Midway through her recital in Memorial Hall in OTR on Sunday afternoon, Ashley Hall asked for a show of hands: How many trumpeters were there in the audience? Surprisingly, there was quite a large number, of all ages. Obviously, the word had gotten out.Read More »
I’ve heard some wonderful concerts this month, starting with Damon Gupton’s debut as the new principal guest conductor of the Pops in “Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.” It was fun to revisit the movie, but even better to hear the sound of John Williams’ score performed live in Music Hall. Gupton was a terrific host, and an engaging conductor. I couldn’t believe the cheers when the movie ended, and he launched into the “encore” — Williams’ orchestral suite from “Star Wars.” From my perch in the gallery, the brass sounded superb. See what the TV-movie star had to say before the concert about his new gig by clicking here.
John Morris Russell conducted the official opener of the Pops season, a stellar show with “Hamilton” star Renée Elise Goldsberry. Read the review here.
And the CSO also had an electric launch to the season, with Louis Langrée, the Labèque Sisters and a new concerto written for them by The National’s Bryce Dessner. Here’s my interview with Bryce.
What did you think? Here’s the review.
Music Hall also debuted new security, with metal detectors in use for the first time. As far as I could tell, everything went smoothly.
Remember, the Arts Front at bizjournals.com/Cincinnati — the Cincinnati Business Courier — is free to read. You may need to sign up for a FREE subscription.
Publisher Boosey & Hawkes has just announced that American composer Christopher Rouse died today at age 70 in Baltimore.
His final work, Symphony No. 6, will have its world premiere on October 18-19 with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Louis Langrée.
A prolific composer of a wide range of acclaimed chamber and ensemble works, Christopher Rouse built a legacy as one of America’s greatest orchestral voices. His catalog of influential works is marked by extreme emotional depth and colorful orchestration, and reflected his insatiable curiosity for music from across Western music history to popular rock.Read More »
Cincinnati lost a giant in the arts this week when Alice Weston, philanthropist and artist, passed away at age 93. Over the years, I interviewed Alice a number of times on a variety of topics, from her own extraordinary work in photography, shown above, to works she commissioned for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. One of my favorite interviews, though, was conducted with her cousin, Jane Ellis, about their experiences as children in the Philippines.Read More »
Beethoven wrote 32 Piano Sonatas spanning his lifetime. It’s possible to view his musical evolution through these sonatas, from the early classical ones to the late, more revolutionary pieces.
Many of you have heard, or perhaps even played some of the most famous ones: The Moonlight Sonata, the Appassionata, the Waldstein, the Pathetique and the Hammerklavier. But few pianists have attempted to perform them all together, in a daylong marathon from beginning to end.
Pianist Stewart Goodyear opens Chamber Music Cincinnati with a Beethoven “Sonatathon” next Saturday, Sept. 7, in Memorial Hall.
He’ll begin at 10 a.m. and finish at 11 p.m., with breaks for lunch and dinner.Read More »
It took a man with a vision to see the beauty behind the dilapidated and abandoned Sorg Opera House in Middletown. Now, as John Kiesewetter reports this morning, Chuck Miller has resigned as president of the Sorg Opera Revitalization Group (SORG) to become the new executive director of the historic “State Movie Palace of Kansas,” the Fox Theatre in Hutchinson. Wife Denise Brodsky has also resigned her position on the board.
Current board members Roger Daniels and Chris Riva are stepping in to fill roles, although his successor has not been decided.
Here’s my story from about a year ago of how Chuck and his devoted board have been working — extremely hard — to restore the Hannaford-built theater to its former grandeur.
I’m posting a few memories of visiting the Sorg while these dedicated preservationists were at work restoring and programming a series of concerts in the hall. By the way, the acoustics are wonderful. And, for people who remember Music Hall’s old seats, you can revisit them up in Middletown.
Good luck Chuck and Denise! You’ll be missed.
I have to admit, I was a little confused about what to expect in the CSO’s community project called “CSO Look Around” last weekend in Washington Park.
I talked to Shara Nova, one of the co-creators (with Mark DeChiazza and Siri Imani) to ask her about it, and she described it as “like, the biggest pop-up ever.”
Yes, it was.Read More »
Paul Bartel was passionate about strings and equally passionate about sharing his love of classical music with students. The violinist, music educator, owner of the Baroque Violin Shop and founder of the Wyoming Fine Arts Center is remembered by Cincinnati’s music community as being generous, humble and always supportive.
‘He was a guy who was larger than life, always giving, always caring, always seeming to have boundless energy,” said Milan Dukic, executive director of the Wyoming Fine Arts Center since 2008. “In the early days of the center, if there was a shortfall, Paul wrote a check. He believed in the mission of having a community center and of having kids learn music.”
Mr. Bartel died on July 27 after a long battle with cancer. He was 67.
Mr. Bartel often spoke about how playing the violin in school became the inspiration for what he would become, Dukic said.
He was born in Columbus, OH. A 1972 graduate of Miami University, Mr. Bartel taught violin students and repaired instruments on the side while still a student in Oxford, OH. He taught strings at Finneytown School District for seven years, continuing to repair musical instruments in his spare time.
With a vision to support young string players and school music programs by providing high quality instruments at low cost, he resigned from teaching to devote himself full-time to the Baroque Violin Shop, then in his Finneytown home.
As the business expanded, Mr. Bartel purchased the historic, 1805 Carrie-Jessup House in Finneytown in 1990, and spent six months restoring it. Over the years, the shop’s musical instrument rentals, repairs and sales have boomed, making the business one of the largest in the country, with a substantial inventory of stringed instruments.
The shop rents and sells violins, violas, cellos and basses to thousands of students and professionals in 50 states. There are 7,000 to 9,000 rental instruments in use at any given time, said CFO Stephen Heck, Mr. Bartel’s son-in-law.
“What I really respected about him was that he was quiet about his generosity. Most things people never knew about, because he didn’t want himself to be a focus,” Heck said. “He never did things to enhance his business. That was only secondary and never the focus.”Read More »
I’m catching up with arts news in a busy summer. Here are a few highlights:
In 1916, Cincinnati MacDowell Society began awarding the MacDowell Medal to an outstanding local artist for his or her contribution to the fine arts in the community. At the society’s annual meeting last month, this year’s medal was awarded to Barbara Kellar, for receiving a 2018 Regional Emmy for her CET show, “Showcase with Barbara Kellar,” as well as for her service to MacDowell. She is a past CMS president.
The portrait was painted by member Setsuko LeCroix as a personal surprise for Barbara. The medal, by the way, was designed by sculptor, member and past president, Ernest Bruce Haswell.
Louis Langrée extends contract at Mostly Mozart: Music director Louis Langrée, who leads the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, has extended his contract with Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart Festival through the summer of 2023. He has directed the New York festival since 2003, making 2023 his 21st season. The announcement was made by artistic director Jane Moss on the eve of the 2019 festival earlier this month.
Now in his 17th season, Langrée is credited with expanding the scope of the chamber orchestra’s repertoire well beyond the classical period, from Baroque composers such as Jean-Baptiste Lully to composers of today such as Magnus Lindberg. He has just finished conducting a run of the Barrie Kosky and Berlin Komische Oper production of Mozart’s “The Magic Flute” — a first for Mostly Mozart — at the David H. Koch Theater.Read More »
When Canadian tenor Frédéric Antoun had to withdraw as Romeo in Cincinnati Opera’s “Romeo and Juliet” (for personal reasons) two weeks before rehearsals were to begin, artistic director Evans Mirageas knew he had a problem.
“Romeo is a notoriously difficult role, and the opera isn’t performed as often as the other warhorses, so the pool of singers who would know the role is small,” says Mirageas.
Besides that, there was no time to secure an artist visa for an international singer — a process that can take months.
“Luckily,” says Mirageas, “we found Matthew, a very gifted young artist who had just sung the role in his final year at the Academy of Vocal Arts.”
The 27-year-old American tenor Matthew White will make his debut opposite Cincinnati favorite Nicole Cabell as Juliet, in her sixth appearance with the company.
Had Cincinnati Opera not called, the tenor’s summer plans included returning to his tiny hometown in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, practicing for upcoming roles and working on his Volkswagen GTI. Or he might have waxed up his surfboard, as he has a surfboard business with an international client list.
He’s won a fistful of prizes: Grand Prize of the Gerda Lissner International Vocal Competition, 1st place in the Deborah Voigt International Vocal Competition, 2nd place in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions Mid-Atlantic region, Grand Prize in the Mario Lanza Vocal Competition, and he was the recipient of the Alfonso Cavaliere Award.
In his future, he’ll debut leading roles with The Dallas Opera, Edmonton Opera, and Tulsa Opera following his Cincinnati debut.
“It’s a major opportunity for him, in what could prove to be a breakout role. Cincinnati gets to see him first!” says Mirageas.
“Romeo and Juliet” will be presented at Music Hall on June 27 and 29 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are available through the Cincinnati Opera Box Office at (513) 241-2742 or cincinnatiopera.org.
Watch for my review of tomorrow night’s performance on the Arts Front at bizjournals.com/cincinnati.
Click here to read the review for “The Marriage of Figaro,” which opened the season.
