by Timothy Robson
There was a full house at CIM’s Mixon Hall on Saturday evening June 22, despite numerous travails of parking due to construction and the Art Museum’s Summer Solstice event. But the hassle was worth it for Sei Solo (You Are Alone), a program of music by composers under the influence of loss. The selection of familiar and unfamiliar works is a hallmark of Chamberfest Cleveland and Saturday’s performance included works by J.S. Bach, John Cage, Mendelssohn and Brahms. [Read more…]
by David Kulma
The second event in Chamberfest Cleveland’s new House Concert Series on April 11 was a feast for the ears as well as the eyes, set at the astounding Blackstone Organ House on Lake Erie in Bratenahl and featuring two ChamberFest regulars, violinist Alexi Kenney and pianist Orion Weiss. Fittingly, the evening opened with Hannah Koby playing J.S. Bach’s Fugue in E-flat, BWV 552/2 on the 7400-pipe Aeolian-Skinner organ. [Read more…]
by Mike Telin
There will be an explosion of world-class chamber music when ChamberFest Cleveland kicks off its fifth season this week. In their directors’ message, Diana and Franklin Cohen say, “With Season 5, ‘Tales & Legends,’ we are offering more concerts and special events at some very cool venues that will delight and surprise you at every turn…not to mention a spectacular cast of musicians, vocalists, actors, and composers like none to date. The pieces that comprise ‘Tales & Legends’ spin tales from the profane to the divine…and in at least one instance, the controversial. Hold onto your hats as ChamberFest Cleveland takes you on one fantastical ride!”
This is the first in a series of articles highlighting ChamberFest artists. [Read more…]
by Mike Telin
Still in his early twenties, violinist Alexi Kenney has already amassed an impressive résumé. In 2013 he won the Concert Artists Guild Victor Elmaleh Competition at the age of nineteen. He has given recitals at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., and Napa’s Festival del Sole, and he has been featured on NPR’s “From the Top.” He is the recipient of top prizes at the Yehudi Menuhin International Competition, the Mondavi Center Competition, and the 2013 Kronberg Academy master classes. He attends the New England Conservatory, where he will enter its Artist Diploma program this fall, studying with Donald Weilerstein and Miriam Fried.
I spoke to the Palo Alto, California native by phone and began by asking him how his position as ChamberFest’s Young Artist came about. [Read more…]