Milton Quartet Archives - Cleveland Classical

Fresh off Fischoff win, Milton String Quartet to perform at ENCORE

June 27, 2017 by Samantha Spaccasi

by Mike Telin

Life has quickly changed for the Milton String Quartet. After winning the grand prize and string division gold medal at the 44th Annual Fischoff Chamber Music Competition in May of this year, violinists Roman Fraser and Maithéna Girault, violist Evan Robinson, and cellist Joshua Morris are already receiving invitations to perform recitals and at festivals.

Formed in 2015 at the Schulich School of Music of McGill University, the ensemble is also ENCORE Chamber Music’s Fellowship Quartet, and on Friday, June 30 at 7:00 pm, they will present a free recital at the Tudor House on the campus of Gilmour Academy. The program will include Joseph Haydn’s Quartet in F, Op. 77, No. 2, Béla Bartók’s Quartet No. 3 in C#, and Felix Mendelssohn’s Quartet No. 4 in e.

The Milton are the Festival’s first Fellowship Quartet. “I heard about the program from Clara Engen, who is ENCORE’s Head of Operations,” Joshua Morris said during a conference call with his quartet colleagues earlier this month. “Clara and I both did our undergraduate studies at Oberlin and we’ve kept in touch. She encouraged us to apply. We did, and we won, and we’re very happy about that.” In addition to Friday’s concert, the Quartet are also performing outreach concerts, playing in master classes, and receiving daily coaching with the Cavani Quartet as part of the Fellowship. [Read more…]

ENCORE Chamber Music begins second season June 11

June 7, 2017 by Mike Telin

by Mike Telin

With the overarching theme of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” ENCORE Chamber Music is ready to begin its second season. “Last year was a pilot year for us, so there was a lot of experimentation,” ENCORE founder and artistic director Jinjoo Cho said during an interview. “I think this year is going to be even better. We’ve made some changes to the format, and the level of the students who are attending is even higher.” [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…]

Kirill Gerstein is captivating on piano as Cleveland Orchestra recital series continues (Dec. 4)

by Daniel Hathaway

This article was originally published on Cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — There’s no dearth of first-class piano performances to enjoy in Northeast Ohio, but Kirill Gerstein’s contribution to the collective wealth Wednesday night was extraordinary both in concept and execution.

Playing as part of the Cleveland Orchestra’s ongoing recital series at Severance Music Center, Gerstein wove an overarching narrative from the 21 little masked ball portraits in Robert Schumann’s “Carnaval.” Then he helped composer Francisco Coll blow up the idea of the waltz in two striking, brand new pieces written for Gerstein and joined Maurice Ravel in redefining that most civilized of dances in a cataclysmic performance of “La valse.”

[Read on…]

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