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Rising Stars steal the show at ChamberFest’s Folklorica (June 23)

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by Rory O’Donoghue

There are rare, perfect moments in chamber music where minds meld and hearts coalesce in beautiful synergy. Violinist Nathan Meltzer and pianist Evren Ozel, both young phenoms, did just that with their pre-concert performance of Franck’s Violin Sonata during ChamberFest Cleveland’s Folklorica on Sunday, June 23 in CWRU’s Harkness Chapel. On an afternoon packed with stellar musicianship, the two distilled Franck down to its exquisite essence. I doubt I will ever hear a better rendition.  [Read more…]

ChamberFest Cleveland: “Hungary for Music” (June 25)

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by Daniel Hathaway

For its eighth program on June 25, ChamberFest gathered four wildly different pieces under the banner of “Hungary for Music.” Works by Franz Liszt, Peter Eötvös, Johannes Brahms, and Ernst von Dohnányi received definitive performances on Friday evening in CIM’s Mixon Hall. [Read more…]

ChamberFest Cleveland: “Sei Solo” at Mixon (June 22)

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by Timothy Robson

There was a full house at CIM’s Mixon Hall on Saturday evening June 22, despite numerous travails of parking due to construction and the Art Museum’s Summer Solstice event. But the hassle was worth it for Sei Solo (You Are Alone), a program of music by composers under the influence of loss. The selection of familiar and unfamiliar works is a hallmark of Chamberfest Cleveland and Saturday’s performance included works by J.S. Bach, John Cage, Mendelssohn and Brahms. [Read more…]

ChamberFest Cleveland stuns with season opener (June 13)

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by Rory O’Donoghue

ChamberFest Cleveland descended from the heavens with “Under the Influence,” the inaugural concert of its eighth season on June 13 in CIM’s Mixon Hall. Exquisite interpretation, unparalleled finesse, and delightful music-making tied the evening’s selections together in performances of simply the highest caliber. [Read more…]

ChamberFest Cleveland: “Mozart the Giant” (June 20)

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by Daniel Hathaway

Mozart the influencer was documented in music for winds by Beethoven and Poulenc for ChamberFest Cleveland’s fifth program on Thursday, June 20 in CIM’s Mixon Hall, while the notion of “Mozart the Giant” was affirmed by the composer’s own String Quintet in D. The first part of the evening was distinguished by elegant wind playing every bit as refined as what you would expect from a world-class string quartet, yet fully capable of incisive punctuation when the music called for emphatic gestures.

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ChamberFest Cleveland: “Turning/Tipping Points” at Mixon (June 15)

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by Daniel Hathaway

Pivotal moments in the lives of composers linked works by Louise Farrenc, Paul Hindemith, and Johannes Brahms for ChamberFest Cleveland’s third concert on Saturday, June 15 in CIM’s Mixon Hall. But that program was prefaced by Adam Golka’s new arrangement of Debussy’s La mer for two pianos, an hors d’oeuvre that could easily have been served up as a main course. [Read more…]

ChamberFest Cleveland: talking Cage with Rabinovich

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by Jarrett Hoffman

This weekend a collection of carefully placed screws, bolts, and pieces of wood, cloth, and rubber will make the Steinway in CIM’s Mixon Hall sound less like a piano and more like an ensemble of percussion instruments.

For that we can thank two men: John Cage for inventing the prepared piano (in which objects placed among the strings alter the sound of the instrument), and Roman Rabinovich for playing Cage’s The Perilous Night on Saturday, June 22 during a 7:30 pm concert titled “Sei Solo (You Are Alone),” the sixth of the season for ChamberFest Cleveland.

The sounds that emerge from the instrument will surprise even the man looking down at the keys. “When you get to the prepared piano, it kind of blows your mind because nothing comes out the way you expect,” Rabinovich, winner of the 12th Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition, said during a recent interview. “It’s a beautiful effect and a very interesting way to approach the instrument.”

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June 15 ChamberFest concert prelude to present Golka’s Debussy arrangement

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by Rory O’Donoghue

For pianist Adam Golka, arranging should be organic. Along with his good friend Roman Rabinovitch, he’ll perform his new arrangement of Debussy’s luminous La mer for two pianos on Saturday, June 15 at 6:45 pm in Mixon Hall as a prelude to ChamberFest’s Turning/Tipping Points.

“For many years I was in love with La mer and I yearned for a way to perform it,” Golka said by email, “and though I played around with the idea, it became clear that a two-hand solo version would have too many compromises. There is no way one pianist could bring out all the gorgeous textures and layers of the orchestral score, and each detail is so utterly exquisite.”

La mer premiered in Paris in 1905 to a middling reception, but gained traction over the next few years and secured an enduring place in the orchestral canon following its second Parisian outing in 1908. Its evocative movement titles — “De l’aube à midi sur la mer” (“From dawn to midday on the sea”), “Jeux de vagues” (“Play of the Waves”), and “Dialogue du vent et de la mer” (“Dialogue of the wind and the sea”) — offer ample room for interpretation, and Debussy’s deliberate avoidance of calling it a “symphony” in favor of “three symphonic sketches” all contribute to the work’s enigmatic beauty. [Read more…]

ChamberFest Cleveland 2019: Under the Influence

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by Mike Telin

Since bursting onto the scene in 2012 with its Big Bang!, ChamberFest Cleveland has established itself as an organization of the highest musical integrity with a seemingly endless number of themed programs. Looking through the archives of this publication, it’s fascinating to see the imaginative and clever way the Festival has reinvented itself each year.

But a closer look reveals that ChamberFest’s mission, “to nurture a deep family-like connection between musicians and audiences of all ages,” has never waned. In summing up the 2016 season, ClevelandClassical.com critic Neil McCalmont noted, “Technical prowess, fierce dedication, and the cultivation of friendships all contribute to ChamberFest’s captivating concerts, which keep audiences coming back season after season.”

Season 8, titled Under the Influence, considers the factors that inspire and influence composers. Cutting-edge pieces by John Adams, John Cage, and Steve Reich will anchor works by other classical composers. Pre-concert talks will be held prior to most concerts and are open to the public. Tickets and subscriptions are on sale now and range in price from $15 to $40. For concert details and additional information, call (216) 471-8887 or visit www.chamberfestcleveland.com.

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ChamberFest Cleveland announces Season Eight

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ChamberFest Cleveland, the celebrated summer music festival founded by Franklin Cohen, principal clarinet emeritus of The Cleveland Orchestra, and his daughter, Diana Cohen, concertmaster of The Calgary Philharmonic, returns to the Cleveland scene with Season 8, “Under the Influence.” The festival will take place from June 13 through June 29, 2019, at venues throughout Greater Cleveland, and will include nine concerts plus a special late-night electronic violin performance at The Wine Spot on Lee Road in Cleveland Heights.

Concerts kick off on Thursday, June 13 at 7:30 pm at Mixon Hall. ChamberFest will also make stops at Cleveland State University’s Drinko Hall, the Cleveland Museum of Art’s Gartner Auditorium, and Harkness Chapel on the campus of Case Western Reserve University.

ChamberFest will welcome back many favorite musicians in addition to Co-founders and Co-artistic Directors, Franklin and Diana Cohen. Yura Lee, Alexi Kenney, Oliver Herbert, Peter Wiley, Roman Rabinovich, Julie Albers, Amy Schwartz Moretti, and more will join new artists including Israeli Philharmonic principal oboe Dudu Carmel and Finnish pianist Juho Pohjonen. Four up-and-coming players will take part in ChamberFest’s “Rising Stars” program.

[Read more…]

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