From Music in Cincinnati

Constella Festival 2012 Leads Off with "Fantasy"

Posted in: 2012

By Mary Ellyn Hutton
Feb 20, 2012 - 2:47:32 PM

The Constella Trio (left to right: cellist Ilya Finkelshteyn, violinist Tatiana Berman and violist Yael Senamaud-Cohen)

Cincinnati's new Constella Festival of Music and Fine Arts was a resounding success earlier this season.

Inaugurated in October, the three-week festival brought violinist Joshua Bell, violinist Hilary Hahn and other stellar artists to town, and also spotlighted the best on the local scene, including collaborations with Chamber Music Cincinnati, the Linton Chamber Music Series and the Vocal Arts Ensemble. Performances were held in a variety of venues throughout the city, some in conjunction with exhibits by local artists.

Plans are well underway for Constella 2012, which will take place next fall.

To raise awareness of the event, Constella presented a “Fantasy” evening Feb. 16 at Bromwell Gallery on Fourth Street downtown. Guests were treated to wine, hors d’oeuvres, desserts and a performance by the Constella Trio -- violinist/Constella artistic director Tatiana Berman, violist Yael Senamaud-Cohen and cellist Ilya Finkelshteyn.

left to right: Megan Selnick, Tatiana Berman and Tracey Lynn Conrad

Paintings by Dan Dutton from his exhibition "Evoked Imaginations" (inspired by Russian fairy tales) adorned the walls. There were scenes from “The Firebird” and a beast (ogre) that served as the perfect foil for beauties Berman, Tracey Lynn Conrad and Megan Selnick to pose in front of (Conrad and Selnick are Constella's special events coordinators).

Andrey Kozakov

Also on display were paintings by Evan Hildebrandt and an intricately carved wine cabinet by Andrey Kozakov, among others.

The Constella Trio, which made its debut in January, 2011 in a special concert at Hebrew Union College, performed Haydn’s String Trio in B-flat Major, Op. 53, No. 2; Intermezzo for String Trio by Zoltan Kodaly (1905); and the String Trio by Gideon Klein (1944). One of the first things that became apparent as the music began was the warm, enveloping acoustic of the Bromwell space.

"The Tsarevna" by Dan Dutton

Finkelshteyn introduced each work, noting that the composers all represented Eastern Europe, Haydn (Austria via the Austro-Hungarian Empire), Kodaly (Hungary) and Klein from (the former Czechoslovakia). The selections were quite different, however, and made for an extremely satisfying musical evening.

Haydn’s Trio, in the style of its day (18th century), was dominated by the violin, with the other instruments in primarily accompanying roles. The precision and ensemble unity of the Constella Trio were particularly in evidence here.

Kodaly’s youthful Intermezzo was “like Pierrot,” said Finkelshteyn, “a smile and a tear.” Based on Hungarian folk music, it built to considerable intensity in its middle section.

Klein’s Trio, composed at Terezin concentration camp three months before his death at age 26, made a strong impression (as it did at HUC last season). The outer movements were vigorous and dance-like, a kind of light shining in the darkness. The second (middle) movement, Variations on a Moravian Folk Song, is the heart of the work, and the Constella players poured their hearts into it. Led with spirit and a big, bold sound by Berman, the Trio played with fire, grit and tenderness throughout.

There were will be more events like “Fantasy” as the Constella Festival draws closer (times and places to be announced). Details of the Festival itself will become available in the coming weeks, Berman said.

To keep informed and to have early access to tickets, you may become a member of the Constella Club. For information and to register for the Festival’s e-mail list, visit www.constellafestival.org. The Festival also has a page on Facebook.