Hyunsoon Whang Archives - Cleveland Classical

Generosity and poise at the Rocky River Chamber Music Society (Nov. 6)

November 14, 2023 by Kevin McLaughlin

by Kevin McLaughlin

Generosity and poise are two qualities a chamber musician would be fortunate to possess. Fortunately for those of us in attendance at West Shore Unitarian Universalist Church in Rocky River on Monday, November 6, cellist Keith Robinson and pianist Hyunsoon Whang are endowed amply with both, thus conveying only the pleasure of performance in two difficult cello sonatas — Barber’s early Op. 6 and Prokofiev’s late Op. 116. Whang also lent ease and grace to Brahms’ solo Intermezzo, Op. 118, No. 2, and clarinetist Daniel McKelway lent luster in the Brahms Trio, Op. 114 on the second half.

Poise was tested early, as no sooner had our musicians sat down to begin when a stentorian “Ah-choo!” boomed out from somewhere in the audience. Startled, Robinson nodded in the sneezer’s direction with a good-natured, “You scared me!” [Read more…]

Rocky River Chamber Music Society: a conversation with cellist Keith Robinson

November 2, 2023 by Mike Telin

by Mike Telin

While it is common to discover that a trio of musicians all attended the same conservatory or university, it is not so common to discover that the trio all attended the same high school. “Hyunsoon and I were in high school together at the North Carolina School of the Arts,” cellist Keith Robinson said during a recent phone call. “In fact, Dan went there too.”

On Monday, November 6 at 7:30 pm at West Shore Unitarian Universalist Church, Robinson will be joined by pianist Hyunsoon Whang and clarinetist Daniel McKelway in a concert that includes Samuel Barber’s Cello Sonata in c, Sergei Prokofiev’s Cello Sonata in C, and Johannes Brahms’ Intermezzo in A, Op. 118, No. 2 as well as his Clarinet Trio. The free concert is part of the Rocky River Chamber Music Society series. Click here for the livestream.

Robinson, who is a founding member of the Miami String Quartet, noted that Monday’s concert will be his debut performance of the Prokofiev Sonata. “Hyunsoon and I have played the Barber and Rachmaninoff sonatas together and we were thinking about doing the same. Then we said, ‘Wait, let’s learn a new piece’ — it just makes it interesting for us.”

The cellist said that he has found the Prokofiev to be “really enchanting,” and that it complements Barber quite well. “They’re pretty close in age — Barber wrote his in 1932 and Prokofiev was in the late ‘40s. The Barber is dark and brooding, and the Prokofiev can be pretty funny at times. You can tell the Barber is heavily influenced by Brahms, and because it’s in the key of c-minor, it is dark.”

[Read more…]

Singers’ Club of Cleveland: To Dwell in Harmony (Dec. 9)

by Kevin McLaughlin

The Singers’ Club of Cleveland brought the joy of the season to Trinity Cathedral on Tuesday evening with a program titled To Dwell in Harmony, a holiday offering both polished and good-humored. The venerable all-male chorus — whose lineage stretches back to 1891 and includes collaborations with conductors from Beryl Rubinstein to Robert Shaw — now finds itself under new leadership.

Christopher Clark, appointed in August as Artistic Director (while serving concurrently as Director of Choirs at Case Western Reserve University), led his first Singers’ Club concert with easy command. The chorus appeared to trust him from the first downbeat, and the audience received him just as warmly.

Trinity Cathedral, whose acoustics can flatter or expose a chorus in equal measure, proved an asset. The evening opened with one of its most effective moments: Veni, Veni Emmanuel in John Englert’s arrangement. Clark placed the choir on three sides of the audience, creating a surround-sound of chant that was silky and assured — a confident beginning. [Read on…]

Les Délices welcomes the festive season with “Noel, Noel” (Dec. 7)

by Stephanie Manning

Once December kicks in, an almost overwhelming number of holiday programs pop up around Northeast Ohio. But Les Délices’ offering should draw your attention.

While other festive concerts may create the atmosphere of a bustling party by the fireplace, “Noel, Noel” is like observing a snowy evening from the warmth of the indoors. This is music best enjoyed in quiet contentment, and especially live — so it’s no surprise that the early music ensemble brought back this signature program for three performances this month.

On December 7 at West Shore Unitarian Universalist Church, the six-member group presented a lovely ninety-minute program, which is also available on CD and via streaming until the end of the year. [Read on…]

Cleveland Chamber Choir: In Four Voices (Dec. 3)

by Kevin McLaughlin

Renaissance polyphony can bloom in resonant spaces, but the Donna and James Reid Gallery at the Cleveland Museum of Art presents particular challenges: hard surfaces and a long reverb tend to blur consonants into watercolor. The Cleveland Chamber Choir’s four-voice ensemble met those conditions head-on during its “In Four Voices” program on December 3. What emerged was an evening of consistently beautiful vocal timbre shaped by a group navigating the sonic characteristics of the room.

The concert, to be followed in January and March by appearances of various-sized ensembles, is part of a new development for the Cleveland Chamber Choir, called the Camerata Series — more information here.

To improve their chances of hearing one another, the quartet — soprano Lauren Vanden Broeck, mezzo-soprano Kira McGirr, tenor Joel Kincannon, and bass Dominic Aragon — stood in a traditional “part book” formation, like a diamond, facing inward. This meant that their sound was directed toward each other, rather than outward to the listeners around them. [Read on…]

See all reviews

Follow ClevelandClassical.com

Contact us