Pops Crowd Loves McDonald

Posted: Oct 22, 2013 - 11:42:04 AM in: reviews_2013

Michael McDonald

It was one hit after another as vocalist/multi-Grammy-winner Michael McDonald brought his soulful act to the Cincinnati Pops Oct. 18 at Music Hall. There were songs by McDonald going back to his Doobie Brothers days, as well as hits by hits by Carole King, Marvin Gaye, Ketty Lester and -- a favorite from his childhood, McDonald said -- Brenda Lee. Pops conductor John Morris Russell led with gusto. (first published in the Cincinnati Enquirer Oct. 21, 2013)
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Piano Quartets Open Concerts on Clifton

Posted: Oct 21, 2013 - 8:38:05 PM in: reviews_2013

left to right: Tatiana Berman, Yael Senamaud-Cohen, Nathaniel Chaitkin and Julie Spangler

Concerts on Clifton at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion offers a fine series each year in Scheuer Chapel on the HUC campus in Clifton. This year's season opened with piano quartets by Mahler, Mendelssohn and Paul Schoenfield, whose Piano Quartet: "Carolina Reveille," was also a Cincinnati premiere.
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Goodyear's Star Shines for Constella

Posted: Oct 21, 2013 - 3:39:47 PM in: reviews_2013

Stewart Goodyear

Pianist Stewart Goodyear brought his facility and musicianship to the 2013 Constella Festival Oct. 19 in Memorial Hall in Cincinnati. On the program was music of "three summits," J.S. Bach, Beethoven and Alban Berg. All were scaled with ease by Goodyear, including Beethoven's "Diabelli" Variations.
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Mazzoli, Lang Intrigue CCM Audience

Posted: Oct 18, 2013 - 4:31:59 PM in: reviews_2013

Composer Missy Mazzoli, composer-in-residence with the 2013 Constella Festival in Cincinnati, concluded her residency with a program of her music Oct. 16 at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. Performing was CCM's Café Momus Contemporary Music Ensemble. Also on the program was a challenging (in more ways than one) piece by David Lang of New York's Bang on a Can.
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Missy Mazzoli in Kentucky

Posted: Oct 17, 2013 - 4:38:10 PM in: reviews_2013

Missy Mazzoli

Missy Mazzoli, composer-in-residence of the 2013 Constella Festival of Music and Fine Arts in Cincinnati, came from Brooklyn to Northern Kentucky University Oct. 15 for a concert of her music. With digital art projected onto the 285 micro-tiles on the wall of NKU's Digitorium, it was a wholly captivating experience. Performing were NKU faculty and students.
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Classical Rev Rocks Constella Festival

Posted: Oct 15, 2013 - 3:56:14 PM in: reviews_2013

Il Troubadore, left to right, clarinetist Leonie Leduc, percussionist Paul Radecki, mandolinist Robert Bruce Scott and cellist Jon Silpayamanant

Classical Revolution has been a part of Cincinnati's Constella Festival of Music and Fine Art since its beginning in 2011. The 2013 edition featured Classical Rev again, this time complete with Klingons.
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Weilerstein Caps Cincinnati Residency with Haydn

Posted: Oct 13, 2013 - 1:49:58 PM in: reviews_2013

Alisa Weilerstein

Cellist Alisa Weilerstein is artist-in-residence with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra during the 2013-14 season. Capping a week of master classes, visits to area schools and young patients at Cincinnati Children's Hospital, she performed Haydn's Cello Concerto No. 1 in C Major with the CSO led by guest conduct Asher Fisch. (first published in the Cincinnati Enquirer Oct. 12, 2013)
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Berman a Star in Coleman Premiere

Posted: Oct 12, 2013 - 4:13:29 PM in: reviews_2013

"Red Tatiana," acrylic and silkscreen on canvas by Andrew VanSickle

A highlight of the 2013 Constella Festival of Music and Fine Arts in Cincinnati was the "Cincinnati Connections" performance by violinist/Constella artistic director Tatiana Berman and Paavo Järvi, conductor laureate of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. Centerpiece of the concert was the world premiere of the Violin Concerto by New York composer Charles Coleman, commissioned by Constella and written for Berman. - [Read more]

Three's a Crowd (Pleaser)

Posted: Oct 11, 2013 - 5:10:27 PM in: reviews_2013

left to right: Zachary DePue, Ranaan Meyer and Nicolas Kendall

Time for Three proved a delectable season-opener for the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra Oct. 9 in Corbett Theater at the School for Creative and Performing Arts. Violinists Zachary DePue and Nicolas Kendall and double bassist Ranaan Meyer not only entertained royally, but helped celebrate the CCO's 40th anniversary season. (first published in the Cincinnati Enquirer Oct. 10, 2013)
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Roig-Francoli's Birthday Concert Engrossing

Posted: Oct 10, 2013 - 12:11:07 AM in: reviews_2013

Miguel Roig-Francoli

Miguel Roig-Francoli, professor of theory and composition at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, received a special gift for his 60th birthday, a concert of his chamber music Oct. 8 in CCM's Werner Recital Hall. Performing were CCM colleagues, friends and his wife, violinist Jennifer Roig-Francoli.
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Linton Music Opens with Upbeat Program

Posted: Oct 8, 2013 - 4:54:44 PM in: reviews_2013

The 2013 Linton Music Series opened with a Cincinnati premiere, Stanley Silverman's Piano Trio No. 2, "Reveille," performed by the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio. The upbeat program also featured Beethoven's early Quintet for Piano, Winds and Horn, Op. 16, and Dvorak's Piano Quintet in A Major. Joining the KLR Trio were members of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.
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Jimmy Heath Leads Off Constella Festival Events

Posted: Oct 6, 2013 - 10:04:57 PM in: reviews_2013

Jimmy Heath

Jimmy Heath led off the Constella-produced segment of the 2013 Constella Festival of Music and Fine Arts Oct. 3 in Corbett Auditorium at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. The jazz legend performed with the Cincinnati Contemporary Jazz Orchestra in his own music and arrangements of Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Billy Strayhorn and Jimmy Dorsey.
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Color Infuses CSO Program

Posted: Oct 6, 2013 - 5:09:32 PM in: reviews_2013

Robert Sullivan

The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra welcomed principal trumpet Robert Sullivan back to the Music Hall stage Oct. 4. Currently on leave of absence as professor of trumpet at Northwestern University, Sullivan performed the CSO premiere of William Perry's Trumpet Concerto. The color-drenched program also included Rimsky-Korsakov's "Russian Easter Overture," the Symphony No. 2 of Jean Sibelius and the CSO premiere of John Estacio's "Borealis," (first published in the Cincinnati Enquirer Oct. 5, 2012)
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Brass Light Up St. Mary's

Posted: Oct 4, 2013 - 3:14:39 PM in: reviews_2013

The opening program of concert:nova's 2013-2014 season welcomed visitors from Germany, the Harmonic Brass of Munich. The concert, second event in the 2013 Constella Festival of Music and Fine Arts, took place in Cincinnati's historic Old St. Mary's Church, built by German immigrants in the nineteenth century.
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Beethoven Soars in Miró Quartet's Hands

Posted: Oct 3, 2013 - 2:11:35 PM in: reviews_2013

The Miró Quartet made a auspicious opening for Chamber Music Cincinnati's 2013-2014 season and the 2013 Constella Festival of Music and Fine Arts. Highlight of their program was Beethoven's Quartet in B-flat Major, Op. 130, complete with Grosse Fuge finale.
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