ChamberFest Cleveland: A Gala to Benefit

Brahms: Rhapsody in B minor, Op. 79*
Brahms: Allegro appassionato from Sonata for Clarinet and Piano No. 2 in E-flat major, Op. 120*^
Franck: Allegretto poco mosso from Sonata in A major for violin and piano.*%
Chopin: Barcarolle in F sharp major, Op. 60*
Scriabin: Etude Op. 2 No. 1*
Scriabin: Two Poems, Op. 63*
Scriabin: Etude OP. 42 No. 5*
Bartok: Contrasts for Clarinet, Violin, and Piano*^%
*- Garrick Ohlsson, Piano; ^- Franklin Cohen, Clarinet; Diana Cohen, Violin
At Canterbury Golf Club, Shaker Heights.

It's been about a month since the last Cleveland Orchestra concert -- and since I've been burning the candle at both ends (and sometimes in the middle) with work, I've enjoyed the quiet time. I return to Severance Hall tomorrow night, but tonight was the magical Gala Concert to benefit ChamberFest Cleveland, entering its second season. Long-time readers of my blog know my appreciation for the talents of the Cohen family, and arrick Ohlsson contributed wonderfully to a flawless evening.

While the piano used for this evening's performance was not the largest, Garrick Ohlsson dominated the room and the performance, starting with the bouquet of fragrant notes that overflowed the room like the audience assembled for the performance. Brahms's Rhapsody in B minor was filled with tension and release like a passionate romance -- from a fiery embrace to a quiet walk in seclusion.

Franklin Cohen joined Garricck Ohlsson for the Allegro appassionato movement from Sonata for Clarinet and Piano No. 2 and the sensation shifted from one of romance to one of  a dinner between long-lost friends telling the same story with a slightly different line -- and it seemed like Mr. Cohen and Mr. Ohlsson were completely at ease with each other. That ease, it turns out, may be attributable to the two musicians growing up in the same town and attending Julliard with only two years between them.

Diana Cohen traded places with her father for Cesar Franck's Sonata in A Major and I found the combination of the light and lofty notes from her violin an interesting contrast to the grounded, earthy sounds of the piano, which combined with this weekend's fine weather left me imagining a balloon (the violin) traversing the countryside (the  piano) -- until the violin gets caught in a tree, and after some anxious playing, breaks free.

After three pieces filled with imagery, Chopin's Barcarolle in F sharp major was beautiful solely from the notes rising above the piano and filling the room; at one point I looked to my left at Rachel -- engrossed in the music -- and couldn't readily determine which was more beautiful.

Mr. Ohlsson provided a fascinating and engaging conversation with the audience where he discussed Scarbin in the context of Chopin, and got sufficiently excited to warrant an insertion from Scrabin's early period -- Opus 2 Number 1 -- over the objection of none of the asembled group. The two poems left me somewahat wondering, but the pianist's comment at the end captures it better than anything I could have: "Do you find it remarkable that 100 years later, this musicstill sounds new somehow?"

The last piece on the program were the three movements from Bartok's Contrasts for Clarinet, Violin and Piano -- a peice that Messers Cohen and Ohlsson first played together at Lincoln Center some 45 years ago while students in New York -- Mr. Ohlsson reportedly has the original music with Mr. Cohen's name and childhood address stamped on it. The emotions evoked ranged from the meandering, uncertanty with stormy rage of the first movement, to foreboding in the second movemnt, and an intense, boncy jaunt through city traffic -- with hints of the jazz era -- at the conclusion.

Lincoln

Franklin & Diana Cohen & Friends (Musical Surprise Concert, First Unitarian Church of Cleveland)

Beethoven: Piano Trip in B-flat, Op. 11²³ª
Paul Ben-Haim: Song without Words²ª
Mendelssohn: Andante con moto tranqullo movement from Trio No. 1 in D minor, Op. 49¹³ª
Levkovich: Adagio from Trio #1²³ª
Brahms: Clarinet Trio, Op. 114²³ª
¹- Diana Cohen, violin; ²- Franklin Cohen, clarinet; ³- Tanya Ell, cello; ª- Carolyn Warner, piano
In the Sanctuary of The First Unitarian Church of Cleveland.

In what has become an annual tradition (last year and the year before), Cleveland Orchestra member and Clarinetest Franklin Cohen joined with his daughter tallented violinist and Richmond Symphony Concertmaster Diana Cohen as well as other friends to honor the memory of their late wife and mother Lynette Diers Cohen through an afternoon of music.

Along with three of the musicans whom I hold in the greatest esteem (Mr. and Ms. Cohen and Cleveland Orchestra cellist Tanya Ell) and who have in years previous, this year brought the addition of fellow Orchestra member pianist Carolyn Warner.

One of the things I love about concerts like this is in addition to the more intimate nature of chamber music generrally is that the hair gets let down and you get a bit more of a peak at the musicians' personalities and history. This evening Mr. Cohen related a story about the first concert engagement where he, the late Mrs. Cohen, and Diana were scheduled to play Mr. Cohen found himself so preoccupied by making sure young Ms. Cohen had everything she needed that he forgot to bring his clarinets. Needless to say, that concert started a bit late.

This afternoon there was no such delay and the concert was an entirely decadent burst of music on a gray day. First up on the program was Beethoven's Piano Trio for clarinet, cello and piano: The first movement was full of life and set a deliciously sweet tone to the afternoon before diving into a second movement which was set off by a profoundly mournful cello that was embraced -- almost as if the arms were firmly wrapped around -- by the clarinet. In the third movement, the piano lead a happier mood with a celebratory theme that bounced from clarinet to cello and back before turning stormy and a bit more wistful

An addition to the printed program, Mr. Cohen introduced composer Paul Ben-Haim as one of the forefathers of Israeli music and played two of his pieces (Based on the introduction I believe -- but am not positive -- that they were from Song Without Words. Please correct me.) the two, played by Mr. Cohen and Ms. Warner, brought a haunting combination of songs and a lingering/wandering feeling.

Last before intermission, the Andante con moto tranquillo movement from Mendelssohn's Trio in D Minor which certainly brought forth a feeling of beautiful tranquility and had a sweet harmony between the Ms. Cohen's violin and Ms. Ell's cello supported by beautiful work by Ms. Warner at the keyboard.

A free-will offering was made and Diana Cohen announced that the proceeds would go toward a fund in her mother's memory at ChamberFest Cleveland (see here for my recap of the inaugural benefit) and after intermission the program started to wind down beginning with Adagio from Dimitri Levkovitch's Trio #1, which I found as a tremendously expressive piece that propelled me to a delightfully meditative space and I felt that the playing was exceptionally strong in a concert full of strong playing.

Before the final piece on the program Mr. Cohen made the apt observation that while dedicatications were being made, as a musician really every note he played is dedicated to someone and has bits of the essence of those who have taught and shaped him and the same is true of his students. And that was a wonderful sentiment, the program closed on Brahms' Clarinet Trio. The first movement was beautiful but had a more relaxed sound than the adagio tempo notation would have lead me to expect. and the second movement adagio was achingly sweet and tender. The third movement sweet enough that I let myself just get lost in the music and the analytical part of my brain stepped out for the movement. The final allegro had more of a conclusive feeling  and seemed to be a natural end to the tension of the piece and a delightful end to a fantastic concert.

Lincoln

ChamberFest Cleveland: A Gala Concert to Benefit

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