Festival Casts Cincinnati in a Starry Light

(first published in Express Cincinnati, October, 2011)

C is for constellation.

C is also for chamber music, collaboration and the new Constella Festival of Music and Fine Arts, premiering Oct. 13 through Nov. 8 at locations throughout Cincinnati.

 Founded by violinist and Cincinnati resident Tatiana Berman,

Tatiana Berman

Constella (Italian for “constellation”) is a slice of Cincinnati’s super-rich arts scene.  The festival comprises 13 concerts in 27 days featuring the city’s finest chamber ensembles, a starry list of guest artists, including violinists Hilary Hahn, Joshua Bell and Philippe Quint, pianist Alexander Toradze, oboist Liang Wang, jazz saxophonist Ted Nash and male soprano Michael Maniaci, and multi-media events, including exhibitions of visual art.  (Note: chamber music is usually defined as music for a small ensemble, with one player to a part.)

“This could be to Cincinnati what Spoleto is to Charleston,” said Cincinnati arts patron William Friedlander at a presentation introducing the festival earlier this year.  (Friedlander owns a condo in Charleston, S.C. where the world famous Spoleto Festival USA takes place each spring.)  Berman’s vision and energy are very much responsible for that assessment.  An internationally known performing artist (and former wife of former Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra music director Paavo Järvi), Berman had the “single-handed and single-minded ability to will the festival into a high level, first year existence,” said arts supporter John Spencer, a board member of Chamber Music Cincinnati.

“Two years ago, when the idea first emerged, few took seriously her announced intent to start a festival,” said Spencer.  “She had never run anything, let alone managed something so complex.  Overlooked was her very high intelligence and her talent as a fund-raiser,” he said.  “The quality of the first year’s performers and programs is making people take notice.”

 Constella now has 501(c) (3) status, a paid festival manager, Le Anne Anklan, a board of six and three unpaid staff members, including artistic director Berman.  How was such a thing possible?  “She is very hard to say no to,” said Spencer quoting one of Cincinnati’s leading arts philanthropists.

 Berman, 31, just back from performing in several international festivals in Europe, has been living in Cincinnati for seven years.  (A native of Moscow, she is a 2004 graduate of London’s Royal College of Music.)  “From the very beginning, I was aware of just how much music and art is presented and explored here.  After a while, I realized that many people outside of the city, nationally and internationally, are not aware of the variety of presenting organizations, visual artists and performing chamber music groups based in Cincinnati.  I thought it would be good to have a festival showcasing the multi-faceted artistic life of the Queen City.”

 Several concerts are being presented exclusively by Constella, the rest by groups participating under its umbrella (some with special funding by Constella).  They include Chamber Music Cincinnati, Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, Catacoustic Consort, concert:nova, Vocal Arts Ensemble, Linton Chamber Music Series, Classical Revolution and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra Chamber Players.

There will be exhibits by members of Cincinnati’s visual arts community, including Brazee Street Studios in Oakley and Fifth Street Galleries.  There will be world premieres.  Constella has commissioned Nash to write a double quartet for strings and jazz quartet to celebrate its inaugural season.  Concert:nova and Cincinnati Ballet have joined forces to present Prokofiev’s Quintet, Op. 39, and Astor Piazzolla’s “Histoire du Tango” in world premiere choreography by a team from the Ballet.

Hilary Hahn

The festival opens at 7:30 p.m. October 13 in Memorial Hall with “Classic Gems and Contemporary Miniatures,” a recital by superstar violinist Hahn and pianist Valentina Lisitsa.  On the program are sonatas by Bach and Beethoven and excerpts from “In 27 Pieces: The Hilary Hahn Encores,” a set of short works commissioned by Hahn to serve as encores for her concerts.  Cincinnati artists Sandra Gross and Lisa Merida-Paytes are co-curators of a show to go with it entitled “Encore,” consisting of small art works in a variety of media.

“It’s all people who kind of push the envelope a little bit,” said Gross, owner of Brazee Street Studios. “Everybody has to work six inches by six inches (or less).” Gross, a lifelong Cincinnatian, calls Constella “amazing.  I hope Cincinnati gets it.  Cincinnati is always ten years behind.  Everyone is talking about this inter-disciplinary approach, but I don’t see it happening in Cincinnati very often.”

Also on the Constella lineup:

Liang Wang

Oct. 14, 6:30 p.m. Fifth Third Bank Theater, Aronoff Center for the Performing Arts.  “Cincinnati Connections.”  New York Philharmonic principal oboist Liang Wang, who formerly held the same position in the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (2005-2006), returns to make music with Berman, flutist Jasmine Choi, oboist Dwight Parry (both CSO principal players), violist Yael Senamaud-Cohen and cellist Nathaniel Chaitkin in works by Tomaso Albinoni, Amy Beach, Mozart and Matthew Arnold.

Oct. 15. 7 p.m. Mickey Jarson Kaplan Performance Studio, Cincinnati Ballet Center. “Piazzolla, Prokofiev and Pointe Shoes.” Concert:nova and members of the Cincinnati Ballet and Exhale Dance Tribe perform Prokofiev’s Quintet, Op. 69, Rodgers and Hart’s “My Funny Valentine” and Piazzolla’s “Histoire du Tango.”  The Prokofiev and Piazzolla will feature new choreography by Heather Britt, Jimmy Cunningham, Stephen Jacobsen Missy Lay Zimmer and Andrew Hubbard of Cincinnati Ballet.  “Collaborations tend to allow artists to think outside of the box, take new risks, and explore new territory.   That is what we will be doing for Constella.  I am looking forward to seeing how it unfolds,” said Britt.

Alexander Toradze

Oct. 16. 7:30 p.m. Erich Kunzel Center for Arts and Education. “Russian Romantic Piano.”  Pianist Alexander Toradze and members of his famous Piano Studio, including Nikita Abrosimov and Sangwon Kim, gold medalists, respectively, of the 2011 and 2010 World Piano Competitions (held in Cincinnati), will perform works by Sergei Rachmaninoff and other Russian masters in the grand, romantic manner. An exhibit featuring artists from 5^th Street Gallery will take place concurrently.

St. Lawrence String Quartet

Oct. 18. 8 p.m. Robert J. Werner Recital Hall, University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. Chamber Music Cincinnati presents the St. Lawrence String Quartet in Mozart’s Quartet in D Minor, K.421. Erich Korngold’s Quartet No. 3 in D Major, Op.34 and John Adams’ String Quartet (2008).

CSO Chamber Players

Oct. 21. 7:30 p.m. Mayerson Theater, Erich Kunzel Center for Arts and Education. “Russian Rhapsody.” CSO Chamber Players perform Gliere’s Eight Duos for Violin and Cello, Op.39;  Shostakovich’s String Quartet No. 8, Op.110; and Prokofiev’s Quintet, Op. 69.

Vocal Arts Ensemble

Oct. 22. 5 p.m. Memorial Hall. “American Icons at 100.”  The 24-voice Vocal Arts Ensemble led by music director Donald Nally performs works by Samuel Barber and Gian Carlo Menotti in honor of their centenaries.

Menahem Pressler

Oct. 23. 4 p.m. First Unitarian Church. Linton Chamber Music Series. Pianist Menahem Pressler (founding member of the Beaux Arts Trio), violinist Alexander Kerr (former concertmaster of the CSO and Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra), violist Paul Neubauer (Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center) and cellist Eric Kim (former principal cellist of the CSO) perform piano quartets by Mozart, Joaquin Turina and Dvorak.

Oct. 23. 8 p.m. Northside Tavern. Classical Revolution. Classical Revolution is part of an international movement to bring classical music to bars, cafes and the like.  Professional musicians and students perform a variety of works, sometimes ad hoc, in a relaxed atmosphere free of charge.  The Cincinnati chapter holds an event each month at Northside Tavern.

Michael Maniaci

Oct. 28. 7:30 p.m. Church of the Advent, Walnut Hills. Catacoustic Consort. Michael Maniaci.  A world renowned opera star, Cincinnati native Maniaci performs music of the baroque, Renaissance and classic periods for male soprano. He will be heard in songs by Purcell, Caccini and Monteverdi and arias by Bach and Handel, accompanied by  bass viola da gamba, baroque violin and harpsichord.  Of Constella, Catacoustic founder/director Annalisa Pappano said “This is what Cincinnati needs: for us to recognize how rich, vibrant and varied our Queen City is and to take ownership and delight in it.”

Ted Nash

Oct. 29. 8 and 10 p.m. Blue Wisp Jazz Club. “Double Deal: String + Jazz Quartets.” Ted Nash, saxophone. Nash’s “Suite Ivette” for string and jazz quartets, commissioned by the festival, will receive its world premiere. Nash describes it as “a cross between classical and jazz music.  There are tango and other South American influences.”  Improvisation will be an “important part of it,” he said.  “I have some open sections which can feature any of the musicians.  I am hoping that at least one of the string players will improvise.” 

Philippe Quint

Oct. 30. 2 p.m. Mayerson Theater, Erich Kunzel Center for Arts and Education. Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra.  Philippe Quint, violin.  The first concert of the CCO’s new season (“American Perspectives”) will feature music composed during Thomas Jefferson’s visit to Paris.  Two-time Grammy nominee Quint will perform Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 5.  Also on the program, to be conducted by CCO music director Mischa Santora, is Haydn’s Symphony No. 82 (“The Bear”).

Joshua Bell

   Nov. 8. 7:30 p.m. Memorial Hall. “An Evening with Joshua Bell.”  The final concert of the 2011 Constella Festival features famed violinist Joshua Bell who will perform works by Schubert, Prokofiev and Cesar Franck accompanied by pianist Sam Haywood.  There will be an art exhibit by several prominent Cincinnati artists.

Tickets for Constella events, including Constella passes, and information about the 2011 Constella Festival, are available at www.constellafestival.org.

 For individual concerts, visit www.cincychamber.org (Oct. 18), www.cincinnatisymphony.org (Oct. 21), www.vaecinci.org (Oct. 22), www.lintonmusic.org (Oct. 23), www.catacoustic.com (Oct. 28) and www.ccocincinnati.org (Oct. 30).