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ChamberFest Cleveland — 
Together Again

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by Mike Telin

Since its debut season in 2012, ChamberFest Cleveland has been guided by a single idea — to create a family of musicians and audiences who come together to share their love of chamber music. And like so many families who were separated due to the pandemic, so was the ChamberFest family. 

Earlier this week, Festival co-artistic directors Diana and Franklin Cohen announced that the “chamberhood” will come together again June 9-26 with free, safe, family-friendly outdoor concerts, allowing as many as possible to experience the healing power of live music.

Around the theme of Together Again, the majority of the Festival’s concerts will be held at The Grove Amphitheatre, 425 N. Commons Blvd. in Mayfield. Click here for details and here for reservations (required). Audiences should bring a lawn chair or blanket as the venue has no permanent seating. Enhance your evening by bringing a picnic or ordering take-out from a local restaurant. The responsible consumption of alcohol is permitted. In case of rain, concerts will be moved to St. Paschal Baylon Church in Highland Heights (also the venue for the Festival’s final concert.)

“We can’t wait to share music with the community,” longtime ChamberFest pianist Roman Rabinovich said by telephone. “These times have made it clear about what is important in music — and that is the sharing part.”

[Read more…]

The Best of ChamberFest Cleveland on WCLV 104.9 Ideastream

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by Mike Telin

Founded in 2012 by Diana and Franklin Cohen, ChamberFest Cleveland has become a highly anticipated event each June for people seeking an immersive chamber music experience.

If the absence of live Festival performances this summer is leaving a void in your soul, take note: ChamberFest is collaborating with WCLV 104.9 Ideastream to broadcast nine programs drawing on material from all eight festival seasons on the station’s Wednesday evening “Ovations” Series and six, one-hour Sunday evening broadcasts. WCLV co-founder Robert Conrad will host and produce the series. Click here to view the schedule.

It’s no secret that since the pandemic caused the cancellation of all live performances, there has been a seemingly never-ending “stream” of performances by musicians and arts organizations over the Internet. Coupled with the reality that our lives are now spent in front of a glowing computer screen, this has caused our eyes and minds to grow weary.

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Best of ChamberFest Cleveland broadcasts begin June 24 on WCLV

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by Daniel Hathaway

ChamberFest Cleveland patrons will be thrilled to learn that the popular early summer concert series founded in 2012 by Diana and Franklin Cohen won’t be completely missing in action this year due to the pandemic.

In lieu of its ninth season of live performances, ChamberFest is collaborating with WCLV to broadcast nine programs from its high-quality concert archives. The performances, which draw on material from all eight festival seasons, will be broadcast on the station’s Wednesday evening “Ovations” Series on June 24, August 5, and August 12 from 8:00 to 10:00 pm, and in a series of six, one-hour Sunday evening broadcasts from June 28 through August 2, all at 8:00 pm.

WCLV co-founder Robert Conrad will host and produce the series, which will include performances that have never gone out over the airwaves before.

We’ll share more information about the broadcasts next week. Meanwhile, here’s the schedule as it stands now, subject to change. [Read more…]

Rising Stars steal the show at ChamberFest’s Folklorica (June 23)

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by Rory O’Donoghue

There are rare, perfect moments in chamber music where minds meld and hearts coalesce in beautiful synergy. Violinist Nathan Meltzer and pianist Evren Ozel, both young phenoms, did just that with their pre-concert performance of Franck’s Violin Sonata during ChamberFest Cleveland’s Folklorica on Sunday, June 23 in CWRU’s Harkness Chapel. On an afternoon packed with stellar musicianship, the two distilled Franck down to its exquisite essence. I doubt I will ever hear a better rendition.  [Read more…]

ChamberFest Cleveland: “Hungary for Music” (June 25)

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by Daniel Hathaway

For its eighth program on June 25, ChamberFest gathered four wildly different pieces under the banner of “Hungary for Music.” Works by Franz Liszt, Peter Eötvös, Johannes Brahms, and Ernst von Dohnányi received definitive performances on Friday evening in CIM’s Mixon Hall. [Read more…]

ChamberFest 2019: a conversation with Diana Cohen and Juho Pohjonen

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by Mike Telin

This weekend ChamberFest Cleveland will wrap up its eighth season with a pair of concerts that continue to explore this year’s theme of Under the Influence. On Friday, June 28 at 7:30 pm in the Cleveland Museum of Art’s Gartner Auditorium, “Precocious Virtuosity” will feature music by Mozart, Mendelssohn, and Moritz Moszkowski. And on Saturday, June 29 at 7:30 pm in CIM’s Mixon Hall, “French Connection” will include music of Poulenc, Stravinsky, Gérard Pesson, Françaix, and Fauré. Tickets are available online.

I recently sat down with violinist and ChamberFest’s co-artistic director Diana Cohen and pianist Juho Pohjonen at the epicenter of the Festival — the Cohen house.

When I arrived, a rehearsal of the Mendelssohn Octet was taking place in the living room while Frank Cohen was sitting on a sofa beaming with joy as he took in the beautiful sounds. In the kitchen and dining room, caterers were busy setting up for a reception that would include a performance by violinist Itamar Zorman and pianist Roman Rabinovich. [Read more…]

ChamberFest Cleveland: “Sei Solo” at Mixon (June 22)

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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…]

ChamberFest Cleveland: “In Full Swing” (June 14)

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by David Kulma

CIM’s Kulas Hall on Friday, June 14 was the setting for the enjoyable and amazingly performed second concert in ChamberFest Cleveland’s eighth season. Titled “In Full Swing,” the evening featured three works tangentially related to dancing by Leonard Bernstein, John Adams, and Antonín Dvořák. But before the fantastic music-making by professionals, the pre-concert performance by the Deng sisters was easily a highlight. [Read more…]

ChamberFest Cleveland stuns with season opener (June 13)

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by Rory O’Donoghue

ChamberFest Cleveland descended from the heavens with “Under the Influence,” the inaugural concert of its eighth season on June 13 in CIM’s Mixon Hall. Exquisite interpretation, unparalleled finesse, and delightful music-making tied the evening’s selections together in performances of simply the highest caliber. [Read more…]

ChamberFest Cleveland: “Mozart the Giant” (June 20)

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by Daniel Hathaway

Mozart the influencer was documented in music for winds by Beethoven and Poulenc for ChamberFest Cleveland’s fifth program on Thursday, June 20 in CIM’s Mixon Hall, while the notion of “Mozart the Giant” was affirmed by the composer’s own String Quintet in D. The first part of the evening was distinguished by elegant wind playing every bit as refined as what you would expect from a world-class string quartet, yet fully capable of incisive punctuation when the music called for emphatic gestures.

[Read more…]

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