Roman Lopatynskyi Archives - Cleveland Classical

CIPC Round 2, Session 4,
Friday, July 23

July 24, 2021 by Stephanie Manning

by Stephanie Manning

Roman Lopatynskyi (27, Ukraine) opened session four of the second round with three etudes by Chopin. The slow and gentle Etude in c-sharp, Op. 25, No.7, is full of shifts in character and mood. Some transitions were smoother than others, but his musical interpretation was thoughtful and made an emotional ending. He performed the following Etude in D-flat, Op. 25, No. 8 with a graceful lightness before segueing smoothly into Etude in G-flat, Op. 25, No. 9, which featured fluttering right-hand melodies appropriate for this etude’s nickname of “Butterfly.”

[Read more…]

CIPC Round 1, Session 4, Sunday, July 11

July 12, 2021 by Caitlin Winston

by Cait Winston

Bowen Li (24, China) opened this round of the CIPC with Bach’s French Suite No. 5 in G. He maintained an engaging pace throughout the piece, skipping through melodic passages with grace and levity, while making sure to give appropriate emphasis to emotional moments.

Li showed thrilling virtuosity in Chopin’s Etude in F, Op. 10 No. 8, flying up and down the keys with both agility and clarity, and using his flawless technique to fluidly shift the mood of the piece from excited to intense. [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…]

See all reviews

Follow ClevelandClassical.com

Contact us