by Jarrett Hoffman
From a brooding opening, through a turbulent depiction of reality, to a rousing journey for freedom that surely lodged itself into the audience’s collective memory for a long time to come, the orchestral and choral forces of Oberlin College and Conservatory traced a compelling emotional arc with their program at Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium on January 20.
by Mike Telin
Many musicians can only dream of performing at Carnegie Hall. But next week students at the Oberlin Conservatory will have had the opportunity to perform at the famed venue not once, but twice in as many months.
On December 2, the Oberlin Orchestra and choral ensembles performed before the 77th General Assembly of the United Nations at a Carnegie Hall gala (left, photo by Chris Lee). The concert marked the beginning of a new partnership between Oberlin and the United Nations aimed at improving access to education and musical training for students all over the world.
On January 20, the Oberlin Orchestra, Oberlin College Choir, Oberlin Gospel Choir, and Musical Union, will return to Stern Auditorium to perform R. Nathaniel Dett’s 1932 oratorio, The Ordering of Moses. The 8:00 pm concert will also include Brahms’ Tragic Overture and Iván Enrique Rodríguez’s 2018 musical essay A Metaphor for Power. Tickets are available at carnegiehall.org.
If you can’t attend the New York concert, there will be a free send-off performance on Tuesday, January 17 at 7:30 pm in Finney Chapel on the Oberlin campus. Click here for the livestream. [Read more…]
by Jarrett Hoffman
IN THIS EDITION:
•Today: the Sonny Rollins Jazz Ensemble outside at the Allen
•News: the purchase of the Variety Theatre, local singer bows out of American Idol after reaching the Top 10, the genesis of Mazel Tov Cocktail Party, and a change at Tafelmusik
•Almanac: the opening of Carnegie Hall, and 100 years later the premiere of Joan Tower’s Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman No. 3 — at Carnegie
by Jarrett Hoffman
The audience may have been more restrained than the appreciatively foot-stomping listeners who typically pack into Finney Chapel back home — but not by much. The crowd in New York’s Carnegie Hall gave two ensembles from Oberlin College and Conservatory a warm reception on January 19, with loud cheers and even some shoutouts to the players onstage. All well-deserved.
by Mike Telin
As a music journalist, I have had many opportunities to have aside conversations with artists about their favorite concert halls. While everyone mentions the acoustic of places like Severance Hall, for example, most add that they can also feel the ghosts that inhabit these storied venues.
Without question one of the most iconic halls in the United States is Carnegie Hall, and on Saturday, January 19 the Oberlin Orchestra and College Choir will perform among the ghosts of Tchaikovsky, Dvořák, Mahler, Bartók, George Gershwin, Billie Holiday, Benny Goodman, Judy Garland, and The Beatles, to name only a few. To view the full roster of Carnegie Hall ghosts, click here.
You can hear a preview concert by these Oberlin ensembles on Wednesday, January 16 at 7:30 pm in Finney Chapel. Gregory Ristow will lead the Choir in Tarik O’Regan’s Triptych and Stravinsky’s Les noces, and Raphael Jiménez will lead the orchestra in Elizabeth Ogonek’s All These Lighted Things (three little dances for orchestra) and Debussy’s La Mer. Click here for the live webcast.
by Jarrett Hoffman
New York, March 27.
Apollo’s Fire brought the house down and the heart rates up at their Carnegie Hall debut last Thursday, March 22 at the venue’s cozy Zankel Hall in New York City. The highlight of this “Evening at Bach’s Coffeehouse” was the closer: a thrilling, caffeinating performance of Vivaldi’s “La Follia” Sonata for Two Violins and Continuo, arranged by artistic director, conductor, and harpsichordist Jeannette Sorrell for this Cleveland-based Baroque orchestra.
by Mike Telin
On Sunday, October 18 at 2:00 pm, pianist Peter Takács will present the first of three recitals titled The Beethoven Experience in Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall as part of the new Key Pianists concert series, conceived by pianist Terry Eder to fill a void in New York concert life.
According to Eder, “many wonderful pianists playing with wisdom, insight, sensitivity, and beauty are not heard in New York. These stellar artists, as well as New York audiences, deserve an event to share this extraordinary music-making.”
Area audiences can hear Takács perform selections from his Carnegie Hall program on Thursday, October 8 at 8:00 pm in Oberlin Conservatory’s Warner Concert Hall. The program will include three of Beethoven’s early sonatas: Op. 2, No. 1 in f; Op. 13, No. 8 in c (“Pathétique”); and Op. 2, No. 3 in C. [Read more…]