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Sun Valley Festival: Strings & Mallets (Aug. 4)

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by Nicholas Stevens

For those who crave coherence in a concert, consistent instrumentation can help. For those who want a sense of progression, starting with shorter or older pieces and moving toward more extended or contemporary works makes for a sound strategy. Those who value both would love the sort of program that Idaho’s Sun Valley Music Festival assembled for its recent program Strings and Mallets on Tuesday, August 4. Although produced under the Sun Valley banner, the performances were recorded remotely in several locations. [Read more…]

Sun Valley Music Festival: Conversations with Marc Damoulakis and Si-Yan Darren Li 

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by Mike Telin

With the absence of Northeast Ohio’s annual feast of live summertime classical music offerings, I’m thankful that we live in a time when technology can help fill the void in the artistic soul. That technology can also take you to far-off festivals that you’ve always wished you could attend, but never have had the opportunity.

From Monday, July 27, to Wednesday, August 19, you can attend the 36th annual Sun Valley Music Festival Summer Season for free from the comfort of your own home, or backyard. The free, one-time-only webcasts were developed by Festival Music Director Alasdair Neale in collaboration with Creative Director James Darrah, who served as stage director for The Cleveland Orchestra’s 2015 production of Richard Strauss’ Daphne.

The performances, recorded in Chicago, Cleveland, Denver, Houston, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, New York, Rochester, San Francisco, St. Louis, and Toronto, feature single-location, socially distanced performances and multi-location, video-synced performances which will also include commentary by Alasdair Neale and conversations with guest artists and Orchestra musicians. The free, one-time-only concerts will be broadcast at 8:30 pm Eastern time on the Idaho-based Festival’s website. [Read more…]

Cavani String Quartet to present “A Viennese Legacy” December 3rd

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by Mike Telin

Cavani-June-2017On Sunday, December 3, at 7:00 pm in Mixon Hall, the Cavani String Quartet — Annie Fullard and Mari Sato, violins, Eric Wong, viola, and Si-Yan Darren Li, cello —  will present a recital as part of the Cleveland Institute of Music’s annual Winter Chamber Music Festival. “A Viennese Legacy” will include Haydn’s Quartet in F, Op. 77, No. 2, Webern’s Langsamer Satz, and Beethoven’s Quartet No. 15 in A, Op. 132. The concert is free but seating passes are required and available online. For a complete list of Festival events click here.

Last August, just after violist Eric Wong and cellist Si-Yan Darren Li had joined the ensemble, ClevelandClassical.com spoke with all four members of the Cavani Quartet. The following was originally published on August 7 before the Quartet’s performance on the Cuyahoga Valley National Park series.

When two longtime members of a string quartet decide to leave the ensemble, the remaining musicians have to ask themselves what to do next. [Read more…]

Cavani String Quartet to perform at Happy Days in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park (Part One)

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by Mike Telin

Cavani-June-2017When two longtime members of a string quartet decide to leave the ensemble, the remaining musicians have to ask themselves what to do next.

The Tokyo Quartet elected to disband, but after violist Kirsten Docter and cellist Merry Peckham moved on from the Cavani String Quartet to pursue new professional opportunities, violinists Annie Fullard and Mari Sato decided that the Cavani should live on. “We did ask ourselves that question,” Sato said, “but the quartet repertoire is so rich and we love working with students, so we quickly decided that, yes, we need to move forward.”

On Tuesday, August 22 at 7:00 pm at the Happy Days Lodge in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, the Cavani Quartet will present their first local performance with new members violist Eric Wong and cellist Si-Yan Li.

“Excitement doesn’t even begin to describe the feeling that I have,” Fullard said, “there are so many emotions that go through you when you make transitions. [Read more…]

Cavani Quartet announces appointment of new cellist

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by Samantha Spaccasi

Screen Shot 2017-06-05 at 7.56.02 PMThe second change in two years has transformed one of Cleveland’s most prominent chamber music ensembles. Si-Yan Darren Li will be the new cellist for the Cavani Quartet, joining Annie Fullard and Mari Soto, violins, and Eric Wong, viola. Li will replace Merry Peckham, one of the group’s founding members.

The addition of Li marks a new era for the Cavani. Formed in 1984, the ensemble was one of the first all-female string quartets. Until last year, when Eric Wong replaced longtime violist Kirsten Docter, the group had undergone only two personnel changes in its history. [Read more…]

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