Brianna Matzke will play a piano concert of music by women. Photo provided
Women in music will be celebrated in — at last count — three local events in March, Women’s History Month.
Salon 21 is a series of intimate recitals, often held in people’s living rooms or other small venues, in the style of the 19th-century salon. For International Women’s Day, March 8 – an observance that goes back to 1911 in America — Salon 21 will host a concert with pianist BriannaMatzke playing a program of music written by female composers with a Cincinnati connection.Read More »
Michael Leopold performing on the theorbo. Photos courtesy of Stephen Winter
My musical experiences last weekend ranged from hearing Early Baroque music played on the theorbo to attending Cincinnati Ballet’s groundbreaking “Carmina Burana” in Music Hall.Read More »
Lutenist Christopher Wilke, left, and Jennifer Roig- Francoli on Baroque violin in a 2017 Caladrian Ensemble concert at Old St. Mary’s Church. Photo by Tina Gutierrez
You may not know it, but Cincinnati has a thriving early music scene. With the Cincinnati Early Music Celebration in full swing, there’s no better time to sample it than this month.
Early music can be described as music written before 1750 from the Middle Ages, Renaissance and Baroque periods. Practitioners try to perform it as authentically as possible on period instruments, such as lute, viola da gamba, recorder and harpsichord.
“We are spotlighting groups that do this,” said Christopher Wilke, organizer of this year’s Cincinnati Early Music Celebration. “We are not served by the mainstream classical community. It just falls between the cracks of what we know in America as classical music.”Read More »
Visitors hear an opera performance in the beautifully restored Corbett Tower during a free open house at Music Hall in October
If you missed the free community open house when Music Hall reopened in October, you’ll have another chance during ArtsWave’s upcoming campaign. Music Hall will be open to all on March 24. It’s just one of 12 Saturdays of free fun spanning the entire ArtsWave campaign.
The goal for this year’s 2018 “Make Waves” campaign will be announced early on Thursday.
ArtsWave, the nation’s oldest and largest community arts fund, previously offered an Arts Sampler Weekend of live performances, art and more.
The new concept, ArtsWave Days, will feature events at different venues with different themes on each Saturday between February 3 and April 21. In all you’ll find more than 100 free community performances throughout the campaign.Read More »
In case you’re wondering what the music might be in tomorrow night’s concert of the Violins of Hope at Music Hall, I’ve asked Evans Mirageas, who is curating the event, to give us a few hints. Here are the musical selections to expect on the program:
Mendelssohn’s Octet (Scherzo) and Gideon Klein’s “Partita for Strings” — The Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra under music director Eckart Preu
Saint-Saens’ “Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso” — Giora Schmidt, violinist and Elena Kholodova, pianist
Weiner, “Yossel der Klezmer” — Simon Barrad, baritone; Giora Schmidt, violin and Ksenia Polstiankina, piano
Traditional, “El Malei Rachamim” — Simon Barrad, baritone; Ksenia Polstiankina, piano
Bruch, “Kol Nidrei” — Ilya Finkelsteyn, cello, Michael Chertock, piano
Prokofiev, Sonata For Two Violins (excerpts) — Gershon Gerchikov and Alexandra Kazovsky, violins (members of the Ariel Quartet)
J.S. Bach, Concerto for Two Violins, Strings and Continuo — Kathryn Woolley and Stefani Collins Matsuo, violins; Members of the CSO, Louis Langrée, conducting
The incomparable Jamie Barton performs Jan. 26 at Memorial Hall
Baby it’s cold outside – but Winter is the season when the arts heat up. In the coming weeks, there are many tempting concerts and events to warm you up. So, bundle up, because there are a few that you won’t want to miss.
Jan. 11-12: Canticle. The Vocal Arts Ensemble reprises Kile Smith’s gorgeous “Canticle,” a setting of the biblical Song of Solomon (or Song of Songs), 7:30 p.m. Jan. 11 and 12 in Memorial Hall. Tickets start at $25. 513-381-3300, vaecinci.org.
Jan. 12-13: Conlon returns. James Conlon, music director laureate of the Cincinnati May Festival, returns to conduct the CSO in Schubert’s Rosamunde Overture and Mahler’s Symphony No. 1. Violinist Jennifer Frautschi is soloist in Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 3. 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday in Music Hall. Tickets: 513-381-3300, cincinnatisymphony.org.
James Conlon at the 2016 May Festival Photo provided
Jan. 19: Star soloist at Moveable Feast. CCM’s biggest fundraiser, this year on Friday, Jan. 19, will feature a performance by alumnus and star trumpeter Brian Newman, who will solo with the CCM Jazz Orchestra as the “opening course” in the CCM Village. Read More »
In 2017, Cincinnati audiences heard sensational performances by living legends, as well as musical rarities and world premieres. This year’s list – a baker’s dozen — highlights some musical milestones, such as Cincinnati Opera’s first opera by a woman, as well as some of my personal favorites of the past year.Read More »
The holidays are upon us. You’ll find inspiring music in many of the region’s sacred spaces, as well as in the newly renovated Music Hall — now beautifully decorated for the holiday season. I’ve highlighted a few of my favorite concerts coming up this month, and discovered a few new ones, too.Read More »
The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra is up for two Grammy Awards for its groundbreaking album recorded live in Music Hall, Concertos for Orchestra. The orchestra, led by Louis Langrée, was nominated today for Best Orchestral Performance, as well as Best Contemporary Classical Composition for Zhou Tian’s score, which he called “a love letter” for the CSO.
Jazz pianist Fred Hersch is nominated — twice — for Best Jazz Instrumental Album for his latest album, Open Book, a lush, ravishing collection of solo piano improvisations. And his tune “Whisper Not” on the same album is nominated for Best Improvised Jazz Solo.
The National, the band whose members grew up in Cincy, is up for Best Alternative Music Album for Sleep Well Beast.
Of note to opera lovers, the great Siberian baritone who just died, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, was also nominated for Sviridov: Russia Cast Adrift with the St. Petersburg State Symphony, for Best Classical Solo Vocal Album. See the complete list here.
The Grammys will air live on CBS from Madison Square Garden in New York City on Sunday, Jan. 28.
