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ChamberFest Cleveland: “Night Moves” at Disciples Church (June 28)

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by Kevin McLaughlin

It was nice to finally hear one of ChamberFest Cleveland’s “Sacred and Profane” concerts (“Night Moves” on June 28) in a religious setting — Disciples Church in Cleveland Heights — since it helped the “sacred” music resonate (in more ways than one). As the home of the Cleveland Chamber Music Society’s concerts, it’s a well-loved space to experience chamber music.

It turns out, though, you don’t necessarily need a church — or even voices — to convey the spirituality of the opener, Palestrina’s 1572 motet, Dominus Jesus in qua nocte.

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ChamberFest Cleveland: a four-course meal during “Innocence and Experience” (June 26)

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by Stephanie Manning

ChamberFest Cleveland’s June 26 concert had stiffer competition than usual, with The Cleveland Orchestra simultaneously performing for Wade Oval Wednesdays right down the street. But you wouldn’t have known it from the packed house that filled Mixon Hall that evening at the Cleveland Institute of Music.

The program, titled “Innocence and Experience,” marked the long-awaited festival debut of guitarist Jason Vieaux. (Although the venue was no doubt familiar to him — he’s taught at CIM since 1997.) Vieaux and his fellow musicians kicked off the program with Luigi Boccherini’s Guitar Quintet No. 4 in D, a lively piece with the subtitle “Fandango.”

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ChamberFest Cleveland:
“Es muss sein” — it must be (June 29)

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by Kevin McLaughlin

Fate — as represented by “Es muss sein” (it must be), Beethoven’s enigmatic motto tucked in the last movement of the String Quartet No. 16 in F — was the guiding light for ChamberFest’s program on Thursday evening, June 29 at CIM’s Mixon Hall. A passage from Milan Kundera’s book The Unbearable Lightness of Being was read aloud by co-artistic director Roman Rabinovich, who went on to explain the text’s Beethoven reference and how it aligns with the Festival’s overall Lightness theme. In addition to the Beethoven, works included Lera Auerbach’s compact Piano Trio No. 1 and the monumental Piano Quintet by Sergey Taneyev.

What seems by now to be ChamberFest’s “inevitability” of excellence also played a role. Like some sort of magic trick, each disparately assembled group — mostly made up of musicians who don’t frequently play together — conjured miracles of coalescence in every work.

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ChamberFest Cleveland: “Spirited Away” at Disciples Church (June 17)

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by Daniel Hathaway

The post-COVID era may be on the horizon, but it hasn’t arrived yet. That dastardly microbe that has wrought havoc in the performing arts world for more than two years is still on the prowl.

Just ask Jessica Peek Sherwood, ChamberFest Cleveland’s new executive director, whose first official acts since coming on board June 1st have been to replace musicians whose positive test results have left them on the sidelines.

Swapping out individuals in a festival roster can often be accomplished quickly and efficiently, as for ChamberFest’s opening concert when Rising Star Sterling Elliott offered to step in for another cellist without missing a beat. It’s not so simple when a guest ensemble like King’s Return, the Dallas male vocal quartet, is scheduled to headline a concert. [Read more…]

ChamberFest Cleveland opens with “Exquisite Beginnings” at CIM (June 16)

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by Daniel Hathaway

ChamberFest Cleveland’s Season X — Roman numeral, not unknown quantity — got underway on Thursday, June 16 when a crowd of masked fans filled every seat in Mixon Hall at the Cleveland Institute of Music for “Exquisite Beginnings,” an opening salvo of works by Mozart/Grieg, George Walker, and Brahms.

The joy of returning to live concerts was palpable, reinforced by co-artistic director Franklin Cohen — who warmly greeted attendees in the lobby beforehand — and captured in the words of performers in an almost giddily edited video by Erica Brenner that was shown right after intermission. Chez Cohen was once again bubbling over with the sounds of rehearsing musicians in the “Chamberhood” that the Festival has created over nine previous seasons. The audience showed its feelings in ardent ovations. [Read more…]

Cleveland Chamber Music Society: Rosamunde String Quartet (Mar. 15)

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by Peter Feher

If you were assembling an all-star chamber group, you couldn’t do much better than the Rosamunde String Quartet. The ensemble — a passion project for its members, who play in the string sections of some of the world’s top orchestras most of the year — visited the Cleveland Chamber Music Society on March 15.

One secret to last Tuesday’s polished program at Plymouth Church had to do with the group’s extracurricular nature. Thanks in part to seasons in ensembles including the Berlin, Los Angeles, and New York Philharmonics, the Quartet can pull off a big program easily, and with a certain unity of style. [Read more…]

Cleveland Chamber Music Society: Next up —  the Rosamunde String Quartet 

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by Mike Telin

When looking at the biographies of members of the next ensemble to perform on the Cleveland Chamber Music Society series, you ask yourself: how do they possibly have the time to take on anything more?

On Tuesday, March 15 at 7:30 pm at Plymouth Church, the Cleveland Chamber Music Society will present the Rosamunde String Quartet — Noah Bendix-Balgley (1st concertmaster, Berlin Philharmonic), Shanshan Yao (concert violinist and former member of the  New York Philharmonic), Teng Li (principal viola, Los Angeles Philharmonic), and Nathan Vickery (cello, New York. Philharmonic). The program will include works by Beethoven, Barber, and Schubert. Tickets are available online.

Turning on the Zoom camera in Asheville, North Carolina, Bendix-Balgley’s hometown, he and Yao said that their quartet colleagues would soon be arriving to begin rehearsing for their upcoming concerts. “Sometimes scheduling does get a little complicated,” Bendix-Balgley said. “But it always works out,” Yao added. [Read more…]

ChamberFest Cleveland: Two Concerts and a toast (June 29 & July 1)

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by Mike Telin

CFCJune29Mixon-1Last weekend ChamberFest Cleveland presented the final three concerts of its 2017 edition. I attended two of the performances which exemplified why the Festival has become a crown jewel in the area’s rich classical music scene. The inventive programming ranged from the almost never heard, to the seldom heard, to music by giants of the repertoire. Above all, the performances of the five works were beyond reproach. [Read more…]

ChamberFest Cleveland: “Sunset” at Reinberger Hall (June 30)

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by Samantha Spaccasi

CFCJune30Reinberger-1Reinberger Chamber Hall at Severance Hall hosted the penultimate concert of ChamberFest Cleveland’s sixth season on the evening of June 30. It was the first ChamberFest experience for my family, who were visiting from the Washington, D.C. area. I told them they were in for a treat and they weren’t disappointed — the musicians delivered a wonderful performance. [Read more…]

ChamberFest Cleveland: “Last Words” at Chagrin Falls Methodist Church (June 27)

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by Neil McCalmont

CFC-June-27-3Before a performer set foot onstage at the United Methodist Church in Chagrin Falls on Monday, June 27, the solemn title to ChamberFest Cleveland’s “Last Words” set the tone for the evening — this was not going to be music you’d whistle along to. [Read more…]

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