Wu Wei Archives - Cleveland Classical

Sheng virtuoso Wu Wei at CMA (Mar. 11)

March 25, 2022 by Peter Feher

By Peter Feher

Wu Wei is one of the world’s best players of an instrument you’ve likely never heard. The Chinese sheng virtuoso took advantage of this fact from the start of his dazzling program at the Cleveland Museum of Art’s Gartner Auditorium on March 11.

The stage was barely lit, and the rest of the hall was pitch black, when he made his entrance from the back of the house, down one of the aisles. His playing mingled with the other sounds in the auditorium — a violin line floating along the opposite aisle and spectral notes coming from the cello, harpsichord, and percussion onstage. [Read more…]

Cleveland Museum of Art
to present Wu Wei, sheng

March 4, 2022 by Jarrett Hoffman

by Jarrett Hoffman

Wu Wei, the Chinese-born, German-based virtuoso of the free reed instrument known as the sheng, discovered the instrument in, of all places, an animated film.

“It told a famous Chinese story about someone who cannot really play this instrument,” he said during a recent interview on Zoom. “There is a queen who wants to have 300 sheng players perform together. So sheng players are requested, and one volunteer decides to make a fake sheng and just gesture with his body, as if he’s playing,” Wu Wei said, swaying back and forth on camera to demonstrate.

Rest assured, when a man carrying a sheng enters the stage of Gartner Auditorium at the Cleveland Museum of Art on Friday, March 11 at 7:30 pm, he will be someone who knows a thing or two about how to play it.

An internationally-renowned sheng virtuoso who teaches at the Shanghai Conservatory, Wu Wei is also considered the instrument’s leading avant-garde figure, having dedicated a significant portion of his career to expanding its repertoire through arranging, commissioning, and composing.

[Read more…]

Christmas with Cantus at Tuesday Musical (Nov. 30)

by Peter Feher

Tuesday Musical gave Akron audiences a generous Christmas gift this year. The presenter tied three holiday classics together in one sumptuous concert on Sunday afternoon, November 30, at E.J. Thomas Hall. First up was the story of The Velveteen Rabbit, followed by a quick waltz through The Nutcracker and a ride on The Polar Express.

Delightfully, this trio of tales was recounted with drama and poise — not by any actors or dancers but by the eight members of the all-male a cappella ensemble Cantus. The group, based in Minnesota and now in its fourth decade, is once again touring the country with a polished, compact production of carols, pop tunes, and of course Tchaikovsky.

[Read on…]

Oberlin Music Theater soars in The Great Comet of 1812 (Dec. 3)

by Peter Feher

The stars aligned for Oberlin Music Theater’s production of Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812, suggesting a bright future for the college’s newest area of study.

Oberlin Conservatory has cultivated young talent for more than 150 years, but musical theater only entered the curriculum this semester. The program’s first students arrived in the fall under director and professor Victoria Bussert, who brought with her several colleagues from Baldwin Wallace University — including a few who collaborated on her 2023 staging of Great Comet for Cleveland’s Great Lakes Theater company.

Even for the experienced, this show is a massive undertaking, with a story adapted from Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace and a score demanding stamina and stylistic range. But nothing daunted the student actors on opening night, December 3. Not the immersive direction by Bussert, nor the energy-intensive choreography by Alex Sanchez. (Two casts alternated in eight performances through December 10.)

[Read on…]

Cleveland Orchestra channels all things merry, bright in Holiday Concert at Severance (Dec. 13)

by Kevin McLaughlin

Photo by Roger Mastroianni

This article was originally published on Cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Holiday concerts trade on familiarity, but the best of them feel less like ritual and more like reunion.

On Saturday evening, Dec. 13 at Mandel Concert Hall, The Cleveland Orchestra welcomed a full house for the second of its twelve annual Holiday Concerts, a tradition that dates back to 1919.

Led by guest conductor Sarah Hicks, with soprano Meredith Wohlgemuth and the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus, and members of the Blossom Festival Chorus under the direction of Lisa Wong, the evening unfolded with easy charm.

Throughout the performance, Hicks proved an ideal guide. Her conducting was clear and unshowy, her rapport with the audience unaffected and delightful.

[Read on…]

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