Tag: Cincinnati Symphony

CSO, Pops cancel shows through April 5 after Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine bans gatherings of more than 100

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The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Pops have canceled all concerts through “at least April 5 due to coronavirus concerns. The orchestra released this statement on its website:

“Governor DeWine’s decision prioritizes public health by restricting all large gatherings, and we are committed to the health and well-being of our audience members, musicians, volunteers and staff.

“This cancellation will have a significant financial impact for the Orchestra. We are especially appreciative of our generous supporters who will consider their donating tickets for these performances. Throughout our 125-year history, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra has navigated challenges and continues to thrive because of the strength of our community. Now, as always, we are grateful for our community’s extraordinary support.”

Click here for information about ticket exchanges or how to donate.

Here are others that we know about:

♦Memorial Hall has closed due to concerns around the spread of COVID-19.

♦Chamber Music Cincinnati has canceled the Pavel Haas Quartet concert scheduled for tonight. Ticket fees will be refunded automatically. Info: 513-977-8838.

♦Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati (ETC) is temporarily suspending all performances, events, and community programs, effective immediately.

The theatre is working to identify dates to reschedule its shows and ticket holders for upcoming performances will be contacted. Additionally, ETC will be relaxing its exchange policies and waive all fees to find suitable solutions for its patrons.

♦YPCC has canceled Saturday’s Radio Revelry Gala Concert at Cincinnati Museum Center. It will be rescheduled for May 19. Details here.

♦The Metropolitan Opera has canceled its Live in HD performances in movie theaters around the country.

♦At the Aronoff Center: Friday’s performance of Colin Mochrie and Brad Sherwood: The Scared Scriptless Tour has been rescheduled for Tuesday, May 26, 2020 at 7:30 PM at the Aronoff Center’s Procter & Gamble Hall.

♦Tomorrow evening’s performance of Sex n’ the City: A (Super Unauthorized) Musical Parody has been rescheduled for Saturday, June 13, 2020 at 7:30 PM at the Aronoff Center’s Jarson-Kaplan Theater.  The show was originally scheduled for Friday, March 13, 2020.

♦Due to Johnny Mathis’ specific travel and health advisements, this Saturday’s concert with Johnny Mathis has been rescheduled for Saturday, August 15, 2020 at 8:00 PM at the Aronoff Center’s Procter & Gamble Hall.  The concert was originally scheduled for Saturday, March 14, 2020.

Current Aronoff Center ticketholders will be sent new tickets with the rescheduled date and time the week of April 6, 2020.  Refund info prior to Friday, April 3, 2020 at (513) 621-2787 or ticketing@cincinnatiarts.org.

♦Cincinnati Art Museum: The Gorham Silver: Designing Brilliance, 1850–1970 opening reception and lecture have been cancelled. However, self-tours will be permitted in the new exhibition until 7 p.m., and the museum will remain open until 8 p.m.

Across the country, the arts are taking a hit. At 5 p.m. today, Broadway theaters will go dark by order of Governor Andrew Cuomo. Here’s Playbill.

See the list in the previous post for more cancellations.

Service set for former CSO bassoonist William Winstead

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Winstead performing on the Linton Music Series recently. Photos by Tina Guiterrez

 

 

A service is planned on Sunday, Feb. 23, at Music Hall for William Winstead, former principal bassoonist of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.

Visitation will begin at 4:30 p.m. Feb. 23 with the funeral to follow at 6:30 p.m. in Corbett Tower at Music Hall.

Vocal pyrotechnics by Roomful of Teeth at May Festival

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Roomful of Teeth played the Woodward Theater for the May Festival. Photo provided/Lee Snow

It’s hard to categorize Roomful of Teeth, a vocal octet that calls itself a “vocal project.” On Wednesday, the singers — Abigail Lennox and Martha Cluver, sopranos; Alexandra Colaizzi and Virginia Kelsey, altos; Eric Dudley, tenor (former assistant conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra); Avery Griffin, baritone; Thann Scoggin, bass-baritone, and Cameron Beauchamp, bass — amazed a sold-out house with their vocal pyrotechnics at the Woodward Theater in Over-the-Rhine.

There were about 150 music lovers, with a space for standing room, for this sold-out “extra” concert, a first at the 146-year-old Cincinnati May Festival.

It’s safe to say that their style of singing is unusual, if not revolutionary. Their musical palette — some of which was showcased in their first number, Caroline Shaw’s Partita for 8 Voices — included whispering, throat singing, bending of tones, yodeling and possibly some Bulgarian belting, one of their specialties. It was performed with amplification, but nothing, I’m told, was electronically manipulated — which made the feats they achieved even more stunning.Read More »

An unusual concerto at the symphony

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Photo provided/Lee Snow

Principal violist Christian Colberg performed his own viola concerto, an ambitious, 30-minute work on the theme of “Don Quixote” with the Cincinnati Symphony in last weekend’s concerts.

The notes said he was the first CSO musician in recent memory to perform his own work with the CSO.

But I do recall bassist Frank Proto performing his own music with the orchestra in years past.

Do you remember any others?

Click here to read the review.

James Conlon receives Italian honor

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James Conlon. Photo provided

The President of the Italian Republic has awarded May Festival music director laureate James Conlon with the Commander of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (Commendatore Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana).

The title of Commendatore is granted to acknowledge “merits achieved for the nation in the fields of literature, arts, economics, and in the fulfillment of public duties.” It is one of Italy’s highest honors.

“Being descended, in part, from Italian immigrants, this recognition of my work is particularly meaningful to me,” said the New York-born maestro.

Two other American-born conductors — both with Cincinnati ties — have been similarly honored: Leonard Bernstein (1989) and Thomas Schippers (1975). Bernstein was honorary music director of the Cincinnati May Festival; Thomas Schippers was music director of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.

Conlon, who is currently principal conductor of the RAI National Symphony Orchestra in Torino —the first American to hold this position—has performed regularly in Italy for over 30 years. He is recognized internationally for his work in both the concert hall and opera house, and has also served as music director of Los Angeles Opera since 2006.

A new view of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 4

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There were 92 players onstage at Music Hall for Beethoven’s Fourth. Photo provided by CSO/Lee Snow

I was fascinated by the large-scale arrangement of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 4 performed by Louis Langrée and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra over the weekend. It’s regarded as one of Beethoven’s more “classical” symphonies, calling for a smaller complement of players. But for this performance in Music Hall, there were 92 players onstage. (According to the CSO, Langrée was using a new critical edition by Bärenreiter.)

Curious about this arrangement, I spent some time digging through my personal library to no avail. Then, online, I found a doctoral thesis by Mark Christopher Ferraguto of Cornell University that mentioned a performance of the Fourth for a large-scale public concert in 1825. Beethoven arranged it for an estimated 94 musicians for the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde (Society of Friends of Music) concert in a large ballroom of the Imperial Court.

Here’s the review, which you can read free at bizjournals.com, thanks to their new initiative to cover the arts.

What did you think?

Strauss’ ‘Der Rosenkavalier’ a glowing highlight of CSO concert

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Read the review on the new Cincinnati Business Courier Arts Front, which made its debut yesterday. (See the previous post.)

And here’s the review to Audra McDonald’s concert with the Pops on Sunday night.

Guest conductor Juraj Valčuha takes bows with violinist Simone Lamsma after her performance in Bernstein’s “Serenade, after Plato’s Symposium.”

Several times per month, I will be reviewing for their new arts page, which is free online.

Kahane’s surprising encore in CSO appearance is unforgettable

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Jeffrey Kahane delivered a ravishing performance of the Ravel Piano Concerto in G Major with the CSO. Provided, CSO

Pianist Jeffrey Kahane wowed in Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G Major with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. But it was his surprising encore that left the evening’s most indelible impression.

He made no announcement. But his somber, reflective improvisation on “America the Beautiful” felt like a memorial to the victims of the horrible events that had unfolded two days earlier in a Florida high school. The tune rested briefly in the minor mode before ending quietly. It was heartfelt and moving, and listeners stood in appreciation.Read More »