by Timothy Robson
The seventh season of Chamberfest Cleveland opened on Thursday, June 14 at the Cleveland Institute of Music’s Mixon Hall. The festival, brainchild of Cleveland Orchestra principal clarinet emeritus Franklin Cohen and his daughter, violinist Diana Cohen, concertmaster of the Calgary Symphony, has become an imaginative and well-attended fixture of June in Cleveland. The opening program typified the festival by combining familiar works with the more unusual. [Read more…]
by Jarrett Hoffman
In 1969, George Crumb heard the complex, otherworldly singing of the humpback whale — then a deeply endangered species — and was inspired to write Vox Balaenae (“Voice of the Whale”). A trio for flute, cello, and piano, all amplified, the work continues to fascinate audiences with its imitation of whale song, and the feeling it conjures of time standing still.
Taking the composer’s suggestion, ChamberFest Cleveland will cast a deep blue light over the stage of Mixon Hall at the Cleveland Institute of Music on Thursday evening, June 21, when they present Crumb’s underwater epic as part of a 7:30 pm concert titled “A Turn in the Road.” The program will also include Dvořák’s Piano Trio No. 3 in f and the “Adagio” from Berg’s Chamber Concerto.
I recently spoke with Scottish-born Lorna McGhee, principal flute of the Pittsburgh Symphony and professor at Carnegie Mellon University. [Read more…]
by Jarrett Hoffman
“When a father-in-law asks, it’s the law,” Roman Rabinovich said during a recent conversation. As fans of ChamberFest Cleveland know, that father-in-law is co-artistic director Franklin Cohen. His request? An arrangement of Brahms’ Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel to be performed at the Festival — and his son-in-law happily obliged.
Rabinovich’s nonet version of that solo piano work will receive its premiere on Saturday, June 23 at 7:30 pm in Mixon Hall at the Cleveland Institute of Music. And the web of connections in that program, titled “Forging New Paths,” is worth spending an evening on itself. There’s the Handel-to-Brahms thread: on one end of the program is the Baroque composer’s Trio Sonata in c, HWV 386a, while on the other end are Brahms’ Handel Variations — in their new clothes picked out by Rabinovich. And in between is Ligeti’s homage to Brahms: the Trio for Horn, Violin, and Piano — a rare instrumentation for which the big B also composed.
You’ll see Rabinovich at the harpsichord in the Handel sonata, but our conversation focused on his arrangement of the Brahms for flute, clarinet, horn, bassoon, string quartet, and double bass. [Read more…]
by Delaney Meyers
ChamberFest’s Tuesday, June 19 concert, “A Free for All,” will take place in the Crawford Rotunda at The Cleveland History Center, which houses the restored Euclid Beach Park Grand Carousel. Bassist Nathan Farrington says it will feature “a spectrum of pieces,” offering everyone at least one thing they can “dip their toes into.”
The unconventional program will include music by virtuoso fiddler and composer Mark O’Connor, a diverse set of old folk songs played by Farrington and clarinetist Franklin Cohen, Dvořák’s folk-inspired Songs My Mother Taught Me with soprano Amanda Powell. In a phone conversation, Farrington said he is most looking forward to playing one of the lesser known pieces on the program: Krzysztof Penderecki’s Duo Concertante for violin and bass, written in 2010 and inspired by the composer’s long-term friendship with violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter.
[Read more…]
by Delaney Meyers
Violinist David Bowlin, pianist Roman Rabinovich, and cellist Oliver Herbert left no heartstrings un-tugged in ChamberFest Cleveland’s debut performance at the AHA! Festival on Friday afternoon, June 8 in Drinko Hall at Cleveland State University. [Read more…]
by Hannah Schoepe
Whisking the listener away on a diverse journey of sounds, the AHA! Festival will present a piano trio from a fellow local summer series, ChamberFest Cleveland. Pianist Roman Rabinovich, cellist Oliver Herbert, and violinist David Bowlin will come together to play gems of the chamber music repertoire by Brahms, Kodály, and Janáček on Friday, June 8 at 2:00 pm in Drinko Hall at Cleveland State University.
Friday’s program will feature Brahms’ effervescent Piano Trio No. 1 in B, completed in 1854 and revised throughout the composer’s life. One of the most popular trios of all time, it reflects both the vivaciousness of Brahms’ youth and the emotional depth of his maturity. We recently spoke with David Bowlin, who admitted that the work is his favorite on the program. “I love the whole B-major trio,” he said. “Everyone loves the B-major trio!”
The concert also includes a modern twist: the Kodály Duo for Violin and Cello, and Janáček’s Pohádka (“Fairytale”) for piano and cello.
by Mike Telin
Since ChamberFest Cleveland’s inaugural season in 2012, Festival co-artist directors Diana and Franklin Cohen have taken the concept of thematic programming to new heights. (It’s) About Time (2013) explored elements of time as related to the musical experience. Last season’s theme, Cycles: Phases! reflected on the complexity of the human experience at each stage of life.
This season ChamberFest will consider the concept of freedom — an essential ingredient to the creative process. Beginning of June 14 and continuing through June 30, In Search of Freedom will explore the range of freedom in music, with nine concerts in a variety of venues.
In addition to violinist Diana Cohen and clarinetist Franklin Cohen, this year’s roster of returning artists will include violinists Noah Bendix-Balgley, Alexi Kenney, and Amy Schwartz-Moretti, violinist/violist Yura Lee, cellists Julie Albers, Clive Greensmith, and Oliver Herbert, bassist Nathan Farrington, and pianists Zoltán Fejérvári, Roman Rabinovich, and Orion Weiss. Making their ChamberFest debuts are violinist Noah Geller, violists Matthew Lipman and Tanner Menees, cellist Nicholas Canellakis, flutist Lorna McGhee, and singer Amanda Powell.
by Daniel Hathaway
Nine concerts under the banner of “In Search of Freedom” will take place in venues around Cleveland from June 14-30 as ChamberFest Cleveland launches its seventh season with a look into the individual struggles and joys of composers.
Founded by Cleveland Orchestra principal clarinet emeritus Franklin Cohen and his daughter, Diana Cohen, who is concertmaster of the Calgary Philharmonic, the festival will feature such favorite artists as Yura Lee, Noah Bendix-Balgley, Alexi Kenney, Oliver Herbert, Roman Rabinovich, Orion Weiss, Nathan Farrington, Julie Albers, and Amy Schwartz Moretti. Among the new faces in 2018 will be flutist Lorna McGhee and violist Tanner Menees, one of this summer’s artists in residence. [Read more…]
by Mike Telin
Last weekend ChamberFest Cleveland presented the final three concerts of its 2017 edition. I attended two of the performances which exemplified why the Festival has become a crown jewel in the area’s rich classical music scene. The inventive programming ranged from the almost never heard, to the seldom heard, to music by giants of the repertoire. Above all, the performances of the five works were beyond reproach. [Read more…]
by Samantha Spaccasi
Reinberger Chamber Hall at Severance Hall hosted the penultimate concert of ChamberFest Cleveland’s sixth season on the evening of June 30. It was the first ChamberFest experience for my family, who were visiting from the Washington, D.C. area. I told them they were in for a treat and they weren’t disappointed — the musicians delivered a wonderful performance. [Read more…]