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Akron Baroque: “For the Love of Nature” (June 2)

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by Daniel Hathaway

The seventeen members of Akron Baroque delivered a charming program of music inspired by the natural world on Sunday afternoon, June 2 in Faith Lutheran Church in Fairlawn. The pews were packed on the first truly lovely afternoon of spring as Alan Bodman led the ensemble from his concertmaster’s chair in well-known music by Handel, Vivaldi, and J.S. Bach, lesser-known works by Rameau and Martín y Soler, and never-before-heard pieces by Amy Barlowe. Major solo contributions came from Bodman, organist Robert Mollard, and soprano Susan Wallin. [Read more…]

Akron Baroque to play nature-based program June 2

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by Daniel Hathaway

Akron Baroque’s season finale this weekend takes its inspiration from the natural world.

“For the Love of Nature,” to be presented at Faith Lutheran Church in Fairlawn on Sunday, June 2 at 4:00 pm, will feature a European mix of Spanish, British, Italian, German and French works, in addition to the premiere of a new piece by the Orchestra’s founder, Amy Barlowe. Admission is free.

Her The Peace of Wild Things, based on a poem by Wendell Berry, will be sung by soprano Susan Wallin. “Berry is an environmentalist and a farmer who lives in the Midwest,” Barlowe said in a telephone conversation. “He’s a very interesting person and philosopher, and I thought the text was particularly timely in view of all the environmental conflicts we have today. I think it was Einstein who said ‘Look to Nature for the answers.’ In this time of craziness and chaos, I feel that nature and music are intertwined — they have the ability to restore body and soul. I thought this little piece might touch people in some way.” [Read more…]

Akron Baroque opens Five at Five Series (Sept. 9)

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by Daniel Hathaway

Sunny 18th-century music — some of it inspired by Nature, which was busy drenching Akron Baroque attendees on their way to Westminster Presbyterian Church — worked its magic on Sunday afternoon, September 9. The 13-member, modern instrument ensemble led by concertmaster Alan Bodman joined a fine roster of soloists in spirited performances of music by Vivaldi, Telemann, and Handel that would have lifted the most dampened spirits. [Read more…]

Akron Baroque to feature
“The Class of 1685” on Sunday

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by Daniel Hathaway

Bach Handel ScarlattiHow did the planets align so that Johann Sebastian Bach, George Frideric Handel, and Domenico Scarlatti — three of the most eminent and prolific composers of the Baroque period — all came to be born in the same year? That defies explanation, but it makes for interesting concert programming. On Sunday, March 11 at 4:00 pm at Faith Lutheran Church in Fairlawn, Akron Baroque will raise a glass to “The Class of 1685” with a free concert devoted to music by these three luminaries.

The performance will include J.S. Bach’s Harpsichord Concerto in f featuring Robert Mollard, Scarlatti’s Keyboard Sonata in G in an arrangement for orchestra by Amy Barlowe, and Handel’s Concerti Grossi in F and G from his Op. 6. We spoke with concertmaster Alan Bodman to ask how Akron Baroque narrowed down their choice of repertoire for Sunday’s concert.

“We were pretty sure we wanted to do a Handel concerto grosso, so we listened to all of the Op. 6 pieces and really liked No. 1 in G.” Bodman said. “They’re so imaginative, and offer a lot of variety in their movements. We needed something very lively and upbeat to conclude the program, and No. 9 stood out for us.”

[Read more…]

Akron Baroque: “Vintage Vivaldi” at Faith Lutheran Church (June 4)

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by Robert Rollin

Akron Baroque VivaldiOn Sunday afternoon, June 4, Fairlawn’s Faith Lutheran Church hosted Akron Baroque’s energetic “Vintage Vivaldi” program directed by violinist Alan Bodman, who began each piece with clear gestures, leading the ensemble of twelve talented string players from his concertmaster’s chair. Three of the five works featured solo performers, making for a lively and enjoyable afternoon. [Read more…]

Akron Baroque tenth-anniversary concert at Faith Lutheran Church (June 5)

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by Daniel Hathaway

AB1Akron Baroque marked its tenth anniversary as an ensemble with a festive performance of Handel’s Music for the Royal Fireworks and the premiere of founder Amy Barlowe’s expressive Magnificat at Fairlawn’s Faith Lutheran Church on Sunday, June 5, led by guest conductor Marie Bucoy-Calavan. [Read more…]

Akron Baroque with Madeline Apple Healey at First Congregational Church (December 11)

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by Daniel Hathaway

AKBAR1It’s difficult to say what falls more charmingly on the ear at this time of year — Italian baroque Christmas concerti or concerted French Noëls. Under the direction of music director Guy Victor Bordo, Akron Baroque gave its audience a taste of both on Thursday evening at First Congregational Church, plus three arias by the equally alluring soprano, Madeline Apple Healey. [Read more…]

Preview: Akron Baroque — conversations with oboe soloists Thomas Moore and Danna Sundet

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by Mike Telin

MOORE-&-SUNDET“Why was the oboe so popular during the baroque period? Probably because it was the wind instrument most closely associated with the human voice,” says oboist Thomas Moore. “And I think that composers and listeners were intrigued with the instrument’s unique lyrical tone quality.” “It does have a tone possessed by no other instrument,” adds oboist Danna Sundet.

On Thursday, November 14 beginning at 7:30 pm in Akron’s First Congregational Church, Guy Victor Bordo will lead Akron Baroque in a concert featuring Thomas Moore and Danna Sundet, in Vivaldi’s Concerto for Two Oboes in C, RV 534 and Albinoni’s Concerto for Two Oboes, Op.7, No. 11. The concert also includes works by Corelli, Locatelli and Marcello. (See our concert listing page for program details)

“I’m not a scholar, but the baroque composers were also the first to put the instrument into the opera orchestra,” Sundet adds. “It went from being an outdoor instrument like the shawm, to an indoor instrument.” [Read more…]

Review: Akron Baroque “Goes Rococo” at First Congregational Church (May 16)

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by Daniel Hathaway

AkronBaroque2013-1Short symphonies by Michael Haydn, his older brother Joseph Haydn, and J.S. Bach’s youngest son, Johann Christian Bach, were the Rococo entries on the final concert of Akron Baroque Chamber Orchestra’s season on Thursday, May 16 under the direction of Guy Victor Bordo, but the 17-member professional ensemble, founded by Amy Barlowe, also recalled its central mission with a Vivaldi concerto starring the violin-bass duo of Amber and Maximilian Dimoff. (Amber is a member of Akron Baroque; her husband is principal bass of The Cleveland Orchestra).

Presented in the fine acoustical ambiance of the sanctuary of First Congregational Church with its elegant, wrap-around balcony, the 90-minute concert followed solidly in the tradition the ensemble has established: attractive and accessible music masterfully played on modern instruments with a nod to historical performance practice but without any self-conscious fussiness. [Read more…]

Preview: Akron Baroque: ten minutes with Amber and Maximilian Dimoff

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by Daniel Hathaway

DimoffsOn Thursday, May 16 at 7:30 pm, Akron Baroque plays its final concert of the season at First Congregational Church, extending its reach into the classical area with works by Joseph and Michael Haydn and Johann Christian Bach, but honoring its Prime Directive with a concerto for violin and double bass by Antonio Vivaldi with Amber and Maximilian Dimoff as soloists. Amber is in her third year with Akron Baroque and plays regularly in the first violin section of the Akron Symphony as well as with Cleveland Pops and Cleveland Chamber Symphony. Max is principal bass with The Cleveland Orchestra, but has appeared more than once as an electric bassist in contemporary works with his orchestra colleagues.

The Dimoffs are a musical family. Their daughter, Isabel, plays cello in the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra and Contemporary Youth Orchestra and just won the senior division in the Cleveland Cello Society’s Scholarship Auditions. Their son, Xavier, plays saxophone in CYO and is studying jazz. Though father and daughter premiered a new concerto together with CYO earlier this season, Max and Amber haven’t often had the opportunity to perform together as a duo. [Read more…]

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