by Mike Telin
On their recent recording, Hypothetical Islands, the excellent ensemble Splinter Reeds, offer up a fascinating collection of compositions, embodying a kaleidoscopic world that can only be created by reed instruments. [Read more…]
CMA: Ellen Fullman and Theresa Wong at Transformer Station (September 25)
by Daniel Hathaway
When you go to one of the Cleveland Museum of Art’s concerts at Transformer Station in Hingetown on Cleveland’s near West Side, expect to hear music as edgy and provocative as the art on the walls (and just as hip: the current exhibition from the collection of the Akron Art Museum dispenses with wall tags in favor of elucidation from your smart phone). The performance on Friday, September 25, the second of three concerts by featured performer Ellen Fullman and cellist Theresa Wong, fit that m.o. perfectly. [Read more…]
Cleveland Museum of Arts’ Performing Arts Series to open with Ellen Fullman and the “Long String Instrument”
by Mike Telin
Ever since the Cleveland Museum of Art began presenting concerts in the Transformer Station, Tom Welsh, director of CMA’s Performing Arts series, has carefully curated programs that celebrate the art of improvisation and musical experimentation. This week’s series-opening concerts are no exception. Beginning on Thursday, September 24 at 7:30 pm, composer Ellen Fullman will make her Cleveland debut at Transformer Station with her “Long String Instrument.” The concert, titled “Foghorns,” is a collaboration with composer, cellist, and vocalist Theresa Wong. (The program will be repeated on Friday and Saturday, September 25 and 26 at 7:30 pm.)
The concerts represent more than 30 years of work-in-progress for Fullman, who over time has created her own unique sound world. In the spirit of music expressing what words cannot, click here to listen to examples of the haunting sounds of an instrument described as “an installation of dozens of wires 50 feet or longer tuned in just intonation and ‘bowed’ with rosin-coated fingers.” [Read more…]
Cleveland Museum of Art lines up wide-ranging series for Gartner Auditorium and Transformer Station
by Daniel Hathaway
50-foot-long string instruments; traditional music from the Republic of Kyrgyz, Ireland’s “Wild West,” and the Balkans; dialogues between deep flamenco song and Iranian classical music; Egyptian classical music of the golden age; an a cappella sound track to a silent film about Joan of Arc; two prominent string quartets, an organ recital, and a multifaceted violinist — that list gives just a quick rundown on the variety of concerts the Cleveland Museum of Art has planned for its 2015-2016 Performing Arts Series, both in Gartner Auditorium at the museum and at its near-West Side gallery, Transformer Station.
In a conversation with ClevelandClassical.com, Tom Welsh, director of CMA’s Performing Arts series, described the season’s offerings as “broad” and representing “a full expanse of human activity,” adding that the audiences for the series can look forward to experiencing types of music “that might not yet have made their ways into your life.” [Read more…]