Lincoln in Cleveland

Cleveland Orchestra: Stravinsky, Mozart, and More

2012-02-16T23:32:00.000-05:00

Schoenberg: Three Piano Pieces, Op. 11 (Pierre-Laurent Aimard, solo piano)
Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 18 in B-flat major, K456 (Pirerre-Laurent Almard, piano and conductor)
Stravinsky: Symphonies of Wind Instruments (1920 version)
Stravinsky: Symphony of Palms (with the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus)
Tito Munoz, conductor.

"How was the concert?" my girlfriend texted me after I returned home this evening. All I could really muster was "Eh. It was what it was :-/" and I'm tempted to leave it at that. Though Pierre Boulez, originally scheduled to conduct this week's concerts was seen in the hall tonight, for the second week he was not to be seen on the podium on advice of his opthamologist.

Nothing in the program was terribly compelling nor did any of the pieces really sustain interest. That's not to say that there weren't points of interest, but like a rural highway with too-few gas stations one point didn't muster enough energy to propel my interest to the next. My mind did a lot of wandering tonight.

Opening the program tonight pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard took the stage with Schoenberg's solo piano Three Piano Pieces. The first and third pieces found their way to the bottom of my list ("Noise" and "Stormy Noise", respectively, being the notes I jotted to myself) but nonetheless, the experience of soloist in the hall alone was unique with the sound of the collective breathing and simple etre (as strange as it sounds) -- of the hall challenging the sound of the soloist. Perhaps in that context, the second movement with a distinct alternating pattern gave the sense of wandering alone and going against the majority.

The second piece, Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 18, was conducted by Mr. Aimard from the keyboard showed a bit more promise with the first movement which seemed a rather regal waltz occasionally interrupted by the petulant youth of the winds -- carrying through the ensemble -- before returning to calm. The second movement meanwhile was despairingly sweet rising out of the second violins though the movement felt emotionally restrained. and the piece ended on a happy -- almost frolicy -- tone.

Following intermission, Stravinsky ruled the roost starting with the 1920 version of Symphonies of Wind Instruments which the program relates to cubist art -- though I'm not sure I heard the connection it was interesting to hear a piece which was angular and bold but gracefully rounded at the same time. Where explosions from an instrument -- particularly near the end of the ten-minute piece -- appear and then meld back into the whole.

Finally, Symphony of the Psalms where the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus once again delivered a pleasantly vibratto free preformance -- I think I could have listened to the graceful Alleluia at the beginning and end of Psalm 150 all night, but the haunting vocal power brought fourth during the short Psalm 38 really made the listener sit up. Curiously, Stravinsky's version of Psalm 150 omits the "laudate eum in psalterio et cithara" ("praise Him with psaltery and harp") -- and I was reading that note just as a gloriously plucked harp wrenched my attention from the program book.

Lincoln

Cleveland Orchestra: Schubert and Mahler

2012-02-12T00:20:00.000-05:00

Schubert: Hymn to the Holy Spirit, D964 [Hymnus an den heiligen Geist]*
Schubert: Night Song in the Forest, D913 [Nachtgesang im Walde]*
Schubert: Song of the Spirits over the Waters, D714 [Gesang der Geister uben den Wassern]
Mahler: Symphony No. 5^
* with the Men of the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus; Robert Porco, conductor.
^ David Robertson, conductor

Pierre Boulez was originally scheduled to conduct this weekend's concerts, while I certainly would have attended this weekend's concerts regardless I would be lying if I said I wasn't at least slightly looking forward to hearing Mr. Boulez conduct again (previous appearances with the orchestra here and here). Earlier this week Mr. Boulez withdrew from the announced Mahler No. 7 leaving David Robertson, Saint Louis Symphony Music Director, to guide the Orchestra through Mahler No. 5 and rather unexpectedly withdrew from the entire program earlier this week "on the advice of his ophthalmologist", leaving Director of Choruses Robert Porco to the three Schuberts.

Based on comments I've heard from those who attended Thursday's performance and a rather grim introduction by Executive Director Gary Hanson I was afraid I'd have to fasten my seat belt and prepare for a bumpy ride. Fortunately, the slippery roads were found only outside the hall and performance was relatively smooth sailing.

Though the Orchestra gives few hints into what really goes on in the preparation for a normal week's program as far as distribution of materials and rehearsals, one can only assume that the cohesiveness and musical satisfaction from tonight's program is a testament to the versatility and adaptability of the Orchestra's musicians, conductors, and support staff.

The three Schubert songs were played without pause for applause and in sum totalled about thirty minutes. For all three the instrumental music was clearly in the back seat to the vocals and I can't say that I really loved any of them. Overall -- and I'm not sure if this was a deliberate decision on Mr. Porco's part or driven by the source material -- but the lack of vocal vibrato made the men of the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus that much more enjoyable to listen to -- and infinitely easier to follow the source texts. Both Hymn to the Holy Spirit and Night Song In the Forest seemed to be limited to winds only, while Song of the Spirits over the Waters was the firm territory of the strings. Hymn to the Holy Spirit was notable for its tender vocal beginning; Night Song in the Forest notable for a galloping middle section. Song of the Spirits over the Waters, my favorite of the three began with a beep haunting stroll before becoming big with a number of overlapping musical and human voices.

The performance after intermission though was magical: The five movements of the Mahler were everything I would expect from the Orchestra and kept me on the edge of my seat; it's worth noting that throughout -- but especially in the fifth movement -- the musicians body language exuded a tremendous degree of self-satisfaction. Part of the attraction to the symphony was the sheer variety of colors and emotions drawn out over the course of its five movements. The program notes reference a life in reverse chronology -- beginning with death and (presumably) ending somewhere around adolescence, but from the material that wasn't entirely clear. That didn't diminish the enjoyment of the piece.

The first movement, though labeled as a funeral march, had a triumphant opening, quickly turning mellow, followed by a frantic passage that reminded me as a chase before ending on something that vaguely resembled a waltz that was announced by a very dignified timpani roll. The second movement meanwhile progressed from a stormy rage through a state of confusion to a relaxed and delicate lament before ending with chimes and an air of mystery.

Part II, beginning with the third movement scherzo was the most colorful of the movements in a 64-color box set of crayons exuding the feelings of a confident youth with a loving vision leading into a solo string pizzicato and dramatic strings punctuated and paused by an intruding horn not unlike the commercials in a television drama.

Part III consisting of the fourth and fifth movements was my favorite part and the fourth movement (Adagietto) marking my favorite movement of the piece. The first part of the movement is dominated by the harp with the other strings before the harp fades away and the tenderness of the movement (and thoughts of the impending Valentines Day) causing one nearly to forget the harp's contribution to the movement until it reappears near the end of the movement. The Rondo-Finale Allegro fifth movement was bright and optimistic; the final bars of which were met by calls of Bravo and a standing ovation virtually before the final note had finished reverberating around the hall.

Lincoln

Beck Center for the Arts: Spring Awakening

2012-02-11T01:19:00.000-05:00

Spring Awakening is one of my favorite musicals and the only musical I've stalked across the country, seeing the First National Tour seven times in four states (Cleveland, Ohio; Pittsburgh and Philadelphia [twice], Pennsylvania; Orange County, California; Detroit [twice], Michigan) and I was fortunate enough to score on-stage seats for one of the Philadelphia and both of the Detroit performances.

A compelling story about adolescent angst, love, and fitting in, Spring Awakening featured music by pop musician Duncan Shiek and book and lyrics by Steven Sater. While buying my first ticket to the first performance at PlayhouseSquare (incidentally, I don't think anything nearly as compelling has appeared since, though I have hopes for Memphis) the ticket seller warned me vaguely about the explicit nature of the show: In Pittsburgh I had a rather large woman stomp on my feet as she disgustedly left the theater before the first act was over.

It's true: Spring Awakening is not a show for everyone and along with explicit lyrics features brief nudity and a simulated sex scene. But it's also true that those most likely to be offended by these aspects are the ones that most need to benefit from the message (for a more detailed synopsis the Wikipedia page is pretty accurate). When I saw Spring Awakening on the schedule for this season at Lakewood's Beck Center for the Arts I was both intrigued and apprehensive: Wanting to see the ground-breaking musical again but afraid that my fond memories would be tainted by a watered down version, poor execution, or both.

Rachel and I headed over for tonight's performance and found neither to be the case. The Beck production, a collaboration with Baldwin-Wallace College's Musical Theatre Program, retains the full vigor of the original book. While the staging was considerably, but not completely, different (notable changes include removing the audience risers stage left and right and pushing the Adult Man and Adult Woman to the extreme corners of the stage apron for most of their dialog; notable similarities are the raised square platform upon which the majority of the cation takes place with the band behind) the story telling was no worse for the wear.

Beyond that it's hard for me to comment on the blocking and choreography generally: there were a few humorous moments in the first national tour that were lost here (namely in between the two Mama Who Bore Mes as well as within My Junk) but as a new production with a new creative team it is unreasonable to expect a duplicate, let alone a precise copy of the original, and I doubt that those not familiar with the First National Tour are likely to miss anything.

That is to say, this production under well-known Cleveland musical director Victoria Bussert's direction was satisfying. Audio issues plagued the first act rising to the level of distraction with uneven and wildly varying speech levels (at times leaving some talent with loud open mics, and other talent unmiced) and several of the females were almost naisly -- both seemed largely resolved by Act II.

Generally well cast, Kyra Kennedy's Wendla struck me as a little too mature (and less innocent) than one would expect from a character oblivious to the birds and the bees. James Penca, on the other hand, played Moritz with a more biting sarcasm than I'm used to, particularly in his musical numbers. While I'm still a bit undecided, I think the net was positive. I certainly noticed some nuances in the dialogue, specifically among the boys, that I hadn't noticed before.
Adult Male (Scott Plate) all of the adult roles in the show -- as parents to youth as necessary and as school headmaster -- makes subtle changes for each of his roles, though the show would be well served if he hit the desk a bit less emphatically as it is a bit jarring.

All-in-all it was an excellent performance and it seemed to be well received by a diverse audience, and I even observed several of the, shall we say, older audience members thoroughly enjoying some of the cruder references.

I've been needing a fill of Musical Theater and this was just the ticket. Through March 4th at the Beck Center for the Arts, 17801 Detroit Ave, Lakewood.

Lincoln

Heights Arts House Concert: El Gar!

2012-02-05T21:05:00.000-05:00

Beethoven: String Trio in c-minor, Op. 9, No. 3¹²³
Poulenc: Sonate for Violin and Piano "A la memorie de Frederico Garcia Lorca"ª°
Elgar: Piano Qunitet op. 84¹²³ª°
¹-Tanya Ell, cello; ²-Mari Sato, violin; ³-Kristen Docter, viola; ª-Isabel Trautwein, violin; °-Vivian Weilerstein, piano.
At the Rawson Cowap Residence, Shaker Heights

On the heels of two orchestral concerts in the past week, and feeling a little lacking in the Chamber Music department, it was delightful to return to the Cowap+Rawson residence for three varied pieces intimate of chamber music, featuring Cleveland Orchestra violinist Isabel Trautwein, orchestra cellist Tanya Ell, Cavani Quartet members Kristen Docter and Mari Sato, along with visiting pianist Vivian Weilerstein [If you recognize the last name, yes, they are related]

Opening the program was Beethoven's Opus 9 Number 3 string trio with an introduction by Ms. Ell in which she commented on Beethoven's lack of success in the field of opera -- despite fantastic results in every other category -- and mentioned that themes in the piece sounded to her like operatic characters evolving throughout the piece and thought it didn't always strike me clearly there were certainly parts where I heard what she was referring to. Regardless, it was a delightfully relaxing beginning to the concert.

Next up, Francis Poulenc's Sonate for Violin and Piano dedicated to Frederico Garcia Lorca, a Spanish poet killed at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War. In introducing the piece, Ms. Trautwein quoted Lorca (via Poulenic) with "The guitar makes dreams weep" and mentioned Poulenc revised the finale after the violinist who had premiered the piece was killed in an airplane accident.

The piece started with a an explosive bang from both piano and violin and continued with a tumultuous sense of violence passionately played and invoking the spirit of war through instruments that are typically so serene. The same was largely true of the final movement until it tapered to a lonely series of notes at the conclusion of the piece. The intermezzo that was bookended by those movements, however was tender, sad, and introspective with the hint of grief and the pointlessness of war.

Concluding the program and unting all five of the performers we had the pleasure of hearing tonight, Edward Elgar's Opus 84 Piano Quintet, introduced by Mari Sato. Throughout the three movements of the piece the slightly muted color gave me a somewhat surreal nostalgic sense that reminded me of the feeling I had watching the film Big Fish -- not a direct musical quotation, but just the general feeling. The first movement started with an insistent statement that turned mysterious then impassioned. The sound from the ensemble seemed to fill every available available molecule of air in the Cowap's dining room.

The second moment kept the nostalgic and muted color feeling but turned a bit more tender and was passionately expressive, where the final movement was festive and gave me a bit of a feeling of riding on a carousel in that surreal soundscape.

All in all it was a delightful concert and a bit of a unique program given that two of the three pieces were composed within the past 70 years.

Lincoln

Cleveland Orchestra: Brahms Piano Concerto

2012-02-04T23:38:00.000-05:00

Saariaho: Lanterna Magica (United States Premiere)
Mozart: Symphony No. 39 in E-flat major, K543
Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minior, Op. 15 (Yefin Bronfman, piano)
Franz Welser-Most, conductor.

A couple weeks ago -- the last Cleveland Orchestra concert I attended, and bookending the Orchestra's annual Miami residency -- I was awed by the program generally but unmoved, to the point of virtually detesting the "new" piece on the program. While the opposite wasn't quite true with tonight's program the boat was certainly listing in that direction.

Tonight's "new" piece and opening the program was Kaija Saariaho's Lanterna Magica, which also was my favorite from the evening. Though the title is a reference to Ingrmar Berman's autobiography and in turn to the Magic Lantern that introduced the first moving images, from the opening notes evoked the feeling of wandering through a mysterious wood carrying a handheld lantern with a bit of mystery. As the piece progressed the feelings evoked the feelings of excitement and wonderment that I can't help to imagine accompanied the first appearances of the lantern. The surges of energy as imaginary rotation of the mirror increased in speed and individual images and sounds merged into a single moving whole; likewise, as the music slows and Mr. Pruecil's violin was left standing delicately alone as the imaginary mirror slowed. That seemed like it would have been a natural ending however the piece continued a bit longer.

Next on the program, Mozart's Symphony No. 39 didn't really make a connection on an emotional level; that is listening to the piece I felt no close connection to the music. That could be because my focus and tentative connection with the first movement was interrupted by a rather musical cellphone ring tone from behind and to my left. The second movement, though struck me with a series of statements that seemed to be tentative only to be restated with full confidence, like a public speaker nervously rehearsing for a speech. The transition from the third to fourth movement was nearly seamless with fun bursts of orchestral color and energy.

The low-level buzz was that pianist Yefim Bronfman was nervous before tonight's concert; with the wonderful memory of the last concert still fresh I couldn't fathom what there would be to be nervous about. Unfortunately as intermission ended I was not as moved by Brahms' Piano Concerto No. 1. The close coupling between orchestra and pianist that I felt then seemed to be missing tonight. Early in the first movement there was a interesting visual while Mr. Bronfman was playing and Mr. Welser-Most was conducting a virtually (if not totally) silent orchestra.

The program notes for mentioned that Brahms was a student of Robert Schumann and composed the piece shortly after a suicide attempt (followed by institutionalization in an asylum) by his teacher; with that in mind the piano at times seemed to be the outsider at odds with the orchestra, or rather society at large. But regardless, I didn't find the result captivating or compelling. Based on the immediate and virtually unanimous standing ovation, however, it seems I may have been the outsider tonight.

Lincoln

Cleveland Institute of Music: CIM @ Severance Hall (@cim_edu)

2012-02-01T23:36:00.001-05:00

Berlioz: Overture to Benvenuto Cellini, Op. 23
Gluck: Two Arias (Unis des la plus tendre enfance and Ah! mon ami, j'implore ta pite) from Iphigenie en Tauride (Vinson Cole, Tenor)
Gluck: Dance of the Blessed Spirits from Orphee et Euridice
Berlioz: Two Arias (Merci, doux crepuscule and Invocation de la Nature) from La damnation de Faust (Vinson Cole, Tenor)
Rachmaninoff: Symphony No. 3 in A minor, Op. 44
Jeffrey Kahane, guest conductor.

Tonight was quite musical in University Circle with Case students performing in the galleries of the Clevleland Museum of Art and the fifth of six CIM Orchestra concerts at Severance Hall. Based on scheduling I wasn't able to make it to the Case performance, but Rachel and I did make it to Severance.

Leaving Severance Hall tonight all I could really say to myself is "everyone is bound to have an off night every once in a while" to be sure the evening got off to a bumpy start even before the music started: I don't think I've seen such disorder and confusion in the Severance Hall garage and Mr. Smirnoff, CIM"s president made reference to "Cleveland Circle" (not University Circle) and invited the audience to visit cim.org (the website of the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy, and Petroleum) instead of cim.edu during his opening remarks. But usually once the music begins pre-concert bumps are a distant memory.

Tonight the music was just generally missing that je ne sais qouis and dare I say languid in execution. The first half of the program was opera-heavy, starting promisingly with a 0-60 burst of notes with the overture from Berlioz's Benvenuto Cellini but after that initial burst the remainder of the piece felt overly restrained.

Following were the first set of arias sung by tenor Vinson Cole and while Mr. Cole has a solid voice all four arias were musically underwhelming and nearly put both Rachel and I to sleep; I can't say that any of the four (two Gluck and two Berlioz) were particularly memorable, but nor were they unenjoyable. Merci douz crepuscule from La damnation de Faust was the strongest of the four by my estimation.

Gluck's Dance of the Blessed Spirits was the most enjoyable of the evening giving me the musical feeling of as subdued walk through nature in springtime.

Rachmaninoff's third symphony capped off the evening and stood alone after intermission as the only piece not excerpted from an opera and it was generally enjoyable but again didn't really have the verve that I expect from CIM students.

Lincoln

Saint Paul City Ballet: The Company at the McKnight

2012-01-27T23:44:00.000-05:00

After finishing some meetings in Rochester this morning I moved to Minneapolis for tonight -- checking into The Marquette, a Hilton-managed hotel that's not aligned with any of the family's marques (I suspect this may be because there is both a Hilton and a DoubleTree within perhaps a few thousand feet of the hotel) -- the service level is at least equal to if not slightly higher than what I expect from Hilton but not being tied to brand standards it feels much less cookie cutter and is just a little bit more fun.

Anyway, by the time I got to the hotel I didn't feel like I had enough time to get to and really enjoy the Walker Art Center before it closed; perhaps I'll try a quick run in the morning or maybe it will have to wait for my next trip (tentatively the end of March). Instead I made my way over to Saint Paul to check out the Ordway Center and Saint Paul City Ballet's The Company at the McKnight.

Ballet is an art that I certainly don't get enough of -- the fluidity and grace of the human body can be stunning in the right contexts. In the ultimate incarnation ballet has the unique power to dance on the ears and tickle the eyes. And I have to admit I'm a little bit of a sucker for the look of the classical tutu.

Tonight's program ran just about 90 minutes inclusive of a 20-minute intermission and 5-minute pause and I think it hit the sweet spot as for length with the following selections:

Excerpts from Raymonda (Choreography after Marius Petipa, restaged by Ted Sothern; Music by Alexander Glazunov; Costumes by Ann Marie Ethen; Lighting by Chuck Norwood)

Not an Etude (Coreography by Ted Sothern; Music composed for SPCB by George Maurer; Costumes by Ted Sothern and Ann Marie Ethen; Lighting by Chuck Norwood)

One (Choreography by Joseph Morrissey; Music by Sugeru Umebayashi and Michael Galasso; Costumes by Ann Marie Ethen; Lighting by Chuck Norwood)

Bolero (Choregoraphy by Greg Drotar, Music by Maurice Ravel; Costumes by Greg Drotar; Lighting by Chuck Norwood)

Considering myself lucky if I see ballet (in any form) once a year I can't really comment on the technical aspects of dance -- the couple next to me was commenting on one of the male dancer's sloppy jumps after Raymonda, but generally I had no issues with the dance; it was fun to watch and none of the pieces were so long as to be boring.

The one complaint I did have throughout is the audio quality: While a live orchestra was probably too much to ask for (and probably not a possibility within the physical constraints of the McKnight theater -- a pretty intimate venue) the audio was horrid. At times it I wasn't sure if it was over compressed or just the victim of a truly frightful house EQ curve, at others compression artifacts (as if someone was playing a low-quality MP3) were clearly audible and I think every piece had some, culmintating with an unacceptable level of background hiss present: The overall result was something not much better than listening to music on an AM radio and generally distracted from the dance.

Excerpts from Raymonda with its overture, le grand pas hongris, le pas classique hongris, variations I-V, and coda was the longest piece of the program and also the piece with the most classical air about it in terms of technique and costuming.

Not an Etude was clearly a social commentary with a three-dancer clique playing against a solo male dancer (two men, two women all costumed virtually identically) the music was fun and while it took me a bit to figure out the commentary, I think it was the first time I've laughed during a dance show of any kind -- and I was not alone among the audience.

Conversely I didn't find One compelling nor did I connect to it musically or philosophically I honestly didn't find either the choreography or music memorable and may or may not have been counting smoke detectors on the catwalk near the end of the piece.

A dance based on Ravel's delightful Bolero closed out the program and although I think the audio was at its worst in this piece it tied with the first piece on the program for my favorites of the evening. With the almost militaristic constant drumbeat throughout I've always thought this was a no brainier for a dance and while Greg Drotar's choreography went a different direction than I've imagined while listening to this piece (most recently at a http://lincolnincleveland.blogspot.com/2011/10/cleveland-orchestra-fridays7-bolero.html) it was no less appealing.

Leaving the Ordway in the 25-ish degree outside weather I noticed quite display of ice carving across the street and lingered a bit to watch the crowds and carving but not really being prepared for extended time outdoors I shortly headed back to the hotel. Watching the local news in the hotel room, it seems that this is part of St. Paul's Winter Carnival) -- but on a blustery winter night it was nice to see so many people outside "downtown"

Lincoln

Please stop washing my hotel towels.

2012-01-26T20:50:00.002-05:00

I've been in Minnesota since Monday for work (at a certain very highly regarded medical clinic) and so far haven't been able to hit even my normal cultural haunts for this part of the country -- seeing as Monday was my "Travel Day" and as it turns out the Walker Art Center (one of my favorite museums outside of Cleveland), Minneapolis Institute of Arts (impressively huge facility), and the new one I wanted to hit for this trip the Minnesota History Center (saw it on Mysteries at the Museum on the Travel Channel, intrigued) are all closed on Mondays.

Hopefully tomorrow evening I'll be able to check out St. Paul City Ballet -- I enjoy classical dance but don't get nearly enough of it; though as the pessimistic side of my brain is currently winning I haven't yet purchased a ticket.

Anyway... having spent the past three nights in an otherwise wonderful hotel suite -- and some 58 nights in hotels in 2011: Hotel housekeepers, I know you have a tough job and are generally unappreciated, but please stop washing my towels. Please.

For as long as I can remember traveling, Hilton-family hotels have had the "Conservation" programs and signs, essentially the idea is that if you throw your towel(s) on the floor they'll be laundered and replaced, otherwise if you hang your towels up you'll reuse them -- conserving water and, no doubt reducing the number of chemicals used in the process.

And considering the plethora of crud and veritable Pandora's box of possible diseases that those chemicals have to scrub, kill, and eradicate from guest to guest I can't imagine that they're very nice chemicals.

It's not so much that I want to be "green" -- I should be doing a lot more in that regard anyway -- but I don't wash my towels daily (or -- mom, skip this part: even weekly) at home, I really don't see a need to do this when I'm on the road.

More importantly, I like a soft fluffy towel. I love being able to bury my head in something pillow-like and not have it retain the shape of my head when I pull away. I don't want towels that exfoliate in the process of drying.

Most hotel towels have been laundered and chemicaled to within a millimeter of their lives and are one step away from being sold as 70-grit sandpaper at Home Depot. This is, no doubt, at least partially due to being laundered on a daily basis.

Perhaps I'm alone here, but I become a bit concerned when I can stand a linen upright.

"Why don't you just hang up your towel, then?" the intelligent reader may ask.

I do. I've tried hanging it on the towel rack, over the curtain rod on both ends of the tub. Through the grab bar. Over the wash cloths next to the sink. I've tried folding it nicely and putting it on top of the toilet. I've tried folding it and putting it on the counter. I've tried draping it on the side of the tub. I've tried hanging it on the shower stall door handle (where applicable). I think I've tried just about everything besides hiding it in the refrigerator or under the sofa in the living room. I'm not sure it would do any good.

Yet the result is nearly always the same: I come back to find the towel I've used exactly once missing, and a new, stiff, freshly laundered towel back amongst all of the other unused towels, almost mocking me.

I can think of only one hotel ever where my towel wishes have been respected. And I was so stunned I almost did a jig in the corridor.
From California to New York, Ohio to Florida, sometimes it seems like this is the one immutable truth about travel: My towel will be washed.

Why? And why bother with the "conservation" literature if you aren't going to...conserve?

Lincoln

Cleveland Orchestra: Brahms Second Piano Concerto

2012-01-22T00:07:00.000-05:00

Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat major, Op. 83 (Yefim Bronfman, piano)
Shepherd: Wanderlust
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Op. 54
Franz Welser-Most, conductor.

From the opening notes of Brahms Piano concerto -- introduced by a solo horn -- I was in awe. Throughout the four movements, I can recall few pieces that have kept me so spellbound. Without reservation I can say that this is the most compelling work I've heard Mr. Welser-Most conduct and one of the finest in recent memory. While soloists are not always up to the challenge posed by The Cleveland Orchestra (one need look no further than last week for an example), Pianist Yefim Bronfman with the orchestra was a match made in musical heaven.

The program noted that the running time of the piece was approximately 50 minutes, however as the notes were flowing forth from the Severance Hall stage time seemed to stand still; I was afraid to blink for fear of disturbing the bond between orchestra, conductor, soloist and audience. When I did close my eyes, the noes seemed to be levitating. The first movement was by far my favorite from the piece, the evening, and recent memory. Throughout, Mr. Bronfman's hands seemed to dance over and massage the keys of his instrument, never being so coarse as to strike them. The third movement, with an extensive cello concerto (the piano lid blocked my view, but I believe it was played by Mark Kosower was also a heavenly contribution to the evening. Both the second and fourth movements were no less captivating. All of the players -- the Orchestra, Mr. Bronfman, and Mr. Welser-Most -- were clearly enjoying themselves and it came through in the music.

The concert could have ended there and it would have been money well spend (and Miamians can look forward to enjoying this piece during the orchestra's upcoming residency in Miami)

Unfortunately coming on the heels of that musical ecstasy was composer Sean Shepherd's Wanderlust, commissioned by the Orchestra in 2009. Though I had high hopes -- wanderlust is an emotion and desire I can relate strongly to -- the piece was more than a little too angular for me. While trying to find a coherent expression of my dislike and reading ahead in the program I found my answer in what a newspaper had attached to one of Shostakovitch's operas: "a confused stream of sounds".

Where the Brahms was advertised as 50 minutes and felt like 10, this was advertised as 10 minutes and felt like 45, and while I couldn't get a read on Mr. Welser-Most's engagement, the musicians clearly were not engaged with this piece; and I don't think one can blame them.

The program concluded with Shostakovitch's Symphony 6 in B minor which was somewhere between the two extremes of the first two pieces: I didn't detest it but I didn't have the "love at first note" reaction to it that I did with the Brahms. The long -- and introspective -- slow movement was difficult to reconcile on the heels of Wanderlust, though the second movement (Allegro) started to pulled me back in with an interesting rhythm and the third movement put a climatic exclamation point on the evening's performance

Lincoln

Cleveland Public Theatre: At-TEN-tion Span

2012-01-21T01:03:00.000-05:00

Cleveland Public Theatre is quick to point out that that At-TEN-tion span isn't merely a festival of unfinished short plays but is, instead, a single show of twelve short plays loosely linked together.

This year all twelve works are works created by Cleveland artists and cultivated at CPT, and all are in effect world premieres. Some are funny, some are weird, some are introspective, some are most of the above. Though I was completely sober going into the show there are a few where, to be completely honest, I think a bit of a buzz could have helped make a bit more sense out of a few of them: And if you care to take my advice there, you're in luck: The bar in the lobby is open a bit early.

Throughout the evening performances move on and off stage and around the theater-- sometimes the audience is instructed to take a seat -- literally -- while moving from piece to piece; others you are moved to seating mysteriously prepared while you're otherwise occupied.

At-TEN-tion Span runs at CPT through February 4th.

The works are
Act I
The Refrain, conceived and directed by Jeremy Paul; featuring Ray Caspio, Jenni Messner, Adam Seeholzer
Openings, conceived and directed by Raymond Bobgan; featuring members of the ensemble
Crash Project conceived and directed by Pandora Robertson; featuring Ray Caspio, Lauren Joy Fraley, Caitlin Lewins, Adam Seeholzer
Fail, conceived and directed by Simone Barros; featuring Faye Hargate, Darius Stubbs
How... conceived and directed by Raymond Bobgan; featuring the ensemble
Act II
How 2, conceived and directed by Raymond Bobgan; featruring the ensemble
El Beth-el, conceived and directed by Dairus Stubbs; featuring Dionne D. Atchison, Stevem Schureger, Darius Stubbs
The Three Musketeers conceived and directed by Douglas H. Snyder; featuring Lauren Joy Fraley, Caitlin Lewins, Lauren B. Smith
To Fasten Your Seatbelts... conceived and directed by Renee Schilling; featuring Ray Caspio, Jere,y Paul, Amy Schwabuer, Lauren B. Smith
If I Lie, conceived and directed by Chris Seibert; featuring Molly Andrews-Hinders, Amy Schwabuer, Adam Seeholzer
Sealed, conceived and directed by Raymond Bobgan, featuring the ensemble.

While the program was generally linked, as far as subject matter it was like channel surfing a hotel's cable TV lineup -- or Cleveland weather: If you didn't like what you were watching (or if it was making you think too hard) just wait a few minutes and something completely different would be along.

So for me I didn't really get The Refrain or Sealed -- and after the performance Rachel warned that if I tried thinking too hard my head might explode. How and How 2, both products of CPT Executive Artistic Director Raymond Bobgan bookended Intermission and the way in which the actors are utilized reminded me of atoms in a molecule bouncing off each other exchanging electrons and ideas.

I'm not sure how much I can say about Openings without giving away this delightfully surprising mirror on real-life-theater but be prepared to do quite a bit of looking around -- and perhaps choose a seat near the back for the best view

Fail takes a nervous tick and amplifies it before transferring it as one heretofore unsuccessful writer discovers that the successful writer doesn't have all the control that he thinks where a pregnancy is involved and was one of Rachel's favorites.

While all were well acted, The Three Musketeers was at the top of its game with what I think was a commentary on relationships -- again Rachel warned me that my head may go boom if I thought too hard on it -- and was just generally funny.

My hands down favorite, though, was To Fasten Your Seatbelts: It didn't require critical though but had me laughing out of my seat (I was within about a half inch of winding up on the floor) and is a subject near to my heart: Air travel. While the cast of zany flight attendants make it funny, I think the stress of an interview or an on-the-job test makes this relatable to just about anyone who's set foot in the real world: This alone was worth the trip to the West Side; combined with all of the others it was an evening well spent.

Synopses, summaries, or even the intended meaning of the plays was not included in the program so please feel free to share your take or interpretation in the comments

Lincoln

Cleveland Orchestra: Brahms Violin Concerto

2012-01-15T00:16:00.000-05:00

Brahms: Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 77 (Julian Rachlin, violin)
Saariaho: Orion
Smetana: ~~Three~~ Four Symphonic Poems from Ma Viast [My Country]
Franz Welser-Most, conductor.

Nearly half way into the month of January it seems a little odd to still be exchanging new years greetings, but as the first concert weekend of 2012 it was delightful to return to Severance and cross paths with patrons, ushers, and other Severanceites that I last saw last year.

Tonight's concert began with Brahms' Violin Concerto with Julian Rachlin joining the Orchestra for the first time: The opening to the piece was heavenly and grounded in the orchestra developing into a passionate embrace between the soloist with hints of both a lover's quarrel and dance. The second movement featured meandering winds luring the listener back into the comfort of the music with a bit of a hypnotic flair. The third and final movement was both lively and agitated; early in the movement the sound made it seem as if a choir was hovering above the orchestra -- but the sound was entirely grounded within the orchestra.

Kaija Saariaho's Orion, a composition premiered by The Cleveland Orchestra barely a decade ago, was an interesting combination of sounds with the first movement seeming generally celestial with a recurring theme that's weight and impact on the movement increased like a lumbering giant's footsteps through the orchestral woods. While the first movement was a mix of overlapping voices, the second movement featured solo instrumental voices seemingly, by comparison, wandering the universe solo. The third movement borrowed on themes from the first two movements with a repeating descending, almost comical, sound punctuated with an excited flair.

Last on the program were four (the original program promised three) symphonic poems from Smetana's Ma Viast, and my favorite from the evening. In Vysehard, The Mighty Fortress the music began with two harps leading into winds with a regal air eventually enveloping the entire orchestra, with a proud trumpet statement and a restrained ending. The Moldau passed largely without notice but I did notice the combination of pizzicato strings and delightful flutes. The thrid of the poems, Sarka, The Warrior Maid seemed both romantic and cinematic with a celebratory ending (The Wikipedia entry describes the basis of the movement thusly:

"Šárka ties herself to a tree as bait and waits to be saved by the princely knight Ctirad, deceiving him into believing that she is an unwilling captive of the rebelling women. Once released by Ctirad, who has quickly fallen in love with her, Šárka serves him and his comrades with drugged mead and once they have fallen asleep she sounds a hunting horn: an agreed signal to the other women. " -- and with that basis it's clear that what the celebration is for.

The fourth and final movement From Boehmia's Forests and Fields was evidently a late addition as it isn't included in the original program begins with a sun rising over a dawn bed of strings, is bright and evocative of grandeur or of a bright new day with an interesting frantic/calm/frantic segment near the end of the piece.

Lincoln

Cleveland Museum of Art: Music in the Galleries (@ClevelandArt, @CIM_Edu)

2012-01-04T23:05:00.000-05:00

Bach: Selections from Suite No. 2 (Prelude, Courante, Sarabande, Gigue)*
Lebegue: Puer Nobis Nascituri^
Pachelbel: Der Tag Isto so Freudenreich^
Bach: Partita No. 3 for Solo Violin in E major, BVW 1006%
Paganini: Caprices for Solo Violin, Op. 1 No. 23%
Stravinsky: Elegie for Solo Viola&
Reich: New York Counterpoint for Clarinet and Tape+
at the Cleveland Museum of Art in Contemporary Art Gallery 225, East Wing

*-Annalisa Boerner, viola; ^-Paula Maust, organ; %-Boson Mo, violin; &-Ji Young Nam, viola; +-Elinor Rufeizen, clarinet

The holiday season is over and I'm back at the office -- while everyone recovers from their festivities, the beginning of January is always a bit quiet on the performing arts front. The Cleveland Museum of Art, however, is pressing along uninterrupted with the series of monthly concerts in the galleries featuring performances of Cleveland Institute of Music students.

While previous performances have been in the 1916 Building's galleries, tonight's concert moved to one of the Contemporary galleries and continued a trend of increasing attendance. The next concert, by the way is Wednesday, February 1st at 6:00 -- perhaps a fine prelude to the CIM@Severance concert on at 8pm just down the street.

Tonight's concert began with Violist Annalisa Boerner introducing her selection of four movements from Bach's Suite No. 2 -- originally composed for solo cello but "stolen" for solo viola. As Ms. Boerner began playing her suite of dances, the gallery was filled with a delightfully warm sound on a cold winter night. While I can't say I would have called the pieces dances without prompting, the emotions ranged from deep and almost sad in one movement to a passioned embrace in another and a more lively higher mood in another.

Following, organist Paula Maust returned to the instrument she played at the last concert in the galleries introducing her selections -- under the heading of "Christmas Miniatures" -- reminding the audience that this is the 11th day of Christmas. Both were delightful but had distinctly different sounds, Nicolas-Antonie Lebegue's Puer Nobis Nascitur was more evocative of the sounds of a flute than the lumbering weight of an organ. Johann Pachelbel's Der Tag ist so freudenreich, on the other hand, was unmistakably Organ-esue (Organic?) and sounded as if it would be right at home as a processional for a religious service.

Next, Bach's Partita No. 3 for solo violin played by Mr. Boson Mo. In introducing the piece he was sure to point out that unlike the earlier Bach piece, this composition had not been stolen from another instrument and instead was originally composed for solo violin. The Gavotte en Rondeau was the most familiar piece from the program and rather happy -- fitting in nicely with the bright colors of the contemporary galleries. The Bouree was rather short by comparison but faster in tempo, and it was during this movement when the "moth to the candle" effect was most noticed as guards and patrons seemed to be gravitating toward and lingering in the music.

Mr. Mo continued with a distinctly different piece in Caprices for Solo Violin by Niccolo Paganini, without whom, Mr. Mo observed, violinists may not have had to practice as much and while this struck me as less musical than the pieces before it, it also seemed more expressive and an excellent fit for some of the more abstract visuals that surrounded the musicians tonight.

Stravinsky's Elegy for solo viola, played by Ms. Ji Young Nam by contrast seemed out of place in its profoundly mournful mood surrounded by abstract bursts of color and energy.

Closing out the program, and the icing on a luscious cake, was Elinor Rufeizen's repeat performance off Steve Reich's New York Counterpoint for Clarinet and Tape, which was featured on the program for her recital at CIM a few weeks ago and one of the more unusual compositions I've heard. As I wrote then, "was layer upon layer of music created a polyphonic chaos that grew and subsided, ebbed and flowed: A note would build, reverberate, then decay while another note existed in the same space. Then other notes would appear and take over the stage. You could hear the sounds of the subway ... then the hustle and bustle of a crowd on the sidewalk ... then a traffic jam. All of the ambient noise you encounter in New York captured by a solo and recorded clarinet" -- while I think the gallery acoustics were a bit harsh on the sound letting ones eyes take in the art while the ears take in the music the two seemed to be perfectly matched: Explosions of layered color and notes; the twisted metal of a mangled exit stair with the distortion of a decaying note.

But neither art nor music is decaying in Cleveland.

Lincoln

Cleveland Museum of Art: Bulletin of the Museum 1957-68 (@ClevelandArt)

2011-12-24T20:49:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays to everyone! I'm staying in Cleveland this year and though it doesn't look like we're in for a White Christmas thus year, the performing arts seem to have pulled up their collective covers for a well-earned respite. I figured I'd take this opportunity, then, to continue my series looking back at The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art, a rather large cache of back issues of which I was fortunate to come into several months ago and have been slowly working my way through. The rest of the series, including one from before the Museum's 1916 building had even opened, can be found here.

March 1957. Forty-Fourth Year. Number Three. This issue should--chronologically, at least--have been included in my last post but somehow escaped my hands. In the rest of the world, Standard and Poor's published the first of the now ubiquitous S&P 500 and the Treaty of Rome is signed forming the European Economic Community a major step to what is today's European Union. More amazing, however, is the story that lies under the heading A Missing Fragment Recovered:

"One of the finest objects in the Museum's collection of the Arts of the Americas is the seated figure of a man, Olmec culture, given by Mrs. R. Henry Norweb in 1939. The statute is damaged, the head, the left arm and the left knee are missing but despite these mutilations, it surprises with its classical form its resilience and viral intensity.
"The brilliant visual memory of a friend of the Museum has recently made it possible to restore one of the missing parts of this statute; the left hand and knee. A letter supplies the details of the story, 'When we were in Mexico, we went one evening to the more than modest home of an Indian woman in Inguala who works in the fields at harvest time [...] She had nothing at all of interest ... but as the two men were leaving the son brought out another box of junk, My husband recognized it as probably the missing piece from that figure in the Cleveland Museum. I thought he was mad however, the master's eye was certainly true' "

The odds, to me, of fragments a piece originally sculpted somewhere between 1200 and 300 BC separated by thousands of miles were reunited (after the first fragment had been in the Museum's collection for 18 years) on the strength of chance and visual recollection is stunning (the piece, with Accession Number 1951.179, can be found in the Museum's collection online)

Membership stands at 6,834

September 1957. Forty-Fourth Year . Number Seven. While September of 1957 may be better known in history for the "Little Rock Crisis" of the American Civil Rights Movement The cover of this issue features a picture of the Northwest-Corner of the "New Wing" -- representing the first capital expansion of the Museum. While the "1958 Building" was demolished as part of the 2005-13 renovation and expansion (and it seems that some of the "damage" to the 1916 building's facade as part of that expansion is still being undone) it blazed the trail in several respects for the current expansion including the complete closure of the museum for a period of time and the and, perhaps most importantly, court-granted permission to use endowment funds to construction.

January 1968. Volume LV. Number 1. There's a ten-year gap in my cache of bulletins and at some point during this time the Bulletin has undergone a massive redesign including color covers and a larger size -- roughly 7"x8.5" instead of 5.5"x8.5" -- a trend that has continued with the bulletin's descendant, today's Members Magazine is a full 8.5"x11". This increase in mass is not wasted: The first entry in this Bulletin spans 17 full pages, more than the entire length of most prior bulletins. Mrs. Albert M. Rankin has joined the Board of Directors -- and she continues to be an active supporter of Cleveland arts to this day.

February 1968. Volume LV. Number 2.

April 1968. Volume LV. Number 4. Though Case Institute of Technology and Western Reserve University, both neighbors to the Cleveland Museum of Art voted to federate in 1967, this issue ends by announcing "The Trustees and the Director of the Cleveland Museum of Art wish to join the University Circle community in taking formal notice of the presidential installation of Robert Morse and the inaugural year of Case Western Reserve University [...] The Museum has traditionally enjoyed a close relationship with the academic community of Cleveland and this relationship has now been made more intimate and productive by the new joint program in the history and criticism of art announced recently.

June 1968. Volume LV. Number 6. The inside front cover contains an artists rendering of the "Proposed Educational Wing" -- today's North Wing and main entrance -- although alterations have been made over the years, the image presented here is still very recognizable. The letter, signed by Emery May Norweb, President and Sherman E. Lee, Director -- is too lengthy to quote here -- but is filled with resonant echos of the current construction project "At the same time we also hope the prospect of things to come will enlist their material support; the physical discomfort of new construction is as nothing compared to the ensuing financial distress."

The annual report continues with reports that the Library's collection totals 59,925 volumes: Today, based on some reports (or rather, a somewhat recent library job posting) the collection exceeds more than 456,000 cataloged volumes and 500,000 digitized slides making it one of the largest art libraries in the United States.

And that seems like a fine place to stop this installment.

Happy Holidays!

Lincoln

Cleveland Orchestra: Christmas Concerts

2011-12-17T00:13:00.001-05:00

(the program listing for this concert may be found at the conclusion of this post)

The Cleveland Orchestra Christmas concerts have become a bit of an accidental tradition. And I was starting to wonder if it would become rote. To the contrary, both the orchestra and chorus seemed very fresh. Though there were some staple pieces, much of the material was new to me or at the very least lesser known.

The concert began with candle-holding choristers taking the stage and brightly lit garlands hanging from the Box and Dress Circle levels brightly glowing and lead into the happy Presonent hodie which ended with an explosion of voices. That lead into The First Noel where, although the chimes seemed a bit loud the mechanical precision with which the violinists bow strokes alternated was like watching a perfectly tuned 4-stroke engine in action -- but it sounded much better. The third piece in the program was actually a suite of three five carols, two featuring the Chorus, and one each for strings, woodwinds and brass. The story behind these carols was interesting, as was the very different texture given to the first -- Caroling Carolling, and fourth -- Away in a Manger was interesting with the first being bright and cheerful, as if a group was caroling, and the fourth being quiet and delicate.

The first half of the program ended with two more well-known pieces, Waltz of the Flowers from The Nutcracker, where the introduction didn't strike me as familiar, but as the piece progressed it was the "a ha" moment. The longest piece from the first part, this was also my favorite. While I love The Nutcracker (and would like to see more classical ballet in general) scheduling conflicts made it impossible to make it to PlayhouseSquare's one-weekend-only presentation of the Nutcracker this year, so this partially helped to fill the void. Last in the first half, the Hallelujah chorus from Messiah which included the obligatory crowd-standing. This year I've managed to avoid hearing the unabridged Messiah, and unlike The Nutcracker this completely filled the void.

I was sharing my box with a mother and daughters having a girls night out and during intermission offered to take their pictures in our box -- their first time at Severance Hall.

Part Two included the obligatory (I swear there's a law requiring its performance) Sleigh Ride by Leroy Anderson, and the traditional-for-orchestra Twelve Days of Christmas with audience singalong. John William's Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas from Home Alone 2 where the chorus glistened and both chorus and orchestra in a very festive piece.

Walking In the Air from a 1951 short movie about a snowman that comes to life and takes a boy flying up in the air and was a particularly fresh addition to this year's program, and may have been my favorite piece for both chorus and orchestra.

While Jingle Bells at first glance on the program seems overdone, this particular arrangement was a delight to the ears.

Lincoln

The Program:
Traditional: Personent hodie (arr. Lara Hoggard)*^
Traditional: The First Noel (arr. Carmen Dragon)^
A Suite of Carols:
- Burt: Caroling, Caroling (lyrics Wihla Huston)*
- Traditional: Bring a Torchm Jeanette Isabella (arr. Leroy Anderson for strings)^
- Traditional: Coventry Carol (arr. Leroy Anderson for woodwinds)^
- Traditional: Away in a Manger (arr. John Rutter for chorus)*
- Traditional: I saw three ships (arr. Leroy Anderson for brass)^
Traditional: Suo-gan (arr. Mack Wilberg)^*
Menotti: Introduction, March, and Shepards' Dance from Amahl and the Night Visitors^
Traditional: Hark the Herald Angels Sing (arr. David Willcocks)^*&
Tchaikovsky: Waltz of the Flowers from The Nutcracker^
Handel: Hallelujah Chorus from Messiah^*
Williams: Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas form Home Alone 2^*
Tchaikovsky: Final Waltz and Finale from The Nutcracker^
Blake: Walking in the Air (arr. Paul Bateman)^*
Traditional: The Twelve Days of Christmas (arr. John Rutter)*^&
Pierpont: Jingle Bells (arr. Morton Gould)^
Anderson: Sleigh Ride^
Martin and Blane: Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas (arr. Randol Bass)^*
Unannounced Encore 1: Silent Night^*
Unannounced Encore 2: We Wish you a Merry Christmas^*
With the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus and the Cleveland State University Chorale
Robert Porco, conductor
^ - With Orchestra
* - With Chorus
& - Audience Participation

CIM: Elinor Rufeizen Junior Recital (@CIM_edu)

2011-12-13T00:35:00.001-05:00

Debussy: Premiere Rhapsodie (Rafael Skorka, piano)
Hersant: In the Dark (for solo clarinet)
Reich: New York Counterpoint (solo clarinet with recorded music)
Mozart: Clarinet Concerto, K. 622 (solo clarinet with chamber orchestra)
Elinor Rufeizen, clarinet, at Mixon Hall, the Cleveland Institute of Music.

I had been invited to Elinor Rufeizen's Junior Recital tonight by an acquaintance and patron of the arts. Although one of my goals has been to attend more individual student recitals, on the heels of my event last night I had contemplated a quiet evening instead. Rachel and I however made the quick trip to CIM for the recital and it was a delicious blend of music.

The program moved at a brisk pace and my interest never seemed to wane. From the two well known composers on the program -- Debussy's Premiere Rhapsodie beginning on the program and Mozart's K. 622 Clarinet Concerto ending the program -- the passion was clear and the notes comfortably expanded to fill the hall -- in the latter, Ms. Rufeizen played dual roles as solo clarinet and conductor to a chamber orchestra that supported her playing without trying to out play her.

In the middle of that sandwich was Philippe Hersant's In the Dark--a composer and composition known to few, if any, of the audience members and had a catchy, almost jazzy sound. One recurring, rounded, series of notes reminded me of the musical signature used in the movie Catch Me If You Can (odd connection, I know) and the abrupt ending caught me a bit by surprise.

The third piece on the program, another lesser-known composer and the most interesting to me from the evening, Steve Reich's New York Counterpoint, a piece for solo clarinet with recorded music and electronic effects, was layer upon layer of music created a polyphonic chaos that grew and subsided, ebbed and flowed: A note would build, reverberate, then decay while another note existed in the same space. Then other notes would appear and take over the stage. You could hear the sounds of the subway ... then the hustle and bustle of a crowd on the sidewalk ... then a traffic jam. All of the ambient noise you encounter in New York captured by a solo and recorded clarinet. It should be mentioned that playing to recording is much less forgiving than playing with live ensemble who can adjust on the fly -- but tonight there didn't seem to be anything that needed to be forgiven.

After the recital, the acquaintance and patron who had invited us to the recital hosted a wonderful reception in her home with a variety of conversation to round out the evening.

Lincoln

Isabel Trautwein: Bach Ciaccona (In My Living Room)

2011-12-11T23:44:00.001-05:00

Bach: Ciaccona (from Partita for Violin No.2)
Isabel Trautwein, violin.
At my home, Cleveland Heights.

Last year Heights Arts' 10th anniversary party had a silent auction where I bid on and won a performance by Cleveland Orchestra cellist Tanya Ell in my living room. This year, at one of the Heights Arts House Concerts, a similar silent auction included Cleveland Orchestra violinist Isabel Trautwein offering her services.

Based how much fun I had the first time I couldn't help but to aggressively bid again. With the privilege of placing the winning bid, tonight a small group of friends and acquaintances assembled in my living room to hear Ms. Trautwein play Bach's Ciaccona, the final movement from his Partita for Violin No. 2.

Before playing, Heights Arts Executive Director Peggy Spaeth provided background for the organization that ultimately made the event possible, and Ms. Trautwein provided a deliciously detailed background not only on the piece but on Bach's family (a line of well-respected church musicians) his life (as one to organize and save his family's music, and as one who travelled with his patron) and on the piece. It is said that Bach was traveling with his patron for six weeks and and upon his return he found that not only had his wife died in his absence, she was already buried. This clearly had a profound effect on the composer.

When the playing began it was almost overwhelming. The Ciaccona, to quote from Wikipedia, "This ciaccona is considered a pinnacle of the solo violin repertoire in that it covers every aspect of violin-playing known during Bach's time and thus it is among the most difficult pieces to play for that instrument." And Johannes Brahms is said to have written that "[o]n one stave, for a small instrument, the man writes a whole world of the deepest thoughts and most powerful feelings. If I imagined that I could have created, even conceived the piece, I am quite certain that the excess of excitement and earth-shattering experience would have driven me out of my mind."

The Ciaccona runs 15 minutes, 256 measures, exceeding the combined running time of the preceeding movements in the partita.

After the music concluded there was a moment of brief, but absolute, silence before a guest exhaled a "Wow" and the applause erupted. In that 15 minutes of musical passion the rest of the world seemed to stop and when my conscious reappeared it is impossible not to acknowledge this as fantastic benefit to living in Cleveland: Not only do we have a world-class orchestra (and museum and performing arts and...) but the talented individuals that compose those institutions are passionate, engaged, and sociable.

A brief question and answer followed before we adjourned for a variety of foods (many deliciously prepared by Rachel), cheeses, an deserts -- not to mention wines flown in from Temecula, my hometown in Southern California -- and conversation lasting late in to the night.

It was a delightful evening and I hope to host another musical gathering in the not too distant future.

Lincoln

Cleveland Orchestra: Saint-Saens Organ Symphony

2011-12-10T22:33:00.001-05:00

Barber: Symphony No. 1, Op. 9
Bernstein: Serenade (after Plato's Symposium) (Peter Otto, violin)
Saint-Saens: Symphony No. 3 ("Organ Symphony") in C minor, Op. 78 (Joela Jones, organ)
Marin Alsop, conductor.

I spent most of today alternating between putting my house in order for the party I'm hosting tomorrow and fitting in some painful (to the ear, not physically) but much needed violin practice, so my trip to Severance Hall this evening was a welcome respite.

The first piece on the program and my unqualified favorite of the evening and one of the most enjoyable of the season thus far, Samuel Barber's Symphony No. 1 is a single continuous piece with four sections (It didn't sound any different than a four-movement piece played without pause, the labeling seems a semantic exercise). The piece began with a dramatic introduction and continued engagingly delightfully quickly until reaching the third section (adante tranquillo) where the music took a turn from bright and somewhat agitated to tranquil where the oboe laid in a soft bed of strings, before the piece ended with something that sounded vaguely familiar.

Bernstein's Symphony No. 1 ("Jeremiah") was on the program at the first Cleveland Orchestra concert I attended--one of the things that got me hooked on classical--so I was eagerly looking forward to his Serenade. I didn't feel the same connection to Serenade, though it was splendidly played by Peter Otto, First Associate Concertmaster. The five movements build upon each other and are all dominated by Mr. Otto's violin. If connecting to Plato's The Symposium, one almost gets the sense of the violin as speaker and the string orchestra as a quiet audience.

The second movement, struck me at first as a bit solemn then cheeky features a passage where it seems as if Mr. Otto's instrument was asking a question being answered by the harp. The third movement seemed the shortest of the five and was quite excited and punctuated with musical exclamation points. The fourth movement returned to a lonely feeling: As if it would be perfect music for a cinematic scene with the heroine sitting in the edge of a bed crying and the orchestra sweeps over when the the soloist stood idle. The fifth movement is where the orchestra finally seems to awake and for the first time overpowers the soloist.

During a conversation with a patron I asked if they had heard the Organ Symphony prior to this weekend's concerts: "I've heard some truly awful renditions and it was nice to hear it in the spirit that was intended" was the answer. Played in two movements that both span a variety of tempo notations for the majority of the piece the organ either idle or unobtrusive and was well-woven into the musical fabric. In fact, the first time I noticed Ms. Jones' Organ was midway through the first movement there the organ seemed to slowly awake with two quiet, layered, noted and then a long sustained rumble. The orchestra was passionate. The second moment, likewise, was well underway before the organ was noticed -- but when the organ was noticed it practically screamed and its presence was impossible to ignore (perhaps the one instrument that can out-volume the timpani)

Lincoln

Cleveland Museum of Art: Chinese Art Music: Yang Wei and Ensemble (@ClevelandArt)

2011-12-09T21:58:00.001-05:00

The Program as Presented:
Busy Horses Deliver the Grain (Harvest) (Yangquin,eng, ehru, cello)
Tai Ping Tune (Pipa, sheng, erhu, dizi, cello)
A Plum Blossom--3 Variations (Ruan, sheng, pipa, dizi, cello)
Green Song (sheng, pipa)
Three Sighs at the Guan Pass (vocals, cello, guanzi, pipa, sheng)
Jade (pipa solo)
Autumn at Dressing Table (ruan, sheng, dizi)
Melody of Jin (cymbals, sheng, pipa)
Jian Nan Ho (pipa, sheng, maguhu)
Xiang Yun (Musical Sound of Hunan) (ruan, sheng, ehru, dizi, cello)
The Ancient Battlefield (pipa solo)
Lantern Festival (erhu, sheng, cello, pipa, dizi)
(Yang Wei, pipa, yangquin, ruan, music director; Wu Wei, sheng; Wang Hong, ehru, guanzi, maguhu; Miao Yimin, dizi; Mike Block, cello, ruan, vocal. At the Gartner Auditorium, Cleveland Museum of Art)

Rachel suggested that we attend tonight's concert at the Cleveland Museum of Art and I accepted eagerly... this afternoon though I was under a bit of an Advil-resistant headache. Based on what happened last time we almost forwent this concert. But we didn't and it was a great way to spend an evening -- and a relaxing way to end a stressful day.

The program -- as you can see above -- was extensive, with twelve pieces selected from a total of fourteen listed in the program and announced by Mr. Wei as the program progressed. Being introduced to the Ehru earlier this week as a solo instrument with Wednesday's Concert in the Galleries it was interesting to hear that instrument tonight as a part of an ensemble.

Between most pieces Mr. Wei provided commentary and background information -- for example there is apparently a contentious debate as to if the Ehru is a traditional Chinese instrument or not -- and the long histories of the instruments in the Chinese tradition used for tonight's performance -- from as old as 8,000 years to as "new" as 1,000 years.

Generally speaking the moods of the pieces played fit into one of three groups: Festive, Meditative, or Anguished. My favorites from the evening fit into that first category: The celebratory and energetic Busy Horses Deliver the Grain, according to the program note inspired by a dance tune opened the program and featured the only use of the Yangquin, a "hammer dulcimer", on tonight's program. Coming full circle to the Lantern Festival, where through bright musical colors it was easy to imagine lanterns being released above a celebratory and festive crowd. In between, Melody of Jin (a place) was the most percussive of the pieces was bright and chaotic with the only appearance of cymbals on the program.

The most meditative of the pieces -- Jade-- a piece for solo pipa was introduced by Mr. Wei noting that that Pipa colors can be "warm, dark, fresh, or messy" and that the composer had asked for varied colors. As the playing commenced I slipped into another world while I just let my brain go blank. In Jian Nan Ho, literally "The Beauty of Jian Nan", the balanced melodic sound of the piece seems to emulate that of a gently flowing river that moves on to a bit faster trot.

Spanning the meditative and anguished worlds, one of my favorite pieces was Three Sighs at the Guan Pass, based on a poem about forced exile and a man departing friends for an unknown future. The Chinese text of the poem ("The morning rain of Wei city drenches the light dust. The willow leaves near the inn appear to be greener. Let us toast one more time before departing, for after going through the West Gate, we, old friends, might never meet again") was sung by cellist Mike Block and was haunting.

Green Song originally composed in the late 80s for soprano and pipa but played tonight with sheng and pipa, was inspired by the poetry of Li Po, and Mr. Wei mentioned that the same poet had inspired many of Fu Baoshi's works. Though the program notes give no further background, listening to the piece I get the sense of two instruments searching against a desolate sound scape in solitude and an unrelenting and extremely heavy sense of pure anguish.

Speaking of anguish -- while the concert itself was delightful and far from it, the audience members surrounding us pushed both Rachel and I to our limits between the excessive -- and excessively loud program flipping plus elbowing and in-concert texting of one gentleman, and the pervasive conversations behind us left us both on the brink.

Lincoln

Cleveland Museum of Art: Concert in the Galleries (@ClevelandArt, @CIM_edu)

2011-12-07T21:40:00.001-05:00

Britten: Three Movements (I, II, IV) from Suite for Harp (Jennifer R. Ellis, harp)
Handel: Andante Allegro from Harp Concerto in B-flat major (Jennifer R. Ellis, harp; transcribed by Carlos Salzedo for Solo Harp)
Scheidt: Selections (5) from Passamezzo (Paula Maust, organ)
Tian-Hua Liu: Bird Whispering in the Mountain (Yu-Cheng Lin, ehru)
Hai-Huai Huang: River Water (Yu-Cheng Lin, ehru)
Hai-Huai Huang: Horce Racing (Yu-Cheng Lin, ehru)
Klughardt: Quintet, Op. 79 (Hyunji Kim, flute; Chistopher Connors, oboe; Drew Sullivan, clarinet; Anthony J. Slusser, bassoon, Samuel Hartman, horn)
in Galery 201 (Sarah S. and Alexander M. Cutler Gallery), 1916 Building, Cleveland Museum of Art.

The Cleveland Museum of Art, in collaboration with the Cleveland Institute of Music and the historical performance program of Case Western Reserve University continues a series which brings students of those institutions, toting beautiful music, accompanying the art that graces the Museum's walls. The series continues the first Wednesday of every month until May, 2012.

Tonight's concert started at 6pm -- a little too early for me to escape from the office and make my way to the museum before the concert started. Luckily Rachel was in the area and staked out two stools for us. Arriving in the 1916 building after parking and journeying through the tunnel I let my ear draw me to the music. I found the empty stool next to Rachel in the front row while Ms. Ellis was performing the Britten Suite, a portion of which may have been the most ominous I've heard the harp -- what I typically think of as a "lighter" instrument -- play with a little bit of a theme that seemed "twilight zone-ey" for lack of a better description.

In Ms. Ellis's introduction to the second piece she helped the audience to understand the difficulty of playing the Harp Concerto on instruments of Handel's era, and explained the purpose of the harp's pedals -- 7 pedals, one for each note on the musical scale, each with three stops Flat-Natural-Sharp. The selected movement twinkled and resonated in the galleries such that the paintings on the wall behind seemed to come to life.

Following, Ms. Paula Maust, played five of twelve selections from Samuel Scheidt's Passamezzo. From Northern Germany we were warned of a Baroque-sounding counterpoint and that each of the selections shared a common chord progression. As the selections were played -- on an interesting looking organ from the Museum's collection (CMA has musical instruments in its collection!?!? How did I miss that one?) they sounded remarkably different -- some ominous and dark, others brighter. Not generally a fan of organ music, I found this interesting and pleasantly brief.

Though tonight's concert was generally of lesser-performed instruments, Ms. Yu-Cheng Lin offered a most unconventional (for Westerners) instrument -- the solo Ehru. A two-stringed bowed instrument it bears a resemblance, in a long-lost cousin sort of way, to the violin, and its sound is a bit sweeter than a fidde, and it nearly instantly evokes an Asian connection. Though the three collectively were my favorite set from the evening, the first Bird Whispering in the Mountain composed by Tian-Hua Liu was my favorite with a delightfully romantic character.

Closing out the program, Klughardt's Quintet, Op. 79, was the only ensemble piece and was described as "Schumannesque". The second and third (Allegro vivace and Andante grazioso, respectively) movements were my favorites from the piece with a lighter, almost lilting that seemed pastoral and relaxed in the second movement providing a welcome relief from the dark and ominous Allegro non tropo first movement. The third movement was as relaxed and enjoyable but seemed almost regal at points. Unfortunately, there was an odd resonance or acoustical effect in the gallery -- or at least from my location in the gallery -- which made the fourth movement a bit difficult to listen to.

Now that there's a regular series of formal presentations would I be pressing my luck if I asked for guerrilla presentations? ;)

Lincoln

Ohio Philharmonic Orchestra: A Christmas and Holiday Celebration

2011-12-03T21:54:00.001-05:00

Verdi: Aida (Prelude, Triumphal March & Ballet)
Ravel: Ma mere l'oye / Mother Goose Suite
Anderson: A Christmas Festival
Styne: The Christmas Waltz (arr. Jerry Brubaker)
Arr. Bill Holcombe: Festive Sounds of Hanukkah
Depolo & Depolo: Spirit of Christmas
Anderson: Sleigh Ride
Berlin: White Christmas (arr. Russel Bennett)
Herbert: Babes in Toyland: March of the Toys
One Encore, unannounced
Domenico Boyagian, conductor
at First Baptist Church, Shaker Heights

Without a viable Cleveland Orchestra concert this weekend, until yesterday afternoon I was contemplating taking the weekend off, if you will. On Friday, though, I received an email from Artistic Director William Laufer suggesting that I attend the Ohio Philharmonic's concert at First Baptist Church in Shaker Heights. Not having other plans for the evening and not being familiar with the Ohio Philharmonic -- not to mention it being a free concert -- I figured I'd give it a spin.

Although I'm not familiar with the organization, as I settled into the pew at First Baptist Church and leafed through the program I recognized several of the orchestra members' names from the Cleveland Institute of Music or other local ensembles.

Before the program began, Mr. Laufer introduced the program and mentioned a new competition that will team composers with filmmakers to score short films with the results to be screened with the Ohio Philharmonic playing the score live -- certainly an interesting proposition, and exciting given the quantity of talent in both fields in Northeast Ohio

The program opened with two selections from Verdi's Aida.. Though it seemed that the prelude was an inauspicious beginning to the concert -- seeming a bit emotionally distant -- and separated from the Triumphal March by comments from Mr. Boyagain (which left me momentarily confused about the location in the program) the Triumphal March had beautifully triumphant trumpets and innocent winds with an ominous string statement and was delightful.

Next on the program Ravel's Ma mere l'oye (Mother Goose Suite), five movements based on fairy tales (Pavane of Sleeping Beauty, Little Tom Thumb, Little Ugly Girl, Empress of the Pagodas, Conversation of Beauty and the Beast, Fairy Garden). Pavene of Sleeping Beauty had a delicate, sleeping quality; Little Ugly Girl, Empress of the Pagodas had a fun and decidedly Asian flair -- this was my favorite movement from the set and one of my favorites from the evening. Beauty and the Beast certainly seemed beastly -- as beastly as music can be -- though ended longingly and sadly. The Fairy Garden was quiet and leisurely slow, as if meandering through a garden.

After intermission the program shifted to unquestionably seasonal with Leroy Anderson's A Christmas Festival. Though Mr. Anderson's Sleigh Ride seems to be a immutable staple of Christmas concerts (and appears later on tonight's program) I don't believe that I've heard A Christmas Festival which was a boldly played lively medley of traditional Christmas sounds and was my favorite piece from the program. Taking a break from the speed, Styne's The Christmas Waltz, arranged by Jerry Brubreaker seemed like the perfect soundtrack for a walk down an old-town main street with a light snowfall.

Speeding things back up but with my mind still firmly in soundtrack mode, Festive Sounds of Hanukkah arranged by Bll Holcombe seemed like it could just as easily be an award show theme music.

At number six on the program, a world premiere Spirit of Christmas by twin brother composers Andrew and Jared Depolo was bright and celebratory while maintaining the rounded edges that typify Christmas music. In its short running time it certainly captured the spirit of the season. Following it, Anderson's Sleigh Ride was just as festive, particular note goes to the "clap" mimicking the crack of a whip--this is the first time I've heard the piece where that didn't sound overbearing. [I should admit that I couldn't resist doing a bit of air conducting from my seat]

Robert Russell Bennett's arrangement of Irving Berlin's White Christmas and Herbert's March of the Toys from Babes in Toyland didn't move me as much as the previous pieces on the program though the rendition of White Christmas was acurate enough for me to mentally sing along.

Following a standing ovation, the Orchestra performed one encore which was a delightful end to the concert.

It's worth noting that of all of the ensembles I've taken in, on first pass, the Ohio Philharmonic seems to be the most interested in shaping programs to fit audience interests -- or at least the only one I can recall explicitly stating as much and soliciting input.

Lincoln

ChamberFest Cleveland: A Gala Concert to Benefit

2011-11-27T23:09:00.001-05:00

Schumann: Piano Quintet in E flat major, Op. 44 (Mvt. I) ¹²³ª°
Brahms: Piano Trio No. 1 in B major, Op. 8 (Mvt. I) ²ª*
Beethoven: Clarinet Trio in B flat major, Op. 11 (Mvt. II, III) ª^*
Brahms: Clarinet Sonata in F minor, Op. 120/1 (Mvt. II) ^*
Schubert: Fantasia in F minor for piano Four Hands, D. 940 (Mvt. I, II, III, IV) °*
Schumann: Piano Quintet in E flat major, Op. 44 (Mvt IV) ¹²³ª°
At the Cowap Residence, Shaker Heights
¹- William Pruecil, violin; ²- Diana Cohen, violin; ³- James Larson, viola; ª- Mark Kosower, cello; °- Jonathan Biss, piano; *-Orion Weiss, piano; ^-Franklin Cohen, clarinet

Diana Cohen and her father, Franklin, are two of my favorite musicians both generally and in their respective instruments. Both are clearly passionate about their craft and when Diana told me that they were starting a summer music festival for Cleveland I was instantly intrigued and excited.

If tonight's concert -- a benefit for the young organization known as ChamberFest Cleveland with the Cohens serving as enthusiastic co-Artistic Directors -- is any indication, ChamberFest will be a force to be reckoned with when the concerts start in June 2012.

Before tonight's program a sampling of delicious Hors d'oeuvres and wine provided by Fire Food and Drink and it was interesting to see how many people the event had attracted and how many people I knew from how many different circles -- Cleveland Orchestra management, Cleveland Museum of Art staff, Heights Arts frequenters, patrons of those institutions and the many others that exist for Cleveland. After the concert, the reaction was unanimously positive.

And it's easy to see why: Aside from the two Cohens (the elder of which is Principal Clarinet and a long-time member of the Cleveland Orchestra) the event featured Cleveland Orchestra Members William Pruecil (violin) and Mark Kosower (cello), pianist Jonathan Biss, fresh off of a engagement as soloist with the Orchestra (in fact, the last of his concert series was played earlier this afternoon) -- established world-class musicians, along with Orion Weiss and James Larson, not as well known (at least not to me) but certainly not slackers.

And like the Hors d'oeuvres, tonight's program was a tasteful sampling of music that was as pleasing to the ears as the food was to the tongue. From the passioned, bold and sweet sounds of the first piece on the program, to the dramatic and breathy Piano Trio the program left me craving more, particularly Mr. Kosower's impassioned work in the Piano Trio.

The second movement adagio of the Beethoven Clarinet trio was such a sweet and tender lullaby it was impossible not to be moved, while the third movement had more of a trotting feel to it. Meanwhile, the Clarinet Sonata was searchingly soulful as if the Clarinet (Mr. Cohen) was searching for a long lost love.

Thought musically it wasn't my favorite, I'd be remiss not to mention the sheer technical challenge (and perfection) presented by Schubert's Fantasia in F minor for Piano Four Hands, played by both Mr. Biss and Mr. Weiss on the same piano -- to say that I was impressed by the coordination, and the sound that arose (as if there were one musician with four hands playing rather than two distinct musicians with their individual sounds) -- and by the end of the piece, both pianists had beads of sweat visibly running down their respective foreheads. But the result was splendid. (It should be noted that the piano for tonight's event was a Steinway Concert Grand provided by Steinway Hall Akron replacing the diminutive piano normally in the space)

The younger Ms. Cohen announced that in addition to the partnerships that brought tonight's event to fruition that ChamberFest has forged relationships and partnerships with WCLV (for media support) CIM (for performance space) and others.

I eagerly await the first concert in the ChamberFest, which promises to "present world-class musicians for an intensive summer chamber music festival, exploring unique and immersing thematic programming, and creating original engaging musical experiences for its audiences"

Lincoln

Glass Blowing at J & C Glass Studio

2011-11-27T15:31:00.001-05:00

Rachel had mentioned a while ago that she was interested in glass blowing and when we found a Groupon for an "experience" at a local studio it seemed like a great idea.

The Groupon was good for either pumpkin or ornament making day workshops or just for $50 worth of merchandise -- which, of course, wouldn't be nearly as fun -- at J and C Glass Studio. From the Groupon we both thought that the studio was in Little Italy, as it turns out the gallery is in Little Italy but the actual studio is in Cleveland's Glenville neighborhood (in the same building as Fourth Wall Productions had a short-lived theatre space)

We decided to book the Ornament Making class and upon arriving at the studio this afternoon there were two things that immediately struck us: First the hospitality of the studio staff and second the intense heat. This was certainly somewhere to be on a cold winter day. The class consisted of two instructors and 8 students, with each student guided through the process of making two ornaments.

First, we heated our blowpipes, and once hot (with my body about a yard from the furnace it felt like my wrist was on fire) we dipped in molten glass to pick up a glob. From this point on, spinning the pipe became important to keep the liquid glass on the blowpipe from drooping.

Rolling in the color of your choice (I did red and green, Rachel did green and blue) you then returned to the furnace to melt the color in. Coming out of the furnace the glass is rolled out into a oblong pellet about the size of a roll of quarters.

The first step requires an amazing amount of human-provided air pressure to form an air bubble in the ornament while rolling the blow stick back and forth across the rails. A trip back to the furnace to soften the glass a bit and some light air pressure with a bit of forming assistance from the J&C staff brings the ornament to its final shape.

The ornament, now a definite object, is cut free from the blow stick and a final blob of glass added and formed over to form a hook and the ornament is done -- the only step remaining is to be annealed which requires an overnight stay in their ovens.

Rachel and I will return soon to pick up our ornaments -- but it was quite the fun (if a bit sweaty) experience.

J and C also had a sampling of glass products for sale at very reasonable prices -- Rachel picked up a paperweight for $5 and I found a glass flower (to give purpose to a vase I picked up on one of my last visits to the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art in Kansas City) for only $10. Still, there were a collection of glass vessels with faces whose expressions were just too cute. I'm particularly enamored by one green one with a beret and bow tie -- but it was not priced, and I'm a little hesitant to email the artist for price (under the heading of "if you have to ask...")

Lincoln

Cleveland Orchestra: Fabio Luisi: Mozart and Strauss

2011-11-26T22:15:00.000-05:00

R. Strauss: Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks, Op. 28
Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 17 in G major, K453 (Jonathan Biss, piano)
R. Strauss: Aus Italien, Op. 16
Fabio Luisi, conductor

I was on my way to hear this program last night when I was involved in a minor traffic accident -- everyone is OK, and this is, after all, what insurance is for. But this is most certainly not the time of year I'd like to pull a grand out of my wallet for the deductible -- it may reduce my performing arts attendance in the near term.

Anyway, thanks to the courtesy of the Cleveland Orchestra staff I was able to make this evening's concert and while I had originally contemplated just missing this weekend's program I'm glad I made it to tonight's concerts.

Before we get to the music, though, one of the interesting things about sitting on the box level is the stories of people who have been life-long orchestra supporters. Before tonight's program a woman in the next box over made eye contact "I'm curious about you," she begins, "I see you at all kinds of concerts....are you connected with the orchestra?" -- that's actually a question I'm getting with increasing frequency -- and after I answer in the negative we exchange idle chatter. At Intermission I learn that she's had her seats for the past fifty years.

Though her husband, once an actuary for the Musician's Union, passed eight years ago, she's kept both seats "so I don't have to come alone" Though her tenure started with George Szell (and she didn't particularly care for Boulez's stint in Cleveland) she's kept up -- in what she thinks are the best seats in the house -- but back problems have her concerned that this season may be the last that she's able to attend, possibly ending that 50-year stretch.

The concert tonight, under the baton of recently-named Principal Conductor of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra Fabio Luisi, was one of those concerts wherein dedication spanning five decades needs no further explanation.

From the opening notes of Till Eulenspeigel's Merry Pranks the orchestra sounded happy and the playing was at ease. Mr. Luisi, likewise, when the profile of his face could be seen was clearly pleased with the sound he was drawing out of the orchestra. The piece has a innocent melody in the ends with a few minor echos in the strings -- where it's easy to imagine a character strolling along innocently -- with occasional explosions of music where a prank was slipped in.

Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 17 was a beautiful blend of orchestra and Jonathan Biss's fine work at the keyboard. Perhaps most interesting contextually was the fact that Mozart scored this piece not for himself but for one of his students (also, according to a tale retold in the program notes, Mozart had taught his pet Starling to whistle the last movement of the piece) -- the first movement was so smoothly played that at one point Mr. Biss took up a solo cadenza that was well into it before it occurred to me that the orchestra had stopped playing. The second movement was a bit too relaxing where I almost drifted off, and I had no distinct feelings about the third movement.

Closing out the program was Strauss's delightful "Symphonic Fantasy" Aus Italien [From Italy] the program notes describe it as perhaps four symphonic postcards and I think "postcard" implies too static a scene. From the opening notes of the first movement (In the Country - Adante) I got the sensation of dawn peaking over the horizon, with a pastoral morning and a glorious mid-day sun. The second movement (Amid the Ruins of Rome: Fantastic Scenes of Vanished Splendor; Feelings of Sadness and Grief in the Midst of Sunniest Surroundings - Allegro molto con brio) started with a feeling of sweeping happiness but became unsettled and ended with a feeling of intense drama. The third movement, On the Shores of Sorrento - Adantino, had a slow and leisurely development and didn't really garner my attention until a sweet line in the cellos deliciously grew over fading flutes. The movement also featured the occasional burst of orchestral color appearing seemingly from nowhere. The last movement Neapolitan Folk Life (Allegro molto) began with an explosive introduction and then unmistakable variations on Funiculi, Funicula, a song written six years earlier and which Strauss had, apparently, mistaken for an Italian Folk Song -- while it wasn't at the time it arguably is now -- with a particularly beautiful showing from the strings.

Lincoln

Cleveland Orchestra: Ton Koopman Conducts Bach

2011-11-19T22:35:00.001-05:00

Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 1 in F major BVW 1046
Bach: "Wedding" Cantata, BVW 202 (Treresa Wakim, soprano)
Bach: Sinfonia in B minor, from Cantata BVW 209
Bach: Sinfonia in D minor, from Cantata BVW 42
Bach: Suite No. 3 in D major, BVW 1068
Ton Koopman, conductor.

The crowd at tonight's Cleveland Orchestra concert seemed odd -- and the first concert in recent memory where I didn't see any other audience members I recognized. Following performances last season (earlier this calendar year), baroque conductor Ton Koopman lead tonight's collection of five Bach pieces.

While Mr. Koopman was as effervescent as always, tonight's program wasn't as inspiring or as captivating -- I suspect that this reaction was partially due to programming: I'm realizing that single-composer concert-length programs don't hold my attention.

The program opened with the Brandenburg Concerto No. 1 after Mr. Koopman's animated entrance (and it wasn't until this movement that the reason the stage looked odd was because Mr. Koopman was conducting from a bare stage, not standing on a podium as seems to be the custom). The first movement -- scored without a tempo indication -- was bright and sweet and well paced. The second movement, stood in sharp contrast with a dulled restrained sadness that seemed especially slow. We returned to a fast lively mood -- almost as if the mourning has ended -- in the third movement allegro. The fourth movement is a series of seven tempo notations, where as played each section was distinct. Perhaps most impressively were the standout performances by the winds during the two Trio sections, and William Preucil's solo violin contributions.

The so-called "Wedding" Cantata held the most interest for me going in -- and it started with a soaring orchestra and haunting note from Ms. Wakim, but overall the piece did not meet expectations. Musically it was interesting in that Mr. Koopman was playing the harpsichord and that for what seemed like the majority of the piece there were never more than two instruments being played. But Ms. Wakim's voice felt out of place -- and judging by conversations overheard from adjacent boxes that feeling was relatively widely held.

Following intermission we were treated to two works that while nearly 300 years old the Cleveland Orchestra had never presented before this weekend. While the Sinfonia in D minor left no impression whatsoever (see what I was saying about my attention wandering with single-composer programs?) the Sinfonia in B minor struck me as the beautiful solo flute unabashedly flirting with the strings.

The final work on the program, and tied for favorite with the Brandenburg Concerto, was Suite No. 3. A series of six movements, each with a very distinct musical sound and personality was a delight to listen to. The second of those movements, Air, perhaps one of Bach's best known compositions (same conductor, different orchestra on YouTube here) was so lovingly played by our orchestra that it was very difficult to resist the urge to applaud between movements.

Lincoln

Cleveland Museum of Art: Brian Ulrich Buyer's Remorse Event (@ClevelandArt)

2011-11-18T22:14:00.001-05:00

When I frist walked through Brian Ulrich's Copia-Retail, Thrift, and Dark Stores 2001-11, the exhibition in the East Wing Photography Gallery (through January 16, 2012) it immediately struck me and captured my attention and interest

Divided into three sections, the exhibition visually explores the retail boom and conspicuous consumerism (Retail), the inital recession and rise of Thrifting, into the era of Dark Stores: Cavernous buildings once bustling with goods and people now sitting idle and empty. In that first section, the number of nondescript homogeneous scenes that could be "Anywhere, USA" (A line of cash registers from a Target in Granger, IN, for example, could just as easily be found in any Target in the country) and in the sheer expanse -- the foreground starts around Register #10 and you approach the softly-focused horizon at Register #32 leads you to wonder how we got to the point where a retailer would need 32 registers.

Likewise the completely absent expression on shoppers faces is uniquely disturbing -- and eerily uniform, be it a woman eyeing groceries, a child in a toy store, or a man selecting a fishing rod. Are we really in there?

While Thrift didn't appeal to my senses in the same way as the outer movements, Dark Stores is perhaps where I lingered the longest -- a shot of long-abandoned escalators in the infamous Dixie Square Mall has a strangely unique context for what is quite possibly the most photographed scene in the Dead Mall world; nearby a sign in an abandoned store announces a "Over 100 year" history -- and you can't help but to wonder what did them in? What about the people who worked there? What about the craftsmen whose work is now visible in the form of naked walls?

But that wasn't the reason Rachel and I were at the museum tonight. One of a rapidly growing number of exciting events the museum is hosting on the Wednesday and Friday evenings (when the galleries are open until 9pm), tonight's Buyers Remorse Young Professionals event featured cocktails and a DJ spinning tunes with casual conversation in the Museum Cafe (where one of Rachel's robots watched from the sidelines as part of the 2011 Staff Art Show in the same space) and the photographer Brian Ulrich in the Photography Galleries with his photographs. By the time Rachel and I made it from the Cafe to the galleries, Mr. Ulrich was in the tail end of talking about the project, and gladly fielded a stream of questions from a gallery full of curious attendees and provided humorous yet detailed answers to each question.

While the physical distance between galleries and reception is a bit of a hurdle (at least until the atrium opens in the Fall of 2012) to creating the ultimate event, events like these certainly gives both regular museum attendees and those who may be living in Cleveland blissfully unaware of the treasures we have a unique and hands-on experience with the art...and in this case, the artist.

Lincoln

Cleveland Museum of Art: Music in the Galleries with Gregory Fulkerson, Violin (@ClevelandArt)

2011-11-16T21:32:00.001-05:00

Bach: Partita no. 3 in E major, BVW 1006
Bach: Sonata no. 2 in A minor, BVW 1003
Bach: Sonata no. 3 in C major, BVW 1005
Gregory Fulkerson, violin
In Gallery 20, at the Cleveland Museum of Art

I've often thought that it might be nice to bring music into the museum's galleries -- at least one Member's party for a special exhibition included the sounds of a small chamber ensemble wafting through the galleries, and I was intrigued.

But until recently that was it. Earlier this month the museum began a series that will repeat monthly bringing music into the museum's art-filled galleries. The prior outings I've had previous engagements, but I was bound and determined to make it to this session especially after a comment on a different CMA post strongly suggested attendance.

Rachel and I made our way to the museum and then to the galleries about 20 minutes before the 7:30 starting time. On our way to the gallery hosting the concert (Gallery 20 in the 1916 building, just West of the Rotunda) we ran into a guard and upon answering in the affirmative to "Are you here for the concert?" he warned "It's going to be cozy...lots of people got here before you". Closer to the musical epicenter, one of the guards I know suggested that we grab stools on the way in. The gallery was comfortably full -- just enough room to breathe, and certainly an appreciative audience.

We caught the tail end of Associate Director of Music Tom Welsh's introduction before the concert quickly got under way with the mesmerizing Partita No. 3, the first movement of which (Preludio) provided a very lively and thrilling introduction to the evening as the notes resonated throughout the gallery it was impossible not to enjoy the movement. It took me a while to figure it out, but part of the reason the movement felt so familiar is that it is one of the few classically inspired pieces on my iPod--and one I delight in listening to over and over--in the form of violinist Vannessa-Mae's Bach Street Prelude. While the Bach Street Prelude has a decidedly energetic techno flair, Mr. Fulkerson's Preludio exuded no less energy and simply came alive in the galleries.

Rachel's favorite from the evening was the Gavoette en rondeaux, the third movement from the Partita, which had a delightfully lively dance like flare.

Sonata no. 2 took things much more slowly and sensually with the first movement (Grave) being particularly sensual and the third movement (Andante) played lovingly. The second movement (Fuga) had hints that reminded me of the Partita, and overall while my ears were soaking in the sounds, my eyes were delighting in the art in ways that I've never noticed while strolling the galleries.

Ending the trilogy was Sonata no. 3 with a slow delicate adagio first movement, leading into a danceish fuga second movement, in which I resisted the urge to kiss Rachel solely and barely because we were in a fulll view of a crowded gallery. I was apathetic about the third movement (largo), my least favorite of the evening, but the program ended with the lively allegro assi fourth movement. Closing my eyes, I picked up some hints again of the preludio though transformed and less closely related than in the earlier piece.

In the end though, it was a delightful evening of wonderful music in a nearly perfect setting.

Lincoln

I [heart] New York: The Rest of the Trip

2011-11-14T22:32:00.000-05:00

As it turns out I was too busy showing Rachel The City (capitalization intentional) that by the time we made it back to our room I was too exhausted to actually write about it.

Her original flight in to La Guardia was cancelled, so while I waited for her I went ahead and hit up MoMA -- the Museum of Modern Art -- since Rachel tends to prefer more classical art. She didn't miss much. Last time I did MoMA there were works I didn't get and works that really captivated me. This time nothing really captivated me (and the galleries seemed particularly overrun with tourists) -- that is until I made it back to the Industrial Design section which is where I lingered for the longest period of time and had the greatest appreciation for: Commercial art that is eye catching and selling a product (PanAm destination posters)... Fonts and typefaces (Finally getting the attention they deserve)...every day products where function follows form.

After leaving MoMA I had just enough time to get back to the room get off my feet for a few minutes and confirm the route to La Guardia. Arriving several hours later than expected when Rachel landed she found her way to the Q33 bus to Jackson Heights where I met her after arriving on a Queens-bound (funny, since we were in Queens) 7 Train.

Taking her back we found a Manhattan bound E Train and rode in comfort back to the 42nd Street/Port Authority Bus Terminal stop and the quick walk back to the hotel. One of many reasons why the Hilton Times Square is my favorite hotel in The City (and perhaps period) is that it, as near as I can tell, sits on top of the largest subway complex in NYC... and if you can't get where you want to get from Times Square/42nd/PABT directly, a short subway Shuttle (S Train) ride to Grand Central will get you there.

Dropping her bags off on the 43rd floor -- room 4320 -- we descended back into the subway station, caught the Shuttle (despite it now being almost 8pm, still packed) and at Grand Central found a downtown 1 Train to meet a friend of hers (and her boyfriend) for dinner. We found a barbecue joint on 3rd Avenue somewhere in the 30s that had good food -- and even better margaritas. (Not having to worry about driving, I indulged in two). We had ice cream in the friend's apartment and by the time we returned to street level a light rain had started. We found an uptown train and retired to the double-Queen room for the evening.

Getting a lazy start on Friday morning, we worked our way downtown to the Meat Packing district using the Shuttle and a C Train to 14th street -- before we got to our actual destination we discovered Tom Otterness's Life Underground, an art installation as part of the MTA's Arts For Transit program and quite an extensive installation at that. Mr. Otterness's little creatures are always so cute and that was particularly true in this case. Once we left the station a quick (although blustery) walk got us to our actual destination: The New York High Line, a former elevated freight rail road structure adapted, converted, and reused now as a public park. Its quite an impressive project, and I would have liked to linger a bit longer had there not been a biting cold wind pushing us around.

Working our way uptown we found our way to the southeast corner of Central Park (though I'm not sure which combination of trains we took to get there) wandered through the lower section of the park eyeing the people and wildlife (and downing a hot dog) before arriving at Rachel's prime destination: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Now I will admit that last time I visited The Met I wasn't overly impressed, but walking the galleries with Rachel it was delightful to see her eyes bug out as she excitedly bounded from artwork to artwork like a kid in a candy store "I've seen that one in books!" "We studied that in my classes!". We grabbed lunch in the Cafeteria lingered around the Europeans for a bit and then hit my highlight of the visit: The Met's renown Musical Instrument Collection displaying an evolution of musical instruments from the odd to the common... and a couple Stradivari violins.

Leaving the Met we walked further up 5th Avenue and toured the Guggenheim which currently has a rather odd installation hanging from the ceiling. We didn't spend long but I did buy a new watch.

Walking towards Lexington Avenue, I misjudged the direction for the nearest Subway so instead of walking two blocks downtown to the nearest 4/5/6 station we walked eight blocks uptown and caught a 4 Train back to Grand Central, shuttled to Times Square and kicked off our shoes for a few minutes before departing to another destination Rachel wanted to check out: The Morgan Library and Museum, founded by Pierpont Morgan. Open late Fridays with live music we stayed and lingered until the guards kicked us out at the 9 PM Closing.

Returning to Times Square we had dinner at Schnippers Quality Kitchen on the corner of 41st and 8th Avenue. I had tripped over this place while I was in NYC for the Tony Awards (and staying at a different hotel) but it's literally right down the street from the hotel's back door. The Mac and Cheese with Bacon hit the spot. Returning to the 43rd floor... high above the city...we both quickly disappeared into slumber.

Waking up Saturday morning we realized our time was limited, and although we had been staying in the middle of Times Square, Rachel had never actually seen Times Square so I walked her through the highlights and we popped into the Hershey Store. Curiosity satisfied, we hopped on a train downtown, emerged from the surface at a random stop and among other sights window shopped Chinatown. From City Hall Park we uptown trained to NYU where Rachel poped into one of the Manhattan branches of an employer to look around, and realizing that we were starting to run short on time, we returned to the hotel for the last time, collected our belongings, and checked out.

Entering the Port Authority Bus Terminal subway station, I made a near fatal error -- already cutting the time close (by my standards) -- In a snap judgement thought that the A, C, or E trains would get where we wanted to go. Until we got on an A train, and I looked at a map. And Paniced. Only the E train ultimately ended up where we wanted to go, we popped off at the next station, and I misread signs... so we missed the first E train, and waited.

It felt like an eternity before the next E train showed up (all the while the station announcements blared "There is a...uptown...local...train approaching the...upper level...platform. Please stand clear of the platform edge, especially when trains are entering or leaving the station." on a seemingly constant basis. Rachel, sensing my fermenting panic had started to ask "Well, how much would a cab cost...?", but finally the "There is a Queens Bound...Express...E...Train approaching the...lower level...platform" announcement finally came. Getting back to Jackson Heights/Rosevelt, we left the station and immediately hopped on a waiting Q33 bus. Found seats, and made what felt like the interminable ride to the Central terminal. I checked in and checked my bags with Continental, then Rachel checked in for her much later flight with American... and with about 30 minutes left until I was set to board and since our gates were behind different security checkpoints, we grabbed a quick lunch in the terminal before bidding each other a temporary adieu.

Both of our flights home were uneventful.

Lincoln

Chamber Music Guild: Trio Unnamed

2011-11-13T22:53:00.001-05:00

Beethoven: Trio in E Flat Major Op. 70, No. 2
Beethoven: Sonata for Piano and Violin in D Major Op. 12, No. 1
Brahms: Trio in C Major Op. 87
(Susan Britton, violin; Linda Atherton, cello; Elizabeth DeMio, piano; at Lyndhurst Community Presbyterian Church)

I'm still a exhausted from my trip to New York and wound up alternating between napping and lounging most of today between the time I delivered Rachel to work and the time I picked her up (I promise the rest of the story from my vacation is coming soon-ish).

After I picked her up from work we grabbed a quick dinner (with drinks) at the Fairmount before heading East to tonight's Chamber Music Guild concert. I heard the same trio in the same venue last year. In the intervening year, they still haven't found a name but they sound just as good.

The program opened with the sequel to last year's Ghost trio in the form of Beethoven's Opus 70 No. 2 which opened sweetly in the cello and violin for the first movement before turning darker and taking a decidedly agitated feel for the second movement, ending with a very lively fourth movement. Rachel commented that the sound, particularly of the first movement, sounded like a 18th century French court.

Giving cellist Ms. Atherton a break, Ms. Britton and Ms. DeMio gave a lovely performance of Beethoven's Sonata for Piano and Violin which traversed musical territory from smooth and loving to stormy and agitated.

The third piece on the program, from a different "B" composer, Brahms's Trio in C Major, which was my favorite from the evening and gripped me from its deep and contemplative first movement. The second movement evolved that emotion to something a bit more introspective and searching but not as deep. The third movement dims the light further and remains dark with only occasional hints of light, but the fourth movement emerges from the shadows and had familiar, almost easygoing feel.

Lincoln

Cleveland Orchestra: Alan Gilbert Conducts

2011-11-12T22:39:00.001-05:00

Beethoven: Romance No. 2 in F major, Op. 50 (for violin and orchestra, William Preucil, violin)
Webern: Im Sommerwind [In the Summer Breeze]
Bruch: Adagio appassionato, (for violin and orchestra, William Preucil, violin)
Schoenberg: Pelleas and Melisande, Op. 5
Alan Gilbert, conductor.

They say absence makes the heart grow fonder and based on tonight's concert -- the first back in Severance Hall since the orchestra's European tour and residency and my first after returning from a week in New York state -- would tend to support that assertion.

I wasn't sure if I'd be back in time, in fact, for tonight's concert -- and assuming I would be back in time I was waffling, between being dead exhausted from the trip (I hope to have blogs for the remainder of my visit up tomorrow) and being woefully unimpressed by the NY Philharmonic, where Mr. Gilbert is Music Director my bed was looking awfully luring.

Tonight's concert, though, lived, breathed, and had a wonderfull variety of textures. The first half of the program were three pieces each of about 10 minutes in length. Starting with Beethoven's Romance No. 2, a wonderfully romantic embrace between solo violin (played by Cleveland Orchestra concertmaster William Preucil) and the orchestra. Delightful but not overly sweet this piece moved and may serve as my favorite Beethoven for now.

Next Im Sommerwind (In the Summer Breeze) by Anton Webern was aptly titled and a warm choice as the leaves have turned colors and the days are getting colder. While I lost the feeling to a degree in the ending the beginning and ending were clearly Summery with a breeze of music wafting throughout with occasional gusts of powerful music, closing my eyes, I could swear that I also heard frolicking children amongst the notes.

Finishing out the first half of the program Bruch's Adagio appassionato, again with Mr. Preucil playing the violin solo part, gave me the sensation of the soloist wandering alone, much more emotional and restrained than Beethoven's Romance but no less enjoyable to listen to.

After intermission, Mr. Gilbert addressed the audience with comments about Schoenberg's Pelleas and Melisande, and had the orchestra to play samples of the various motifs used to tell the stories of the various players in the drama-turned-tone-poem, which was unique and added to the performance, though as a matter of personal preference, I thought the excerpting was a bit excessive. When the performance of the piece began I simply closed my eyes and let vivid imagery fly through my head. Some of it related to what Mr. Gilbert had introduced, and some was completely unrelated, but it was where I entered the meditative state that I so enjoy about the Cleveland Orchestra and just let the weeks behind me slip away.

Lincoln

I [heart] New York: Day 1 Part 1 - The New York Philharmonic

2011-11-10T13:00:00.000-05:00

This morning I woke up at the ungodly hour of 6 AM (after finally retiring to bed around midnight, not because I was tired but because I wanted to be well-rested for today. Rachel was supposed to arrive just before 4... but thanks to American Airlines, that's changed to just before 6).

While I was getting my bearings on what might sound interesting I had noticed that the New York Philharmonic was offering an open rehearsal at 9:45 AM for, if I recall correctly, $19. While I've wanted to hear the NY Philharmonic, if for no other reason than to compare it to my Cleveland Orchestra, I didn't really want to dedicate an entire evening to the endeavor, much less an entire evening while Rachel was in town -- the open rehearsal sounded like a splendid way to make this work. Plus at closed rehearsals I've been invited to I've been thrilled by the artistic finesse and fine tuning that occurs between orchestra and conductor.

The concert being rehearsed consisted of two pieces (Strauss: Don Quixote, Op. 35, Cynthia Phelps, viola; Carter Brey, cello; Beethoven: Symphony No. 6 in F major, Op. 68 ("Pastoral"), Bernard Haitink, conductor), however I elected to leave during the rehearsal break as I was becoming hungry, and a bit restless -- not a good combination for 11:24 in the morning.

To put it simply, though, the Cleveland Orchestra is in no danger of loosing my musical heart. While Don Quixote was initially played through delightfully and without pause, it was no more musically satisfying than listening to something on my iPod. The precise reason why I don't listen to classical music on my iPod. I'm not sure if it's the orchestra or the acoustics of the visually uninspiring Avery Fisher Hall [It isn't far removed in size shape or decoration from an airplane hanger with seats and a stage left over from the dark days of design: The 70s] or even something particular to my seat (LL107) but there was no texture or emotion. I'm used to hearing classical music with nuances and individual character -- that is to say, a work that breathes with the collective breath of the musicians. I didn't get that, and had I paid much more than $19, I would have been remarkably disappointed. While the music was lively, the subject matter is after all Don Quixote, the delivery seemed mechanical. That said, both soloists, were captivating, particularly Ms. Phelps viola.

After the piece was played through in its entirety, specific passages were revisited, and reworked -- this is normally my favorite part, as it gives you a clear idea of what the conductor feels is most important about a piece, however, as I was unable to hear a word Mr. Haitink was saying from the podium (as, of course, the comments were primarily if not exclusively intended for the benefit of the musicians) this provided no benefit to the audience.

The program notes and format were quite helpful on the other hand. I've long been a fan of the detail and organization of the Cleveland Orchestra's program books (the one addition I would suggest if given the opportunity is adding the approximate running times of movements, ala the Minnesota Orchestra) but the Philharmonic might win by a nose here of for nothing else than the sheer amount of well organized detail.

[Side note: The New York Philharmonic's Music Director, Alan Gilbert, is conducting this week's Cleveland Orchestra concerts -- it will be interesting to hear the Cleveland Orchestra under his baton on Saturday (if I make it back early enough) or Sunday (otherwise).

The NYC Ballet isn't presenting anything at the moment (slightly disappointing as I haven't found a more convenient source of ballet, namely one in Cleveland) and I absolutely cannot build any enthusiasm whatsoever for the Metropolitan Opera... so it seems unlikely that I'll return to Lincoln Center on this trip.

On my way back I went hunting for food and stumbled into a random deli and ordered a random sandwich. It was good.

Now I'm off to do some more exploring before picking up Rachel...

Lincoln

I [heart] NYC Day 0: The Mountaintop with Samuel L. Jackson

2011-11-09T23:52:00.000-05:00

The work part of this trip ended when I returned the rental car for the "business" portion out in the 'burbs, dropped my coworker off at Newark Terminal C, and boarded NJTransit bound for New York Penn Station (not to be confused with Newark Penn Station, the first stop after the airport).

It took a bit longer than I expected but the trip was utterly uneventful and about $12.50. Leaving Penn Station on foot I walked uptown to 41st street and checked in to my favorite hotel in New York City, the Hilton Times Square -- where this time, my room on the 43rd floor has a fantastic panorama of Manhattan including the New York Times and Empire State Buildings. The very city texture which I love of Manhattan.

After dropping my luggage in the room at about 7:30 I continue walking up town -- I love how easy Manhattan is to navigate (uptown = street numbers get bigger / downtown = street numbers get smaller) and find the Theatre Development Fund's TKTS booth. I was in the mood for a musical, but all of the musicals on the board -- and it now being about 7:45 I had either (a) seen before (b) was planning on seeing the touring version at PlayhouseSquare [so why waste a night on Broadway?] or (c) had heard enough about to have no interest in seeing.

So in Lincoln fashion and with less than 15 minutes to published curtain I did what I normally do: Picked one that I haven't even heard of from the board, bought a ticket for a play called The Mountaintop and walked (this time downtown) to the Jacobs Theatre on 45th between Broadway and 8th for The Mountaintop, staring Samuel L. Jackson (as Martin Luther King, Jr.) and Angela Bassett (as Camae) in Room 306 of the Lorraine Motel, Memphis, Tennessee on April 3, 1968.

If that date doesn't click for you (for some reason when read the setting line in the program the room number was what triggered my recollections): Mr. King was assassinated outside that room on April 4th. . The beginning is a bit mundane: He relieves himself, then begins working on a speech. Calling for room service -- discontinued the previous week -- a housekeeper, Camae (Angela Bassett) delivers the coffee and a relationship between the two of them grows as they share cigarettes and she slips a bit of whisky ("Irish Cough Surup") into his coffee. But then it takes a surreal turn and it turns out Camae is an angel -- sent to bring Mr. King to heaven.

We see an even more human side of Martin Luther King--he's not prepared to be a martyr. There's too much left undone and he has to see it through to completion. It's difficult for me to summarize and like Next To Normal the total profundity is just starting to hit me -- and work on my emotions -- now, two plus hours after I left the theater. It seems like something worth seeing and both Ms. Bassett and Mr. Jackson turn in compelling performances where, combined with a realistic grungy 1960s hotel room set, you leave the decade for a good ninety minutes.

Returning to 2011 and leaving the theatre I bought my Unlimited Ride Metro Card. At $29 for 7 days of unlimited MTA rides, I'm still convinced that it is one of the best bargains in New York and made it Carnegie Hall's neighborhood of 57th and 7th for a quick and light dinner at Burger Joint in Le Parker Meridian. The psychological break and total incongruity that one passes while crossing from the hotel lobby (a high-end New York hotel that isn't cutting edge design trend-wise, but isn't by any stretch dull) to Burger Joint (a place that serves Hamburgers, Cheeseburgers, Grilled Cheese, Fries, and nothing else in an environment whose decor (and the ancient TV hanging on the wall) is most reminiscent of 1964, including paneled walls.

Subway back to the hotel... and I am ready to sleep.

More tomorrow.

Lincoln

To Be Prototypical

2011-11-09T00:12:00.001-05:00

I'm in New York this week, the first half of the week in suburban New York/New Jersey (literally: the state line runs through my vendor's parking lot) and the second half of the week in Manhattan for vacation.

I spent the weekend sick and was generally hating life (and seriously considering canceling or curtailing the trip) through Sunday evening, but thanks to some excellent nursing on the part of Rachel I made it vertical and to the airport: As I sat in seat 21F, the exit row right over the wing, that wonderfully guttural roar of the engines as we took off into the sunset I was generally feeling OK.

Arriving in Newark, for the first time I elected to eschew both the recommended car service and the recommended hotel -- previously I've not been particularly impressed by either and I was able just as cost effectively to rent a car and book at a hotel where I can earn Hilton HHonors points -- recently anointed with Hertz Gold status it was a breeze to just find my name on the board and walk to my car (If I don't earn it for free next year, I'm convinced the time savings alone may make that worth the annual fee.

One of the reasons I decided to go it my own for the hotel was that the recommended hotel is always a bit of an unknown quantity. With "My" hotels, there is the prototype. There are the brand standards. I know what to expect and I am not easily confused (If you haven't read it from one of the times I've posted it before, Larry Mundy's The Hotel Guest With Half a Brain is entirely true).

While I sometimes bemoan the homogeneous prototype it provides a certain level of comfort away from home. But within the prototype you can also judge how much a particular hotelier actually cares. Within the Hampton Inn brand I am convinced that one of the brand standards is that the bathroom amenities will include a minimum of four of the following: Face soap, hand soap, shampoo, conditioner, mouthwash, body wash, sewing kit, shower cap. Now the two soaps and shampoo are guaranteed. Conditioner is a safe bet. But some locations--usually those which are not freeway-side overnight pit stops--go a bit further. Body wash is a usual #5, the mouthwash is somewhat rare but becoming more common either as #5 or a #6. Both the sewing kit and shower cap are virtually unheard of.

But this location has the full array. So vast, it seems, the assortment at this Hampton Inn barely fits on the cute little brand-standard tray upon which they are presented. Looking further at the amenities, you can tell how frugal the hotel's management is: I select those amenities I need on my first night and place them in the shower. A thrifty hotelier (or Housekeeping Manager) may mandate that once removed they are not replaced for the duration of the stay--which is wonderful when you run out of your 3 tablespoons of shampoo on the 3rd day. Others (like this hotel) replace them daily.

[As an aside I'm still trying to figure out exactly where I can hang my towel that means "Yes, I read the 'Be green' card and I really don't need you to launder my towel every day. I actually prefer towels that are a bit fluffy and haven't been laundered to within a fiber of their lives. Please leave this one where you found it" The hooks on the wall don't do it. The handle/towel rack on the shower door doesn't do it. There aren't many other places in the bathroom to hang something. I'm considering a multi-lingual "Please don't launder me" sign.]

The other nice -- if somewhat freaky thing -- about being prototypical is that I can find my way through just about any Hampton Inn room -- indeed just about any Hampton Inn -- with about as much effort as it takes for me to get from my front door to my bed in my own house. Except when there are subtle differences.

There are three or four clear prototypes in the Hampton Inn family from the original -- narrow roomed, originally-built-for no frills "Roadside" hotels, the first evolution where the rooms got a bit bigger but function didn't really change, the first "Focused Service" evolution with fitness rooms, business centers, and the like where the rooms have gotten slightly larger, and the the current prototype (my favorite) where the room size hasn't really changed but the geometry has: Instead of beds being against the common wall staring at a wall, the beds are rotated 90 degrees with the headboard against the bathroom wall looking to the TV (and window) on the window wall.

This prototype seems to be #3 -- placing the property at roughly 4-10 years old if I had to guess -- and based on the date of manufacture for the phones (2006) it's in the right ballpark. The typical furniture arrangement for Prototype #3 on the wall in line with the door is trashcan, short chest of drawers, refrigerator/microwave, TV, Chair (or Wardrobe), Desk (that's built into the wall and not a separate piece of furniture)

I realized how much I've become used to the prototype when for the fifth time I found myself walking to the prototypical trash can location to throw something away then becoming confused. Why? In this room, the trash can is in the corner by the desk. Arguably more logical, right? But it's not where it is in every other Prototype #3. It is, to say, like swapping hot and cold on a faucet: You don't realize how used you are to hot on left and cold on right until someone decides to mess with it. And it doesn't seem like a major change either.

Of course, being prototypical has its disadvantages. Every. Single. Hampton. Inn. has the same bleh stock art collection hanging on the walls. The homogeneity is surprising. The lack of local color. There have been times where I've had to look at the phone to remind myself where I am. But it's a bit like comfort food. I know what it will taste like. I know what I'll find in the bathroom. I know what I'll find on the bed.
And ultimately I realized that's why I went out of my way to stay here (at roughly the same cost) vs. the suggested hotel. I've stayed there before. And it's OK. Nothing spectacular -- bland and homogeneous in the Comfort Inn style. But it's not a prototype I recognize. I've always felt a bit off center because I never completely find my travel center at that hotel. I'm not sure what I'm supposed to expect (and I certainly don't get the Hilton HHonors VIP level of service and problem resolution tools.

But each hotel does occassionally add it's touches -- here it's an evening snack evey night in the lobby, a location near Grand Rapids has (had?) a nightly manager's happy hour, the Ann Arbor-North Location (one of the original prototype-narrow room locations) comes by your room with a snack cart for HHonors members each night. And it's those touches that remind you that the hotel is ultimately of people, by people, and for people in a way totally uique to lodging.
Lincoln

Cleveland Museum of Art: Bassekou Kouyate and Ngoni Bu

2011-11-05T10:28:00.000-04:00

I wasn't feeling well on Friday (And I'm still not feeling all that well this morning) but when I met Rachel last night she surprised me with tickets for that evening's Viva and Gala performance of Bassekou Kouyate and Ngoni Bu.

I had read the description, which sounded interesting and had I been feeling better I probably would have suggested it myself. Unfortunately the program got off to an inauspicious start more than 15 minutes past the announced starting time, and never really recovered.

Well... I can't say "never" because the longer the music went on, the worse I felt. We snuck out after the fourth piece, and it is entirely possible that we missed some dramatic turn. This, though, was the first time I left the museum feeling markedly worse than when I got there -- usually the museum is one of my medative spot, somewhere to recenter myself.

The program notes contained no set list and advised that the program would be announced from the stage -- but this seemed to be a bit hit-or-miss and when they were announced I couldn't understand them well enough to make note.

There were strong moments -- by the third piece I had closed my eyes and got the sensation of a lively dance around a campfire, eventually morphing into something that would sound more at home in a '60s club -- perhaps most clearly embodying the promise of a blend of traditional instruments and modern sounds and techniques.

-- but overall the audio mix was unnaturally bass heavy, distorting the sound, and by the fourth piece causing every one of the steady beats to hurt more than the last.

Also interestingly -- I'm not sure if it was the performance, the audience, or just my state of mind -- it was one of the flattest and most two-dimensional. From my seat at the back of the Gartner Auditorium's balcony it seemed more as if I were watching a film than a live performance; there seemed to be no audience<->performer dynamic.

(With Bassekou Kouyate, lead ngoni & ngoni ba; Amy Sacko, lead & backing vocals; Fousseyni Kouyate, ngoin; Moussa Bah, ngoni bass; Alou Coulibaly calebasse; Moussa Sissoko, percussion; Moustafa Kouyate, ngoni)

Lincoln

CIM Chamber Orchestra: Mozart, Ante, and Strauss (@cim_edu)

2011-11-02T22:48:00.000-04:00

(This marks the 400th Lincoln In Cleveland post. Thanks for reading!)
Mozart: Symphony No. 39, K.543 in E-flat Major
Grgin: Theme and Variations No. 2 (Nikola Djurica, clarinet)
Strauss: Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme, TrV 228c, Op. 60 (Der Burger als Edelmann) Suite
Carl Topilow, conductor.

Tonight's concert at CIM was preceded by a collaborative event between CIM and the Cleveland Museum of Art bringing live music to CMA's galleries -- unfortunately, by the time I made it home from work I had just enough time to get to CIM for this concert's 7:30 start time. My understanding is that music returns to the Museum on November 16th and I hope to sneak over there to check that out.

Tonight's concert seems to be the first this year for the CIM Chamber Orchestra and my first this year in the visually stunning Mixon Hall, where the clear glass wall behind the stage gives glimpses of the beautiful fall scene outside matched the music inside.

The program opened with Mozart's Symphony No. 39 and it took most of the first movement for me to settle in -- and the orchestra seemed to also take at least a portion of that movement to really hit its stride. The second movement can be described simply as strolling, and was very relaxing -- I found myself slightly craving a light snowfall beyond the glass. The fourth movement, though, was my favorite from the piece with a playful opening, a persistent flutter of notes and particularly strong winds.

In the middle of the program and my unreserved favorite from the program was Ante Grgin's Theme and Variations No. 2 with the Nikola Djurica playing the clarinet solo magnificently and both he and the orchestra had a great energy. ("Virtuoso" was an adjective thrown out by many of the audience members around me immediately after the piece and I have no grounds upon which to disagree). The piece had two distinct moods: In the first part, it is a dance--a slow loving embrace between Clarinet and Orchestra both in spirit and execution. Inexplicably, outside the all two leaves fluttered from somewhere above the hall and oh-so-carefully drifted to the ground, perfectly capturing the mood of the piece. In the second part, the connection between soloist and orchestra remained just as strong, but the sound took on a more energetic and swingy feeling.

The standing ovation was immediate, unsurprising, and quite enthusiastic.

In a true case of "the show must go on" it's worth noting one of the cellists spent much of the second half of the piece apparently trying desperately to stifle a sneeze--while obvious in physical discomfort she managed to keep the music flowing.

The program ended with from Strauss's Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme suite which didn't match the strength of the Theme and Variations. The overall balance for the first three movements seemed a little wonky, though the third movement was enjoyably lively. The fourth movement (The Entrance and Dance of the Tailors) evoked the imagery of dancing tailors and had a beautiful solo violin part, and the fifth and sixth movements were acceptable, but the seventh movement (Entrance of Cleonte, after Lully) would prove to be my favorite from the piece: Beginning with a restrained air, it gives way to lively winds before ending with a decidedly regal mood, while the ninth movement had a triumphant feeling with a beautiful passage featuring harp (uncredited) and principal cello (Thomas Carpenter) playing alone)

Lincoln

Cleveland Museum of Art: Schola Cantorum de Venezuela (Viva & Gala)(@ClevelandArt)

2011-10-29T00:11:00.001-04:00

If it seems like many of the recent posts have revolved around the Cleveland Museum of Art it may because of how accessible -- both physically and psychologically -- the institution is--and how much there is going on at any given time . Tonight I had driven to the Museum to find Rachel in the galleries, but when I walked into the North lobby I bumped into Tom Welsh, the museum's Associate Director of Music, who had asked if I was planning on attending the concert.

"Concert? Tonight?" I asked momentarily confused and he mentioned the Schola Cantorum de Venezuela -- a Venezuelan choir. Not knowing if Rachel would be up for it I didn't commit, but when I found her hiding in "A Passion for Prints: The John Bonebrake Donation" she was also interested so we made our way back to the lobby.

I initially confused the ticket seller by asking for "two tickets" -- For what, she needed to know: The film, The lecture, The exhibition, The Choir. Confusion resolved and tickets in hand we found or way up to our seats on the balcony. My first time up there, I was interested to see how it would compare: While it offers a great vantage point, I felt a bit emotionally distant from the performers on stage.

The program assembled by the Schola Cantorum de Venezuela -- hailing from a country as known for its musical culture as anything else -- came in two parts: Aqua (Water) and Fiesta (well...Fiesta) with the Fiesta generally bolder and a bit more lively.

While I'm generally attracted to sharp contrasts, in Agua the subtle variations in texture from piece to piece and between voices within a piece were mesmerising, and the relative even keel of that half of the program created the perfect mood for some quality meditation. Cloudburst, "a ceremony, a celebration of the unleshed kinetic energy in all things" was a favorite the program with bold statements performers and the perfect vocal representation of rain (along with support from a handful of instruments). In the next piece, Binnamma, the rise and fall of voices sounded like the ebb and flow of waves. Closing out the first half, Yemaya, with soloists Paul Sojo, Javier Silva, and Victor Gonzalez, was a very light, happy, and moving choral piece and was my favorite from the first half of the program.

After intermission the show resumed with Primavera Portena from Las Cuatro Estaciones (Spring in Buenos Aires from The Four Seasons) with the program note that "the four tangos that comprise The Four Seasons are instrumental and in this program, the chior [sang] them with instrumental accompaniment." -- of course, a fiesta should start with a tango! Mule Rendeira (Lacemaker Woman) with percussion was hypnotic and rythmic. Cerezo Rosa (cha cha cha) was a lively dance, and all of the other pieces in the program were likewise lively and enjoyable. I'd be remiss to not mention Besame Muchowith the translated lyrics "Kiss me, kiss me much...", Son de la Lomay (They are from the Hill) with a good rhythm and, to borrow a lyric "con suis trovas fascinates que me las quiero aprender" [and I want to learn their fascinating rhythm].

The program ended with Nuestra Navidades (Our Christmas) including a bit of an audience sing along and concluding with a true fiesta on stage -- including a couple who had been dancing in the aisle joining the chior.

Lincoln

Part I: Aqua

Calcano: Evohe (Text: Planchart; Venezuela)

Castellanos: Al Mar anochecido (To the sea in twilight) (Text: Jimenez; Venezuela)

Whitacre: Cloudburst (Text: Paz; USA)

Golijov: From Oceana (Text: Neruda; Argentina)

A. Grau: Binnamma (Spain/Venezuela)

G. Grau: From Aqua (Text: Palacios; Venezuela) [Cancion de los rapidos remeros (Song of the Rowers); Yemaya

Part II: Fiesta

Piazzolla: From Las Cuatro Estaciones (The Four Seasons) (Arr. Escalada; Argentina) [Primavera Portena (Spring in Buenos Aries)]

Brazilian Folk Song: Muile Rendiera (Lacemaker Woman) (Arr. Fonseca; Brazil)

Lopez-Gavilan: Mambo que rico e (Mambo, how nice it is) (Cuba)

Ruffino: Cerezo Rosa (cha cha cha) (Arr. Alvarado; Cuba/Vinezuela)

Frometa: Toy Contento (Arr. Sauce; Venezuela)

Zapata: El Menciona'o (The Named One) (Arr. Ruiz; Venezuela)

Velazquez: Besame Mucho (Arr. A. Grau; Mexico)

Matamoros: Son de la Loma (They are From the Hill) (Arr. A. Grau; Cuba)

Galindez: La Arestinga (Arr. A. Grau; Venezuela)

Barros: Engo una forma mas (I have another way) (Arr. Raga; Cuba)

Rojas: Nuestras Navidades (Our Christmas) (Venezuela)

Cleveland Museum of Art: Bulletin of the Museum 1950- (@ClevelandArt)

2011-10-26T22:00:00.002-04:00

I had planned on attending a facility recital at the Cleveland Institute of Music tonight, but when I got over to University Circle I couldn't find a parking space, so I returned home. My Grandmother sent a collection of things from my late grandfather -- including a publication dating from 1911 -- which reminded me it's been a little while since the last installment of my Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art retrospective. The complete series, starting with an issue from 1915, can be found here.

September 1950. Thirty-Seventh Year. Number Seven. This bulletin, with a cover featuring a picture of smiling children in the "Junior Museum" is virtually entirely a schedule of events, including "Free Entertainments" for young people Saturday Afternoons at 2:00pm "These programs will consist of films, music, plays, marionette shows, and illustrated talks. Children under six not admitted; adults not admitted until 2.00p.m., and only if seats are available. For a monthly calendar of these events, apply to the Educational Department".

On October 13, Harry Fuchs, a cellist who's name was instantly recognizable and who served the Cleveland Orchestra for nearly 40 years (including the Principal and Assistant Principal chairs) presented a cello recital, and a series of lectures, films, and chamber music presents a full schedule. Walter Blodgett, Curator of the Department of Musical Arts, continues a series of weekly informal organ recitals

January 1954. Forty First-Year. Number One. A two-year gap exists in my collection of bulletins, but in the centerfold of this issue proves interesting in light of the current Fu Baoshi exhibition: Rocks Orchids and Bamboo, a 1952 acquisition, credited to Shih-t'ao, Chinese from the 1600s. Accompanying the piece, a note, authored by Sherman E. Lee -- four years before being appointed as Director of the museum--an appointment some credit for the museum's tall stature today. That note includes a quote from the artist "I am always myself and must naturally be present in my work. The beards and eyebrows of the old masters cannot grow on my face. The lungs and bowels (thoughts and feelings) of the old masters cannot be transferred into my stomach (mind)."

February, 1954. Forty-First Year. Number Two: Part One. The Library -- before it adopted the Ingalls name -- is declared to have become a "mine of information" with the acquisition of 29 of the then 36 "coveted volumes of the Old Series of Jahrbuch der kunsthistorischen sammlungen des allerhochsten kaiserhauses. [Google Translate is saying Yearbook of the Art Historical Collections of the Imperial House] The first volume appeared in Vienna in 1883 and the publication is still continued in the New Series". Googling, I can't determine if the New Series is still being extended. The Library is also proud of its acquisition of a complete set of the Societe francaise d'archeologie, published since 1834 "and still in full force". It was still in full force in 1954 and it's still in full force -- now online -- in 2011 with volume 169.

Museum Membership stands at 4,549.

April, 1956. Fourty-Third Year. Number Four. The current renovation and expansion project is not the Museum's first, as this issue opens with photos of the progress and "The progress of the new wing of the Museum is increasingly evident with the erection of the greater part of the steal framework. Only the sections where it will join the present building remain to be set in place" -- It continues, with words that can be taken to heart with the complete enclosure of the new Atrium and West Wing today -- "From now on the progress will be far less evident. On a monumental building such as this, the setting in place of the granite walls [...] and other interior equipment will be at best a lengthy process"

The membership has jumped considerably with a long list of new names and a total membership of 5,902.

September 1956. Forty-Third Year. Number Seven. The cover of this has photos of the 1958 Building -- now demolished -- well under construction, but is otherwise a schedule of events for the next quarter, and nothing particularly notable was noted. It is worth noting though the a subtle evolution in the typesetting was noticed leafing through this issue.

February 1957. Forty-Fourth Year. Number Two: Part Two. More pictures grace the cover of this issue, showing the West Section of the 1958 building connecting to the 1916 building. Now demolished, the land that this building sat on will soon become the "Living Room" of the Museum -- the magnificent new atrium. Again, though, the issue is entirely a schedule of events -- and one that seems to be thinning, perhaps in anticipation of...

April 1957. Forty-Fourth Year. Number Four. "THE CLOSING OF THE MUSEUM" proclaims a headline on the last page of this issue, "The Museum closed to the public on April 1. This decision was in part necessary because of the plans to re-adapt the present building to new and changed uses, but it was caused by the impossibility of protecting and safeguarding the collections without proper air conditioning and dust control." Further, "During the period the Museum is closed, the Library will continue its services in the Department of Slides and Photographs. However, the borrowers will have to indicate their needs by telephone and the slides or photographs desired can be called for at a new temporary entrance at the West End of the New Wing." and "The public will have no access whatsoever to the building when it is closed."

It concludes with this note from then-Director William M. Milliken that echos today: "The sacrifices that must be made during the period of transition will be met, one is sure, in the same generous spirit which has marked every relationship between the public and the Museum. The date of completion is not far distant [...]"

During this time, the Museum has encamped at the "Old Art School" on Juniper Drive. While I haven't been able to determine the precise location though this item from the Cleveland Memory Project indicates the intersection of Juniper and Magnolia Drives; if so, that facility -- even that intersection -- is now buried under a Case Western Reserve University Student Residential Village.

With this post turning wordy... I'll save the rest of the 1950s for next time.

Lincoln

M.U.S.i.C: Classical Cabaret Program No. 4

2011-10-23T20:24:00.000-04:00

Sarasate: Romanza Andaluza #^%
Gustavino: La Rosa y el Sauce, Jardin de Amores, Nana del Nino Malo, Elegia, Gerografia Fiscia^§
Ginastera: Pampeana No. 2, Op. 21^ª
Ginastera: Cinco canciones populares argentinas: Chacarera, Triste, Zamba, Arrorro, Gato^²
Albeniz: Leyenda ^%³
Shchedrin: A la Alveniz (arr. Dokshizer)^%³
Cristancho: Jose Morales Bambucco¹
Calvo: Arabesque¹
Granados: Intermezzo (from Goyescas)
Bizet: Ouvre ton coeur^§
Weil: Youkali^§
Piazzolla: Historie du Tango-Bordel 1900-Cafe 1930-Nightclub 1960#¤

#- Iryna Krechkovsky, violin; ^-Javier Gonzalez, piano; %- Gina Petrella, castanets; §-Gabriela Martinez, soprano; ª-Marlene Ballena, cello; ²-Miguel Amaguana, tenor; ³-Josh Rzepka, trumpet; ¹-Felepe Calle, piano; ¤- Gideon Whitehead, guitar.

Something I've often wondered--but been afraid to ask out loud--is with the plethora of music world-class conservatories in Northeast Ohio (The Cleveland Institute of Music, Oberlin, and Baldwin-Wallace to name just the first three that come to mind) what happens to the talented students immediately after graduation.

M.U.S.i.C (Musical Upcoming Stars in the Classics) answers that question by providing paid performance opportunities for those upcoming artists. Though I had not previously heard of M.U.S.i.C (their website can be found here), Artistic Director Jodi Kanter invited me to this concert at the Hanna Perkins Center in Shaker Heights. Being perpetually amazed at the variety of arts outlets in Northeast Ohio -- I gladly accepted, though I didn't know what to expect.

First, the venue, a gym/auditorium at the Hanna Perkins Center in Shaker Heights (originally built as the Malvern School) has been gloriously preserved/maintained/restored -- building oozes 1930s details, but lacks any hint of accumulated dirt or grime to dull the services. before the performance I had some doubts about the acoustic sanity of performing in a gym, but as it turns out the room was satisfactory: Drinks and light snacks were available before, during intermission, and after the concert and the feel was generally very laid back -- it was certainly one of the most social groups I've attended a concert with.

Though I found the second half of the program more compelling than the last half, the first half wasn't without its highlights, I particularly enjoyed Papeana No. 2, Op. 21 and the interplay between cello and piano: While at times the two instruments seemed to exist in separate spheres, at others the two seemed to be chasing each other. On the other hand, Albeniz's Leyenda seemed rather rough around the edges...but Mr. Rzepka's trumpet aptly recovered in the following A la Albeniz which struck me as something you might enjoy in a smokey cafe.

The musicians returned after intermission offering a lively piano for Jose Morales Bambucco, then another great performance from cellist Marlene Ballena who;s impassioned and energetic Intermezzo from Goyescas evolved into a slow embrace and I think was my favorite piece of the evening. Closing out the program Piazzolla's Hustorie du Tango stopped at three scenes: A 1900 Bordel, a 1930 cafe and a 1960 Nightclub and provided colorful tones throughout; my favorite (and I think the most lively) was the 1960 Nightclub which echoed the traditions established in the prior scenes but took things up a notch and included Ms. Krechkovsky playing behind the bridge among other novel techniques.

The next concert is scheduled for December 4th as their 4th Annual Hotel Brunch/Concert, with time, location, and program to be announced.

Lincoln

Tri-C Presents: Daniel Bernard Roumain (DBR): Symphony for the Dance Floor

2011-10-23T00:21:00.002-04:00

I don't think I've ever actually attended a Tri-C Presents event before...and I'm not entirely sure how I wound up on their mailing lists... but when I saw the mailing for Daniel Bernard Roumain's, also known as DBR, Symphony for the Dance Floor, I was instantly intrigued.

When I first looked at the dates I thought it was last weekend -- which was already booked solid by the time I saw the event -- but Rachel pointed out that it was actually this weekend, and with the Orchestra in Europe my Saturday evening was thankfully open -- and we took the opportunity to visit Tri-C's Metro Campus.

Though sparsely attended Mr. Roumain gave a dazzling performance that tickled every sense except smell. Blending classical (Mr. Roumain plays a 5-stringed violin) hip hop (Lord Jamar serves as both MC and DJ)and who knows how many other traditions of music, dance, and verbal and visual storytelling traditions. Via the program note, DBR relates the inspiration for the work came from the tragedy of the Haitian earthquake: "As a composer, my initial thought was to create some large, solemn requiem for Haiti. But as a Haitian-composer, I realized that would be wrong. What was needed was apiece that was vibrant, moving and alive!"

The staging was unique and the first sign that we were in for something different: The majority of the audience was seated on stage, facing each other, with a narrow "runway" of sorts covered in Marley separating the two halves.

The end result certainly all of those. Though some symphonic techniques were clearly recognizable -- like the fast-slow-scherzo-fast structure of the movements, others were completely foreign: The work begins with the DJ scratching before DBR begins playing. When DBR takes the stage, he isn't anchored to one spot. But this isn't the typical "strolling violinist": While he's playing with vigor to successfully challenge any soloist, he's also contorting into unusual positions: Playing with the scroll of the violin touching the floor; having a dancer hang off his elbow or his waist...or stand on his back...while he is playing and not missing a note.

The bass of the notes (and the beat) makes their way up into your body via the stage floor. The piece is roughly equal parts Mr. Roumain alone on stage (but never alone musically -- a variety of pre-recorded and sampled music keeps him able company) dance, and choir: A brief video clip and photos of Haitians round out the visual portion of a show that stops just shy of sensory overload. A few notes of Beethoven make their appearance (with Lord Jamar filling a role as conductor)

The audience is fully engaged as well: There was enough rhythmic clapping that at the end of the performance my hands were a bit sore; the involuntary toe tapping persisted throughout: Near the climatic conclusion ended with much of the audience flooding the strange and creating a scene indistinguishable from a night club center stage, and as impressively, Mr. Roumain playing a few notes on his violin using his tongue.

The final result was a work that was very much alive and both explored and celebrated the worlds of music, dance, hip hop, perception, video, and photography. Not to mention some very catchy sounds -- Though I rarely purchase music from venues other than iTunes, I had no hesitation to pick up the CD on my way out -- and based on what I heard on the ride home, it is an authentic, if somewhat flat, representation of the music of the show. But you really need to see, hear, and feel it to get the full effect.

Lincoln

Cleveland Museum of Art: Fu Baoshi Young Professionals Night (@ClevelandArt)

2011-10-21T21:43:00.001-04:00

The Young Professionals Event tonight at the Cleveland Museum of Art is one of those odd events where it came to my attention not through a single channel but through seemingly every vehicle I pay even the slightest bit of attention to. Needless to say, I was rather intrigued by the opportunity and was excited to "give it a whirl" so to speak.

Rachel was working at the museum tonight so after we were both finished with work for the day we met in the galleries when we were both finished and killed some time in medieval and contemporary before making it back to the reception. The reception was quiet but well attended -- an interesting mix of people I know and museum staffers I recognized and completely new faces.

The reception featured Chinese takeout containers and deserts (I'm proud to say that I held my own with chopsticks, but Rachel had me firmly beat in that category). Also at the reception a supply of paper, ink, and brushes where you could try your hands at Fu Baoshi's techniques. Once again Rachel's artistic side had a chance to shine.

At 7PM, though, the most interesting -- and unexpected -- part of the evening began. Curator Anita Chung gave a guided tour of the exhibition, relating Mr. Baoshi's art -- both subject matter and techniques to the political and social climate which existed in China throughout his career, and his struggle to remain relevant (and not have his art appear elitist) after the rise of communism. Ms. Chung's enlightening presentation as we strolled through the exhibition also touched on the differences between Western and Chinese art: Where Western art tends to show things from a fixed perspective, Chinese frequently shows the subject over a period of time; where Western is quick to reject and adopt traditions (think all of the "isms") where Chinese has a very long tradition that isn't (or at least wasn't) readily rejected.

Ms. Chung was understandably very excited about her exhibition and her detailed (and far from boring) tour gave en excellent overview and things that will certainly help to appreciate the exhibition when I return to peruse it at my (our) own pace.

(as a side note today was Rachel and my septamensiversary)

Lincoln

CIM Orchestra: CIM@Severance - Daughtery, Stravinsky, Ravel

2011-10-19T22:15:00.000-04:00

Daugherty: Red Cape Tango from the Metropolis Symphony (1988-93)
Stravinsky: Violin Concerto in D Major (Emily Nebel, Violin)
Ravel: Daphnis et Chloé Suites Nos. 1 and 2
Carl Topilow, conductor
at Severance Hall, Cleveland

For the second time in relatively recent history Rachel and I found ourselves at Severance Hall, not for a Cleveland Orchestra concert (they're currently touring Europe, leaving me a bit envious) but for the able Cleveland Institute of Music Orchestra -- the second in their series of free concerts at Severance Hall.

We were seated at about 3 o'clock in the house -- the furthest house right I've been in Severance and I was a bit concerned about what the sound would be (previously, I've noted in that in Box 16 the violins sound particularly strong compared to boxes 1-12, and I was wondering if that would intensify further afield -- it doesn't) but I was also interested by the view afforded -- virtually straight on to the violinists and over-the-shoulder for the cellists.

The program opened with Michael Daugherty's Red Cape Tango, which playful and remained my favorite from the evening. Starting with a horn call echoed off-stage by an instrument that could have just as easily been miles away, then each principal slowly built before arriving at a full-bodied and delicious dance. That dance is interesting, but periodically and chaotically interrupted for varying--and significant periods of time--at one point a an amusingly sour trombone note is answered by solo violin.

Next up on the program was Stravinsky's Violin Concerto. Stravinsky and I haven't been having the best run of late. Tonight's performance, with Emily Nebel playing the solo violin part, was infinitely more enjoyable than the Agnon heard just five days ago, but it still left me more than a little wanting, and the general mood was more depressing than not (the emotions I associated with each movement were "Restrained Excitement"--"Melancholy"--"Crying Woman"--"Lively"). The fourth movement, Capriccio, was my favorite from the piece both with the generally more lively disposition and some particularly impressive playing from Ms. Nebel -- not the least of which was a bit of ricochet.

After intermission the program finished with Suites 1 and 2 from Ravel's Daphnis et Chloe, each consisting of three movements played without pause. The first suite, Nocturne--Interlude--Danse Guerriere, was indisputably nocturnal and lingered in that mood with a few erie overtones, and a wind machine, until an explosive and slightly jarring arrival at the Danse Guerriere. The second suite, Daybreak--Pantomime--General Dance, begin with the musical equivalent of a slowly rising sun, complete with a twinkling harp and happily chirping birds. The energy of daybreak gave way to a midday siesta, before winding up with a light dance led by flute and sting pizzicato.

Lincoln

Cleveland Museum of Art: Chinese Art in an Age of Revolution: Fu Baoshi (1904–1965)

2011-10-15T21:59:00.001-04:00

The Cleveland Museum of Art's next exhibition, Chinese Art in an Age of Revolution: Fu Baoshi (1904–1965), opens to the public tomorrow; tonight was the Member's Reception and Preview Party. The exhibition is mounted as a retrospective on the life and work of Chinese painter Fu Baoshi.

Coming on the heels of The Lure of Painted Poetry I was a bit skeptical about another Asian show so quickly -- but walking through the the exhibition it was an interesting comparison: While Lure was traditional Japanese, Fu Baoshi's work was well centered in the 1900s, the techniques are instantly identifiable. The scenes depicted in Mr. Baoshi's works, however, are full of more resonant and relatable messages, both political and of daily life. While a telephone poll would have been anachronistic in the ealier show, it is gracefully incorporated into a hillside scene here.

The reception seemed particularly well attended and it was great to see so many people giving such an enthusiastic reception -- particularly enjoyed bumping into a number of people I know -- however the sheer size of the crowd made it a bit difficult to fully absorb the art or to fully understand the timeline within which Mr. Baoshi's work developed -- but that information is there and we plan to make a return visit soon when we can spend a bit more time in a little bit more quiet with the art.

As with Lure, the detail of the paper scrolls on which the works were painted was almost as captivating in some ways as the art itself. The art, meanwhile is largely monochromatic, with hints of color -- primarily red, but the occasional blue and green. The scarcity with which they are used makes it that much more impactful.

Taking a step back, before we walked into the exhibition hall, the catering was, as usual themed for the exhibition, and this time delightfully included a variety of options for the less adventurous (or more picky) eaters amongst us. After indulging in light food, we entered Gartner Auditorium where Director David Franklin (approaching his one-year anniversary with the museum...my how time flies) introduced the two representatives from the Nanjing Museum, the major source of lent works for this exhibition -- Mr. Zhang Min, Vice Director of Academic Committee and Mr. Wan Xinhua, Vice Curator of Department of Art Research and Fu Baoshi specialist. Curator of Chinese Art, Anita Chung provided an excited -- and animated -- introduction to an exhibition she was clearly proud of.

Lincoln

Cleveland Orchestra: Fridays@7 - Bolero

2011-10-14T22:46:00.000-04:00

Stravinsky: Agon (complete ballet score)
Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto in D minor, Op. 35 (Nikolaj Znaider, violin)
Ravel: Bolero
Franz Welser-Most, conductor
(Post-concert entertainment by PolkaFest with the Eddie Rodick Orchestra and Hoedown with Back Porch Swing Band and square dance caller Larry Ward)

Last season my work (i.e. the thing that pays for my concert habit) travel schedule prevented me from taking advantage of the Fridays@7 series; I was interested to attend again this season, and brought Rachel to the hall with me this evening.

The Cleveland Orchestra's portion of the program tonight was varied in tone, texture, era, and reception. Unfortunately, the tone-setting piece for the concert was one of the most disappointing pieces I've heard the orchestra play. While Stravinsky's Agon, the score for a ballet with original choreography by Balanchine was interesting -- and it was certainly easy to visualize the physical dance related to each movement (as described in the program note), but without dance there wasn't really anything musically compelling, let alone captivating about the piece. The program introduction refers to the piece as a "masterful work of modern angles" -- if that is the case, there were too few lines. From the unusually light and overly polite applause meeting the piece it was clear that I was not alone.

(As an aside, given the post concert entertainment, it seems Copland's Appalachian Spring would have been a better fit...and a composer much less known to the orchestra)

It took much of the first movement of Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto to wash away Agnon. One critic early in the concerto's life declared that it "stank to the ear" - but that was not the case as Mr. Znaider's impassioned playing sparkled from the first notes. Rachel mentioned that it frequently seems to her that soloists are trying too hard, where tonight Mr. Znaider felt at ease... I can't say I've noticed the trend, but it is undeniable that he was at ease. His playing was so well received that he was accorded not one but two standing ovations: The first after the first movement nearly as enthusiastic at that at the conclusion. I enjoyed the echos and variations on echos that occurred between orchestra and soloist; I don't recall them being so clear the last time I heard this piece)

Rounding out the program and my uncontroverted favorite from the evening, although it was the least complex musically, was Ravel's Bolero. The steady rat of the snare drum began so quietly that it was barely noticeable -- I think the first few notes (along with a light pizzicato from the cellists) were lost among the subdued rustling of concertgoers -- it grew in intensity throughout the piece, as the 13 variations bounced around the orchestra's instruments and likewise grew in intensity and, it seemed persistence.

Following the concert, it was odd to step out from the box level it was a little odd and surreal to hear the sounds of a square dance caller in the Severance foyer, and it was fun to watch in the beginning, but unlike previous concerts where the post-entertainment was largely organic, this felt forced: Much of the lobby floor was occupied by professional dancers with attendees crammed around the edges; and then it took on more of the flavor of dance than fun causing the audience to think quite quickly. More fun and a bit more relaxed -- though with similar space issues, PolkaFest with the Eddie Rodick Orchestra offered lively polka to which Rachel and I closed out the evening watching.

Lincoln

CityMusic Cleveland: Beethoven/Ligeti/Dvorak

2011-10-12T23:04:00.001-04:00

Beethoven: Leonore Overture No. 3
Ligeti: Concerto Romanesc (Romanian Concerto for Orchestra)
Dvorak: Cello Concerto in B minor, Op. 104 (Jan Vogler, cello)
Ryan McAdams, conductor.
at Fairmout Presbyterian Church, Cleveland Heights

It seems that without fail CityMusic Cleveland's concerts are on days -- even complete weeks -- where by the time I find out about the concert I'm already committed to another obligation. It was looking like this would be another one of those missed concerts until yesterday when my trip to Columbus was postponed, so carpe concert!

CityMusic Cleveland is somewhat unique in that they are a chamber orchestra -- smaller than a symphonic orchestra, with a bit more intimate feeling. Nomadic, they play each program in several venues throughout Greater Cleveland, with a specific emphasis on neighborhoods may be overlooked by other programs. And the concerts are offered without admission charge (with a free-will offering collection).

The concert opened with Beethoven's Lenore Overture No. 3; as the program note observes, Beethoven only wrote one opera, but he wrote the opera a total of three times with four overtures. This was not the "final" version, cast aside: Listening to the overture it's easy to understand at least some of the reasons why: a great piece of music, it doesn't really create the excitement and anticipation that typifies an overture. Though I'm not familiar with the opera, based on the program note Overture No. 3 also acts as a spoiler, giving away too much of the plot. Musically, the beginning seemed overly dark and dramatic introduction that gave way to a brighter mood. A particular highlight, the two episodes of distant trumpets signaling a rescue were beautifully clear...and distant.

Second on the program, Ligeti's Concert Romanesc was interoduced by Mr. McAdams -- who seemed particularly at ease condicting this orchestra -- with the warning that some of the horn notes may sound a bit sour, but this was intentional and not the result of someone going off their meds. Banned by Soviet censors, some twenty years elapsed since the piece's single rehersal in 1951 and first public performance in 1971. This was my favorite from the program, with a sweet cello sound and a generally meandering and longing tone in the first movmenent, an excited declaration and commentary in the second movment, before returning to slow and melancholy third movment. But if the Ligeti was my favorite piece, the fourth movement was my favorite movement -- with an interesting earie sound rising from the strings at the beginning of the movmenent, and sounds that were undeniably rooted in folk music.

Finishing the program, Dvorak's Cello Concerto, perhaps the most anticicpiated: Dvorak is one of my favorite composers and the cello is one of my favorite instruments. This is the third time I've heard this piece -- previously with The Clevleand Orchestra and with the CIM Orchestra. Tonight, the opening bars from the CityMusic orchestra once again evoked a feeling of familiarity and relationship to the composer's From the New World, but my inital thought was that the voice of Mr. Vogler's cello solo was a bit odd, but that feeling dimished as the work progressed and the instrument truly began to sing under his bow. The piece as played to night had a general feeling of melancholy and searching for something that was not to be found--though the musical sun made appearances from behind the clouds, and when it did the result was spectacular.

Additional preformances ar St. Colman Church, Cleveland, Thursday; St. Noel Church, Willoughby Hills, Friday; Shrine Church of St. Sanislaus, Cleveland (Slavic Village), Saturday, and St. Mary Church, Elyria, Sunday. (all at 7:30 PM, except Sunday at 2:00 PM)

Lincoln

Cleveland Museum of Art: Folias & Romances: Music Dialogues between Orient and Occident (@ClevelandArt)

2011-10-10T21:40:00.000-04:00

(The full program is at the conclusion of this post)
Ferran Savall, Voice and Toeorbo; Jordi Savall, Lira da gamba and seven strings bass viol.

One of the reasons I love living in Cleveland is that you're virtually surrounded by the arts -- be they performing or classical -- and near the end of this chock-full weekend I found myself in the Gartner Auditorium at the Cleveland Museum of Art for father and son team Jordi and Ferran Savall's performance.

While I'm at the museum practically weekly, this was the first event I've attended at Gartner. While the performance was fantastic, the organization didn't quite meet my expectations for the museum (for one, at least three different times were advertised depending on where you looked) and the event started late and ran longer than the box office had indicated, leaving me a bit harried and stressed about being late for the next event on my schedule. I probably should have left at intermission, but I was otherwise enjoying the concert too much to leave it unfinished.

I wasn't sure what to expect musically; the three instruments used aren't exactly common, but the result was musical magic. The program wove a selection of music picked from a progression of regions together. Within each grouping (From Orient, The Celtic Traditions, The Catalan traditions, The Spanish Folias, From Occident, Dialogues: The Mediterranean Traditions, and Ostinatos from the Old & New World) the music was played without pause, resulting in a beautifully flowing program with a color that evolved slowly but clearly.

Being a Celtic fan, it is perhaps without surprise that my favorite portion of the program was the lively and animated -- entirely instrumental -- The Celtic Traditions, where at points it was hard to resist dancing a little jig in the auditorium. The Catalan Traditions that followed shifted to beautifully soothing (Particularly the younger Savall's voice in El Mariner. The second half of the program was more in the direction of lullabies, between two wonderfully voiced instruments in the hands of Jordi Savall and the voice in the hands of Feran Savall.

It was no accident that the concert ended on Jarabe Loco with the lyrics translated as "At last they are united / the old and the new world / and now they only stand divided / by a sea as deep as it is old" -- that is precisely what the program accomplished.

Lincoln

The full program:
From Orient
Shepardic (Sarajevo): Paxarico tu te llams (Instrumental)
Hebrew Lullaby (Israel): Noumi, moumi yaldatii
Traditional (Afghanistan): Nastaran (Instrumental)
Shepardic (Music) and Muguel de Cervantes (text): Marinero soy de amor
The Celtic Traditions
Dan R. MacDonald: Abergeldie Castle Strathspey
Traditional (Scottish): Regents Rant
Ryan's Mammoth Collection (Boston, 1883): Crabs in the Skillet
Ryan's Mammoth Collection (Boston, 1883): Lord Moira's Hornpipe
The Catalan Traditions
F. Savall (Music), Manuel Forcano (text): Mireu el nostre mar
Traditional (Catalonia): El mariner
The Spanish Folias
Antonio Martin y Coll: Diferencias sobre las Folias
From Occident
Traditional (Catalonia) and F. Savall: La canco del lladre
Marias: Muzettes I-II
Traditional (Breton) and J. Savall (Improvisations and variations): Gwerz "O Sonjal"
Dialogues: The Mediterranean Traditions
Traditional (Greece): Apo zeno meros
Shepardic Lullaby: Durme, hermosa donzella
From Morocco: Ghazali tal jahri (Instrumental)
Traditional (Turkey): Uskudar'a
Ostinatos from the Old & New World
Diego Ortiz: Romanesca & Passamezzo Moderno (Instrumental)
Canarios (Ostinato improvisations)
Improvisations after A. Valente & Jarocho traditions: Folias Criollas / Jarabe loco.

Canton Symphony: A Birthday Celebration of Liszt

2011-10-10T00:38:00.001-04:00

Brouwer: Remembrances
Liszt: Piano Concerto No. 1 in E-flat major (Martina Filjak, piano)
Schumann: (unintelligible) solo piano encore.
Liszt: Symphonic Poem No. 7 (Festkalange)
Stravinsky: Fierbird Suite (1919)
Gerhardt Zimmerman, Conductor
at Ulmstattd Performing Arts Hall, Canton.

I've heard good things about the Canton Symphony in general and Music Director Gerhard Zimmerman in particular. My list has included attending a performance, but I had not made it as far as to actually attend a performance. On Thursday, a patron of the arts in the truest sense offered his tickets to tonight's season-opening concert, I jumped at the opportunity.

Following the Viva and Gala performance at the Cleveland Museum of Art (blog post on that to follow tomorrow -- I'm exhausted tonight) I picked up Rachel from work and we drove to Canton. After a false start in the GPS department, we found ourselves at the correct venue and in our seats. Ulmstattd Performing Arts Hall, part of a high school campus is as inglorious as any high school performing arts center and I was having doubts... until Mr. Zimmerman took to the podium.

The concert started with the unpublished but patriotic Star Spangled Banner played by a standing orchestra... catching both of us off guard.

Mr Zimmerman is instantly personable and a bit of a comedian. Composer Margaret Brouwer joined him to introduce her work as the first piece on the program, Remembrances. Composed to honor the memory of a friend who had passed, while listening to the colors of this piece I couldn't help but to think of the line "Endings are never ever happy, it's the happy moments along the way that in the end make it OK" from Five for Fighting's Nobody. Ms. Brouwer said that while she hadn't been thinking of sailing while was composing this piece, the friend was an avid sailor. Listening to the piece, though, the sounds of sailing were clear: A deep call as the ship disappears into the eternal sunset, the rise and fall and thrill of sailing on the open ocean, and then disappearing into the unknown. Rachel and I both felt, though, that the end was a bit long winded, and there were few places where the piece could have ended without feeling cut short.

Second on the program was Liszt's Piano Concerto played by last year's Cleveland International Piano Competition winner Martina Filjak and... wow. I was so taken by her attack, delicacy, and the confidence of her sound that I couldn't force myself to listen to anything but her playing; the piece seemed to be over just as quickly as it started. Ms. Filjack then returned to treat a salivating audience to a wonderful Schumann piano solo.

Tonight's concert was enjoyable in large part because it moved expiditiously. Mr. Zimmerman lead, and the orchestara followed, quickly; movements were distinct but without unnecessary pauses. And that continued with Liszt's Symphonic Poem No. 7 which was possibly my least favorite from the evening (assuming it is necessary for one to choose a least favorite) but it was not without its enjoyable parts: A farnfare with the occassional sense of fancy.

Closing out the program Stravinsky's Firebird suite. The first two movments struck me as a bit rough... while they're identified in the program as dances, but I didn't get that feeling of a dance of any kind. Coming into the third movement (Infernal dance of King Kashcei) anyone asleep was jarred awake with an explosive sound and a torrent of notes. Leaving a nearly manic movement, the audience was restored to rest via the Berceuse Lullaby and the concert ending finale.

While the hour drive means I likely won't be attending as frequently as I might otherwise, this high-quality and well orchestrated (if you'll forgive the pun) concert made me a fast fan of the Canton Symphony... I hope to return again soon.

Lincoln

Cleveland Public Theatre: Springboard - Again And Against

2011-10-08T23:24:00.001-04:00

I don't make it West to Cleveland Public Theatre as often as I'd like, but a friend suggested that I check out the Springboard Festival -- and with my Saturday night open (and feeling a bit guilty for missing Pandemonium) I figured it would be a great opportunity to bring Rachel across the river.

Springboard is a festival of staged readings -- each play is a new work, still being honed to perfection. Actors are on script, only a (single) handful of rehearsals are allowed, creative staff are allowed and encouraged to make revisions. I've only attended a handful of readings -- staged or unstaged -- but it appeals to my quest to get "behind the scenes" and it's also a unique opportunity for the audience, in most cases, to contribute to the development of a work -- suggestions and concerns are frequently taken into account as the piece is massaged before it becomes fixed and finally staged.

Tonight's offering was playwright Betty Shamish's Again and Against, with Raymond Bobgan (as an Iraqi-American FBI agent) interrogating Ms. Chris Seibert (as a Palestinian-American accused of terrorism but claiming to agitate only for understanding) with Beth Wood providing the rare bit of context via voice over. In the program, all three are given directing credit; online Ms. Wood has that credit. All three gave commendable performances, with Mr. Bobgan and Ms. Seibert being particularly gripping; especially considering that they were on script*. Based on the casting and context clues it took a relatively long time for me to figure out that both characters shared an ethnic heritage -- which is fairly important to the plot of the play.

The action unfolds entirely within a sparsely-furnished interrogation room. A college student is accused of plotting terrorist acts -- she insists that it's merely a not-so-peaceful protest and she doesn't (and didn't) intend to harm anyone. Over the course of the interrogation stories are told as truth, truth is served as a as a story, and the only thing clear is the lack of clarity: Where do stories end and the truth begin? Does she know more than she's telling; who is actually interrogating her? Where is the line between protest and terrorism? What is truth, anyway? Is it what is written (and therefore the woman's need for her side of the story to be written down during the interrogation?)

Sympathies change with every newly revealed truth -- or is it a lie? While I initially found the female sympathetic... half-witting participant in something she didn't fully understand and without malevolent intentions...the revelation near the end of the play that twenty dogs were involved made me doubt the one thing that heretofore had been without question. Are you assimilated? What culture do you identify with? What do other people see you as?

While the play was gripping and compelling -- billed at a 140-minute, intermisisonless, run time it didn't feel nearly that long -- but so much information was being thrown out, and so much of it then revealed to be lies -- that it was difficult to keep track of what information was actually important, and I feel I occasionally lost track of the message amongst the mental filing, refiling, and shredding.

Following the performance, there was a brief talk back and it was interesting to hear how other audience members reacted: A condemnation of politics and society, from one member. Men generally sympathized with the interrogate (and her sarcastic humor hooked me), while women generally found her abrasive and irritating--and without sympathy. (I wish more productions would include this feature--certainly helps to round out the theatre going experience)

Information about the rest of Springboard can be found on Cleveland Public Theatre's Website at http://www.cptonline.org/theater-show.php?id=160.

Lincoln

* i.e. reading from the script.

Cleveland Orchestra: Mozart's Great Mass In C Minor

2011-10-07T00:01:00.000-04:00

Strauss: Metamorphosen (A study for 23 Solo Strings)
Mozart: Mass ("The Great") in C minor, K427
(Malin Hartelius, Julia Lezhneva, soprano; Martin Mitterrutzner, tenor; Ruben Drole, baritone; with the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus)
Franz Welser-Most, conductor

I have to admit to some hesitation with tonight's program: Superficially, at least, it seemed to echo last week's program. But what a dramatic difference; if this is any indication for the rest of the season it should be a great one.

Opening the program, Strauss's beautifully gripping Metamorphosen, subtitled as a study for 23 solo strings. Based on that subtitle I was prepared for something...cacophonous...for lack of a better word. What we were given was delightfully coherent: While each of the 23 instruments at times made its independent voice heard above the others it was cohesive. And mournful; deeply mournful, though it is not for want of the occasional ray of sunlight; the glimmer of hope. Looking at the time the work was composed -- 1943-45 and the program note provides a crystal context for that emotion: World War II and both the death of friends and loved ones, not to mention the the utter destruction of cultural landmarks and heritage.

Following intermission, Mozart's Great Mass was well...great. The Cleveland Orchestra Chorus's performance was stunning, and while I've frequently felt that Mr. Welser-Most's sound is a little too rounded around the edges I not once got that sense tonight. The result was a near religious experience in which time--and the outside world seemed to stand still, while the music resonated with the pulse of the heart. Though the opening Kyrie was by a narrow option my favorite, there was a point during Qui tollis (part of Gloria) where I realized that was neither consciously paying attention to the music nor processing other thoughts: My mind was completely and utterly at ease, something that's all too rare.

Oddly striking in an otherwise warm Severance Hall, was the refreshing blast of cool air that seemed to accompany each time the chorus rose.

I was unmoved in either direction by the male soloists, my reactions to the female soloists, both sopranos, were strong: Something felt off about Ms. Hartelius's contribution to the piece; though I can't put my finger on the why, I tried to tune her out. On the other hand, Ms. Lezhneva's voice was merely a hair shy of being a siren's call (the siren of myth that lured many a sailor to their deaths, that is; not the annoying thing attached to emergency vehicles) and everything hid ever so slightly behind her vocal presence.

Lincoln

CIM Orchestra: Smetana/Shostakovich/Sibelius

2011-10-05T23:27:00.000-04:00

Smetana: Overture to The Bartered Bride
Shostakovitch: Violin Concerto No. 1 in A minor, Op. 77 (Leah Nelson, violin)
Bizet: March of the Toreadors (from Carmen) (Phil Robinson, special guest conductor)
Sibelius: Symphony No. 5 in E-flat major
Sasha Makila, guest conductor
Kulas Hall at the Cleveland Institute of Music

I try to attend as many of the CIM Orchestra concerts as possible: It's a nice--not to mention inexpensive--way to unwind midweek. When lead by a conductor who's sound I truly enjoy, however, I make a special effort to attend. Tonight's concert, conducted by Sasha Makila was one of the later group of concerts. I had high expectations and was not disappointed.

The program opened with the overture to Bedrich Smetana's The Bartered Bride, which set an exciting tone for the concert: Bold, confident, and expressive. And for the overture particularly, fast. The sense of tentative and uncertain playing that I noted for this season's first concert seems to have disappeared. And I really enjoyed this one.

Next up on the the program Shostakovitch's Violin Concerto, with the young and already-accomplished Leah Nelson playing the violin solo part. While the musicians were red faced and possibly still recovering from the exertion of the overture, the first movement (Nocturne) struck me as slowly dark, almost a graveyard scene, and harps provided the sound evocative of a clock chiming out an hour, while Rachel noted that the violin sounded like a woman crying. The second movement (Scherzo) was more lively and seemed to embody a dialog between the violin and the winds, while the third movement, and specifically the solo cadenza at the end of the Pasacaglia movement feels emotionally charged before leading into the final movement, Burlesca, which generally felt happier, faster, and more optimistic.

After intermission, Bizet's March of the Toreadors from the opera Carmen was conducted by Phil Robinson who won the opportunity via a silent auction to benefit CIM. I have to admit I was on one hand bit envious of the opportunity, but I fear had I been in that position I would have been frozen under a ton of anxiety. In any event the Orchestra did a fine job with the piece.

Last on the program, Sibelius's Symphony No. 5. Just as Mr. Makila is a conductor whom I enjoy, I enjoy Sibelius's compositions, and the two together was a wonderful way to start the concert. Each of the tree movements had multiple tempo notations and multiple emotions. The first movement, begins calmly; I related it to the gentle sound of sun breaking dawn as the night hands earth over to day, while the end of the piece is climatic and hurried.

If the first movement was morning, the second movment could just as easily be related to the sounds of dusk as the sun retreats from view with a persistant pizzicato, and as the light slips away the listener was treated to the sound of beautiful strings over persistant horns before turning into a dialogue with the winds. Lastly, the third movment begins with a sense of exitement rising from the violins and violsa, before evolving to a slow dance, the sounds of of mourning, and finally trumphant, with a crisply punctuated finale.

Lincoln

Heights Arts House Concert: Welcome Bach Tudor Arms

2011-10-02T20:51:00.000-04:00

Leclair: Sonata III for two violins, Op. 3, No. 3.
Kurtag: Hommage a Mihaly Andras (12 Microludes for String Quartet (1978))
Bach: So schau' dies holden Tages Licht (Aria from Kanata, BVW 1073)

Bach: Hilf, Gott, dass es uns gelingt (Aria from Kantata BVW 194)
Bach: Ruhig und in sich zu frieden (Aria from Kantata BVW 204)
Bach: Ich bin vergnugt in meinem Leiden (Aria from Kantata BVW 58)
Tartini: Concerto for Violin and String Orchestra, D. 80
Tessrini: Concerto in A-major for Violin and String Orchestra, Op. 1, No. 12
(Jung Oh, soprano; Peter Otto, Miho Hashizume, Isabel Trautwein, violin; James Larson, viola; Daniel Pereira, cello)

Heights Arts' series of house concerts is a highlight of my concert-going season: You get to hear magnificent musicians in unusual locations in a more relaxed atmosphere. In addition, with the small ensembles you are treated to music that was chosen by the musicians playing it are even more deeply invested.

Tonight's concert brought together talented members of the Cleveland Orchestra along with CIM Faculty was my first glimpse into the Tudor Arms Hotel (a DoubleTree hotel*) on Carnegie Avenue since it's recently completed renovation-and reopening (before being returned to hotel use, the building served as Case student housing and social services offices). The 2nd floor ballrooms -- this concert was in the mirrored Crystal Ballroom -- certainly exude the feeling of an era gone by, though the new murals on the walls were as vibrant as the music we were about to hear.

The program was a interesting mix of composer well known along with composers lesser known. Opening the program, Leclair's wonderfully sweet Sonata III for two violins, played by Orchestra members Isabel Trautwein and Miho Hashizume provided a delightfully sweet opening to the concert.

Following that piece, Cellist and CIM faculty member Daniel Pereira provided an interesting comparison between Kurtag and Bach's works, most succinctly that Bach was composing in a highly regimented time with rules inviolate, where Kurtag composing in a much later era was essentially free from rules. In that context the pieces were alternated -- three movements of Kurtag to each Bach Aria. The contrast was interesting, but not as jarring as you might expect given the 200-year spread between the composers. The color and texture of the mostly short Microludes was interesting and varied -- calm and lethargic, agitated, fog-like, swampy, stormy, and startled were all feelings that I could associate with various movements, while Ms. Oh's wonderful voice added elegance to the Bach arias. (At one point in Ruhg und in sich zu frieden, a note was sustained for what felt like hours, yet by looking at Ms. Oh's face you would not suspect she required any more effort than a casual conversation). Rachel noted that while German is a harsh language, from Ms. Oh's singing it was only at the end that you got a sense of the guttural harshness.

Following intermission, Cleveland Orchestra First Associate Concertmaster Peter Otto joined the ensemble and quite a bit of levity. On talking about the difficulty of the instrument, he noted "If you don't start by 10, you're always going to sound like you're torturing baby animals" (I take exception to that -- two years in, I sound like I'm torturing adult animals). Mr. Otto noted that historically the violin concerto form had been considered an aberration, in poor taste, and lacking complexity. After listing to the two pieces that followed, that is hard to reconcile.

Tartini's Concerto for Violin and String Orchestra offered (with improvised cadenzas by Mr. Otto) two sweet movements concluded by a lively allegro assi third movement. Interestingly, the participation of the cello and viola were quite limited throughout all three movements, leaving a piece virtually for three violins. Mr. Otto's improvised cadenzas blended beautifully with the score, and I simply closed my eyes and let the beautiful notes play off my ears for much of the piece.

Closing out the concert and my unquestionable favorite, Tessarini's Concerto for Violin and String Orchestra (Op. 1, No. 12) with three gripping movements: The first movement (allegro) was lively, and the third movement (vivace, allegro) was my favorite with a galloping pace and a tsunami of notes springing from Mr. Otto's instrument, while the second movement (largo) provided a refreshing, but well-paced respite between the two.

The concert concluded with a standing ovation; I think the first for a Heights Arts house concert, while the silent auction ended a few minutes after and I found myself the winner of a performance with Ms. Trautwein, which I am quite looking forward to--a welcome encore to last year's experience with cellist Ms. Tanya Ell.

Lincoln
*- I have a Hilton HHonors free night certificate I've been saving for the reopening of this hotel... I need to check if it's still valid and book a stay soon to check it out!

Cleveland Orchestra: Tchaikovsky Fourth Symphony

2011-09-30T00:05:00.001-04:00

Stravinsky: Concerto in D (for string orchestra)
Gabrieli: Missa Brevis (transcribed for brass)
Stravinsky: Mass (for chorus and orchestra) (With the Cleveland Orchestra Chamber Chours)
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4 in F minor, Op. 36
One encore, unannounced
Franz Welser-Most, conductor.

I started the day at 3:00 AM Pacific Time in a Sacramento, California suburb to make my way back East. Under most other circumstances I would have at least waited until mid-morning, but today was special: Opening night for The Cleveland Orchestra's 11-12 Severance Hall season, and a 6 AM flight was the only way to be sure I'd be back in time to attend.

I noticed a headache around Denver, and the chicken sandwich lunch in First didn't do anything to help...and my Advil stash in my bag had been previously depleted. I got home with enough time to fit in a 90 minute nap and plenty of Advil before heading to the hall.

At the conclusion of the published program, Mr. Welser-Most announced from the podium--I believe the first time I've heard him speak live--"It's good to be back and it's good to have you back"--and that as certainly the feeling. Blossom is great, but there's something magical about being back in the hall. The Cleveland Orchestra is tuned for Severance Hall and Severance Hall is tuned for the Cleveland Orchestra.

The first half of the program was interesting in structure: The strings are my favorite family of instrument and Stravinsky's Concerto left the stage bare save for the strings. The sound was a bit dull around the edges but the give and play, tug and pull between individual instruments and the showcase of each section in the pieces expressive conclusion made it enjoyable.

The movements from Gabrieli's Missa Brevis and Stravinsky's Mass were alternated, that is, the Kyrie from Missa Brevis was played followed by the Kyrie from the Mass, and so forth continuing through the flow of the Latin mass. These two pieces proved that one shouldn't judge a score by it's cover: I hadn't expected to enjoy a brass transcription (Gabrieli), and I was looking forward to for chorus and orchestra (Stravinsky). I was wrong. The four-piece brass arrangement of Missa Brevis was delightful and well balanced, pulling me in note my note. On the other hand, the Cleveland Orchestra Chamber Chorus sounded phenomenal, but I don't think the orchestration added anything positive, and that aspect didn't agree with my ears.

Before hearing the pieces I thought it was a bit odd that the two compositions would be intertwined, but in hearing it played it provided a interesting and immediate comparison between the two pieces, and also kept either piece from becoming boring, as I suspect either piece played alone may have a tendency to do.

Closing out the program, Tchaikovsky's Fourth Symphony was definitely the highlight of the evening. It was great to just close my eyes and let the notes carry me away. The piece felt readily familiar, and in checking my notes, its because I last heard it performed only 5 months ago. Once again, I loved the extended pizzicato in the third movement, and Mr. Rosenwein's solo oboe was a highlight of the performance.

The unannounced encore was perfectly enjoyable but a dangerously mellow for this road-wearied traveler who had yet to drive home.

Lincoln

Lincoln in Oroville

2011-09-29T00:47:00.000-04:00

So I'll spare the details of the project, but it went rather smoothly... as our first project with this particular client, I was really worried but everything came together, nicely. After we were finished, the City Manager and Police Chief suggested that we visit the hatchery.

As Oroville Dam interrupted the normal flow of salmon swimming upstream to spawn, fish ladders and a hatchery were built to allow the fish to get upstream, and it is an impressive sight. The City Manager was kind enough to drive us out to the hatchery and show us around and (a) there are a ton of salmon in the river. (b) salmon are huge, and (c) it is amazing to watch them jump the ladder.

(A picture of me in front of one of the ladder viewing windows is here)

After picking up my laptop and making sure there were no loose ends for me to tie before I left, I spent the afternoon playing tourist around the city. For a city of only 15,000 (serving a population of 60,000 in unincorporated areas), it seems like there is actually a lot to do -- and certainly a lot of history -- in Oroville. The feel of "downtown" is more "back east" than anything I can recall in California, and generally oozes character. I suspect this stems from the city's development during the 1840s Gold Rush.

As my first post from this trip mentioned, there is of course the Oroville Dam. Related to that are the two Bidwell Bar Bridges [Wikipedia]. The current bridge [today's photo] isn't really anything special; it was built in 1967 to replace the original bridge which would have been below the lake formed by the dam. That bridge, the Original Bidwell Bar Bridge, was deconstructed, preserved, and rebuilt, today carrying foot traffic in the Lake Oroville State Recreation Area [today's Photo, Photo, and Photo] and a National Historical Civil Engineering Landmark [photo], it's amazing to think of the bridge's history.

For one, it was the first suspension bridge in California (and West of the Mississippi, generally), second, the iron came from Troy, New York -- Starbucks Iron Works, to be precise -- around Cape Horn. In the 1850s. Pre-Internet, Pre-Telephone, The dawn of the era of the telegraph, and the sunset of the era of the pony express. The transcontinental railroad is still a decade off. Yet the bridge survives.

Speaking of surviving, another stop on my tour was the Mother Orange Tree, the oldest living orange tree in Northern California -- planted in 1856, transplanted in 1862 and 1964 -- and still producing fruit, though, with it's location at park district headquarters, I don't think anyone would have appreciated me picking one [photo].

Downtown Oroville has an interesting array of museums, including Bolt's Tool Museum which (from the outside) houses a shocking history of thousands of tools from construction to farming. Unfortunately the museum was long closed for the day by the time I got aimed that direction.

And since I have a super early flight tomorrow morning, I think I'll leave it there. You can see more pictures from this trip in the Flickr photo set here.

Lincoln

In California (Again): Odd Goals Accomplished

2011-09-26T22:49:00.001-04:00

So I'm in Northern(ish) California* for work, the project is in Oroville, about half way between Sacramento and Chico... I tagged on a vacation day (that is, today) mainly to unwind but also to do a little bit of exploring.

Last night when I landed at SMF, Sacramento's very retro-feeling airport, I had a pounding headache and really just wasn't feeling well at all -- while my inital temptation is to blame it on what I not-so-affectionately refer to as my "allergic reaction to California"** It could have just as easily been the hyperactive child and loud and obnoxious mother kicking my set and screaming/cheering loudly throughout the flight from Houston to Sacramento*** -- I made it to the hotel about 9:45 PT (that's 11:45 PM Eastern)... and crashed hard on the bed. Before I even checked in, though, I knew I had made a good hotel choice: There's an In-N-Out Burger in the same parking lot. (happy sigh) -- I had wondered if I'd be able to find one on this trip, since In-N-Out is a relative newcomer to NorCal.

This morning I took a leisurely start to the day and a dry run to the project location to make sure I could find it tomorrow; then kind of bumbled around until I found the Oroville Dam, the tallest dam in the United States. Browsing the visitor center -- and (re)learning a little bit about the California State Water Project -- one of several utterly massive projects to get water from water-rich Northern California to Central and Southern California... I've been on the far end of the project -- most water in Southern California, where I grew up, is imported either from Northern California or the Colorado River, but never near the source.

View from the hiking trail of Lake Oroville, the Oroville Dam, and the road up to the visitors center. Not a cloud in the sky.

I did a bit of hiking around the dam area and it was amazingly peaceful... utterly silent except for the sound of your own breathing and the occasional call from a nearby bird, or perhaps the crunch of a dried leaf underfoot. It was nice to get away--and especially on a beautiful day, but I realize that I am a city mouse; the the silence was peaceful and disconcerting at the same time. I realized that I am a city mouse: the noise of an active city puts me at ease; silence makes me nervous.

While hiking back up hill to the visitors center, I was reminded of how out of practice I am on the subject as my legs started complaining...loudly. More loudly, however, was the rustling that came from the underbrush. I stopped. More rustling. Suddenly, a handful of yards in front of me, I see a dear. I hold my breath.

Deer!

I stare at it. It stares at me. I'm not sure what I should do. I know that Deer are (a) absolutely beautiful (b) not carnivores and (c) because of the lack of antlers, I think this one is female. But I also don't know what a deer will do if it feels threatened. And I don't particularly want to find out today. We continue staring at each other. I'm thinking... OK, my legs are killing me, running probably isn't an option... I wonder if I can climb that tree fast enough, or at all.. We continue staring at each other. She eventually takes a tentative step forward. I stand still. Another tentative step forward. I take a slow step forward. Another tentative step, still staring at each other. She clears the trail and is well camouflaged by a tree. I slowly walk by, holding to the absolute outside edge of the trail. We don't break eye contact. I pass and several, and eventually we stop staring at each other but it was an odd encounter.

I make it back up to my car and after stopping a few points along the way (and driving across the dam for no reason whatsoever) I head back for civilization. But what civilization? Fry's Electronics, of course.

Fry's is like Radio Shack was 20 years ago (i.e. before they became virtually worthless) blown up to a Costco-sized facility. Add to that the fact that each store has a distinct theme, a slightly different culture, and a different variety of stuff. I've had been to every Fry's in the state of California while I lived here****....except the Sacramento store. That dangling chad has now been decisively removed. And I do believe that it is one of the cleaner/organized stores I've been in. Restocking some eccentric consumables for back home, I make it out at just under $50.

Feeling generally accomplished for the day, I aimed my way back to the hotel after making some deposits at my bank (Bank Of America seems to have branches everywhere I am except Ohio)^, and point my GPS back in the direction of the hotel. I decide to stop for lunch along the way, and find an In-N-Out just up the road.

But wait... there's a Hampton Inn in the same parking lot as this In-N-Out, too. A sigh across the street catches my attention while I'm waiting in the drive thru: I consult my itinerary. It turns out this is the hotel I'm staying at the night before my flight home^^. I swear I didn't know before I booked either of them.

Oh yes, it seems, the travel gods have smiled upon me for this trip. Excuse me while I walk over to order dinner.

Lincoln

*- They call it Northern California. If I'm not paying attention, I'll call it Northern California, but it's -really- "North central California" at best... there's still a whole lot of California to go before you hit Oregon, as I learned several years ago when I drove the coast.

**- Virtually every time I fly to the state: Massive, unrelenting, headache and upset stomach/nausea being the two most notable symptoms
***- It took all of my restraint to avoid slapping both of them upside the head; I had considered a stern-faced "Are you going to control your child or do I have to?" over the seat back but since the mother was just as obnoxious, I figured it wouldn't get anywhere.
**** - It appears that a new store, in Oxnard, opened after I moved to Cleveland. I shall have to make another trip to Southern California to complete the list.
^ - But they have withdrawal-only ATMs all over the state. It's just depositing that can be a pain.
^^ - I'm scheduled to depart at 6 AM Thursday morning, to try to make it back to Cleveland in time for the first concert of the Cleveland Orchestra's Severance season. I wanted to be as close to the airport as possible. I am not a morning person.

CIM@Severance: Torke, Britten and Mussorgsky

2011-09-21T23:34:00.000-04:00

Torke: Bright Blue Music
Britten: Violin Concerto in D minor, Op. 15 (Natalie Lin, violin)
Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition (arr. Ravel)
The Cleveland Institute of Music Orchestra
Carl Topilow, Conductor

The Cleveland Orchestra returns to its Severance Hall home in a little over a week, but music returned to the hall in the form of CIM Orchestra concert tonight. Like the vast majority of CIM's other concerts and recitals, tonight's was free. Before the concert I picked Rachel up and we dined at The Jolly Scholar in the Severance-adjacent Thwing Center. The service is nothing special but the prices are reasonable and it's Severance-convenient.

The concert opened with Michael Torke's Bright Blue Music from 1985. An amazingly expressive piece that evoked all of the feelings associated with Bright and none of those associated with Blue, it was without a doubt may favorite from the evening, and in its persistently happy and light mood, instantly earned a spot among my favorite pieces of orchestral music. This is certainly one that I hope finds its way to InstantEncore; if it does not I shall have to find a comparable version on iTunes.

Benjamin Britten's Violin Concerto was in the middle of tonight's program sequentially but felt out of place and just a bit beyond depressing and quite solitary. While Ms. Lin played with impressive clarity and I have no faults, neither Rachel nor I particularly liked the piece -- and speaking for myself, it ended not a moment too soon. While the overall tone was one of depression, there were interesting dialogues between the soloist and the harp and a rather animated, nearly explosive segment near the midpoint buoyed my hopes for a less pessimistic ending, however that was not to come.

Last on the program but most familiar, Ravel's orchestration of Mussgorsky's Pictures at an Exhibition. Probably the classical piece that I've heard most often in live performance, I love the thematic device -- the viewer strolling through a set of pictures at an exhibition -- and the evolution that the Promenade undergoes as the viewer--and the promenade are shaped by the experience of viewing the preceding pieces. It helps that the Promenade's bold opening statement is extremely catchy and very hummable. Each ensemble brings their own impressions to a work, and this is particularly clear with Pictures; likewise, each time I hear the pictures I notice different features.

Tonight I noticed echos between the sections in the Promenade that I don't believe I've caught before. The Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks (Ballet of the Chicks in their Shells) was particularly loveley, the energy of a hectic marketplace was crystal clear with The Marketplace at Limoges, and the dead languages were more aggressive than I'm used to (but I rather liked it) with Cum Mortuis in Lingua Mortua.

At last week's concert -- the first of the CIM year -- I had some rather strong concerns about balance, tonight I think the were largely resolved. That is not to say, of course, that there is not room for improvement -- though that room is preciously small. In Pictures, the brass is certainly not supposed to be pushed into the background, but tonight, they were pushing it a bit too far forward (blaring, to borrow Rachel's word)

All in all though, a very enjoyable concert and a nice way to spend the evening.

Lincoln

Cleveland Play House: The Life of Galileo

2011-09-17T00:40:00.001-04:00

(through October 9, the Allen Theater at PlayhouseSquare)

It's interesting that the Cleveland Play House is opening a new act in its vast history -- moving from the long time home at 8500 Euclid to PlayhouseSquare -- to waters more or less unknown, with a dramatization of the Life of Galileo Galilei, persecuted for challenging the church and common wisdom about the planets. Galileo is credited with improvements to the compass -- and it seems an improved compass is exactly what the Play House is gaining with their new facilities.

The evening started at a commercial photographer friend's studio for their Fine Art Show (gallery hours continue Saturday -- and 20% of the proceeds go to Kick-IT, a national charity... Some really awesome work) before we migrated further downtown. Parking was easy, though the walk to the theaters has changed; popping into the Allen lobby we quickly located the ticket desk, though it didn't seem to be operating at peak efficiency.

Walking into the theater as the first audience for the first show in the new Allen I had a good idea of the physical space but wasn't really sure what to expect from the experience. To say that the experience is a vast improvement from 8500 is an understatement of astronomical proportions. Even from the audience, each of 8500's spaces felt worn and rickety; it wasn't abnormal to hear odd bumps, clacks and bangs throughout a performance. These were nowhere to be heard in the Allen. The seats are actually padded.

Acoustically, the house is just live enough to avoid that disturbing anechoic chamber feeling of a completely dead space. Changes in scenery on, above, and under the stage were virtually silent (in the second half the orchestra pit cover is slightly lowered during the act. It took me a while before (a) I noticed it was moving and (b) I convinced myself it was actually lower and not an optical illusion). The only complaint I have is that lighting in the house during the show, namely aisle and step lighting, seems much brighter than necessary, and the glare is a bit distracting... I hope it will be dimmed in the future.

We were seated in the two seats in Box L on house left side -- as far left as one can get in the new Allen house. I was a bit concerned about sight lines, but was curious about how it would work out... and even these seats offered a good view of the vast majority of the stage [and I rather like the elevation of these seats, mid way between the orchestra floor and the balcony]

The play itself was an interesting look at Galileo's life and a handful of his closest followers and the challenges and persecution from the church...but the narrative leaves a few holes (I didn't get, for example, that Galileo's telescope improved on those commercially available previously, rather than copied, or that he spent the remainder of his life on house arrest). Digital projection is used -- with admirable restraint -- throughout to paint a variety of backdrops, time and place markers. Some of Galileo's theories and drawings are likewise illustrated, providing a captivating and flowing line of information that would be otherwise difficult, if not impossible to convey. At one point flaming caricatures of politicians make an appearance but otherwise it's very restrained.

Though this was the first preview performance (official opening comes Wednesday), the show was well and convincingly acted by a talented company that supported a suspension of disbelief, with just a few stumbled and quickly recovered lines. Though furnishings seemed to be of the general period, clothing and props were distinctly modern--leading to a discussion with Rachel during intermission about the history of "iron"ing clothes, and my total preoccupation during a scene with a walker-toting Cardinal trying to figure out when Rubber and welding came in to common use.

A handful of times, though, we leave the comfort of Galileo's life to brief song and dance numbers that are entertaining but still a little rough around the edges (I had trouble the speech intelligibility during these, however I had no issues understading dialogue during the balance of the show).

It seems that a bright star will be over the Play House's new home.

Lincoln

CIM: CIM Orchestra (Franck, Bartok, Plog, Prokofiev)

2011-09-14T23:22:00.000-04:00

Franck: The Accursed Huntsman (Le Chasseur Maudit)
Bartok: Viola Concerto (Jamie Sachay, viola)
Plog: Weiter (2007)
Prokofiev: Lt. Kije Suite, Op. 60
Carl Topilow, Conductor
Kulas Hall at the Cleveland Institute of Music.

Perhaps the last sign that summer is over is the return of students to music-making work at CIM: Though the first day of classes was just over two weeks ago, the CIM Orchestra for the 11-12 school year offered their first concert tonight. For those just joining me, CIM offers a broad program of concerts and recitals throughout the school year -- most free. I suspect that as an educational institution CIM is free to take a bit more liberties with programming than organizations primarily driven by ticket sales or attendance. This freedom provides exposure for composers and works that may not necessarily be the well known.

Before tonight's concert Rachel and I parked in the new lot behind CIM [note: If you've attended CIM concerts in the past, the parking lot you're used to no longer exists... the new lot is further down Hazel] grabbed a quick bite at the Denny's All Nighter (former Silver Spartan) -- the menu is a bit sparse, but the food is generally decent -- then walked over to the Museum of Art for me to take care of some business, before walking back to CIM for the concert.

And... I felt that the ensemble is still in the process of gelling -- not at all surprising given how early in the year we are. Generally, I felt the balance was a bit off, and at various points (primarily in the first two pieces) I sensed that the orchestra wasn't fully committed to the notes they were playing, instead tentatively letting them hang in the air. I can't help but remember what my mother screamed at me while I was learning to drive, occasionally afraid to commit: Indecision will get you killed. While tentative playing won't get anyone killed (unless, perhaps, the composer is in attendance), it keep a piece from truly shining.

For the music, I only recognized two of the four composers on the program, and none of the pieces, so it was nice to get an evening of new music. Opening the program, Cesar Franck's The Accursed Huntsman was the only piece to receive a program note, and the program note was helpful in understanding the intent of the piece, though it mention that the third section is the tempo slows as deep in the woods the count is cursed by a terrible voice. I didn't this sensation from the music.

For Bartok's Viola Concerto, Ms. Sachay was a pleasure to listen to (it seems that the viola is so rarely a subject for concertos), but Rachel and I both felt something was slightly off between her and the orchestra. That did not prevent the piece from being enjoyable; indeed, I found that I derived the most enjoyment from this piece's 2nd movement (adagio religioso) by simply closing my eyes and allowing the notes to play on my ears. The gentleman to my right was snoring rather loudly, however.

At intermission, a concert first came for me came while we watched two UCPD* officers carry an apparently unconscious attendee to a wheelchair and depart the hall. I hope that individual is alright.

Resuming the program, Anthony Plog's Weiter (German for "forward" or "further") was described by Mr. Topilow as 5 minutes of perpetual motion, and that it was. The structure of the piece was interesting in that it seemed each group of instruments had their moment to shine before returning to a supporting role while the next took (figurative) center stage. With a title implying progress (and the composer's note read by Mr. Topilow referencing spectators screaming the title at football matches) I was a bit surprised in that the mood and sound of the piece remained fairly steady and even keeled until a fairly explosive ending.

Concluding the program and my unqualified favorite from the evening, Prokofiev's Lt. Kije Suite, selections from a score composed my Mr. Prokofiev for a film in which a fictional lieutenant -- along with a life story -- is created to avoid having to correct a mistaken Tsar. The five pieces in the suite (The Birth of Kije--Romance--Kieje's Wedding--Troika--The Burial of Kije) follow the milestones in the life of the Lieutenant. All of the movements were enjoyable, but something felt very familiar about the Troika (reading the Wikipedia article for the piece, it seems that it is a popular "winter" advertising piece--which explains why I was thinking of snow). I thought The Burial of Kije would be depressing, but aside from a few deathly trumpet calls and horn blasts even this movement is fairly upbeat, and I found myself humming the theme most of the way to Rachel's apartment. (Of note, CIM played the version using a tenor saxophone, very well played by Alyssa Hoffert, not the alternate baritone voice version. I rather liked the tenor sax version)

Lincoln
*(non-Clevelanders: this is the University Circle Police Department, providing special police services for the University Circle area of Cleveland, independent of the Cleveland Police Department)

Cleveland Play House: Open [Play] House

2011-09-13T00:05:00.000-04:00

Cleveland Play House logo on the
Allen Theater Doors (more pics)

While it hasn't quite culminated -- the Play House's administrative offices won't make the move until October, and the new stages won't open until some time in the not-to-distant future -- the Cleveland Play House hit the climax of the massive move from the 8500 Euclid Complex to the Hip new Allen at PlayhouseSquare

Though the festivities kicked off at 4:30 both Rachel and I have "real jobs"* so, even with me sneaking out of the office a bit early we didn't make it downtown until a bit after 5:30... Walking through the Euclid Avenue doors there was an excited din; the largely untouched promenade gives way to the beautiful rotunda.

Carpeted but otherwise untouched the rotunda marked one of my favorite spaces in the PlayhouseSquare complex, but the removal of the back Hanna's back wall gives the space a much less siloesque and much more open feeling than before. While the acoustics in the center of the rotunda are still a bit funky, the carpeting has done wonders.

Passing through the rotunda the carpet continues into the new lobby with two glass-enclosed event spaces flanking the entrances to the house. Before you get there though a dimly lit lobby (the ceiling above is the underside of the Allen's original balcony which has been mothballed for the time being). Tonight a jazzy ensemble was assembled in the corner providing light music for the several-hundred deep crowd and it certainly had that relaxed lounge feeling. Hip furniture rounds that out, though the furniture did seem a bit sparse.

Entering the theater, the transformation from a 2,500-seat combination bowling alley and drab shoebox is striking to 500-seat modern theater is striking. While we weren't allowed to take the seats for a test drive, by their looks alone they should be infinitely more inviting than 8500's fabric-covered wood. Also of note, cup holders throughout the auditorium located on the seat backs. It is unclear if iced beverages will be permitted (one hopes not), but food is will not be open -- lest you be the one stuck next to someone crunching on potato chips while the drama unfolds.

I am withholding judgement on the efficacy of the metal scrim on the side walls: It looks cool, but as lit for the open house it was much harder to perceive the details of the original walls that I expected. Making our way back stage, the view from midstage into the house really emphasises the intimacy of space. Comparatively speaking, I think the view from high school's 299-seat Performing Arts Center main stage (built 1998) was less intimate-- but intimate does not equate to crowded.

The back stage area in general and the wings in particular are immense -- the proscenium opening has been narrowed to the great advantage of anyone working back stage. Further back stage you find the Roe Green Room, a playful combination of the theatrical staple -- the Green Room -- and the benefactor who has been dubbed by The Plain Dealer as "Fairy Godmother to the Arts", Ms. Roe Green. Along the same corridor you find an assortment of dressing rooms; these don't seem to have been touched by the renovation.

And there the tour ends--returning to the lobby, the din has, if anything increased, and the tour line is nearly out the doors. One of these days I hope to sneak into the booth, onto the catwalks and/or into the dimmer room -- the parts of the theater that most intrigue me but never seem to be included in tours.

"I seem to be kind of lost--I don't know where I am" I overheard one patron speaking to no one in particular while wandering the lobby with Rachel -- "This is where the back wall used to be" someone answered. "Wait? This all used to be inside the theater." the surprised answer.

I doubt anyone who has been in the Old Allen would recognize the New Allen if brought into the theater blindfolded. And that only means good things.

The inaugural show for CPH's new home, The Life of Galileo begins previews this Friday and runs through October 9th at the Allen Theater, Playhouse Square (Euclid Avenue between East 14th and East 17th Streets).

Lincoln

*-No, an advertising-free blog doesn't generate enough revenue for me to just kick back. It's actually a rather expensive hobby.

Cleveland Orchestra: Beethoven's Ninth

2011-09-11T00:59:00.000-04:00

Oliverio: Dynasty (Double Timpani Concerto), Paul Yancich and Mark Yancich, timpani.
Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 ("Choral") in D minor, Op. 125, Janice Chandler-Eteme, soprano; Kelley O'Connor, mezzo-soprano; Sean Panikkar, tenor; Ryan McKinny, bass-baritone; The Cleveland Orchestra Chorus, Roberet Porco, director.
Jahja Ling, conductor.

I have to admit I don't have anything to wear was a thought running through my mind as I prepared for tonight's post-labor day season closing concert: White and khaki being more or less out but black seeming overly formal. Based on tonight's rainy weather I wasn't sure what to expect for attendance. The pavilion was packed -- sold out, actually -- and more than a few brave souls could be seen packing the lower section of the lawn.

The Cleveland Orchestra certainly ended their Blossom season on a high note, a concert mixing the new and unknown with a relatively old staple.Though the program consisted only of two pieces it was full of different emotions and textures.

The concert opened with the new: James Oliverio's Dynasty a concerto for double timpani commissioned by and played by Paul Yancich, of The Cleveland Orchestra, and his brother Mark Yancich, of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. The timpani is usually a single instrument relegated to a place at the back of the orchestra, and perhaps best known for eponymous rolls. It's unusual to see the timpani at the front of the orchestra, even more so for there to be two of them, but that's what tonight's concert offered, and part of--but not the only reason--this was my favorite from the concert.

The first movement had cinematic feelings and the energy and general feeling that its name (Impetuous) would imply; though I initially felt timpani were overpowering the orchestra, a good balance was quickly settled into. The second movement, Naivete, started with and hinted at an exotic sound throughout and I couldn't help but to envision a snake charmer (aptly played by an alto flute) and the snake responding to the calls, before turning beautiful and colorful with the help of the two harps flanking the timpanis. The third movement Interlude provided an opportunity for the two timpanists to explore the oft-overlooked range of their instruments without the distraction of orchestral accompaniment.

The fourth movement, Ancestors Within was the one part of the concerto I didn't really get into; it felt like a minor tension was built but never released. Finally Destiny carried the cinematic feelings of the first movement with a wonderfully melodic and dramatic movement, feeling, at times, reminiscent of a newscast theme. Improvised solo cadenzas from each Mr. Yancich felt distinctly like the drum solo you may expect from a rock concert, before the orchestra returned for an explosive ending with an exclamation point.

By contrast the Beethoven felt more staid and burnished as a whole; I never really got into the first or third movements, while I really enjoyed the second (molto vivace) movement with its iconic sound [if you have a Windows XP computer you can find a recording of this movement in the "Sample Music" folder under My Documents -> My Music, though it offered nowhere near the power or enticement of a live orchestra, let alone The Cleveland Orchestra], meanwhile Mr. Paul Yancich, after his workout at the front of that stage earlier, returns with his instrument, to the back of the stage for this piece. Finally, the symphony, the concert, and this Blossom season, was drawn to a close with the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus and four soloists singing the Ode to Joy in the fourth movement (Presto--allegro assi--presto). While I didn't find the soloists to be particularly notable, both the Orchestra and Chorus sounded fantastic: I think it may mark my favorite appearance of the Chorus to date.

Lincoln

My Adventures with the Rate Desk

2011-09-09T00:13:00.000-04:00

My first trip to California went off uneventfully -- except for the little incident in Beverly Hills where I was mistaken for a star (you'll have to ask me in person, since I can't publicly post anything less vague) -- but my second trip has been postponed. I can't say that I'm complaining; I could use a little decompression time. Plus I think this way I'll actually be able to make it to the Cleveland Play House's Open House at the Allen on Monday evening -- perhaps, if I can get off my rear end, I might actually make it to one of the first performances in their new space. [Please remind me. Frequently. Wave faux tickets under my nose if you must.]

But in changing my plans I had to call both Hilton and Continental: For Hilton it was a simple case of one of my hotel reservations (this trip has three*) being a bit curmudgeonly and not wanting to be changed online. Simple: Call the HHonors Diamond Desk, give them the new dates, presto changeo, that reservation is fixed.

For Continental, it was a bit more trying, but perhaps a bit of background is helpful: Airlines have classes of service (namely "First" and "Economy") and fare classes. Within each fare class there's a fare basis. Confused? So is everyone else, including a lot of people who work in the airline industry. Fare classes are frequently referred to as fare buckets. Each fare bucket is identified by a single letter -- for example A, B, C, F, Y. Still with me?

Each bucket represents a specific type of fare in a specific class of service, with a specific fare basis. The fare basis, is in turn linked to the fare rules spells out in excruciating detail** the rules associated with the fare. And on every flight each bucket is allocated a certain number of physical seats.

The only real consistency are the so-called Full Fares, F for First and Y for EconomY -- I was once told that that''s because Economy is at the back of the plane... get it? -- everything else depends on the airline. These offer the most flexibility, the fewest restrictions, and are typically the priciest tickets on the plane.

For example, on Continental in Economy fares are roughly (in descending order of cost and flexibility, and ascending order of rules and regulations) Y-B-M-E-U-Q-V-W-S-T-L-K-G***.

So on a 200-passenger aircraft, our cheapest fare bucket, "G" may be allocated a maximum of 4 seats; our mid-way "W" may be allocated a maximum of 100 seats, while the pricier "Y", "B", and "M" may have access to all 200 seats: This explains why you may have paid $600 for your ticket but the guy next to you only paid $150. He or she got to the cheap fare bucket first.

Most airlines will -- because it's required by federal law and just makes good business sense for comparison shopping -- quote, price, and book an itinerary in the lowest available fare unless otherwise requested by the customer.

In my case, when traveling for work I virtually always book in Full Fare Y economy, because it offers the most flexibility (completely refundable, completely changeable, free checked bags, and highest priority for reaccommodation in the event of travel disruption). Continental makes this very easy to do when booking a flight on Continental.com but it's impossible when changing a flight on Continental.com, for some reason Continental.com.

So I get the flight numbers, price it as a new itinerary on Continental.com and then call. I speak with someone virtually instantaneously... give her the info, and when she prices it it's $450 higher. Same flights, same bucket -- Y -- and fare basis -- YUA -- Huh? She doesn't understand either so she transfers me to the Continental.com helpdesk.

After 10 minutes on hold I repeat everything to the new agent, and she sees the fare I priced. She pulls the flights in to my reservation and initially everything looks good, until she goes to reissue the ticket. She has to reprice before she can reissue and when she reprices it grabs some unknown inventory and the price drops $600.

She can't see the the fare basis without issuing the ticket, which we both agree is bad. I've found that the fare dropping on a change is a huge red flag, waving with blinking neon, that the fare basis has been changed to something other than Y... which is bad, because you loose all of the Y benefits. She tries a variety of options without success or explanation for the drop. We're both concerned.

"It looks like I'm going to have to call the Rate Desk to figure this out" she says. Based on my recent track record, I'm not surprised.

The rate desk is one of those things crusty little corners of aviation history largely ignored by passengers, travel agents, and airline employees alike. The Rate Desk, among a family of other desks --such as the Agency Desk and the Group Desk -- hearken back to the days before technology and a literal desk provided the service.

While I haven't been able to locate any photos, I have this vision of someone sitting at a desk with one of those green brimmed-accountant's hats and an old-fashioned banker's light. I doubt that's the case.

The short version is the Rate Desk does what their name says -- they rate (as in set the price for) an itinerary. In the old days, from what I understand from a ex-travel agent friend who was in the business at the dawn of the computer era, the Rate Desk would be consulted if a published fare couldn't be located or if an unusual itinerary was required.

The functions of the Rate Desk have largely been automated, but there are still times when a human touch is required: A bit of research, a bit of black magic, . And based on how well insulated these humans are from the outside world. I have to assume that they're darn smart humans****. My agent has a chat with the rate desk, the rate desk figures out how to make everything work they way it should with my changes, and we're set.

But this is the fourth time this year I've had to have the Rate Desk intervene to fix a reservation. Should it be this hard? I want to give you (or in this case, you to keep) my money, in exchange I want to keep a nice flexible ticket. It doesn't sound that hard, does it?

Sigh. A

Lincoln

*- The first is a HHonors "free" (points) night at hotel #1 for a day of vacation; the second is two more nights at the same hotel, which is near my client, and paid for by my company. The third is a single night at a hotel near the airport because I have an early-morning flight
**- Everything from refundability and changes to the applicability of Tour Conductor discounts. Most important though are Advance Purchase and Minimum Stay restrictions.
***- Useless trivia: For a long time on Delta (perhaps this is still the case) the four cheapest fare buckets were [in order] S-L-U and T. Coincidence or inside joke?
****-The Continental agent I was on the phone with had to spend 30 minutes waiting for the Rate Desk to answer

Blossom Festival Orchestra: Bugs Bunny at the Symphony

2011-09-04T01:42:00.000-04:00

(The full program can be found at the end of this post)
I'm once again in the midst of a whirlwind travel schedule -- most of last week was spent at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, tomorrow I'm flying to a project in Southern California and there for a jam-packed few days, getting back just in time to drive to a project at Ohio State in Columbus...and then flying back to a different project in Northern California...and I might have a quick visit to Houston, and well... I'll let you know what time zone I land in when September is over.

Way back at the beginning of the summer, though, September was wide open. When Rachel saw Bugs Bunny on the schedule for Labor Day weekend, she was interested and we marked our respective calendars.

Having not really spent time together for the better part of the week -- and anticipating a large crowd and the traffic attendant thereto we decided to picnic pre-concert.

Before the concert we stopped by the Sheetz on Steels Corners to grab sandwiches MTO (something about ordering using a touch screen eliminates the guilt associated with a BLT, hold the L and T, add Cheddar, Pepperoni, Olives, Pickles, and Mayo) and found a quiet corner of shaded grass just inside the Lot A gate to spread a blanket and chow down. We finished eating as the had-been trickle of concert goers turned into a full fledged stream of all ages: Some young, some old. Some empty handed, some toting a handful of foodstuffs, others looking as if they were prepared to survive for weeks.

Though a sweltering evening, with a bit of time left before the concert started we walked the Blossom grounds...stopping to watch a swarm of bees busily pollinating flowers, making our way around the top of the bowl watching children at play and a densely-packed lawn, rivaling if not surpassing the 4th of July programs. Settling into our seats in the pavilion, we noted that it was comparatively empty.

The program -- now in it's 20th year (though the program note mentions that George Daugherty made his Blossom conducting debut in 1070 [sic]) -- mixes a live orchestra with classic Warner Brothers cartoon clips to reinforce the classical music that was so prevalent in those. Overall, it's a nice concept: I didn't really slip into critical listening mode and spent most of the evening smiling, though I question the value of the clips (indicated with a * below) where the orchestra was not used, instead relying upon the original--recorded--soundtrack. There were also a few places where it seemed that the overall balance, particularly orchestra-to-sound-effects-and-dialogue felt a bit wonky.

I'm not sure what my favorite from the evening was: Wiley Coyote and the Roadrunner are always fun with Zoom and Bored; Baton Bunny, Rhapsody Rabbit, and What's Opera, Doc were fun for the musical gags and in jokes. Scooby Doo's Hall of the Mountain King and The History of Warner Bros. Cartoons in Four-and-One-Half Minutes, of course featured iconic music. Rachel enjoyed but had hoped to hear the full Join Up With Me, So Joyous and Free (from Robin Hood Daffy) and Hello My Baby (from One Froggy Evening) that were excerpted as part of a medley.

Lincoln

The Full Program
The Dance of the Comedians (Overture) from The battered Bride. Music by Bedrich Smetana
The Warner Bros. Fanfare. Music by Max Steiner
Merrily We Roll Along (The Merrie Melodies Theme). Music by Charles Tobias, Murray Mencher, and Eddie Cantor; Arr. Carl W Stalling.
Baton Bunny. Based on Franz von Suppe's Overture to Morning Noon and Night In Vienna.
*Excerpt from What's Up Doc?
Rhapsody Rabbit. Music by Carl W. Stalling. Milt Franklyn, piano solo.
*I Love to Singa Medley, including: I Love to Singa, Music by Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg; Would you Like to Take a Walk from Naughty Neighbors, Music by Harry Warren; Tiptoe Through The Tulips from A Scent of the Matterhorn, music by Joe Burke; Hello My Baby from One Froggy Evening, Music by Ida Emerson and Joseph E. Howard; A Cup of Arsenic....from Bewitched Bunny, based on Gertrude Lawrence A Cup of Coffee, a Sandwich, and You; Largo Al Factotum from Back Alley Oproar music by Carl Stalling after Gioacchino Rossini from The Barber of Seville; Join up With Me, So Joyous and Free from Robin Hood Daffy, Music by Milt Franklyn; Square Dance (Skip To My Lou -- Turkey in the Straw), from Hillbilly Hare, music by Carl Stalling, based on American Flok Songs
Zoom and Bored, original score b y Carl W. Stalling and Milt Franklyn; based on The Dance of the Comedians from Bedrich Smetana's The Battered Bride.
*Home Tweet Home, Original Score by Milt Franklyn.
The Rabbit of Seville. Music by Gioacchino Rossini, Arr. Milt Franklyn, based on Overture to The Barber of Seville.
Overture to The Beautiful Galatea. Music by Franz von Suppe.
Tom and Jerry in the Hollywood Bowl. Music by Johann Strauss from the Overture to Die Fledermaus.
Scooby-Doo's Hall of the Mountain King. Music by Edvard Greig using Peer Gynt's In the Hall of the Mountain King.
Bedrock Ballet. Music by Jacques Offenbach: Can-Can from Orpheus in the Underworld.
A Corny Concerto. Music by Carl W. Stalling, Based on Johann Strauss's Tales of the Vienna Woods and The Blue Danube.
*Long-Hared Hare.
What's Opera, Doc?. Music b Milt Franklyn based on Richard Wagner's The Flying Dutchman, Die Walkure, Siegfried, Gotterdammerung, Rienzi and Tannhauser.
Merrie Melodies That's All Folks, Music arr. Carl W. Stalling.
The History of Warner Bros. Cartoons in Four-And-One-Half Minutes. Music by Gioacchino Rossini: William Tell Overture finale.

Cleveland Orchestra: Mozart, Mendelssohn, and More!

2011-08-27T22:51:00.003-04:00

Mozart: Symphony No. 25 in G minor, K. 183
Bach: Violin Concerto No. 1 in A minor, BVW 1041
Handel: The King Shall Rejoice (Coronation Anthem No. 3)*
Handel: Concerto Grosso in B-flat major, Op. 3 No. 2
Mendelssohn: Verleih' uns Frieden ("Grant Us Peace")*
Mendelssohn: Hear my Prayer*, Teresa Wakim, soprano
Handel: Zadok the Priest (Coronation Anthem No. 1)*
Nicolas McGegan, Conductor.
*- With the Blossom Festival Chorus, Lisa Wong, Assistant Director of Choruses

Settling in to my seat this evening I wasn't sure what to expect from tonight's program of Baroque. When Mr. McGegan took the podium I wasn't sure what to expect from him: The back of his head and his body language taking the podium seemed like he might be, ahem, I don't think there's a polite way to put this: Crusty old conductor.

That possibility, though, quickly passed as Mr. McGegan launched into the energetic Allegro con Brio first movement of Mozart's Symphony No. 25 with his own ball of energy. Unfortunately, while discouraging inter-movement applause (thankfully missing at this concert) it seems the orchestra has started a practice of inserting an interminable delay between the first and second movements of the first piece on the program for the purpose of seating latecomers. This practice is, in actuality, far more disruptive to the enjoyment of a piece than inter movement applause as it cleaves the first movement from the remainder of the piece and eliminates any sense of cohesiveness. It took me much of the second movement to return to the proper frame of mind, just in time to catch a playful shrug from Mr. McGegan to the violists at the end of that movement.

Cleveland Orchestra member and Principal Second Violin Stephen Rose joined the orchestra this evening as soloist in Bach's Violin Concerto No. 1 and delivered musical bliss. For the first and third movements I was gripped by both the musical and literal image of a dance: Mr. Rose would push in and Mr. McGegan would pull back; then they'd pull together. During the third movement I had to stifle incipient laughter after a few of Mr. McGegan's gestures--beyond the whole-body movement I had noticed earlier--looked like something from Baroque-era dance.

My favorite movement, from the evening, however, was the second movement of the violin concerto: In advance of the Orchestra's 9/11 Concert on Public Square the Orchestra is asking for the public to submit Images of Peace: I merely had to let my eyes flutter closed for the acoustical image of peace with Mr. Rose's lyrical violin over a persistent theme from the orchestra. Not to mention inspiration for my continued practice on the instrument*

Following intermission The Cleveland Orchestra was joined by the Blossom Festival Chorus and while the chorus sounded great generally, I didn't feel a strong attraction to The King Shall Rejoice, Verleth' uns Frieden, or Hear my Prayer. While I expected, given my ADD** tendencies, to enjoy the to-the-point and quick moving Concerto Grosso it largely passed sans notice--except for the beautiful sound from the cellos in the second movement.

Closing out the program, Zadok the Priest, used for every English coronation since George II in 1727, drew out the power of the chorus's collective voice along with an emphatic orchestra proclaiming "God save the king! Long live the king! May the king live forever! Amen, alleluia!" was certainly a triumphant way to end the evening's concert.

Lincoln
*- Eighteen months into it, I still occasionally produce noises more similar to a New York City traffic jam than music. Thankfully, those occasions are becoming fewer in number.
** - Officially, ADHD, but I've never really gotten the "hyperactive" part of that.

Mercury Summer Stock: Show Boat

2011-08-26T23:07:00.004-04:00

The idea of "Hide and Seek" in a art museum seems a bit sacrilegious but done quietly and respectfully it's a bit of a brain stretch to remember what objects match clues* and a lot of fun. Continuing a bit of a tradition, after working late at the museum Rachel -- it was her turn to hide -- texted the clue and then I seeked after I snuck out of the office. After browsing the contemporary galleries for a bit it was time to choose the next activity of the evening.

I had been pondering Mercury Summer Stock's production of Show Boat if for no other reason than the venue: The Cleveland Play House's Brooks Theater at the 8500 Euclid location was the host to the first play I saw after moving to Cleveland -- short-lived Fourth Wall Productions' Plans Change; and in all likelihood, Show Boat will be the last.

We made the short trip from the Museum down Euclid and found a full parking lot; the lobby was full to the point of overflowing, and when we made it to the front of the line we found that the show had sold out, however, if we stick around there was a good possibility that we could fit in at the last moment. It turned out that gamble worked. Taking our seats I realized that I had absolutely no idea what Show Boat is about; leaving the theatre, I'm still a little foggy.

I think the best description is "uneven": Parts of the production were done quite well, and others seemed slapdash and poorly integrated. The costuming and set were both quite good and evoked the period, but the choreography and pacing just felt off (parts of the first act seemed nearly interminable, though the second act seemed to move more quickly). Musically, something just didn't feel right but I couldn't put my finger on it. Having the orchestra on stage throughout was nice, but the piano was a bit loud during, and just on the verge of drowning out, scenes of pure dialog. When it came to solos, all of the actors were quite pleasant to hear, but duets and ensemble pieces suffered from a general lack of cohesion.

The Wikipedia article (as the program offers no synopsis beyond the list of musical numbers) suggests at least two locations, a Riverboat and Chicago: The Riverboat was clear, the transition off the boat in Act II was abstract and not marked in any meaningful way: It took me far too long to piece that together.

Though rough around the edges, the show does deliver on basic entertainment including well-timed quips that garner plenty of laughter gingerly spread throughout.

Unquestionably, though, Brian Keith Johnson (whom I have heard sing twice with The Cleveland Orchestra -- during the 2010 Christmas Concerts and the Martin Luther King Concert earlier this year) stole the show belting an amazingly powerful Ol' Man River early in Act I.

Lincoln
*Tonight's: "A House scene? Hardly. Though this window and these lamps belonged to houses at the beginning of the century."

Two Years of Lincoln In Cleveland

2011-08-23T12:01:00.002-04:00

Today marks the two year anniversary of the great experiment known as Lincoln In Cleveland*, so I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who's stopped by to read. I've had more great experiences and met more interesting people by way of LincolnInCleveland than I can count. What I wrote a year ago still holds true.

[By the way, feel free to tell your friends... lincolnincleveland.com will get you here without having to remember the other stuff. And if you have any tips, suggestions, complaints, as always feel free to comment, or email L (just the letter L) at lincolnincleveland.com

From the beginning of 2010, I've had more than 10,500 visitors from 77 countries on 6 continents, including all 50 states and Washington DC. (I know that a large number of additional visitors read via RSS Subscriptions and more recently via syndication on InstantEncore's buzz, but I'm not able to collect accurate stats for those readers).

I moved to Cleveland a bit over 6 years ago--primarily because of a job I was offered, of course, but also because I was hooked on the level, quantity of variety of culture that Cleveland Offered. Before LincolnInCleveland, during the time MySpace was actually popular (remember that?) I had challenged myself to attend at least one performing arts event in Cleveland each week--every week--for a year. Some cities that may have been a daunting task; it was nearly trivial for Cleveland. (Through that experiment, I--literally--discovered a joy of classical music with The Cleveland Orchestra, tried opera and ballet: I'd like to see more of the latter, I still don't have a grand appreciation for the former.

That experiment wrapped up before LincolnInCleveland started but I'm still impressed by the sheer variety in Cleveland; there are more events on any given date that sound interesting than I could possibly hope [or afford] to attend. Cleveland and Northeast Ohio is an underappreciated gem (from inside and out), and I hope for the readers in Cleveland appreciate what we have, and those from outside may visit sometime and see what you're missing.

So thanks again for reading, and here's to Year #3

Lincoln

*- And this weekend was the fifth mensiversary of dating Rachel.

Back from St. Ignace and Mackianc Island, Michigan

2011-08-21T22:37:00.003-04:00

I've been wanting to make it up to my Grandparent's place in St. Ignace, and to get some Michigan driving on my car*. I also wanted to show my girlfriend Upper Michigan. This was the first weekend where (a) Rachel didn't have to work for the full weekend, and (b) my grandparents -- popular as ever -- had an open weekend. Finally (c) of this summer's Cleveland Orchestra/Blossom Festival program, this weekend seemed to be the least compelling (I wasn't terribly impressed by last season's performance and Joffery Ballet's labor issues earlier in the season had cast some doubt as well)

I picked Rachel up after she finished work early Friday Afternoon, and we stopped by her apartment to grab her bag, then my place to pick up the razor I forgot to throw in my bag the first time I left the house. With that we were on the road just after 3:45, and had an uneventful drive "Up North," crossing the Mackinac Bridge right about 11, and arriving at our St. Ignace destination just after 11:15. We were surprised to find one of my uncles and two cousins wrapping up a much longer vacation.

Introductions out of the way and quickly falling asleep, the first day of the trip was down. I think everyone sleeps a bit longer "up north" and we were certainly no exception, getting a leisurely start to Saturday morning. Being Rachel's first trip to Northern Michigan, we played tourists on Mackinac Island for most of the day Saturday: Starting with a light lunch at Fred's on the island, then a carriage tour for a general overview, and from there a bit of wandering.

The island's art museum is a relatively new addition to the tourist scene on the island, and was my first time visiting: All of the art on display (some of it for sale) depicts the island in some way giving the collection an appreciably narrow focus, and there were interesting surprises: The artist behind one of the more eye-catching works studied with the artist who created one of Rachel's favorite paintings Rest

While we decided to forgo the Fort on this visit, we found that the Art Museum ticket also grants access to the Market Street buildings we visited while working our way to the Grand Hotel -- my first time in those, I think, since my fist visit to the Island nearly 15 years ago. Popping into establishments along the way, we did our bit to support the local economy. Legs wearing thin, we hit the ferry back to the mainland and walked up the hill to my grandparents.

After a bit of socializing -- and a rather addictive game -- we adjourned to St. Ignace's boardwalk to enjoy the evening fireworks, before once again returning and retiring to another good "Up North" sleep.

This morning we woke up, once again, late in the morning and socialized a bit. I had originally thought about taking Rachel up to the Soo (Sault Ste. Marie) or Taquemenon (I'm virtually positive I've misspelled that) Falls... but I didn't consider the travel distances for either of those and after brief discussion both of those were saved for a later trip. Instead, we walked the St. Ignace Boardwalk to the end of downtown (and then a bit further), walked back window shopping and stopping for a late brunch (me) and lunch (her) before returning to say goodbyes and hitting the road south in between rain showers.

The drive back went a bit slower than the drive up because it seems like we hit a few chunks of blockage or clumps of slow moving cars that seemed to last forever. We plan to return sooner rather than later, and my grandparents' hospitality is second to none.

Some of the photos taken by Rachel can be found on my Flickr Photostream at http://www.flickr.com/photos/24046431@N07/sets/72157627489482560

Lincoln
*- Michiganders tend to drive like Californians: Fast, and with an average speed 10-15 MPH above the (70 MPH) posted speed limit. They're also typically more courteous than California drivers. Ohio drivers, on the other hand, generally give great deference to to the unreasonably low speed limits...and also linger in the left lane long after any passing has been completed. In other words, driving is just more fun in Michigan.

Cleveland Museum of Art: Bulletin of the Museum 1947-50

2011-08-17T18:28:00.005-04:00

[This is the fourth installment in a series; Part 1 covers 1915-20, Part 2, from 1920-29, and Part 3 from 1930-47]

I've been swamped at work, preparing for two trips to California, one that's already been rescheduled, and a trip to Michigan for work, plus a different trip for pleasure, so what better way than to relax by slipping 64 years into the Museum's history.

World War II has ended; and in 1947, depending on where you set the marker, the Cold War has either begun or is in its nascent stages. In Cleveland, Burke Lakefront Airport opened for operations; the Case School of Applied Sciences changed its name to the Case Institute of Technology (CIT would join with cross-street rival Western Reserve University 20 years later in 1967 to form Case Western Reserve University). "Untouchable" Eliot Ness was tht year's unsuccessful Republican mayoral candidate.

Television station WEWS, goes on the air on December 17, 1947 and is the first commercial television station in Ohio (16th in the country), it's call letters stand for Cleveland Press founder Edward Willis Scripps* -- perhaps best known as being one half of the Scripps-Howard media empire. WEWS is, to this day, Scripps-Howard's broadcast flagship... but enough background:

October 1947. Thirty Fourth year. Number Eight. On Friday, October 3rd, Lincoln Kirstein, president and director of The School of American Ballet will present a lecture on the Language of Classical Dance. In passing, he's credited as the "Founder of Ballet Society". In 1948, that organization will be renamed New York City Ballet. Oh, and by the way: He was a driving force behind the creation of Lincoln Center in New York -- though not the namesake.

December 1947. Thirty Fourth Year. Number Ten. Membership is rebounding from it's Depression- and World War-induced lows and now stands at 3,838 -- still below the 1920s peaks.

September 1948. Thirty Fifth Year. Number Seven Part One. The bulletin includes a centerfold. Not that kind of centerfold -- Franz Hals's Portrait of a Lady in a Ruff. More interesting, however is the announcement of Masterpieces from the Berlin Museums:

Cleveland is fortunate in being one of the centers of the country in which the
paintings from the Berlin Museums will be shown. They will be exhibited here
from October 6th through October 22nd. In the Spring of 1945, as the United
States armies advanced in Germany, they found a huge cache of art objects in a
salt mine at Mertkers, among which was an outstanding group of paintings, the
finest from the collection of the Kaiser-Fredrich-Museum and numerous examples
from the National-Galerie of Berlin. Shortly thereafter the group was brought to
this country for safekeeping and stored in the vaults of the National Gallery,
Washington DC until such time as it could be returned safely. Such arrangements
have now been made, and of the two hundred examples, half have already recrossed the Atlantic.

It is further noted that a special admission charge of $0.25 will be levied for the exhibition--to be used for the German Children's Relief Fund.

October 1948. Thirty Fifth Year. Number Eight. This month's centerfold, Coronation of the Virgin attributed to Pedro Nicolau-de-Albentosa. The museum's schedule of upcoming events is, understandably, weighted heavily to the Masterpieces from the Berlin Museums exhibition.

April 1949. Thirty Sixth Year. Number Four. The Jane Taft Ingalls Membership Endowment Fund of $1,100.00 (no zeros are unaccounted for) was established by Mrs. Albert S. Ingalls. The Ingalls name is well-associated with the museum via the Ingalls Library, but it does not appear that that association has been fully-forged in 1949. Walter Blodgett, the museum's first Curator of Musical Arts gives an extensive series of organ recitals -- He'll give well over 1,000 of them during his 31-year tenure at the museum. Membership is now reported as 3,962.

June 1949. Thirty Sixth Year. Number 6. Part 1. The museum is maturing as an independent organization, and another tie to its founders fades as John Huntington Hord, grandson of one founder passes.

October 1949. Thirty Sixth Year. Number 8. Those ties further slip as Mrs. Ralph King passes. "Elected a Benefactor by reason of her many gifts to the Museum, she actively carried on the deep interest which she and her husband, the late Ralph King, had shown from the earliest inception of the Museum. The Print Department is a monument to their generosity and to the concern for its development which they aroused in others." Rodin's The Thinker, outside the museum's South Entrance and purchased by the Kings for the Museum in 1917 is among 840 items the Kings donated to the Museum's collection.

December 1949. Thirty Sixth Year. Number Ten. Salmon P. Halle, co-founder of Cleveland's Halle Brothers department store, and like the Kings before him, and active supporter of the Museum's Print Department, passes. As an interesting tangent, actress Halle Berry's name was, reportedly, from her mother's fondness for the Halle's store. William G. Mather, today perhaps best known as the namesake for the Steamship William G Mather, permanently anchored near the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland is elected as Honorary President and Trustee Emeritus. President Harold T. Clark reports that "Mr. Mather asked to be relieved of the burdens of office, but the Trustees, in deferring regretfully to his request, wished to pay him this signal honor. He has served as President from February 14, 1936, as a Trustee from the twenty-fourth of November, 1919 and as a member of the Accessions Committee from July 13, 1915. In that last capacity, the Museum has had the advantage of his wisdom and taste since the year after its incorporation. Few people have had the influence which he has had in the development of the Museum's collections. As Honorary President, the Museum will be able to call oh him, as before, for advice and counsel.

Lincoln
*- For my California readers, this is the same Scripps who's name is scattered about the San Diego area: He retired there in 1890 and died in 1926.

Cleveland Orchestra: Jahja Ling Conducts Rachmaninoff and Prokofiev

2011-08-13T22:56:00.005-04:00

Rachmaninoff: Symphonic Dances, op. 45
Prokoiev: Piano Concerto No. 3 in C major, Op. 26 (Yuja Wang, piano)
Rimsky-Korsakov: Capriccio espagnol, Op. 34
The Cleveland Orchestra, Jahja Ling, conductor.

Frequently after leaving a concert it's difficult for me to select a favorite piece from the concert but usually even in those cases one piece is able to squeak across the finish line slightly ahead of the others. Rarely, the entire program is so compelling as to render any such ranking impossible. Tonight was one of those concerts.

Arriving at Blossom, I immediately noticed that the lawn seemed unusually full; as the concert time approached I noticed that both the lawn and pavilion appeared impressively full, particularly for a classical program. And that audience received quite a treat.

Opening the program tonight, Rachmaninoff's Symphonic Dances -- that composer's last work, was just sheer delight to listen to. In the first movement, two passages with particularly a particularly strong harp and strings (particularly violins, but since I was seated house left, that could be simply because I was closer) pulling me in emotionally. If the first movement pulled me in, the second movement held me tight, with a lone tear making an appearance in my left eye; particularly notable from this movement was a barely audible, ephemeral, pizzicato from the low strings. The final movement of the piece loosened its grip but was still captivating. I had closed my eyes and one passage, combined with the birds and crickets outside the pavilion felt like a storm rolling in on a secluded farm, finding peace, and going out with a bang.

(The one annoyance with tonight's program came during this piece, however: Mr. Ling took an interminable pause between the first and second movements, during which ushers seated latecomers: The overall effect was even more disruptive than inter movement applause)

Following intermission Ms. Yuja Wang joined the orchestra on stage for Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 3. While it seems like I've read quite a bit of Ms. Wang lately, it also seems some outlets have become more obsessed with her choice of clothing than her playing. And wow; as she was playing the rest of the world--and what she was wearing--was of little consequence. Both hypnotized and mesmerized throughout the piece it was as if time stood still; yet it was as if the piece had finished before I had time to breathe.

Like a hummingbird, Ms. Wang's hands seemed to hover just above the keyboard; her fingers barely visible and striking with precision; there were times when notes fluttered out of the piano but the finger producing that note didn't seem to move. Despite playing with impressive speed, neither the Orchestra nor Ms. Wang gave the slightest hint of a lack of confidence or a tentative touch.

Most shocking visually, there was a point -- I think it was during the second movement, but that part of the brain was disengaged -- there was a point where my direct line-of-sight turned tunnel vision included Ms. Wang at the piano, Mr. Ling on the podium and cellist Richard Weiss all doing their thing. Its the sort of thing where the visual so perfectly captured the audible that I wish I would have been able to snap a photograph.

Closing out the program, Rimsky-Korsakov's Capriccio was a light desert on great concert, with some great violin solos played by Concertmaster Peter Otto.

Lincoln
(note: The original version of this post incorrectly identified the cellist)

Cleveland Play House: Hanna Theater Happy Hour

2011-08-10T22:46:00.003-04:00

About a month ago I attended the Cleveland Play House's Annual General Meeting largely for the promise of tours of the Allen Theater.

At that meeting, I was reminded about the Happy Hour that was scheduled for August 10th and lured with the promise of additional tours. Now tours were not my primary motivation for attending tonight's happy hour -- the CPH Happy Hours are generally great events with a ton of....well, happy...socialization. I've been to more of them than I've blogged. There was additional motivation in that I was curious about the evolution over the span of a month.

Tonight was no exception the CPHers once again were warm hosts and great conversation persisted through the evening. Rachel, my girlfriend, joined me and though she has not yet attended a CPH performance (yes, we need to fix that) was warmly welcomed by all.

Tonight's tours were significantly more limited than those last month -- reportedly, construction progress at the new PlayhouseSquare home has made access to the house, where seats were installed shortly after the Annual General Meeting, by the touring public impracticable. Most impressively, the temporary wall has been torn down, and the flow from the old lobby to the new lobby feels great, even if there are still some temporary obstructions blocking the view.

Today, Artistic Director Michael Bloom talked to the group on Dodge Court looking at the new *(and much shorter and more direct) gerbil tube linking the garage to the rest of PlayhouseSquare and the Cleveland Play House's two new ground-up theatres.

Here's a shot of the back side of the theatres plus the new gerbil tube (right), taken by Rachel since I inexplicably let my cell phone in my car

Some random tidbits picked up along the way:
- Mr. Moore described the transition as moving from "your grandfather's Buick to a Chevy Cruise"
- Galileo, the first show of the new season in the new home is being built and rehearsed at 8500 Euclid and will be loaded in to the Allen on September 11th.
- CPH's new offices will be ready end-ish of September, and the hope is to be completely moved out of 8500 Euclid by October/November with December as a firm deadline.
- Quote selected by the playwright of Galileo: "Theater without beer is just a museum"
- GenNow is a new program designed to lure 20-40s young professionals to the great cultural features of Cleveland and will offer significantly discounted tickets along with a happy hour or similar social event for select performances.

I'm starting to type incoherently now, so I think that's it for this post, but I've stumbled across some old writeups on the Bulkley Building -- in which the Allen is located -- which I suppose I shall save for a later post.

Lincoln

Cleveland Orchestra: A Midsummer Night's Dream [and Meet the Musicians Picnic]

2011-08-07T22:09:00.005-04:00

Mendelssohn: Three movements from Incidental Music to A Midsummer Night's Dream, Op. 61 (Sherzo - Nocturne - Wedding March)
Bruch: Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Op. 26 (Baiba Skride, violin)
Strauss: Don Juan, Op. 20
Enescu: Romanian Rhapsody No. 1 in A major, Op. 11
Bramwell Tovey, conductor.

Earlier this week I received an emailed invitation to a picnic with musicians from The Cleveland Orchestra on the Blossom lawn before tonight's concert. I was on the fence (let's face it, I don't do well with strangers--and I had this vague vision of "Hi, I stalk your concerts weekly" being the only musterable conversation-- but after arriving and feeling the well-marked group it proved a great evening. The musicians were spectacularly hospitable, the conversation was good, and spanned all topics [including, perhaps most surprisingly, a discussion on weather Wendy's or White Castle was more representative of the American hamburger]... and it was just great to talk to the talented musicians of the Orchestra outside of the musical context with a very organic and free-form feeling.

In the group that I settled into, was Assistant Conductor Sasha Makila who's work I have admired but whom I had not yet met. In addition to being funny and charming, I appreciated his willingness to answering some questions on conducting that have had be wondering for a while.

It was a great opportunity and one that I hope will be repeated frequently: I made it to my seat in the pavilion just in time for the start of the concert. Plaguing the first half of the program more significantly than the second half, Mr. Tovey seemed really stiff and restrained, and as a result, the first two pieces on the program felt overly restrained and a bit stunted.

That said, In the Incidental Music from A Midsummer Night's Dream -- aptly placed on a midsummer's night -- Scherzo was beautiful, and Nocturne didn't hold my attention (that could be restrained conducting, or it could be the extremely loud unexplained crash that reverberated in the pavilion). The three selections concluded with one of the best known pieces in the classical repertoire--but the first time I've heard it played by an orchestra--the Wedding March. Though thoroughly enjoyable, was much quieter than, and the celebratory feel was a bit more muted I would have expected (Though I have to admit pondering what kind of fee the orchestra would require to play the Wedding March for an actual ceremony)

For Bruch's Violin Concerto, I have to say that Baiba Skride's performance was amazing. Her sound was fascinatingly sweet, and at some point early in the first movement the conscious brain switched off and my ears and subconscious just enjoyed the sound while I stared off into the Blossom rafters, lingering there through the second movement, and returning to the real world in the Allegro energico Finale -- wihch between the warm energy of the music and the Ms. Skride's sweet sound made my favorite movement of the evening.

Following intermission, Mr. Tovey seemed notably looser and less restrained than the first half of the program and the overall sound of the orchestra benefited greatly. I enjoyed Strauss's tone poem of the story of Don Juan: The bravado, the romantic chase, an orchestra that, to borrow the words of the program note, "charges along undaunted". As the piece approaches the end pauses can be seen as a dying breath (the program note's interpretation) or perhaps of something finally slipping out of grasp.

Closing out the program Enescu's Romanian Rhapsody No. 1. In his remarks to the audience, Mr. Tovey mentioned that the orchestra had last performed this work in the 1950s* (which would place it around the time of the composer's death). The first time I've heard any of Mr. Enescu's works, I thoroughly enjoyed it: With roots in folk music, the piece begins with sounds moving around the orchestra, building, and eventually involving the entire orchestra in a vibrant and energetic sound evocative of a folk dance.

Lincoln
*-Curiously, the program for this week's concert was missing "At A Glance" information for all four pieces, which would typically include orchestration, running time, and previous history of the piece with the Cleveland Orchestra.

Cleveland Museum of Art: Bulletin of the Museum 1930-47

2011-08-05T18:03:00.005-04:00

With another warm week under our collective belts and a tiring week in the office, I figured I'd unwind by returning to the stack of Cleveland Museum of Art Bulletins occupying a corner of my living room.

If you missed the last post, covering 1920 to 29 you might want to peak in, or if you have no idea what I'm rambling about you might be interested in the first installment.

Today's post covers two decades -- and a tumultuous period in American history: The end of the Great Depression and the beginning and end of World War II. Some scholars -- and at least one high school economics teacher -- link the two events, and logically it makes sense, but that's neither here nor there. The collection of discarded Bulletins was, sadly, rather light on the '30s, hence this post's two-decade span.

February 1934. Twenty First Year. Number 2, Part One. Prohibition ended with the repeal of the Eighteenth Amendment by the Twenty-first Amendment by a majority of states just two months prior to this issue -- incidentally Ohio was one of the three states that pushed the amendment to ratification on December 5, 1933. At the museum, a schedule of events shows Saturday "Radio Talks" on WHK at 5:45 PM. WHK, Ohio's oldest radio station, and the 15th oldest in the country still broadcasting, can be found today at AM 1420, though in the early 30s as a CBS affiliate you would have tuned to 1390 KHz.

The schedule of events also includes frequent Organ Music programs and discussions in the auditorium.

John Long Severance is the President of the Board (the hall that bears his name and still serves as the home of the Cleveland Orchestra opened three years prior); and William Mathewson Milliken had also begun his Directorship of the museum at the beginning of the decade -- both will leave lasting imprints on the museum, and as I learned this afternoon, Mr. Milliken also headed the Public Works of Art Project for Region 9 of the Federal Works Progress Administration (WPA).

The Museum's Education staff totals nine. The library staff of seven includes a Miss Thwing -- and I have to wonder about her relationship to the Thwing Center that now stands just a few hundred feet from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Admission is still just $0.25.

December 1935. Twenty Second Year. Number Ten. The Autumn flower show this year paired flowers in paintings and was describes as "one of the most beautiful exhibits ever held in the museum" and included five paintings by Georgia O'Keeffe--this being barely 20 years after her work first gained widespread acclaim. Among those thanked for their participation, Mr. and Mrs. Frank H. Ginn -- Mr. Ginn, like Mr. Severance, had a close association with the Cleveland Orchestra, this time memorialized in the elegant Ginn Suite at Severance Hall.

The Bulletin offers five upcoming concerts in the "Cleveland Concert Course," sponsored by but not taking place at the Museum. For information, call CHerry 5805 (Today that number would be 241-5805*, but Google doesn't turn up any current results). Radio programs are listed for WTAM and WGAR including the Art Museum Drama. (WTAM is still around, and the WGAR call letters survive in Cleveland as WGAR-FM, but WGAR-AM is now WNKR). Total membership stands at 3,554 -- rather shocking as in October 1929 membership was reported as 6,365, and in 1922 the Board had hoped for membership of 10,000 by the end of the year.

March 1943. Thirtieth Year. Number Three. As if the membership numbers from 1935 weren't disappointing enough, the reported number is now just 3,113. For the first time since the building opened, hours and admission prices have changed: 9AM to 5PM except: Closed Mondays, Wednesdays until 10PM, Sundays 1PM to 6PM, and Friday Evenings 7PM to 10PM during Lecture Season. The Museum is closed July 4, Thanksgiving, and December 25. (Today the Museum is still closed Mondays, otherwise open daily 10AM to 5PM except until 9PM Wednesdays and Fridays). Then as now, admission is free at all times.

June, September, November, 1943; and March 1947 (Thirtieth Year, Number Six, Seven, Nine and Thirty-Fourth Year, Number Three, respectively) don't offer anything particularly noteworthy, with a relatively stable Museum organization and in-depth analyses on particular artworks. In September, Membership is reported as 3,008.

June 1947. Thirty-Fourth Year. Number Six. Part One. Miss Neil G. Sill, librarian of the Museum since February 1, 1920, retired as of April 15, 1947. The event is reported in the Bulletin "Miss Sill several years ago asked to be relieved of her responsibilities, but was generously willing to remain until after the war crisis. She submitted her resignation on December 1, 1946 to take effect at such time as the Trustees should decide, but no later than the spring." -- I find it hard to imagine, in the 21st Century someone staying in a job "several years" longer than they would otherwise desire.

President Milliken writes that "The strain of carrying the Library through the war years has made it seem imperative that, for a time at least, she have a period of rest and relief from responsibility. Miss Sill, during the years she has been in charge of the Library has built it up so that it is one of the outstanding special libraries in the country. Her ability in building up important representation in the various sections of the Library under her control and her wisdom in the selection and purchase of books have been outstanding contributions to the Museum's growth".

And I wonder if there are any modern markers of Ms. Sill's impact on the Museum's Ingalls Library during her 27-year reign early in the dawn of the museum?

And since I've wandered through these few issues for far longer than I originally set out to do, I suppose I shall save the rest of the last three years of the decade for the next post.

Lincoln

*- For completely tangential trivia, the 216-241 Exchange is one of several dozen served from the Ohio Bell Building on Huron Avenue, is a great example of Modern American Perpendicular Gothic Architecture and is frequently cited as the inspiration for the Daily Planet Building in Superman.

Cleveland Orchestra: From Russia With Love

2011-07-30T23:05:00.004-04:00

Kent/Blossom Chamber Orchestra
Sibelius: Suite from Kuolema
Prokofiev: Classical Symphony (Symphony No. 1), Op. 25
Sasha Makila, conductor.

The Cleveland Orchestra
Borodin: Overture to Prince Igor
Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35 (Viviane Hagner, violin)
Stravinsky: Scherzo a la russe
David Zinman, conductor.

The Cleveland Orchestra and Kent/Blossom Chamber Orchestra
Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition (transcribed for Orchestra by Ravel)
David Zinman, conductor.

"What do all great conductors have in common?" one musicians' joke asks. The answer: "They're all dead." While I'm not qualified to apply that label to the decidedly not-dead Mr. Sasha Makila I have thoroughly enjoyed each piece I've had the pleasure of hearing him conduct -- Mr. Makila coaxes a wonderful sound out of the orchestras under his baton. Last week he was gracious enough to answer a few questions via Twitter about this concert (you can find him @sashamakila). Although restricted by Twitter's 140 character limit, I always find it interesting to hear the conductor's thoughts on music. In tonight's concert, for example, he mentioned that while the Prokofiev is "really difficult technically," the Kent/Blossom musicians had not heard the Sibelius before, adding a bit of challenge.

And now we make it to the music: In the Suite from Sibelius's Kuolema (assembled posthumously), the Valise triste was my favorite movement with an elegant feel and happy beginnings, though turning dark towards the ends. The third movement, Canzonetta, felt deeply romantic -- I could almost picture a woman walking down a dark hallway with rose petals for added measure. The fourth and final movement, Valse romantique, mixed with happily chirping birds in the Blossom Pavilion, made me imagine a grand waltz in a garden.

While I enjoyed both of the Kent/Blossom pieces on the program, Prokofiev's Classical Symphony wins by a hair, and covers a range or emotion from a very full-bodied and happy first movement, to a more muted moving second movement -- with an occasional outburst. In the fourth movement-- the note I scribbled in my program was "sharply moving; a chase" -- a moth in the pavilion seemed to be moving with the music: Soaring at the crescendo, then diving as the sound faded.

Following the first intermission, The Cleveland Orchestra, under the baton of David Zinman took over the Blossom Stage with Bordoin's Overture to Prince Igor; the piece had a rather dull opening before seeming to wake a sleeping giant and provoking the full force of the orchestra, if only momentarily.

Christian Tetzlaff had been scheduled to play the solo for Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto, but "due to travel complications," Vivianne Hagner stepped in to play the same piece in his stead, and with what I understand was very short notice. Unfortunately, this was the least compelling of tonight's program -- the orchestral sections felt restrained, dull, and like it was missing a je ne sais quois (While reading the program note I had a sense of de ja vu -- this piece was last played at Blossom just about a year ago).

In sharp contrast, Stravinsky's Scherzo a la russe (Scherzo in the Russian Style) was lighthearted lively fun, thought the rather abrupt ending was a bit startling. Reading the program note I learned that Stravinsky spent a time in Hollywood during World War II, though all of the projects that he would have composed music for fell through.

Lastly, Ravel's orchestration of Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition was the second reason for choosing tonight's program over tomorrow's Broadway-inspired program [I was really on the fence!], as that piece at Blossom several years ago was one of the indirect inspirations for this blog. Although I've since found that I prefer Vladmir Ashkenzay's orchestration, the Ravel orchestration played tonight is much more common and well known.

The opening Promenade is a theme that recurs several times throughout the piece though slightly transfigured based on the impressions of the preceding work: Though the opening Promenade with a horn declaration giving way to a firm string statement is my favorite single "movement", the use of this throughout the work to give the sense of the viewer working their way from painting to painting around a gallery contributes to my fondness. Between promenades, of course, are musical representations of the paintings of Viktor Hartmann. Every time I hear Pictures at an Exhibition, those representations seem more coherent and it's easier to pick out the underlying painting: Tonight, for example, the lumbering polish Ox cart quietly and slowly approaching, gaining full focus (with the full orchestra) then quietly disappearing over the horizon had new found clarity. Likewise, Lemoges le marche (La grand nouvelle), took on a new dimension of gossip and excitement, hustle and bustle of an open market.

Lincoln