CIM Faculty Recital: Massimo La Rosa, Elizabeth DeMio

Bach: Gavotte en Rondeau from Partia No. 3 for solo violin (arr. Harvey)
Von Weber: Romance fur Posaune and Klavier
Hindemith: Sonate
Bozza: Ballade, Op. 62
Ferro: Notes of Love
Sulek: Sonata (Vox Gabrieli) for Trombone and Piano
One unannounced encore, composer and title unknown.
Massimo La Rosa, trombone; Elizabeth DeMio, piano.

It's time for another "Why I Love Cleveland" (or perhaps "Why I Love University Circle") monologue: Aside from a wealth of cultural institutions, the barrier to entry is so low: Tonight's concert had no admission fee, no parking fee, no convenience fees, no lines, sales pitches, or really any excuse not to go. It's fantastic to be able to sample this quality of art within a 10 minute drive, and essentially on a whim. Cleveland encourages exploration; taking a gamble on the unknown.

I've noted before that brass and solo piano aren't necessarily my favorite instruments, but I've never heard them paired. At about 7:15 on this beautiful pre-Spring evening I decided that I really wanted to do something tonight, and upon consulting the oracle that is my Performing Arts Calendar, I decided to give the combination a whirl.

I was pleasantly surprised by both the quality of the playing and the texture of the playing, from the upbeat and familiar sounding arrangement of Bach's piece, originally writ en for violin to the Carl Maria von Weber's soulful Romance and the almost jazzy Balade by Eugene Bozza.

The Hindemith Sonate was interesting after having heard his Clarinet Quintet at Wednesday's faculty recital--technically interesting (and intimidating, according to the trombonist sitting next to me), but it didn't have the variety of energies or appeal to me to the extent of the Clarinet Quintet.

Nicola Ferro's Notes of Love was, perhaps, my favorite piece from the program and was introduced by Mr. La Rosa with the interesting story about how he met, or rather how the composer introduced himself while waiting for a bus after an audition in Italy.

Lincoln
(For anyone on the fence about the Orchestra concert tomorrow night: As of this posting there are a mere 62 seats in total available according to the website, with several sections completely unavailable. Buy Now.)