CIM Faculty Recital: "Mozart and Company"

Sergei Babayan, piano, delivers a delightful evening of relaxing music. Plus: Concert Etiquette reminder

Mozart: Fantasia in D Minor, K. 397
Mozart: 12 Variations on French Song, 'Ah, vous drai-je Maman' in C Major, K. 265
Haydn: Sonata in E Minor, Hob. XVI: 34
Mozart: Sonata in C Major, K. 279
Haydn: S0nata in C Minor, Hob. XVI: 20
Mozart: Sonata in B-flat Major, K. 281
One encore; unknown title and composer.

I wound up at CIM tonight largely by accident: I had been on the fence about attending an event at the Cleveland Museum of Art, and couldn't find any sign of it when I got there, so after spending some quality time in the galleries I moved across the circle to CIM.

The piano as a solo instrument is problematic for me; while there's a large range of possible notes without another instrument to provide some contrast after a while the sound of hammers hitting strings begins to sound the same to my ear. That said, the pieces on tonight's program were beautifully played my Mr. Babayan; something seemed familiar about Mozart's 12 Variations.

Haydn's Sonata in E Minor was pleasing, and when I closed my eyes I could have sworn that there were two instruments in the room. The first movement allegro from Mozart's Sonata in B-flat was rousing. The encore, which was announced from the stage but I could only hear "Sonata" was quite lively and my favorite from the evening.

Now... I hate to say this, and as a far-from-perfect concert goer myself, I probably shouldn't say this, but with events at recent concerts I can't help myself. As a courtesy to your fellow audience members:

- Make sure your cell phone is on vibrate. Not "wake the dead ring", not vibrate and ring, just vibrate. Or off. Before you enter the concert hall. If you forget... and, unlike myself, actually have people who call you, silence the phone immediamente. Then turn it off. Vibrate is no longer an option.

- Cease all conversation as soon as the conductor takes the stage or the musicians start. I paid to hear them, not you. If neither you or your neighbor is interested in hearing the music, why are you here?

- Do not unwrap candy during a piece. If you must, do it quickly. Do not spend 90 seconds making wonderful snap, crackle, and pop noises as you roll the packaging back and forth through your fingers unless that's in the score. Likewise, bags of M&Ms, skittles and similar candies are a bad idea in the first place, but absolutely should not freely be passed back and forth.

- Refrain from fiddling with electronic gadgets during a performance. Yes, I know; I get a little twitchy when I'm in one of the boxes at Severance with no WiFi coverage, and I'm pretty sure Mixon Hall is a giant Faraday cage... but my PDA goes in my pocket when the concertmaster appears, and doesn't come out until the house lights are back up. The little screens dancing around the venue aren't as distracting as the previous items but it is still an unnecessary distraction.

Lincoln