antonín Dvořák would surely be pleased to know that British pianist Stephen Hough is a passionate advocate for his not-so-often-played piano concerto. His performance of the work with The Cleveland Orchestra under guest conductor Alan Gilbert last weekend at Severance Hall was masterful. [Read more…]