by Jarrett Hoffman
It was the late 1980s when oboist Jeffrey Rathbun and pianist Marc Shapiro first tackled Herbert Howells’ Sonata for Oboe and Piano, written in 1942 but not published for another 45 years.
Re•Views
Tuesday Musical: pianist Fei-Fei in Annual Baxtresser Concert (Nov. 21)
by David Kulma
How can a composer tell a story through instrumental music? Although it’s a complex topic among music intellectuals, great performers can easily cut to the quick with carefully considered performances full of imagination. In Tuesday Musical’s annual concert dedicated to the late Margaret Baxtresser on November 21 at E.J. Thomas Hall, the pianist Fei-Fei brought both engaging musicality and delightful spoken commentary that showed how vivacious and poetic pianism can create a compelling narrative. [Read more…]
Urban Troubadour: Ned McGowan in “Big, Bad Flute” (Nov. 24)
by David Kulma
It was a flute bonanza for Urban Troubadour’s concert on Sunday, November 24 at Akron’s Blu Jazz. The focus of “Big, Bad Flute” was on composer and flutist Ned McGowan, his engaging music, and his astounding playing of the pillar-sized contrabass flute.
Akron Symphony with Brunfelt & Guegold (Nov. 16)
by David Kulma
It’s a rare treat to hear two excellent orchestra members out front as soloists in a single concert. In a program titled “The Four Seasons” on November 16 at E.J. Thomas Hall, the Akron Symphony and music director Christopher Wilkins featured concertmaster Tallie Brunfelt and principal horn Meghan Guegold in well-loved concertos by Antonio Vivaldi and Richard Strauss alongside works by Joseph Haydn and Gabriela Lena Frank.
Youngstown Symphony with Cliburn laureate Di Wu (Nov. 23)
by Robert Rollin
The Youngstown Symphony’s third Classical Series concert on Saturday night, November 23 in the Ford Family Recital Hall featured a delightful program for small orchestra led by Randall Craig Fleischer. The highlight was a spirited performance of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 20, K. 466, with Di Wu, laureate of the 2009 Van Cliburn competition, as soloist. [Read more…]
Cleveland Orchestra with Viotti & Wang (Nov. 30)
by Daniel Hathaway
The large, Thanksgiving weekend audience in Severance Hall on Saturday, November 30 got full value for their money. The program, crafted by guest conductor Lorenzo Viotti and featuring pianist Yuja Wang, slightly overflowed the two-hour mark, and nearly surfeited the ear with extravagantly colorful music. [Read more…]
BlueWater Chamber Orchestra at Pilgrim with Jinjoo Cho (Nov. 24)
by Daniel Hathaway
BlueWater Chamber Orchestra played the second of two identical weekend programs on Sunday afternoon, November 24 on the free Arts Renaissance Tremont series, a performance that featured violinist Jinjoo Cho in a spirited reading of the Tchaikovsky Concerto, and rarely heard works by Robert Schumann and Thomas Adès with Daniel Meyer at the helm. [Read more…]
McGegan conducts Cleveland Orchestra with trumpeter Michael Sachs (Nov. 21)
by Daniel Hathaway
In what’s become a reliably annual visit to The Cleveland Orchestra, Nicholas McGegan brought his British-born charm and wit to the Severance Hall podium on Thursday, November 21 for an alluring program of music by Schubert and Haydn, separated by a brilliant performance of Hummel’s Trumpet Concerto by Michael Sachs. [Read more…]
Rocky River Chamber Music Society: Olsen & Saxton — organ and trumpet (Nov. 18)
by Daniel Hathaway
On Monday evening, November 18, the Rocky River Chamber Music Society took the welcome step of acknowledging that their performance space houses a pipe organ by presenting organist Timothy Olsen and trumpeter Judith Saxton in a program of music that effectively conjoined the two instruments. A popular combination in France, solo trumpet with organ is not so often encountered in the States, though there’s plenty of literature to explore. [Read more…]
Oberlin Artist Recital Series: Orchestra & Choir of the Age of Enlightenment (Nov. 22)
by Daniel Hathaway
Britain’s Orchestra and Choir of the Age of Enlightenment brought smashing performances of well-known Baroque works to Oberlin’s Finney Chapel on Friday, November 22 as part of the college’s Artist Recital Series. Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater, Albinoni’s Oboe Concerto in d, and Vivaldi’s Gloria are titles you can routinely encounter on programs by avocational ensembles — they’re well within the capabilities of amateur musicians — but hearing them burnished to such a high gloss by 32 professional period instrumentalists and singers was revelatory. [Read more…]