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“Five at Five” recital marks organist Dexter Kennedy’s return from Europe

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by Daniel Hathaway

Mueller-Organ-St-BavoAfter a whirlwind, six-week, ten-recital European tour that also included weeklong choral residencies at Westminster Abbey and Salisbury Cathedral, organist Dexter Kennedy is back at work as assistant organist at Christ Church in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, organ instructor at the College of Wooster, and guest organ teacher at his alma mater, the Oberlin Conservatory. On top of that, one of his first recitals of the season will open the “Five at Five” concert series at Akron’s Westminster Presbyterian Church on Sunday, September 10 at 5:00 pm.

Kennedy’s eclectic program on the church’s American classic-style Schantz organ will include Georg Böhm’s Praeludium in C, J.S. Bach’s Concerto in d after Vivaldi, BWV 596, Jehan Alain’s Première and Deuxième Fantaisies, Gabriel Pierné’s Trois Pièces pour Grand Orgue à Pédales, Op. 29, Ethel Smyth’s Choralvorspiel und fuge über O Traurigkeit, o Herzeleid, and Maurice Duruflé’s “Toccata” (from the Suite, Op. 5). [Read more…]

Oberlin Cooper Competition: ten violinists play concertos (July 18)

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by Samantha Spaccasi with Daniel Hathaway

Oberlin-Cooper-Banner

23 young violinists descended upon Oberlin this week for the 2017 Cooper International Violin Competition, which began on July 15. After three days of intense competition, only 10 of the musicians advanced to the July 18 Concerto Round in Warner Concert Hall, when each violinist performing full concertos with piano accompaniment in afternoon and evening sessions. [Read more…]

Oberlin Baroque Performance Institute: Week One, Day One (Monday, June 19)

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by Daniel Hathaway

AnnaHoffmanIntroductionOn Sunday evening, Anna Hoffmann, the indefatigable and unflappable manager of summer programs, welcomed 120-some participants to the 2017 Oberlin Baroque Performance Institute at an organizational meeting in Kulas Recital Hall.

During a roll call, faculty members sorted out details particular to their students. ‘Need to borrow a baroque bassoon? We can loan you one.’ (‘Or at least part of a bassoon,’ quipped another teacher.) And BPI director Kenneth Slowik urged students, who range in age from high school to octogenarians, to make the most of the experience by venturing out of their comfort zone to try other instruments or disciplines — an opportunity you wouldn’t be offered at most other summer music camps. [Read more…]

Oberlin’s Michael Lynn to demonstrate ten historical flutes in May 20 program

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by Daniel Hathaway

Lynn with flutes“I always tell my students that performing on different instruments during the same recital is a bad idea,” Oberlin Baroque flute professor Michael Lynn said in a recent lunch interview. Casting aside his own advice, Lynn will host “A Passion for Innovation: A Lecture/Concert on Ten Rare Flutes, 1770-1900” on May 20 at 11:00 am in Kulas Recital Hall at the Oberlin Conservatory. With the assistance of several Oberlin colleagues, he’ll demonstrate just a few of the sixty flutes in his personal collection using period repertoire specially matched to the instruments.

The idea came to him when he acquired a crystal flute made by Claude Laurent in Paris in 1821. Among the most expensive flutes on the market at that time, these instruments were priced well out of the reach of mere musicians and were frequently given as gifts by the wealthy (among their owners were James Madison and Napoleon Bonaparte). Some 120 of these flutes still exist.

[Read more…]

CD Review
Dana Jessen: Carve

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by Mike Telin

JESSEN-CD-CarveOn her debut album Carve, bassoonist Dana Jessen challenges listeners to discard any preconceived notions they may have about the instrument, and allow themselves to be swept away into a magical world of colorful acoustic and electronic soundscapes. Released on Innova Recordings, Carve features four alluring commissioned works by American composers — Paula Matthusen, Sam Pluta, Peter V. Swendsen, and Kyle Bruckmann — interwoven with playful improvisations by Jessen. [Read more…]

Save the dates: January events to log in your classical music calendar

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by Daniel Hathaway

gaffigan-jamesFormer assistant conductor James Gaffigan will return to the podium at Severance Hall from Thursday, January 5 through Saturday, January 7 to lead The Cleveland Orchestra and pianist Kirill Gerstein in Bernard Hermann’s Suite from Psycho, Arnold Schoenberg’s Piano Concerto, the original, jazz band version of George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, and Béla Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra. Performances include Thursday and Saturday evenings, a Friday matinee and a Fridays@7 event.

From January 6-8, the Philadelphia-based vocal ensemble, The Crossing, will give sixeen performances of David Lang’s Lifespan in Gallery 218 — the glass house that rises above the Cleveland Museum of Art’s East Boulevard façade. Surrounding a 4-billion-year-old rock suspended from the ceiling, three vocalists will whistle and breathe, moving the rock like a pendulum, “a poetic form of wind erosion” (read a preview here). Performances are scheduled for Friday at 4:00, 5:00, 6:00, 7:00, 7:45 and 8:30 pm, and on Saturday and Sunday on the hour from noon to 4:00 pm. Weigh in on your experience by sharing your own comments on the ClevelandClassical.com Facebook page. [Read more…]

Cooper International Piano Competition: final round with Jahja Ling & The Cleveland Orchestra (July 22)

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by Daniel Hathaway

CooperThree2016In a savvy move, The Cleveland Orchestra wrapped the final round of Oberlin’s Thomas & Evon Cooper International Piano Competition into its Summers@Severance series this year. As a result, a large audience turned out on Friday evening, July 22 to hear Nathan Lee, Evren Ozel, and Ryota Yamazaki play concertos by Rachmaninoff and Beethoven with Jahja Ling and the orchestra. Though the evening was sultry, the party setup on the front terrace gave the proceedings a celebratory air. [Read more…]

Cooper International Piano Competition: six play recital rounds at Oberlin (July 20)

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by Daniel Hathaway

SIx-Semifinalists-2016A large audience gathered in Warner Concert Hall at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music on Wednesday evening, July 20, to hear sixty busy fingers — attached to six talented young musicians — play half-hour recitals. Wednesday’s round would determine which three contestants in the Thomas & Evon Cooper International Piano Competition would advance to the stage of Severance Hall to play full concertos with Jahja Ling and The Cleveland Orchestra on Friday, July 22. [Read more…]

Oberlin’s Cooper International Competition features young pianists
in 2016

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by Mike Telin

Tony-Yike-Yang-Oberlin-Cooper-Finals-(Mastroianni)Since its inauguration in 2010, the Thomas and Evon Cooper International Competition has established an impressive track record for identifying young pianists with potential. That year 14 year-old American pianist George Li took home the top prize. Since then, Li has quickly established himself as a young pianist to watch on the international concert scene. In 2015, Li won 2nd prize at the XV International Tchaikovsky Competition.

In  2012, 16-year-old Italian Leonardo Colafelice won the top honors, and he too quickly cultivated an impressive career. In 2014 the first prize was awarded to 15 year-old Canadian Tony Yike Yang (left, with Jahja Ling and The Cleveland Orchestra), who at the age of 16 won the fifth prize at the International Chopin Piano Competition, making him the youngest prizewinner in the history of that competition. [Read more…]

Milt Hinton Institute convenes at Oberlin & Milt Hinton Day scheduled for June 16

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by Mike Telin

Hinton-MiltFor seven decades, bassist Milt Hinton played with the most influential artists in American music. While doing so, Hinton chronicled his experiences through the lens of his ever-present camera. This week the Oberlin Conservatory will celebrate its ties to the late performer with the Milt Hinton Institute for Studio Bass, a biennial summer program for developing musicians that takes place on the Oberlin campus from June 12 to 19.

Designed for bass students ages 13-21 of all ability levels, the Institute consists of a week of master classes, performances, bass ensembles, studio sessions, lectures, and workshops. [Read more…]

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