by Jarrett Hoffman
IN THIS EDITION:
•Ohio Arts Council grant applications open
•Jeffrey Mumford (pictured) featured in a documentary series
•News from NY: a Ukrainian bassoonist playing with the Youth Symphony, and women outnumbering men in the Philharmonic
•Three pieces for Thanksgiving, from revelry to gratitude and (hopefully just) a few thunderclaps
by Daniel Hathaway
Nothing seems to exemplify classical music during the COVID era quite so much as performances by solo cellists — often J.S. Bach solo suites, and usually broadcast online from the safe havens of musicians’ homes.
Now that live concerts are beginning to proliferate, it was delightful to hear Oberlin cello professor Darrett Adkins ring a change on the solo suite format with his Hypersuite No. 3 on September 28 in the Cirigliano Studio Theatre at Lorain County Community College. His program opened the new season of Signature Series performances in Elyria, and was dedicated to the memory of Eva Hornyak. [Read more…]
by Jarrett Hoffman
During the COVID-19 pandemic, performers and presenters have grappled with cancellations by giving virtual performances and releasing videos from the past.
Composers have been flying a little more under the radar — and in a way, that’s natural. “Sheltering in place isn’t that much different than being on deadline for a piece,” Oberlin Conservatory professor Stephen Hartke wrote by email. Cleveland Institute of Music professor Keith Fitch agreed: “A quarantined composer is not so different from a non-quarantined composer.”
Hartke and Fitch are two of the eight composers — including professors, freelancers, and young professionals — who agreed to share their thoughts for this article. After establishing that all things considered, they’re healthy and well, we delved into how — or whether — the pandemic has impacted their writing.
by Daniel Hathaway
Cincinnati-based pianist Awadagin Pratt will perform on the Lorain County Community College Signature Series on Monday, November 18 at 7:30 pm in the Cinema Hall at the Stocker Arts Center in Elyria. The free event is the annual Eva Hornyak Memorial Concert, for which Pratt will play Beethoven’s Sonata No. 31, Op. 110, Franck’s Prelude, Chorale and Fugue, and Liszt’s Sonata in b.
We last caught up with the pianist two years ago this month, before his performance on the Tri-C Classical Piano Series. In an interview with Jarrett Hoffman, Pratt talked about his training at the Peabody Conservatory (where he was the first to graduate with three diplomas — in piano, violin, and conducting), his prizes (he won the 1992 Naumburg Piano Competition and an Avery Fisher Career Grant two years later), his three visits to the White House (under presidents Clinton and Obama), and his appearance on Sesame Street (when he shared a piano with Big Bird).
I spoke with Awadagin Pratt by telephone at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory, where he teaches, and began by asking what’s been happening in his life during the last two years. [Read more…]
by Nicholas Stevens
The black box theatre, the unassuming intimacy, the ineffable crackle of composers and instrumentalists sitting ten feet apart: a recent concert at Lorain County Community College looked and felt like a typical new music occasion. Yet its unceasing flow of solos and duos foreclosed any temptation to write the experience off as just another contemporary show. To describe violinist Lauren Cauley and cellist Mariel Roberts, the performers who captivated listeners in LCCC’s Cirigliano Studio Theatre on Thursday, September 26, as “emerging” would be to conflate youth with artistic achievement — a mistake. [Read more…]
by Jarrett Hoffman
It happens so often in any industry that one collaboration morphs into many. That was the case when violinist Lauren Cauley and cellist Mariel Roberts worked with composer Jeffrey Mumford at June in Buffalo. At the time, Cauley and Roberts were members of the Mivos Quartet, which went on to perform Mumford’s the promise of the far horizon at the Kennedy Center in 2017.
Having recently left the Mivos, Cauley and Roberts will continue their partnership with each other — and with Mumford — on the next edition of Lorain County Community College’s Signature Series, which the composer curates.
The free concert of solos and duos will take place on Thursday, September 26 at 7:30 pm in Cirigliano Studio Theatre at the Stocker Arts Center. The program includes three works by Mumford, a world premiere by Richard Carrick, and music by Dai Fujikura, Clara Iannotta, Kaija Saariaho, and Mariel Roberts herself. [Read more…]
by Daniel Hathaway
Canadian violist Marina Thibeault, who will play a solo recital on the Lorain County Community College Signature Series on Monday, March 4 at 7:30 pm, switched from violin to viola early on. “There weren’t that many violists in Quebec City when I was growing up. I heard a concert that included both Brahms sonatas when I was 15 and if I had known earlier that such an amazing sound existed, I probably would never have played the violin,” she said in a recent telephone conversation from her home in Montreal. [Read more…]
by Daniel Hathaway
Cellist Deborah Pae will journey to Cleveland this weekend for the musical equivalent of a blind date with David Ellis and his Earth and Air: String Orchestra. “I’ve not met David yet,” the cellist said in a telephone conversation. “The first rehearsal will be our first introduction.” Pae will be the featured soloist in a program of music by Jeffrey Mumford and Tchaikovsky on Friday evening, April 6 at 7:30 pm at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Cleveland Heights.
Mumford acted as matchmaker for Pae’s concert with Earth and Air. In November of 2016, he brought the cellist to the Signature Series at Lorain County Community College for a solo recital, an engagement which came about in a similar fashion. “Jeffrey simply wrote to me through my website,” Pae said. “He really loves writing for the cello. I was still transitioning from Europe back to the States, and it took a while to discuss projects and possibilities.”
After that solo recital, Mumford suggested Ellis’ string orchestra to Pae, who is professor of cello at Eastern Michigan University and cellist with the Formosa Quartet. [Read more…]
The gift of music is always a wonderful way to say happy holidays to friends and family. The week, the editors and correspondents of ClevelandClassical.com are pleased to suggest nineteen CDs released in 2016 by outstanding musicians, most of whom call Northeast Ohio home.
There’s certainly something on this list for every classical music lover. Click on the links at the end of each paragraph to read complete reviews of each album. [Read more…]
by Mike Telin
For her latest recording, Mean Fiddle Summer: Modern American Violin Works, Lina Bahn has tapped the repertoire of composers she has admired and championed during her impressive, yet still young career. With a playing time of one hour and fifteen minutes, the CD is a fascinating listen as Bahn performs pieces representing a variety of styles ranging from fiddling to works inspired by Ysaÿe and Bartók. From start to finish, the violinist demonstrates her adroit technical facility, kaleidoscope of colors, and consummate musical taste. [Read more…]