by Daniel Hathaway
Having birthed such first-rate new music ensembles as eighth blackbird and ICE (International Contemporary Ensemble), the Oberlin Contemporary Music Ensemble has been long overdue for it own regular presence in Cleveland. [Read more…]
by Daniel Hathaway
At a time when cultural institutions are jumping through any number of hoops to try to break down barriers between artists and audiences, it’s kind of refreshing to find yourself standing in line at the washroom before an orchestra concert next to the featured composer of the evening. That was Peter Schickele, who was at Finney Chapel last Friday evening to hear Oberlin bassoon professor George Sakakeeny play his Concerto for Bassoon and Orchestra with the Oberlin Orchestra under the direction of Rafael Jiménez on a program that began with Jacques Ibert’s Escales and ended with Claude Debussy’s La Mer.
The concerto was written in 1998 for Sakakeeny and the ProMusica Chamber Orchestra of Columbus and revised the following year. Peter Schickele plays the bassoon himself, so he knew what he was doing when he wrote this challenging piece for Sakakeeny, an artist who is a consummate technician as well as a fine, lyrical player with perfectly even tone from top to bottom of that difficult instrument’s range. [Read more…]
by Mike Telin
It was a grand night for the bassoon last evening (Saturday, January 16) when five outstanding judges and clinicians from the Meg Quigley Vivaldi Bassoon Competition and Symposium came together to perform the second of three Joint Recitals of the weekend in Warner Concert Hall at the Oberlin Conservatory.
In general, the programming of bassoon recitals is problematic. Keeping the audience musically engaged for 90 minutes is not an easy task, however these five soloists chose works ranging from the unknown to staples of the bassoon repertoire, as well as transcriptions that brought out each individual performer’s unique personality and playing style. This, in addition to some brilliant programming co-ordination from Oberlin Professor of Bassoon George Sakakeeny, proved that a bassoon recital is able to provide audiences with a musically magical listening experience. [Read more…]