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June 2013 Hot News
20 - 30 June
2013
ChamberFest Cleveland with
World-Class Performers for 10 Days in its 2nd Year -
VIP's
Franklin Cohen (Solo Clarinetist in
The
Cleveland Orchestra) and daughter VIP
Diana Cohen
(Concertmaster in the Calgary Philharmonic in Canada), Directors -
Cleveland, Ohio USA
The second superbly successful Festival, featuring a diverse composite array of
quality literature spanning three or more centuries, and featuring some of the
most notable virtuosi players alive today, with standards well documented by the
superstar Directors, VIP's Franklin Cohen and daughter Diana Cohen, who have set
a Lincoln Center track record almost impossible to match. With the Cohens
at the helms, nothing less in quality would be good enough, which establishes a
standard many should strive for in their musical pursuits. The venues
where performed over the 10 days offered informality and a friendly atmosphere
to mingle and enjoy the friendship of the performers and audience alike.
As the reviews indicate, the above stands for itself.
Violinist Yura Lee, left, pianist Orion Weiss, clarinetist Franklin Cohen
and cellist Gabriel Cabezas performed Messiaen's "Quartet for the End of
Time" on Thursday at the Cleveland Institute of Music's Mixon Hall during
the opening concert in the second season of ChamberFest Cleveland.
ChamberFest Cleveland is back, and "(It's) About Time."
That can be read in two ways. Lovers of chamber music must be delighted that
the compelling festival run by violinist Diana Cohen and her father, clarinetist
Franklin Cohen, has returned for its second season. And this year's series of
eight concerts revolves around -- you guessed it -- varied impacts of time in
music.
The new season contains a rich assortment of works reflecting specific
themes, such as "Continuum: The Divine Cosmos," the subject of Thursday's
opening concert at the Cleveland Institute of Music's Mixon Hall.
The principal inspiration for the program's divine aspect was Olivier
Messiaen, the French composer whose music is suffused with spiritual and
ornithological wonder. Messiaen composed most of his "Quartet for the End of
Time" during World War II in a Silesian prisoner-of-war camp. It is a work of
mesmerizing beauty and power in which sacred and natural worlds intersect.
Scored for the clarinet, violin, cello and piano, the "Quartet for the End of
Time" evokes visions of Messiaen's Catholic faith. Several sections take solo
instruments to transcendent realms, such as "Abyss of the Birds," which
clarinetist Cohen played Thursday with remarkable command of dynamics, nuance
and color.
Cellist Gabriel Cabezas and pianist Orion Weiss came close to stopping time
in the hushed lines of "Praise to the eternity of Jesus," while violinist Yura
Lee added silver to the soaring phrases in the final "Praise to the immortality
of Jesus." The four musicians played the work with exceptional detailing and
expressive vibrancy.
To open the program, the Cohens and their brother-son, timpanist Alexander
Cohen, gave the premiere of a work written for them, Matan Porat's "Start-time."
As Diana noted, this may be the only piece in the chamber-music repertoire for
violin, clarinet and timpani.
But it doesn't sound like a novelty. Porat uses the timpani as anchor for a
sequence of fanfares and lyrical passages, upon which violin and clarinet expand
to often virtuoso effect. The work packs a great deal of material into five
minutes. The Cohens appeared to relish every freshly conceived flourish.
Violinist Diana Cohen, left,
timpanist Alexander Cohen and clarinetist Franklin Cohen performed the
premiere of Matan Porat's "Start-time" on Thursday at the Cleveland
Institute of Music's Mixon Hall.
Gary Adams
Few composers enter the cosmos as profoundly as Mozart, whose Quartet for Two
Violins, Two Violas and Cello, K. 516, stood tall between Porat and Messiaen.
Written in the key of G minor, the work explores dark territory, sustaining
drama and pathos until the clouds part for the main body of the finale.
The performance Thursday honored Mozart's eloquence through seamless
interaction of lines, especially with violists Lee and Dimitri Murrath adding
tonal depth. Violinist David McCarroll led with a keen blend of energy and
elegance, and he maintained close contact with his superb colleagues, which
included Diana Cohen and cellist Julie Albers.
The concert was preceded by a free Young Artist Recital featuring Cabezas and
Weiss in Janacek's "Pohadka" and Debussy's Sonata for Cello and Piano. There
were moments when Cabezas was so restrained that his sound didn't penetrate
Weiss' articulate pianism. But the cellist's sensitivity to phrasing and poetic
inflection brought Janacek's quirky romanticism and Debussy's aristocratic
panache to enchanting life.
Of all the lessons about time taught by ChamberFest Cleveland this year,
one emerged as paramount: Time with chamber music is time well-spent.
Especially when it’s done right, as this series was. Between their
creative conception and masterful execution, the final, copious programs
Friday, Saturday and Sunday offered enough musical substance to keep one
satisfied for weeks.
To list everything the musicians did correctly would be a waste of time.
Here, under the auspices of clarinetist Franklin Cohen and his daughter,
violinist Diana Cohen, talent was assumed, technical aplomb a given. Better
to enumerate all that they accomplished.
As its title, “A Tempo,” suggested, Friday’s program at Harkness Chapel
explored music’s subdivisions. Highlighting scores with fluid pulses, the
artists illustrated beautifully how loose and transparent bar-lines can be.
Gershwin’s Three Preludes for Clarinet and Piano, with Franklin Cohen and
pianist Orion Weiss, were syncopated delights, while violinist Noah
Bendix-Balgley and pianist Matan Porat held listeners entranced with the
seamless flow of Messiaen’s early Theme and Variations.
In the case of Schumann’s Piano Quartet, it was the performers who made
the point about tempo. By pushing the edge daringly throughout, Weiss, in
company with Diana Cohen, violist Dimitri Murrath and cellist Robert DeMaine,
achieved exhilaration.
But perhaps Ravel’s Piano Trio said it best. Exceptionally diverse in
terms of pacing, the piece -- as performed by Porat, violinist Yehonatan
Berick and cellist Julie Albers -- was a spellbinding showcase of metrical
possibilities.
Saturday’s program, by contrast, rested on Stravinsky’s “The Rite of
Spring,” which turns 100 this year. Titled “Riot (Like it’s 1913),” the
concert at the Cleveland Institute of Music highlighted works evincing a
certain overt audacity.
The composer’s version of the “Rite” for two pianos is thrilling enough.
Imagine, then, the impact of the version presented Saturday, which included
percussionists Scott Christian and Alexander Cohen.
All the dissonance and severity of Stravinsky’s masterpiece were in
glorious bloom with pianists Weiss and Porat. But with timpani, bass drum
and other instruments in the mix, the music took on a fresh degree of raw
brutality.
Different sorts of boldness were exemplified by Haydn’s E-Major Piano
Trio and the Brahms Clarinet Quintet. There, the boundary-crossing occurred
in the more subtle forms of harmonic twists and emotional outpouring.
Especially poignant was the Brahms. With Franklin Cohen at the center of
a group including his daughter, Berick, Murrath and DeMaine, the performance
behaved like a musical flood, repeatedly overflowing all banks that might
have contained it.
Less consequential was the takeaway from Sunday’s finale, “Mirrors,” at
Dunham Tavern in Cleveland. There, in a barn packed to the rafters, the
theme merely seemed to be that composers derive inspiration from each other,
across the years.
No matter. About an afternoon stuffed with worthy, underplayed music, no
listener can begin to complain.
The “Mirrors” concept arose from two short pieces by Purcell and the
Second String Quartet of Britten, composed in 1945 in honor of the Baroque
master. That parallel, though, got lost in the frenzied Britten, performed
with matchless intensity by Amy Schwartz Moretti, Diana Cohen, Murrath and
Albers. A more heated, probing account is hard to fathom.
Similarly difficult to top would have been the final presentation,
Mendelssohn’s Quintet No. 1, as performed by Moretti, Bendix-Balgley, Berick,
Murrath and DeMaine. Fully imbued with the festival spirit, the five players
brought all available discipline and virtuosity to bear on the music.
Ultimately, the real subject of ChamberFest Cleveland 2013 wasn’t “Time”
so much as the bonding that time permitted. Those who attended regularly can
now claim to know the performers, and yet almost no one spoke a word.
13 - 15 June 2013
Oklahoma Clarinet Symposium,
Dr Suzanne Tirk, Director - Tribute to Founder and Director for 35 Years, VIP
Dr
David Etheridge - 13 - 15 June
2013
Norman, Oklahoma USA
After 3 years after the passing of Dr David Etheridge, the founder and
continuing Director of this great symposium over 35 years, the Symposium has
been restarted under the Directorship of Etheridge's successor Dr Suzanne Tirk,
with a rebounding startup success, with a stellar faculty of major Clarinet icon
teachers and performers, many world class, including David Shifrin, Charles
Neidich, Gregory Raden, Larry Guy, Elsa Ludewig Verdehr and her Trio, and many
more too numerous to name. The format of programming and scheduling
of only singular events rather than multiple events at a time, held this program
well in place with a relaxed conducive atmosphere for everyone coming.
These factors were what made this Symposium in the past so successful under Dr
Etheridge, who made this project his personal mission in his Clarinet life.
Many of his past Clarinet associates and connections rallied to this symposium.
As the photo galleries indicate, all the events were packed especially the
master classes, the exhibits, and the concerts, no less the social activities
around the campus after the conclusion of nightly events.
Gregory Raden Master Class
Elsa Ludewig Verdehr Master Class
David Shifrin Master Class
Charles Neidich Master Class
This symposium, for the total price to enroll for the 3 days, is an amazing
bargain, given the totality assets offered, including the concert events, master
classes with the top tier of faculty and the exhibit showings. Costs
to study privately with any of the faculty would be enormous, and for only $170
divide that by 3 days with 12 hours of activities... Along with
specialized workshops offered, every serious player must attend both activities
to advance.
Symposium Evhibitors including Corporate
Representatives, Dealers, and Accessory Makers
Numerous Recital concert performances with Artist
Faculty and Ensembles
A
Clarinet Competition, with prizes was convened with faculty judges. A
special contribution to this Symposium included a special one year scholarship
to a deserving OU student donated enthusiastically by Buffet Group USA and
presented by VIP and President Francois Kloc, which will be continued each year
as a show of support for the Symposium. It was especially heartening to
see David Etheridge's wife attending events in remembrance of her husband.
This symposium will continue again with the next one being held 12 - 14 June
2014. Great credit is due for Dr Tirk for the outstanding event this June.
Clarinet Symposium Festival Clarinet Choir in
rehearsal and performance
9 June 2013
To Play is to Blow, To Blow is to Play
Clarinet Recital with Senior VIP
Richard Nunemaker and Studio
- 9 June 2013 - University of St Thomas, Houston, Texas
Houston, Texas USA
The commissioned
piece was Indifferent by Houston composer, Thomas Helton.
After years of composing by trial and error, I came up with a style of
writing that suits my personal aesthetic. Having no formal training it took
some time to hash out what I wanted to hear. In this piece, I pulled from
some more traditional concepts such as ostinato lines and some quartal
harmonies as well as incorporating jazz ideas like solo sections and
background figures. With Indifferent I wanted to expose young players
to ideas of modal improvisation as well as employing unconventional
techniques. Along with somewhat traditional classical, jazz, modern
classical and free improvisations, Indifferent will be an interesting
piece for the To Play is To Blow...to Blow is To Play...studio and give the
performers another set of possibilities in the world of music.
5 - 9 June 2013
5th
Clarinetopia
Residence Seminar - Michigan State University with World-Class Faculty and
Artist VIP's - Dr
Michael Webster
and Leona Buyse, Directors
East Lansing, Michigan
This Clarintopia program, one of the most important Advanced seminar workshops
in the United States, is artist developmental in its design and provides hands
down pragmatic in depth training for those lucky enough to qualify and attend.
The artist faculty is comprised of some of the most advanced teachers and
performers in the country, the the training is student sympathetic in attention
to their individual playing issues but steadfast in inspiring a high performance
standard as they prepare for their performance at the end of week Student
Recitals. This year the Clarinetopia was dedicated to the memory of
Leonard Getzin, son of WKA Founder and CEO Mike Getzin in recognition to Leonard
who was an advisor and inspiration in the WKA website development. He
passed away 11 April at age 39. The summary below by Senior
VIP and Director Michael Webster is below:
In its fifth superlative year, Clarinetopia, the Artist developing Residence
Seminar for screened and high potential students heading for a professional
career in performance and teaching, and open to interested players as well.
convened with a world-class teaching and performing faculty, and had five days
of intensive master classes, faculty and two prepared student recitals which
culminated their training during the week. Of most of the similar programs
available to clarinetists, this is one of the most important to attend.
The upcoming galleries above and Senior VIP Dr Michael Webster's below summary
give an idea of all the great work accomplished during this week.
Thirty-four clarinetists, two pianists, one violinist and one flutist convened
at Michigan State University June 5 - 9 for the fifth annual Clarinetopia
Seminar.
Charles Neidich, Ayako Oshima, Elsa Ludewig-Verdehr, Guy Yehuda,
Theodore Oien, Michael Webster and Leone Buyse performed faculty recitals and
gave master classes for students who hailed from as far away as California,
Manitoba, New York, and Georgia.
The opening recital on Wednesday was shared by Yehuda,
Webster, and flutist Buyse, who also played aboriginal clapping
sticks and crotale in
Bingyang by
Australian composer Ross Edwards, as well as piano in New Zealand composer Maria
Grenfell’s Time
Transfixed. On
flute, Leone played
Icicles by Canadian composer Robert Aitken
and Muczynski’s
Six Duos
with Michael. Guy Yehuda included a work of his own,
Three Preludes for Solo Clarinet,
surrounded by Weiner’s
Peregi Verbunk and
Bassi’s Rigoletto
Fantasy.
On Thursday Elsa and Walter Verdehr performed the new clarinet
choir version of James Niblock’s
Concerto No. 2
for violin and clarinet, followed by a retrospective of
Verdehr Trio repertoire (clarinet, violin and piano) since the trio
plans to retire this season after 40 eventful years commissioning and premiering
well over 200 works.
On Saturday evening Charles Neidich and
Ayako Oshima played music for one and two
clarinets, including Neidich’s new work,
Tempest (in a Teapot)
for two clarinets, a 103rd birthday
gift to Elliott Carter, whose solo piece
Gra was also
programmed.
Ayako played the Bernstein Sonata and Charlie played his own
transcription of Mendelssohn’s Violin Sonata in F
Major, featuring his unique
altississimo
register.
The program opened and closed with the fun and
virtuosity of Bassi’s
Fantasy on La
Sonnambula and Ponchielli’s
Il Convegno.
Meanwhile, twenty-one of the students played in master classes with
repertoire ranging from the standards (Mozart, Weber, Brahms, Stravinsky, etc.)
to such recent works as Shulamit Ran’s
Monologue: For an Actor
and Karel Husa’s
Three Studies.
Theodore Oien, Principal Clarinetist of the Detroit
Symphony, contributed an orchestral excerpt class and the master class students
all played their repertoire on two student recitals, Saturday and Sunday.
A welcome dinner, a free evening, an impromptu pizza party hosted by the
Neidichs, and a farewell reception offered some social time
during an otherwise intensive week of study.
Each day began with yoga, breathing, and clarinet
warm-up sessions.
Shu-han Lu and Edisher
Savitsky were the capable and empathetic collaborative pianists, and a
team of MSU students led by Cody Grabbe, Sam Davies, and
Jessica Harrie took care of organizational details ably and
cheerfully.
As the new Associate Professor of Clarinet at MSU, Guy
Yehuda has invited Clarinetopia to return to MSU next year.
Those interested in attending will find detailed
information at clarinetopia.com.
31 May -
1 June 2013
VIP
Mark Nuccio, Acting Solo Clarinetist in the
New York Philharmonic, performs Copland
Clarinet Concerto with Alan Gilbert, conducting - 31 May - 1 June 2013 at
Avery Fisher Hall
New York City USA
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Revised: August 28, 2013