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Classical Music
Janelle Gelfand on the classical music scene


Janelle's pen has taken her to Japan, China, Carnegie Hall, Europe (twice), East and West Coasts, and Florida. In fact, Janelle was the first Enquirer reporter to report from Europe via e-mail -- in 1995.

Janelle began writing for the Cincinnati Enquirer as a stringer in 1991 while writing a Ph.D. dissertation in musicology at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. She joined the Enquirer staff in 1993.

Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she graduated from Stanford University, Janelle has lived in Cincinnati for more than 30 years. In her free time, this pianist plays chamber music with her circle of musical friends in Cincinnati.

She covers the Cincinnati Symphony, May Festival and Cincinnati Opera, the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, chamber music ensembles, and as many recitals and events at CCM and NKU as possible.

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Monday, October 30, 2006

Be there or be square

This Thursday, 3CDC plans to announce plans for a new garage and public plaza -- Music Hall Square -- to be built between Music Hall and Memorial Hall. The meeting, billed "OTR Rap Session," will include architects from Glaserworks, who will present the design.

Darrick Dansby, 3CDC director of development for OTR (phew, that's a mouthful of alphabet soup) will invite participants to brainstorm some potential uses of the new Music Hall Square design. "What kinds of events should happen on this new plaza?" he plans to ask.

What kinds of events do you think should happen there?

The meeting is 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., Memorial Hall. for more info, check www.3cdc.org/otrrapsessions.


Friday, October 27, 2006

Four freebies to do this weekend

Or, I really need to clone myself: Join the samba party at the Blue Wisp Jazz Club, 9:30 p.m., today and Saturday, Oct. 27-28, 318 East Eighth Street, downtown. CCM prof and jazz pianist Phil DeGreg imports his Brazilian jazz/funk group, Brasilia, featuring Rusty Burge on vibraphone and Stan Ginn on percussion. It’s fun, tuneful and hot for just $8 cover. Or, at 8:30 p.m. every Wednesday, it’s the famed Blue Wisp Big Band. Reservations: 513-241-9477 (WISP), www.bluewispjazzclub.com. Or just show up!!

Hear rarified choral music in one of the region's most radiant settings – Covington's Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption. At 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 29, Musica Sacra, opening its 41st season under the distinguished director Helmut Roehrig, performs "Requiem" in C Minor by Johann Michael Haydn (brother of Franz Joseph Haydn) and motets for chorus and orchestra. Info: 859-431-2060, www.cathedralconcertseries.org or www.musica-sacra.org.

Check out a young phenom organist at the Hyde Park Community United Methodist Church. French organist Vincent Dubois performs a recital at 4 p.m. Sunday in the beautiful church sanctuary.

At just 26 years old, Dubois is considered one of the hottest young concert organists to appear on the world stage in years. His own teacher is Olivier Latry of the Notre Dame Cathedral. (Remember his spectacular show last year??) Dubois will perform J.S. Bach's Prelude and Fugue in D Major, Franck’s Cantabile, Mozart’s F Minor Fantasy, music by Louis Vierne and Marcel Dupre and that alltime favorite – Improvisation on a submitted theme. Doors open at 3 p.m., and it’s "festival seating." Please, no riots!

One of our favorite pianists, Anton Nel, returns to perform at 3 p.m. Sunday with the three remaining members of the Oxford String Quartet at Miami University. Nel, the CCM grad who won the prestigious Naumburg Competition in 1987, joins violinist Harvey Thurmer, violist Mary E.M. Harris and cellist Pansy Chang in Souers Recital Hall, at the Center for Performing Arts on the MU campus.

The New York Times calls Nel "an uncommonly elegant pianist," and we agree! They'll play Brahms' Piano Quartet in G Minor and Bartok’s Sonata No. 1 for violin and piano. 513-529-3014.

Remember, all of these events are FREE.


Classical notes: Musical Chairs

Symphony fans have noticed that there’s a bit of musical chairs going on in the ranks of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.

The orchestra is advertising auditions for its principal oboe and principal viola posts on its Web site. That's because former principal oboist Liang Wang, 26, served just a brief tenure in Cincinnati before he was lured away to become principal oboe of the New York Philharmonic. (You can hear him play on his site at www.myspace.com.) Until a successor is chosen, Shea Scruggs is serving a one-year appointment as acting principal oboe.

And longtime principal violist Marna Street will become principal emeritus of the orchestra’s viola section next September. The move, she says, will allow her to devote more of her focus to two of her other passions – teaching and creative writing – while continuing to perform with the orchestra.

The flute section also has some changes. Jasmine Choi has a one-year appointment as acting associate principal flute, while Kyril Magg is now second flute. And new players beginning their first season are principal timpanist, Patrick Schleker, and principal horn Elizabeth Freimuth.

Principal oboe auditions are Monday and Tuesday, Oct. 30-31, and principal viola auditions are scheduled for Nov. 6-7.

Artist change: The Cincinnati Symphony announced this week that violinist Thomas Zehetmair has cancelled his Jan. 12-13 appearances for personal reasons. He will be replaced by Isabelle van Kuelen in the Berg Violin Concerto, "To the Memory of an Angel." Van Kuelen performed the United States premiere of Erkki-Sven Tuur’s Violin Concerto with the orchestra in Paavo Järvi’s first season as music director. 513-381-3300, www.cincinnatisymphony.org.

Dayton Opera announces campaign: As it approaches its 50th anniversary, Dayton Opera has announced its largest fundraising campaign in the company’s history.

Dayton Opera, which opened its 46th season last weekend with a production of "Madame Butterfly" designed by acclaimed Japanese artist Jun Kaneko, announced it has already raised $2.4 million toward a $3 million goal. Leadership gifts include $1 million from the Bertram C. Blanke & Lovetta R. Blanke Fund.

The Gold Standard Capital and Endowment Campaign will provide annual funding to support opera production, and will also boost the company’s endowment, which currently stands at $2 million. Dayton Opera’s operating budget this season is nearly $2.1 million.

"This campaign will enable Dayton Opera to continue to grow as a company and help us to continue raising the bar on the quality of artistic productions in Dayton," says Thomas Bankston, general and artistic director and a graduate of the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.


Thursday, October 26, 2006

A few random thoughts about the symphony


Bring back the women’s committee: Remember the Women’s Committee of the CSO? About 20 years ago, the ladies were selling subscriptions, inviting friends and neighbors and even dragging their husbands to concerts. Several men were always seen at intermission with earplugs listening for the Reds score, but they were THERE. In the committee’s heyday, president Louise Nippert oversaw 1,000 women who each canvassed a neighborhood. Then – telemarketers replaced the Women’s Committee. I believe that was the beginning of the downturn in attendance. Why not bring it back? Rick Reynolds’ pitch to bring your friends -- or 2 or 3 -- is exactly what is needed right now. Often a personal invitation will make all the difference.

Click here to check out this weekend’s program with the May Festival's director of choruses Robert Porco (shown) conducting Britten, Bach, Schubert and Vaughan Williams.

Educate: But they already do, you say? I say, it’s time to educate the adults. Take a look at this fabulous Web site that the San Francisco Symphony just enveiled. You can listen to a recording of Beethoven’s Eroica Symphony while you follow the score and watch a podcast of Tilson Thomas and the orchestra playing it at the same time! There’s also historical background.

It’s meant to be a companion to the SF Symphony’s Keeping Score TV series for PBS, that begins airing next week. You can also find trailers for the Keeping Score TV series on this same site.

Another blog: The discussion about the symphony has now migrated to another blog! Check out the violinmasterclass Web Site to see what CCM professor Kurt Sassmannshaus has to say about Music Hall and the symphony.


Tuesday, October 24, 2006

"Bowed Piano Ensemble" at the CAC


His music has been called "an orchestral array of tone colors, harmonies and rhythms."

Composer Stephen Scott and his "Bowed Piano Ensemble" perform music for inside the piano, 8 p.m. Thursday (Oct. 26) at the Contemporary Arts Center, downtown.

"As the name of the group conveys, almost all sounds are made on the inside of the piano, and the 'bowing' of the instrument is the central means of sound production," says Michael Fiday, composer and faculty member at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, which is presenting the ensemble.

The sounds are made by pulling strands of horse hair between the piano's strings. The performance will also include percussive effects, muted notes and even (gasp) notes played on the keyboard the old-fashioned way. The music is post-minimalist in style.

For the program, Scott, a professor of composition and jazz at Colorado College, will perform the premiere of his "New York Drones," in honor of the 70th birthday of American minimalist composer Steve Reich, Scott's onetime colleague of African drumming in Ghana. The concert also includes "The Deep Spaces," a large-scale song-cycle inspired by Italy's Lake Como, with soprano soloist Victoria Hansen.

Tickets: $15; $7 students; UC students are free. Information: 513-345-8405. Watch a video clip on the Bowed Piano Ensemble's Web site.


Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Rap sessons about Over-the-Rhine development


Here's a PSA you might want to know about: The Cincinnati Center City Development Corporation (3CDC) is holding public discussions about the future of the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood. Three meetings, called "Over-the-Rhine Rap Sessions," will begin tomorrow (Thursday) in Memorial Hall, and continue Nov. 2 and Nov. 16.

The first meeting will provide an overview of 3CDC's development plans for the neighborhood, as well as an update of the progress made. Organizers say they plan to engage participants in small group discussions, which will then be transcribed and posted on their Web site, www.3cdc.org.

"These meetings will give us a chance to share our thinking and listen to and understand the perspective of OTR residents," Darrick Dansby, 3CDC director of development for Over-the-Rhine said in a statement.

The Nov. 2 session will unveil designs for Music Hall Square, a new, mixed-use development (including a parking garage and Public Plaza) planned for the property adjacent to Music Hall.

The Nov. 16 session will update the public on the neighborhood school and plans for Washington Park. Participants will be invited to make recommendations for design and usage of a new, expanded Washington Park.

The rap sessions are 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in Memorial Hall, and are free and open to the public. For more information, visit www.3cdc.org/otrrapsessions.


Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Spotlight on Dayton Opera


Japanese artist Jun Kaneko is known for his gigantic ceramic sculptures in more than 40 museums. But with Puccini's opera "Madame Butterfly," opening at Dayton Opera on Saturday, Kaneko makes his first foray into designing for the theater.

When it premiered at Opera Omaha in March, the Wall Street Journal wrote that the production captured Kaneko's "vivid distinctive palette of patterns and colors into a vibrantly visual experience of the opera, at the same time modern and timeless."

The cast includes Indira Mahajan as Butterfly, Richard Crawley as Pinkerton, Layna Chianakas as Suzuki, Malcolm MacKenzie as Sharpless and Cincinnati bass David Michael, a former brand manager at P&G, in role of the Bonze.

Performances are 8 p.m. Saturday (Oct. 21) and Oct. 27; 3 p.m. Oct. 29, in the Schuster Center, Dayton. Tickets: $15-$85; 937-228-3630, www.daytonopera.org.

Kaneko’s art is on display in the Schuster Center’s Wintergarden and at the Dayton Art Institute through Nov. 5. Production drawings may be viewed at the Dayton Visual Arts Center through Nov. 4.


Friday, October 13, 2006

Jarvi/CSO album debuts at 19 on Billboard Chart



Paavo Jarvi and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra's new album of Elgar's "Enigma" Variations, Britten's "Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra" and "Four Sea Interludes" from "Peter Grimes" has debuted at No. 19 on the Billboard Chart.

Although the Pops is a regular on Billboard, I'm not sure the last time the symphony's Telarc recordings landed there. Joshua Bell's "Voice of the Violin" is No. 1, followed by Paul McCartney's "Ecce Cor Meum."

This is thanks to the fan site, paavoproject that linked to Playbillarts.


Tuesday, October 10, 2006

On the same subject...


In case you missed it, here's a link to a letter in today's enquirer from longtime symphony supporters Anne and Bob Olson of Lebanon.

And arts consultant Drew McManus, who observes orchestra management on his blog, has two relevant essays that deserve a look. One is about concert etiquette, in which he states, "The pretentiousness in classical music is so engrained that it is nearly a part of the collective DNA, but that's not a good reason for it to continue" and notes that it's probably driving potential fans away.

In "Perhaps less is more," he wonders if it's time to re-examine the concert-length formula.


Sunday, October 08, 2006

What has happened to the symphony audience?

On Friday morning, I witnessed what I think is the all-time smallest audience at the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra I have ever seen. Lately, Friday concerts -- evening and morning -- have appeared to attract about 800 people. This weekend, it looked to be about half that many -- 400 people.

This is indeed sad, for an orchestra that is playing better than ever. There were no busloads of school children, which in the past has boosted the attendance. I didn't even see any children who are home-schooled. And of course, at an 11 a.m. concert, the audience you're going to get consists of people who do not work or are retired -- a limited crowd at best.

So the big question is -- should the symphony continue this morning series, or even have Friday night concerts any more? Does the orchestra have too much "product" for its customers? Maybe it needs to scale back its concerts entirely -- and make up the services providing music lessons to kids at CPS.

What is the orchestra doing to change its image in a rapidly changing world? I think the plasma screens (now gone) were a good thing -- but they won't bring the crowds out, week after week.

Do they need a massive marketing campaign? What about all those kids (and parents) who participate in huge band and orchestra programs in the burbs? How do you reach them? Is the orchestra stuffing every mailbox of every college kid every weekend at our local universities -- like they do in other cities?

On Friday, as I looked out on this sad state during what was a truly fine concert with guest maestro James DePreist and pianist Louis Lortie, I thought that perhaps the orchestra should have made this a dress rehearsal, with free tickets, and they might have gotten more people. At the VERY LEAST, they should be filling some of those seats with FREE tickets to young people, rather than pricing schools out of symphony concerts by charging them to attend. The schools have enough expense just hiring buses.

What's the solution??


Wednesday, October 04, 2006

Downtown progress


So, I was having lunch yesterday at Palomino with Jennifer Nagel, exec director of the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra. We asked for a window seat, so we could overlook the new Fountain Square, to be opened with great fanfare next weekend, Oct. 14.

Well, it still is pretty much a hard hat area, with construction cranes hard at work, and workers scurrying around like there's no tomorrow. I'm just wondering how it can possibly be done in time -- and if so, where are they going to put the entire Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra?

Then as I walked back to the office through a very empty Carew Tower, which is rapidly losing tenants, it wasn't a very heartening experience. We can all hope the developers and city planners will pull through as planned, with loads of wonderful boutiques and restaurants to fill these empty spaces. But how many actually have signed contracts at the moment?

So today I picked up my New York Times and saw the story, "Meet Me in Revitalized Downtown St. Louis." There, a downtown shopping mall is being turned into mixed-use retail and condos. Across town, a $650 million "Ballpark Village" is being planned around the new Busch Stadium, home of the Cards. The old Post Office building, now condos, has 60 new retail establishments -- restaurants, bars, banks and stores, that have opened around it.

Let's revisit the stories of two weeks ago in the Enquirer. Let me know how you think we should revitalize our downtown -- and get it done. E-mail me at jgelfand@enquirer.com, or post a comment here.


Tuesday, October 03, 2006

In the mailbox

Don't forget tonight's concert with the Takacs String Quartet, 8 p.m. in Corbett Auditorium at CCM. The quartet won the 2005 Gramophone Award for Best Chamber Music Recording of the Year for their powerful performance of the late Beethoven Quartets. They'll perform quartets by Debussy, Mozart and Shostakovich. Tickets: $25; $10 students, CCM students are free. Need more info? Here’s the Web site.

Tessa Lark, 16, a student of Kurt Sassmannshaus at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, has won first prize in the Johansen International Competition. The contest, held in March in Washington, D.C., awarded Lark $10,000.
The violinist is a native of Richmond, Ky., and has played in the Starling Preparatory String Project at CCM since 2001.

"The three of us (judges) are stunned at not only the physical prowess, but at thelevel of musical sophistication," said judge Joseph Silverstein, former concertmaster of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

Here's a tasty note from Ethan Sperry, conductor of the Miami University Men's Glee Club, Collegiate Chorale and Global Rhythms. He and his wife will be in the November issue of Bon Appetit in the "Entertaining with Style" feature. The dinner will be hosted in their Oxford home, and will include another Miami couple and relatives as guests.

And this from Jeff Evans, who is proud to be the new conductor of the Queen City Concert Band. The band is planning a concert to celebrate the life of founding music director Dottie Kemp on Nov. 12 in Memorial Hall.

More about Dottie later. Right now, he needs YOU to take out that horn and join the band! Contact Jeff at: 513-476-8741 or e-mail him at cincybandroom@fuse.net.


The bassoon encore


In case you've been scratching your head for two weeks, I just found out that Bill Winstead performed an encore after his Saturday night (Sept. 23) performance with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, and here's what it was: The encore was his own improvised version of "My Old Kentucky Home," because, says Bill, CSO principal bassoonist, "Kentucky is my home state."

Actually, the encore was completely unplanned. Paavo pushed him out to do the encore because the crowd wouldn't stop clapping. "I said, what encore?" he says, totally taken off guard. He says he started it like a Bach cello suite (thus fooling his fellow bassoonists) but it soon became obvious that it was the Kentucky gem because "all the Kentuckians in the audience had weepy eyes."

Here's the review from Friday.



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