by Kevin McLaughlin
Imagine a small band of musicians, each skilled but of dissimilar traditions, combining their talents for a banquet of world styles — Celtic, flamenco, Brazilian, and French — and you have an idea of the artistry of Miguel Espinoza Fusion. Presented at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Akron on Sunday, October 8, this was the inaugural concert of Arts @ Holy Trinity’s 40th season.
by Jarrett Hoffman
Inna Faliks has always found it natural to mix and match the arts.
“I think that’s directly related to growing up in Odessa, Ukraine, in a musical household, but also a household of people who love books,” the UCLA piano professor said during a recent telephone conversation. “I feel like the arts speak to each other in a way that’s extremely natural, so exploring that has never been anything that I decided to do. It’s always been second-nature to me.”
That’s been evident throughout Faliks’ career in projects combining music with poetry and theater. In the category of musical autobiography is her monologue-recital “Polonaise-Fantaisie: Story of a Pianist,” which she will bring to Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Akron on Sunday, March 27 at 4:00 pm as part of the Arts @ Holy Trinity series.
Faliks has described this one-woman show as her most personal. The narrative, spanning from immigration to music and love, is interspersed with works by Rodion Shchedrin, J.S. Bach, Jan Freidlin, Niccolò Paganini, Franz Liszt, Mozart, Chopin, and Beethoven. Admission is free. Click here to see the full program and to register for the livestream option.
by Jarrett Hoffman
The next concert from Les Délices is indeed about gods and heroes, built around 14th-century songs referencing characters such as Jason and Medea, Ulysses and Circe, and Tristan and Isolde.
But if you’re familiar with artistic director Debra Nagy, who makes a habit of crafting programs both musically and intellectually stimulating, you won’t be surprised that there’s more to these selections than just mythology.
The central idea behind the program — to be presented live February 25-27 in Shaker Heights and Akron — is something more meta. “The funny thing about these 14th-century translations is that they’re not so much about the characters, but about seeing yourself in them, or contrasting your experience with theirs,” Nagy said during a recent Zoom call. “There’s a sense of timeless relatability.”
That timelessness ties into another aspect of the program: the integration of contemporary poetry, including a new poem by former Ohio Poet Laureate Dave Lucas on commission from the ensemble. “A lot of his work draws on or is inspired by myth and storytelling,” Nagy said.
by Timothy Robson
Christa Rakich, currently Visiting Professor of Organ at Oberlin Conservatory, played an intriguing and unusual program on Sunday afternoon at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Akron. The concert was presented in a “hybrid” format for an in-person as well as an at-home audience.
by Mike Telin
Over the past ten years the music of Jean-Féry Rebel has become familiar to Les Délices audiences. The ensemble has performed several of the composer’s violin and trio sonatas, scenes from his opera L’Ulysse which highlighted the Odyssey-inspired program Myths & Allegories, and his early choreographed symphonies such as Caractères de la danse, which have become signature pieces for the group.
This week Les Délices will return to the music of Rebel when they present a program titled “The Elements” which is centered around Rebel’s 1737 masterpiece of the same name. The program also includes music of Rameau and the premiere of a new, nature-inspired piece for period instruments by Theo Chandler.
Concerts take place on Friday, April 5 at 7:30 pm at Akron’s Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Saturday the 6th at 8:00 pm at Lakewood Congregational Church, and Sunday the 7th at 4:00 pm in Herr Chapel at Plymouth Church. Tickets are available online. On Saturday beginning at 3:00 pm at the Bop Stop, Les Délices will present “Mother Nature Makes Music,” a free 45-minute program designed for children ages 5-12.
by Jarrett Hoffman
Fortepianist Sylvia Berry will headline a series of performances with Les Délices as the period instrument ensemble gets down to business with its tenth-anniversary season. “Mozart in Paris–Part 2” will feature a surprising arrangement of Mozart’s Gran Partita, readings of his strange and humorous letters, and pieces by three of his contemporaries: Boccherini, Schobert, and Cambini.
Northeast Ohioans can catch Les Délices at Akron’s Holy Trinity Lutheran Church on Thursday, October 4 at 7:30 pm, Lakewood Congregational Church on Saturday, October 6 at 8:00 pm, or Herr Chapel at Plymouth Church in Shaker Heights on Sunday, October 7 at 4:00 pm — preceded by a talk at 3:00, and followed by a celebration of the ensemble’s anniversary at Edwins. Purchase tickets here.
Anyone with an extra ounce of curiosity is also welcome to drop into some rehearsal time on Wednesday, October 3 from 6:30 to 9:30 pm at Herr Chapel, free of charge as part of the LD@Work series.
I reached Sylvia Berry by telephone after she had recently finished moving to a new house in Weymouth, MA — near Boston. That’s hardly a great time to be interviewed, but she was gracious and fun, in addition to being a walking Grove Dictionary of Music.
by Mike Telin
A tenth anniversary is a big deal, and the Cleveland-based period instrument ensemble Les Délices will celebrate that milestone in style. “We’ve got a lot of things going on over the next two weeks,” Les Délices founder and artistic director Debra Nagy said during a telephone conversation.
The festivities will kick off on Saturday, September 29 in Herr Chapel at Plymouth Church in Shaker Heights with Fortepiano Day. During the daylong event, with fortepianist Sylvia Berry as their guide, audiences will discover the spirit and nuance of the instrument Mozart and Haydn would have used.
At 10:30 am Berry will present a lecture demo titled “History of the Piano.” At 11:45 am, an interactive session, “Scratch and Sniff,” will allow pre-college students to try out their Classical repertoire — Mozart, Clementi, C.P.E. Bach, and others — on both modern and period instruments.