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Yolanda Kondonassis:
Five Minutes for Earth
at Cleveland Museum of Art

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by Mike Telin

“When we see an idea expressed in the language of art, our sensory reactions often open the heart and mind to interaction in ways that mere facts may not,” writes Yolanda Kondonassis, who is not only a celebrated harpist but also the founder and director of the Earth at Heart foundation. “Action is the goal, but a visceral call to engagement can be the catalyst. There is not a minute to lose in our battle to protect the future of our planet, and an inspired commitment can make all the difference.”

On her latest recording, Five Minutes for Earth, Kondonassis asked fifteen composers to write five-minute works for solo harp that “expressed our Earth in some condition or atmosphere.”

Released in April 2022 on Azica Records, the album features music by Jocelyn C. Chambers, Chen Yi, Michael Daugherty, Daniel Dorff, Reena Esmail, Keith Fitch, Patrick Harlin, Stephen Hartke, Nathaniel Heyder, Takuma Itoh, Aaron Jay Kernis, Philip Maneval, Máximo Diego Pujol, Gary Schocker, Arturo Sandoval, and Zhou Long.

On Sunday, October 23 at 7:00 pm at Cleveland Museum of Art’s Gartner Auditorium, Kondonassis will present a program that includes the world-premiere live performances of all fifteen works along with recently composed pieces, poetry, and visual art. Tickets are available online.

[Read more…]

Triveni trio to blend musical traditions of India at Cleveland Museum of Art

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by Jarrett Hoffman

In Hindu tradition, there is a sacred site near Allahabad, India, where three rivers meet: the Ganges, the Yamuna, and the mythical Saraswati, thought to be invisible or perhaps underground. The confluence of those three rivers is known as Triveni Sangam — a name that three virtuosos of Indian classical music have borrowed to describe their new collaboration and the confluence of styles it represents.

On Wednesday, April 20 at 7:30 pm, the Cleveland Museum of Art will receive a visit from the newly formed Triveni, a trio which blends Hindustani and Carnatic (North and South Indian) musical traditions.

On the violin, and representing the North Indian raga tradition, is Kala Ramnath. On the veena, in particular the lute-like Saraswati veena from South India, is Jayanthi Kumaresh. And on the tabla, mixing rhythmic traditions from North and South to form a bridge on which the violin and veena can meet, is Zakir Hussain.

[Read more…]

The Crossing: Stacy Garrop’s In a House Besieged (Mar. 25)

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by Peter Feher

The Cleveland Museum of Art showed off a new piece last week, though one that didn’t hang on a wall. The musical work in question — Stacy Garrop’s In a House Besieged — had its world premiere at Gartner Auditorium on Friday, March 25.

From conception to instrumentation, the score was crafted with CMA in mind. The performance (brought together by the museum’s director of performing arts, Tom Welsh) honored the late Robert G. Schneider, combining the two musical passions of that Cleveland choir director and organist. In fact, Friday’s entire program, which featured the Philadelphia-based chamber choir The Crossing, made the most of Gartner Auditorium’s organ. [Read more…]

Sheng virtuoso Wu Wei at CMA (Mar. 11)

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By Peter Feher

Wu Wei is one of the world’s best players of an instrument you’ve likely never heard. The Chinese sheng virtuoso took advantage of this fact from the start of his dazzling program at the Cleveland Museum of Art’s Gartner Auditorium on March 11.

The stage was barely lit, and the rest of the hall was pitch black, when he made his entrance from the back of the house, down one of the aisles. His playing mingled with the other sounds in the auditorium — a violin line floating along the opposite aisle and spectral notes coming from the cello, harpsichord, and percussion onstage. [Read more…]

The Crossing at CMA: choir & organ, commission & dedication

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by Jarrett Hoffman

Three members of Philadelphia-based chamber choir The Crossing visited the Cleveland Museum of Art in 2017 to perform David Lang’s Lifespan, a piece that could be crudely described as people blowing and whistling at a rock.

“It sounds like the dumbest thing ever, but it’s a really great piece,” Donald Nally, who heads up The Crossing, said during a recent telephone conversation. Lifespan had caught the eye of CMA director of performing arts Tom Welsh, who then wanted to continue the relationship by bringing the entire choir to Cleveland.

It was a tragic event the following year — the passing of a beloved figure in the local music community, Robert G. Schneider, from complications following a car accident — that gave rise to an idea about what the museum and the ensemble could do together, in Schneider’s memory, around his two great passions of choir and organ.

On Friday, March 25 at 7:30 pm in Gartner Auditorium, The Crossing and organist Scott Dettra will give the premiere of Stacy Garrop’s In a House Besieged, commissioned by Welsh and CMA. The program also includes Lansing McLoskey’s The Memory of Rain and Arvo Pärt’s Salve Regina. Tickets are available here.

[Read more…]

Cleveland Museum of Art
to present Wu Wei, sheng

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by Jarrett Hoffman

Wu Wei, the Chinese-born, German-based virtuoso of the free reed instrument known as the sheng, discovered the instrument in, of all places, an animated film.

“It told a famous Chinese story about someone who cannot really play this instrument,” he said during a recent interview on Zoom. “There is a queen who wants to have 300 sheng players perform together. So sheng players are requested, and one volunteer decides to make a fake sheng and just gesture with his body, as if he’s playing,” Wu Wei said, swaying back and forth on camera to demonstrate.

Rest assured, when a man carrying a sheng enters the stage of Gartner Auditorium at the Cleveland Museum of Art on Friday, March 11 at 7:30 pm, he will be someone who knows a thing or two about how to play it.

An internationally-renowned sheng virtuoso who teaches at the Shanghai Conservatory, Wu Wei is also considered the instrument’s leading avant-garde figure, having dedicated a significant portion of his career to expanding its repertoire through arranging, commissioning, and composing.

[Read more…]

Fatoumata Diawara makes her visit to the Cleveland Museum of Art

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by Jarrett Hoffman

Balance is a key word in describing singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor Fatoumata Diawara.

There’s her music, where she aims to respect her Malian roots while embracing international influences.

There’s her love of pop music, contrasted with her lyrics, which can venture into heavy subjects — the antithesis of bubblegum.

And there’s the fact that, against those sometimes dark lines of text, she radiates joy onstage.

Clevelanders were deprived of that music and that stage presence two years ago, when Diawara’s trip to the Cleveland Museum of Art was canceled. So it was good news when her name appeared on the lineup for the Museum’s Performing Arts Series this season: she’ll finally make her visit to Gartner Auditorium next Wednesday, March 2 at 7:30 pm. Tickets are available here.

[Read more…]

CMA’s Performing Arts: Behind the Beat video series

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by Mike Telin

When the performing arts world came to a sudden halt back in March, Tom Welsh, director of performing arts at the Cleveland Museum of Art, began to think about how to respond.

“After the shutdown there was a dash to develop online content,” Welsh said during a recent telephone conversation. “That sparked the Museum staff to create the curatorial video series On My Mind. So I stepped back and thought, instead of just inviting musicians to play on-screen, why not talk to them and hear what they have to say about how they’re confronting the situation and feeling in this weird moment.”

Hosted by Welsh, Behind the Beat features artists who have direct connections to CMA, and highlights the Museum’s rich legacy of music.

In Episode 1, Welsh speaks with composer Aleksandra Vrebalov and David Harrington of the Kronos Quartet. “Aleksandra’s new work Antennae was to have been premiered at CMA at the end of March, so that piece was the first big casualty of COVID-19,” Welsh said. After returning to Serbia, Vrebalov phoned Welsh, telling him that she had gotten in touch with Harrington, and had re-written a short excerpt from Antennae for string quartet. “That was Kronos’ first online-only production.” [Read more…]

Contestants announced for 2020 Cleveland International Piano Competition

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by Jarrett Hoffman

Contestants have been announced for the 2020 Cleveland International Piano Competition, which takes place at the Cleveland Museum of Art and Severance Hall from July 26 to August 9.

Here are the numbers: Piano Cleveland, the presenting organization of the Competition, received 242 applicants from 28 nations. And the 29 chosen contestants, ages 20-32, represent 12 countries: Brazil, China, Croatia, Israel, Italy, Japan, Russia, South Korea, Spain, Tajikistan, Ukraine, and the United States.

At stake is the Mixon First Prize of $75,000, which also comes with a Carnegie Hall debut, three years of management services, and a recording on the Steinway & Sons label.

[Read more…]

CONCERT CANCELLED
Cleveland Museum of Art: a conversation with Fatoumata Diawara

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by Jarrett Hoffman

Note: due to flight cancellations, this performance has been cancelled.

Fatoumata Diawara aims for a particular balance in her music: respect for her Malian roots, and enthusiasm for international influences. Another balance? The singer and guitarist loves pop, which you can hear in her songs, but listeners should expect her lyrics to venture into heavy territory. And yet — another balance — when she’s onstage, she radiates joy.

The fascinating and thoughtful Diawara — who will perform at the Cleveland Museum of Art’s Gartner Auditorium on Wednesday, February 26 at 7:30 pm — picked up the phone last week in Lake Como, Italy. And when someone tells you they’re at Lake Como, there’s only one possible response.

Jarrett Hoffman: It’s so beautiful there!

Fatoumata Diawara: It’s a special place, very peaceful.

JH: I imagine that it’s also a great place to write music.

FD: Of course! It’s so nice when you take your guitar to the lake — you get inspiration right away. [Read more…]

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