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Music and the environment: a conversation with composer Margaret Brouwer about Voice of the Lake

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by Samantha Spaccasi

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“Lake Erie is in trouble, and getting worse by the year,” reads an August 2014 article in The New York Times that describes the water crisis in Toledo. The disaster spawned another national conversation about the state of the country’s drinking water and environmental pollution. For composer Margaret Brouwer, that conversation, coupled with her love of Lake Erie, spawned an idea — a new piece titled Voice of the Lake.

In a recent phone conversation, Brouwer described her newest work about Lake Erie’s beauty, but also about its serious environmental problems. I reached her at Interlochen, which she called “a great place to compose.” Brouwer explained her process of creating Voice of the Lake. She’s been working on it for over a year and said it’s “3/4 complete.” [Read more…]

Cleveland International Classical Guitar Festival: five recitals (June 9-11)

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Jason Vieaux, guitar
by Daniel Hathaway

Vieaux-(Tyler-Boye)The 17th Cleveland International Classical Guitar Festival got off to an auspicious start at the Cleveland Institute of Music on Friday evening, June 9 with a beautifully structured recital by Jason Vieaux. Originally scheduled for Mixon Hall, the performance was moved to Kulas Hall because of the demand for tickets. In cases like that, it’s nice to have a second venue right across the lobby. Any doubts about how the sound of a solo guitar would fare in the larger space were immediately put to rest by Vieaux’s sonorous performance of Fernando Sor’s Mes Ennuis at the top of the program. [Read more…]

CIM New Music Symposium: fifteen minutes with George Tsontakis

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by Jeremy Reynolds

TsontakisOn Sunday, April 2 at 4:00 pm in Mixon Hall at the Cleveland Institute of Music, CIM New Music Ensemble will present a concert including George Tsontakis’ Gravity Plus, selections from Midnight Rain, and Portraits by El Greco, as well as music by Morton Feldman and Stephen Stucky. Tsontakis will be featured in a New Music Symposium on Saturday, April 1 at 1:30 pm, in Studio 113 at CIM. Both events are free and open to the public.

Keith Fitch, head of composition and director of the New Music Ensemble at CIM, said that the school generally hosts three composers each year for guest residencies of a few days. The composers spend time working with the CIM Orchestra and New Music Ensemble, as well as holding masterclasses with the composition students. [Read more…]

CIM Opera: Mozart’s Così fan tutte plays out in another Naples (Mar. 2)

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by Daniel Hathaway

rm_cim_opera_cosi-fan-tutti_robert-muller_3_17-(4)Jettisoning powdered wigs in favor of Bermuda shorts and golf clubs, CIM Opera Theater director David Bamberger moved the action in Mozart’s Così fan tutte from 18th-century Naples (Italy) to 1970s Naples (Florida) last Thursday evening in Kulas Hall. That update worked nicely, although Fiordiligi and Dorabella aren’t names you’d be likely to hear on a Gulf Coast beach. [Read more…]

Winter Chamber Music Festival begins on December 1 at CIM

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by Mike Telin

cim-chamber-musicAs the fall semester come to a close at the Cleveland Institute of Music, it’s once again time for the school’s annual Winter Chamber Music Festival. From December 1 through December 4, students, faculty, and guests will present thirteen concerts featuring over forty unique chamber music compositions.

In addition to performances by woodwind, brass, and percussion ensembles, the school-wide festival of chamber music will feature participants in the Intensive String Quartet and Intensive Duo Seminars, the Advanced Piano Trio Program, and CIM’s Preparatory Friday Night Chamber Music, as well as the Young Artist Programs. As always, the Festival will feature an all-evening Chamber Music Marathon. All performances are free unless otherwise noted.

“The Winter Chamber Music Festival is one of the true musical highlights of the year here in Cleveland,” Cavani Quartet violinist Annie Fullard said via email. [Read more…]

CIM Pierre Boulez Tribute: “Boulez the Modernist II” (Oct. 26)

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by Daniel Hathaway

BOULEZ-PierreThe CIM faculty recital on October 26 in Mixon Hall featured members of Ars Futura and guests in a program of music by Pierre Boulez and others, all related in some way to the career of the late, great French composer and conductor. The performance was the fourth of five concerts created by CIM composition head Keith Fitch to celebrate “The Boulez Legacy,” and the second to explore “Boulez the Modernist.” [Read more…]

CIM Opera Theatre to produce Puccini/Menotti double bill

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by Mike Telin

renee-richardsonStories of two women will take center stage this week when the Cleveland Institute of Music Opera Theatre, David Bamberger, director, presents the double bill of Giacomo Puccini’s Suor Angelica and Gian Carlo Menotti’s Amelia al ballo. The first recounts the tragic tale of a young girl who is sent to the convent for disgracing her family after giving birth to an illegitimate son. The second finds a wealthy socialite who will stop at nothing in order to attend the ball.

Harry Davidson will conduct the student cast and the CIM Orchestra in performances beginning on Wednesday, November 9 at 7:30 pm in Kulas Hall. The production continues through Saturday with 7:30 pm curtains on November 10, 11, and 12. [Read more…]

Boulez Legacy Series at CIM concludes with CIM new Music Ensemble (Oct. 30)

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by Timothy Robson

thomas-boulez“Boulez the Advocate and Mentor,” the last of five concerts at CIM honoring the late Pierre Boulez, took place on October 30 at Mixon Hall. Appropriately, the CIM New Music Ensemble, directed by Keith Fitch, was joined by soloist Joshua Smith (CIM faculty member and Cleveland Orchestra principal flute), who performed many times under Boulez’s direction. [Read more…]

Boulez Legacy continues at CIM with Ars Futura program October 26

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by Mike Telin

arsfutura2016The Boulez Legacy will continue on Wednesday, October 26 at 8:00 pm in Mixon Hall at the Cleveland Institute of Music with a faculty recital featuring the new music ensemble Ars Futura. The program, titled “Boulez the Modernist II,” will feature works by Pierre Boulez, John Cage, Mario Davidovsky, György Ligeti, and Olivier Messiaen.

“I’m honored to be a part of this series, and I learned a lot about Boulez when choosing this repertoire, pianist Shuai Wang said during a recent conference call that included flutist Madeline Lucas Tolliver. “I remember hearing a concert Boulez conducted with The  Cleveland Orchestra when I first came to CIM to study — it was amazing,” Wang said. [Read more…]

Boulez tribute at CIM continues with “Boulez the Conductor” on October 5

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by Mike Telin

BOULEZ-TCOPierre Boulez conducted The Cleveland Orchestra over a span of nearly fifty years. After making his American professional conducting debut with the Orchestra in 1965, he led them in more than 220 concerts. He was appointed the Orchestra’s first Principal Guest Conductor in 1969 and served as Musical Advisor for two seasons beginning shortly after George Szell’s death in 1970.

On Wednesday, October 5 at 8:00 pm in Kulas Hall at the Cleveland Institute of Music, Steven Smith will lead the CIM Orchestra in a program titled “Boulez the Conductor” as part of CIM’s series celebrating “The Boulez Legacy.” The evening will feature Stravinsky’s Le Chant du Rossignol, Mahler’s “Adagio” from Symphony No. 10, and Messiaen’s Sept Haïkaï: Esquisses japonaises with Cleveland Orchestra principal keyboard and CIM faculty member Joela Jones as soloist.

[Read more…]

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