Louis Creac’h Archives - Cleveland Classical

Nevermind, French baroque ensemble at Fairchild Chapel, Oberlin (Feb. 23)

February 27, 2016 by Daniel Hathaway

by Daniel Hathaway

Nevermind, which describes itself as “un jeune ensemble de quatre musiciens et amis issus du Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris,” visited the Oberlin Conservatory of Music this week at the behest of baroque flute professor Michael Lynn to give master classes to historical performance students. The three-year-old ensemble of “musicians and friends” also delighted a capacity audience with a concert of French Baroque music in Fairchild Chapel early Tuesday evening. Those 90 minutes count as one of the most stimulating baroque music experiences these ears have ever witnessed. [Read more…]

French baroque quartet “Nevermind” to play at Oberlin’s Fairchild Chapel

February 17, 2016 by Daniel Hathaway

by Mike Telin

“Many times baroque ensembles have a leader with different musicians playing at each concert,” Anna Besson, flutist for the Paris-based baroque quartet Nevermind said during a Skype interview. “But from the beginning, because we were friends, we wanted to be a quartet. Just us four and no one else.”

On Tuesday, February 23 at 6:30 pm in Oberlin’s Fairchild Chapel (Bosworth Hall), Besson will be joined by her colleagues Louis Creac’h, violin, Robin Pharo, viola da gamba, and Jean Rondeau, harpsichord, in a concert featuring music by Georg Phillip Telemann, Jean-Baptiste Quentin, Louis-Gabriel Guillemain, and François Couperin. [Read more…]

Cleveland Orchestra’s holiday concerts return with plenty of festive cheer (Dec. 11)

by Stephanie Manning

This article was originally published on Cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — If the twinkling lights, leafy green garlands and festive poinsettias didn’t already clue you in, the holidays have arrived at Severance Music Center. ‘Tis the season for annual traditions — including The Cleveland Orchestra’s holiday concerts, which began on Wednesday evening.

Running through December 22, the programs feature plenty of seasonal classics plus some potential new favorites. The first performance proved that this mix is a delightful recipe for festive cheer.

“Look at you all, out on a school night!” conductor Sarah Hicks proclaimed joyfully from the podium. Just as many concertgoers donned red outfits to get into the spirit, Mandel Concert Hall was also decked out with decorations and stage lighting effects.

[Read on…]

Oberlin Conservatory convincingly tells Omar’s story (Dec. 8)

by Stephanie Manning

The Cleveland premiere of Rhiannon Giddens’ and Michael Abels’ Pultizer Prize-winning opera Omar on December 8 at the Maltz Performing Arts Center proved that concert productions of opera can succeed without sets, elaborate costumes and extensive staging. Indeed, the Oberlin Conservatory presentation offered more than enough to keep the audience in the crowded house enthralled.

The Opera, which was also presented at Oberlin’s Finney Chapel two days earlier, is based on the 1831 autobiography of Muslim scholar Omar ibn Said, the only such work written by an enslaved person during their enslavement, and the only such document written in Arabic.

Rhiannon Giddens’ brilliant libretto chronicles the life of ibn Said, beginning in present-day Senegal and following him through his capture, journey via the Middle Passage, and enslavement in North and South Carolina. [Read on…]

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