Matthew Payne Archives - Cleveland Classical

Oberlin Opera Theatre: “A Salute to Leonard Bernstein” (Nov. 7)

November 15, 2018 by Daniel Hathaway

by Daniel Hathaway

On November 7 in Hall Auditorium, Jonathon Field’s Oberlin Opera Theatre celebrated Leonard Bernstein’s centennial year with a professional-quality performance of his one-act opera, Trouble in Tahiti, and a revisiting of some of his Broadway triumphs in excerpts both brilliantly sung and crisply danced. [Read more…]

Oberlin Cantata Project: Bach Vespers at the Church of the Covenant (Nov. 5)

November 9, 2017 by Daniel Hathaway

by Daniel Hathaway

Johann Sebastian Bach’s 200 surviving church cantatas (some think he may have written even more) usually get performed out of context in modern times. Fifth-year Oberlin student Matt Bickett and friends created the Oberlin Cantata Project to surround one of these important works with other liturgical music that would have been experienced in the same service by Bach’s congregations in Leipzig. [Read more…]

Oberlin Cantata Project puts Bach’s church cantatas in perspective

October 26, 2017 by Daniel Hathaway

by Daniel Hathaway

Beginning this Saturday, Oberlin student Matt Bickett will be putting Johann Sebastian Bach’s church cantatas into context with his Oberlin Cantata Project. Bickett will lead an ensemble of mainly student singers and instrumentalists in three performances of Bach’s cantata Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott, BWV 80, that will surround the work with Dietrich Buxtehude’s Alles was ihr tut and Johann Pachelbel’s Gott ist unser Zuversicht — other pieces that might have been heard during the same service at the Thomaskirche in Leipzig.

The Cantata Project will be presented on Saturday, October 28 at 7:30 pm at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Cleveland Heights, on Sunday, October 29 at 6:30 pm in Warner Concert Hall in Oberlin, and on Sunday, November 5 at 5:00 pm at the Church of the Covenant in Cleveland. All events are free. [Read more…]

Pianist Yuja Wang creates magic with The Cleveland Orchestra (Nov. 28)

by Stephanie Manning

This article was originally published on Cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Thanksgiving weekend concerts by The Cleveland Orchestra often center around a big-ticket soloist or a popular piece.

This year’s program offers both, thanks to star pianist Yuja Wang and Maurice Ravel’s brilliant orchestration of Modest Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition.”

On Friday November 28, the snow cleared just in time for the crowds to arrive at Severance Music Center for the evening event. Led by conductor Petr Popelka, the resulting concert equally displayed the prowess of Orchestra and soloist over the course of three fascinating works.

György Ligeti’s Piano Concerto stood out in contrast to the lush textures and easy-to-follow melodies of the works that surrounded it. Premiered in 1988, its dissonant and avant-garde music might have come from another world. But both Wang and the Orchestra rose to meet the challenge of its devilishly tricky rhythms with an assured confidence.

Les Arts Florissants make Vivaldi’s Four Seasons feel fresh and inspired (Nov. 18)

by Stephanie Manning

Performing a work as ubiquitous as Antonio Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons requires a delicate balance. At its best, the musicality and intention must be crystal clear, so that the end result feels as fresh as it does familiar. It’s a high bar, but one that Les Arts Florissants cleared with the utmost ease.

On November 18, the renowned French baroque ensemble visited Tuesday Musical to celebrate the 300th anniversary of Vivaldi’s famous quartet of violin concertos. Soloist Théotime Langlois de Swarte led the spirited group in the Vivaldi-focused program, which also included works by Marco Uccellini and Claudio Monteverdi. [Read on…]

BlueWater Chamber Orchestra with violinist David McCarroll in Rocky River (Nov. 23)

by Daniel Hathaway

Let’s cut to the chase and simply say that it would be difficult to imagine a more perfect and moving performance of Beethoven’s Violin Concerto than the one David McCarroll gave with Daniel Meyer and BlueWater Chamber Orchestra on Sunday afternoon, November 23 at Rocky River Presbyterian Church. We’ll come back to that thought.

The straight-through performance preceded the Beethoven with works by Cleveland composer Margaret Brouwer and a youngish Aaron Copland.

Brouwer’s engaging and popular The Art of Sailing at Dawn evokes memories of growing up on the Great Lakes. A flute conjures sonic images of gulls, and subtle waves support a lovely oboe solo before the wind kicks up and dark clouds assemble. A storm erupts, but soon passes, leading to a quiet ending. [Read on…]

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