Denise Larkin Archives - Cleveland Classical

Review: Contrapunctus explores a millennium of choral music at St. John Cathedral (June 6)

June 9, 2014 by Special to ClevelandClassical.com

by Timothy Robson

Contrapunctus, a professional choral group just finishing its first season, gave an unusual program of music for high voices (sopranos, altos, countertenors) at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist on Friday, June 6th. British countertenor and conductor David Acres, music director of Contrapunctus, planned an audacious program of 22 works, with repertoire from Gregorian chant and the early polyphonist Perotin, through Brahms and Fauré, to a striking new work by Cleveland composer Kevin Foster.

The tenors and basses of Contrapunctus sat this one out, but if these fine performances are any indication, audiences should flock to the group’s next concert. [Read more…]

Review: Contrapunctus debuts at Trinity with “The Life and Times of Mary, Queen of Scots” (March 2)

March 10, 2014 by Special to ClevelandClassical.com

by Daniel Hathaway

The chamber choir formerly known as Cantores made its debut under the new name of Contrapunctus at Trinity Cathedral on Sunday afternoon, March 2, with an historically themed concert, “The Life and Times of Mary, Queen of Scots, 1542-1587.”

Led by its new artistic director, English countertenor David Acres, the 19 singers expertly presented 15 exquisite church motets by English, Scottish, Spanish and Italian composers of the Renaissance, embedded into a lengthy, printed narrative of Mary’s life with color images and supplemented by a few brief excerpts from her own writings delivered by actor Denise Larkin.

Performing music within its historical context with the help of images and spoken words can result in a rich experience for the listener when several streams run together to form a larger river. [Read more…]

CityMusic Cleveland: Brouwer’s Viola Concerto with Eliesha Nelson in Rocky River (Oct. 27)

by Daniel Hathaway

The peripatetic CityMusic Cleveland Chamber Orchestra was founded with the admirable mission of bringing free performances of classical music to various corners of metropolitan Cleveland.

Having already taken their interesting program of works by J.S. Bach, Margaret Brouwer, and Johannes Brahms to Fairmount Presbyterian Church in Cleveland Heights, St. Noel Church in Willoughby Hills, and the Shrine Church of St. Stanislaus in Slavic Village, CityMusic ended its most recent progress around town at Our Lady of Angels in Rocky River on Sunday afternoon, October 27. The performance attracted a large audience. [Read on…]

Cleveland Orchestra delights Halloween and Christmas fans alike with early holiday concert (Nov. 1)

This article was originally published on Cleveland.com.

By Peter Feher

CLEVELAND, Ohio — This year, the Cleveland Orchestra has virtually every store, shopping mall, and local radio station beat in being the first to break out the Christmas music.

The day after Halloween may be too early for most Ohioans to start getting into the holiday spirit, but it’s the perfect time for Jack Skellington and the charmingly creepy stop-motion cast of the 1993 animated film “The Nightmare Before Christmas.”

Die-hard fans have often debated during which season the movie should be shown – Halloween or Christmas? You could say the Cleveland Orchestra came up with something of a clever compromise, presenting “Nightmare” live in concert along with the airing of the movie on Friday, Nov. 1 at Severance Music Center. It was a single sold-out performance.

[Read on…]

Discovering the magic of water-inspired music with Tan Dun and the Cleveland Orchestra (Oct. 31)

This article was originally published on Cleveland.com.

By Stephanie Manning

CLEVELAND, Ohio — The gusty winds that buffeted Severance Music Center on Halloween night seemed an apt complement for music about the elements. Inside, though, the focus was on a different force of nature: water, both literal and figurative.

On the podium was composer-conductor Tan Dun, making his Cleveland Orchestra debut in a program that will be repeated on Saturday, November 2. With the composer himself present, it was only fitting that the ensemble should give the Cleveland premiere of two of his pieces: the Water Concerto and Concerto for Orchestra.

[Read on…]

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