Alex Fortes Archives - Cleveland Classical

Boston’s A Far Cry chamber orchestra in concert at Baldwin Wallace (Jan. 24)

January 31, 2017 by Daniel Hathaway

by Daniel Hathaway

Now ten years old, Boston’s conductorless string orchestra A Far Cry made a long-distance runout performance in Gamble Auditorium at Baldwin Wallace Conservatory on Tuesday, January 24, part of a three-day residency at BW. The orchestra’s wide-ranging program reached back to the 12th-century Codex Calixtinus in arrangements of some very early polyphony, then leapfrogged into more modern times for double violin concertos by J.S. Bach and Arvo Pärt and a commissioned work by Lembit Beecher.

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Boston’s A Far Cry chamber orchestra to perform at Baldwin Wallace on January 24

January 23, 2017 by Mike Telin

by Daniel Hathaway

Now celebrating its tenth anniversary, the Boston-based chamber orchestra A Far Cry will journey to Berea this week to conduct a residency and play a concert at Baldwin Wallace University.

The ensemble of string players, who perform without conductor, share all aspects of decision-making among the membership, a process the orchestra will discuss with BW students and faculty during its sojourn later this week.

The musical results of their approach to self-governance will be on display in a 7:00 pm concert on Tuesday, January 24 in Gamble Auditorium. The program will include J.S. Bach’s Double Violin Concerto, Lembit Beecher’s The Conference of the Birds, Arvo Pärt’s Tabula Rasa, and selections from the medieval Codex Calixtinus. [Read more…]

Cleveland Orchestra’s holiday concerts return with plenty of festive cheer (Dec. 11)

by Stephanie Manning

This article was originally published on Cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — If the twinkling lights, leafy green garlands and festive poinsettias didn’t already clue you in, the holidays have arrived at Severance Music Center. ‘Tis the season for annual traditions — including The Cleveland Orchestra’s holiday concerts, which began on Wednesday evening.

Running through December 22, the programs feature plenty of seasonal classics plus some potential new favorites. The first performance proved that this mix is a delightful recipe for festive cheer.

“Look at you all, out on a school night!” conductor Sarah Hicks proclaimed joyfully from the podium. Just as many concertgoers donned red outfits to get into the spirit, Mandel Concert Hall was also decked out with decorations and stage lighting effects.

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Oberlin Conservatory convincingly tells Omar’s story (Dec. 8)

by Stephanie Manning

The Cleveland premiere of Rhiannon Giddens’ and Michael Abels’ Pultizer Prize-winning opera Omar on December 8 at the Maltz Performing Arts Center proved that concert productions of opera can succeed without sets, elaborate costumes and extensive staging. Indeed, the Oberlin Conservatory presentation offered more than enough to keep the audience in the crowded house enthralled.

The Opera, which was also presented at Oberlin’s Finney Chapel two days earlier, is based on the 1831 autobiography of Muslim scholar Omar ibn Said, the only such work written by an enslaved person during their enslavement, and the only such document written in Arabic.

Rhiannon Giddens’ brilliant libretto chronicles the life of ibn Said, beginning in present-day Senegal and following him through his capture, journey via the Middle Passage, and enslavement in North and South Carolina. [Read on…]

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