New Amici Trio Archives - Cleveland Classical

Preview: New Amici Trio in Chagrin Valley Chamber Music finale — a conversation with pianist Cicilia Yudha

April 17, 2013 by Special to ClevelandClassical.com

by Daniel Hathaway

Among the chamber groups that have disbanded and successfully been revived is the Amici Trio, formed in Youngstown in 1980 with violinist John Wilcox, pianist Roman Rudnytsky and Michael Gelfand. The trio disbanded around 2005, but reappeared in 2008 as the New Amici Trio with Gelfand still at the cello position, plus violinist Hristo Popov and pianist Dror Biran. A series of pianists rotated into the trio until Cicilia Yudha joined the Youngstown State University Dana School of Music faculty last August. The trio will play the final concert in this season’s Chagrin Valley Chamber Music Series on Sunday, April 21 at 3:00 in Valley Lutheran Church in Chagrin Falls.

Cicilia Yudha enjoys playing in a piano trio again for musical as well as sentimental reasons. She grew up in a musical family in Indonesia, she told us by phone, “and my two brothers played violin and cello. I love chamber music and its an honor and a pleasure to play such great repertory.” [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.

[Read on…]

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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