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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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Thursday, January 31, 2008

Catching up with Paavo


So, last week I sat down with CSO music director Paavo Jarvi in his office at Music Hall, just to see how things are going, mid-year. He was getting ready to conduct Bruckner's Ninth, and had only slept six hours in two nights because his children have colds. (Can any of you relate to that?)

Here are some of his thoughts:

On playing a benefit concert for Lakota schools: I loved it for two reasons, No. 1 because it helps the music programs. And when I was in Florida on my break, I actually saw them. I saw the parade on television, which was great. But I think the bigger picture of supporting music in schools is important.

The second reason, is because it was packed with people. You know that feeling of playing when a hall is packed with people? And that seldom happens in Music Hall. You just felt close to people who were very enthusiastic. They were there for the right reasons, and a lot of them were there for the very first time.

On taking the orchestra out of Music Hall more often: If it was up to me, we would be out in the community much more. ... One needs to develop a connection. We have some interesting possibilities a couple of hours outside of Cincinnati, for instance. I live right next to Kentucky and I have never performed in my life in Kentucky. To me that seems so obvious, going to a neighboring state which is practically connected, and culturally so connected to us. It should be quite natural.

No sleep with kids: I'm not complaining at all. It's just that we have a 1½-year-old and a 4-year-old. Both girls, and they are both very strong personalities. And everything that the older one is doing, the younger one is imitating. The older one is getting all those brilliant things from the Montessori school, her kindergarten and comes up with all sorts of funny things. ... It's a very interesting age, because you can see a real person coming out of that innocence.

How do you play dad and play maestro -- and mentally prepare to conduct Bruckner? It's a good question, because one of the most difficult things for me to change is the mindset that I have been used to for years and years before I had children. I used to take on a lot of new work, not only in terms of concerts but in new repertoire. Because I love learning and I love discovering, and I feel that that's one of the great joys in my life.

It's not difficult for me, but it's very time-consuming. I need a lot of time. With a Bruckner symphony, you can't really learn a Bruckner symphony. You get to know it somewhat and then the journey starts.

And if you have children at home, you think, well now I will go home and simply say, OK, now I will spend at least one hour with them. ... You have to be very clever in juggling; they need to have the same color cups, they need to have the same spoons. It's very charming. But then when they go to sleep, I stay up until 3 or 4 in the morning, just studying.

To me, it's not a question of playing a father – I love nothing more than being a father.

But on the other hand, I sometimes am overly confident in my ability to learn completely. Music with the depth of a Bruckner symphony, you have to learn slowly, you have to take your time, you have to do your homework in order to get into the piece.

Watch for Paavo's thoughts on rehearsal technique and programming, coming next on this blog!


Double, double toil and trouble


Fire burn, and cauldron bubble. ...

Last Sunday afternoon, I took advantage of the sunny day to head up to Dayton for Dayton Opera's company premiere of Verdi's "Macbeth." The Schuster Center is a magnificent place to see opera, with its stunning ambiance and acoustics, and it was fun to see a large crowd streaming into the Schuster's "Wintergarden" for the performance.

I have to admit, I was mainly there to see bass David Michael, a Cincinnati native and former P&G brand manager, who gave up his downtown cubicle a few years ago to risk a career on the opera stage. Michael's career has built steadily from small, cameo roles to the splendid Banquo he sang in this production.

Indeed, I'm happy to report that the singing and conducting were top-notch. The hellish opening "witches scene" had terrific atmosphere, even though the traditional New Orleans-owned production, gloomy and dimly lit, seemed dated and the staging a bit stilted.

But what a cast. Lester Lynch made a superb Macbeth, delivering an authoritative performance with a firm, powerful voice and wonderfully communicating both tragedy and madness. Michael made a strapping Banquo (seated, above), a young bass who moves well and possesses a rich and focused voice. His scene with his son was especially touching.

As Lady Macbeth, Michele Capalbo lusted for power with an exciting, flexible coloratura voice, one that soared easily through the rich Verdian textures without becoming shrill. In the pit, Russian conductor Edvard Tchivzhel balanced the dramatic trombones and crashing timpani against those long Italianate themes, and the chorus sang superbly.

And here's news: Artistic director Tom Bankston announced that the featured star for their annual opera gala next year will be Metropolitan Opera bass-baritone James Morris. The gala, with James Morris in recital, will be May 15 and 17, 2009.

Next season will open with "Turandot" (Oct. 18, 24 and 26), followed by "The Elixir of Love" (Feb. 14, 20 and 22); and "The Merry Widow" (March 28, April 3 and 5). So far, casting includes soprano Robin Follman as Turandot, Dongwon Shin as Calaf, and in Elixir, tenor Scott Piper as Nemorino.

The company puts on next "The Barber of Seville," opening March 29. You don't want to miss this year's opera gala, starring Angela Brown with the Wilberforce University Choir, May 2 and 4.

For ticket or other info, visit www.daytonopera.org.

Photo by Scott J. Kimmins


Ticket deal boosts symphony crowds

A January ticket sale helped boost attendance at the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, the orchestra says. The one-week sale offered subscriptions to all remaining season concerts at $30 per seat, with a minimum purchase of three.

The "Big Ticket Sale" resulted in 282 new subscriptions, a 48 percent increase over last year's January campaign. An additional 283 single tickets were sold to those who already had season tickets in a special offer for subscribers.

The symphony's new marketing director Sherri Prentiss added some new angles to help this year's sale, such as a sponsorship with PNC, which allowed for extra advertisting and cross promotion.

To find out about upcoming shows, visit www.cincinnatisymphony.org.


Chamber Orchestra branches out to Anderson


You read it here first:

Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra has been named orchestra-in-residence of the new, $17 million Anderson Center, to open in March on Five Mile Road.

"We've been talking for a long time about doing something in Anderson Township," says Larry Magnesen, incoming president of the Chamber Orchestra board and a Fifth Third Bank executive who lives in Anderson Township. "When we heard (the center) included a theater of 225 seats – it's really perfect for the sort of intimate, personal performances that the Chamber Orchestra is known for."

The theater in the new Anderson Center has a full stage with orchestra pit, rigging, dressing rooms, a sound system and other state-of-the art features. Chamber Orchestra trustees took a hard hat tour while it was under construction.

"It's a great facility and I think acoustically it will be very nice, so we thought it would be a terrific thing," Magnesen says.

The Chamber Orchestra will help kick off Anderson Center's grand opening weekend with a gala concert on March 13.

The orchestra will continue to call Memorial Hall its home, but will add second performances at the Anderson venue. Three concerts are scheduled for June: A children's concert with Madcap Puppets (June 1); a concert with violinist Nicolas Kendall (June 15) and a concert with soprano Indra Thomas (June 22).

In addition, says CCO executive director Robert Kellison, the orchestra will perform outreach visits to schools in the Forest Hills School District. Conductor Mischa Santora has already guest-conducted the orchestra at Anderson High School.

Magnesen hopes that having an orchestra in ones own community will inspire residents to give classical music a try.

"Having it right in your community is a plus," Magnesen says. "I think people will like the idea of having the concerts available in their community to take their children to. It breaks down another barrier, in that people don't have that additional drive into the city on a Sunday."

Anderson Township trustee president Russ Jackson said he was pleased that the orchestra had approached the Township about a relationship.

The theater is good news for other groups, too. The Beechmont Players will be moving back to Anderson after a decade of playing at Clermont College in Batavia. "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" is slated for late February. Other groups to use the new hall include the Forest Aires, Anderson Community Band and the Southwest Ohio Music Teachers Association.


Monday, January 28, 2008

In memoriam Patricia Corbett: A sad day for the arts in Cincinnati


Today around 3 p.m., I got a call from the Corbett Foundation that Patricia Corbett had passed away. One cannot begin to express what she and her husband, J. Ralph Corbett have done for music, culture, education and medicine in our region, and even around the country and the world. Few patrons are left in our city and our country who possess Mrs. Corbett's passion and devotion for the arts. I'll never forget following her around CCM onetime for a profile I wrote of her. She was probably in her 90s, even then. We attended a show in Patricia Corbett Theater at CCM, and she sat in the front row (her usual place), beaming and waving down to the orchestra in the pit. Afterwards, she found her way backstage, walking quickly in her little white tennis shoes to find her stars, so that she could congratulate them.

Watch for more in tomorrow's Enquirer, and do post your personal memories here, or on the enquirer's message board.


Sour notes in Columbus

The Columbus Dispatch has an editorial today endorsing the Columbus Symphony board's proposal to slash players, budget and the season there.

According to Douglas Fisher, second bassoonist and president of the musician's union Local 103, the musicians plan to issue a press release in response to the board's announcement to fire 22 of the 53 full-time musicians at the end of their current contract.

Fisher lives in both Columbus and Hyde Park. He is married to Catharine Carroll, a viola professor at UC's College-Conservatory of Music.

Scroll down for previous news about this issue.


Friday, January 25, 2008

The sonic cathedrals of Bruckner


Bruckner’s Symphony No. 9 in D Minor lies somewhere between heaven and earth, with pure and simple moments that contrast against great cathedrals of sound.

On Friday, Paavo Järvi and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra explored Bruckner's Ninth for the first time together. It was an hour-long journey that couldn't be hurried, a climb up Mount Everest that, in the end, took you to an unexpectedly spiritual place.

In three movements, Bruckner's most transcendent symphony was unfinished at his death, and may have been his own farewell to life. A deeply religious man, the composer was not searching for meaning but expressing his faith. It exudes a kind of mystical radiance.

Hearing the sonic splendor of the expanded brass choir in Music Hall's acoustical space seemed to emphasize the grandeur of this music. There was the ringing chord at the end of the first movement, for instance, and the extraordinary timbre of the four Wagner tubas that colored the finale.

The journey began in the primordial depths, and traveled seamlessly through towering summits and sunny, Austrian valleys. From the first movement to the last, Järvi’s view was spacious, full of warmth and richly detailed, and his pacing evolved naturally.

The string sound was plush and the brass choirs were immaculate and beautifully shaped. The driving power of the scherzo was a riveting contrast to the delicate character of the trio at its center. Softer moments had a sweetness and poignancy; massive buildups had shattering power.

Järvi allowed his soloists freedom of expression, yet one always felt a sense of architecture. The third movement was a glowing summation, unhurried and warmly played. The orchestra, playing at the height of its powers, sounded magnificent.

A brass-lover's evening, the first half was devoted to the sound of the trumpet. Swedish virtuoso Hakan Hardenberger, who is a professor at the Malmo Conservatory, was soloist in works by Estonian composers Arvo Part and Eino Tamberg.

Part wrote his "Little Concerto on B-A-C-H" for Hardenberger by adding a trumpet line to his atonal canvas, "Collage on B-A-C-H" of 1964. The trumpet part made a compelling counterpoint, and definitely enhanced the original piece (which Järvi has recorded on Virgin Classics).

In the second movement, Hardenberger's sound on the piccolo trumpet was striking in the quotation of a Bach Sarabande (from Bach's English Suite No. 6), which was answered in the orchestra by slow-moving tone clusters.

Tamberg's Concerto was a vibrant showpiece for the trumpeter's superb control, tonal color and stunning phrasing. Tamberg composed his work for Russian trumpet virtuoso Timofei Dokshitcher in 1972, and its style is reminiscent of Shostakovich. The finale was a staccato perpetual motion, played with relentless bursts of energy.

For an encore, Hardenberger showed the range of his artistry in a slow, sensuous "My Funny Valentine."

The concert repeats at 8 p.m. today in Music Hall. Tickets: 513-381-3300, www.cincinnatisymphony.org. What did you think? Submit your own review and rate this concert at cincinnati.com/entertainment.


In memoriam: Hyde Park arts patron Sue Straus

Sue Straus, whose projects include the new School for Creative and Performing Arts, died on Wednesday.


Paavo to make guest appearance Saturday at CCM


CSO music director Paavo Jarvi will be at CCM tomorrow for a two-hour masterclass, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., with conducting students. He'll be working with the CCM Philharmonia (directed by Mark Gibson)on Mahler's Symphony No. 4 in Patricia Corbett Theater on the UC campus.

The event is free and open to the public. Visit ccm.uc.edu for more info.


Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Piano, dance on the chopping block at SCPA?




First the good news: A group of loyal supporters of the School for Creative and Performing Arts put on a benefit last month to raise money for endangered programs at the Cincinnati Public School for talented kids.

On Friday, Alvin Roehr, president of Schiff, Kreidler-Shall Insurance, will present a check for $54,000 to the school, earmarked for programs in dance, band and piano. Specifically, the funding will benefit artist in residence Meridith Benson (dance), artist in residence David Burchfield (band) and Simon Goykhman, who teaches piano.

Now the reality. A mom of one 12-year-old who studies piano is fearful that music lessons will be cut. Her son's teacher, Goykhman, studied with Regina Horowitz in Kharkiv and is listed in "Who's Who Among American Teachers."

She writes:

"You may not be aware that SCPA has lost over $2 million of funding in the last 4 years as CPS 'levelled the playing field' and eliminated all extra funds for magnet schools. So somehow, SCPA is offering these amazing arts classes with the same funds per student as every other CPS high school. This past spring, piano was on the chopping block, but they decided to halve the dance department instead. But with CPS facing a roughly $56 million shortfall if the March levy doesn't pass, you can see our fear that piano, with its small pupil:teacher ratio, will simply become unaffordable."

Will there be any renowned or distinguished programs or exceptional students left at SCPA to populate the fabulous new campus, now making huge progress at the corner of Central Parkway and Elm??

SCPA Ballet Photo Rene Micheo


Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Hirokami threatens to leave if orchestra reduced

Checking in on the dire situation in Columbus, Adaptistration is reporting that music director Junichi Hirokami is opposed to downsizing the Columbus Symphony Orchestra as part of a restructuring plan. (Take a look at some of the links to stories about the crisis, as well as the musicians Web site.)

The blame is being placed on board members for failing to raise money or community support (see the post below this, as well, for a brief summary.)

"Any downsizing of the orchestra would be "catastrophic," Junichi Hirokami said. "If the orchestra is reduced, I have no purpose to stay here."

Cincinnati has a large pool of excellent freelance musicians, and Columbus employs about 10 local musicians on a regular basis. Many of them, you'll also hear locally in the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, Kentucky Symphony, Cincinnati Ballet Orchestra, Dayton Philharmonic, subbing in the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and elsewhere around the region.

Cincinnati cellist Tom Guth writes, "I've played up in Columbus for 10 years, and have noticed the change in crowds, attitude, reduction of players. ... I kind of felt they were already down to a minimum of players and would have to cut weeks -- not weeks and core players."

Violinist Manami White says "It's quite shocking, appalling and demoralizing that this is happening. I am quite sure that if they cut the number of full-time players stated, that there will be no work for us, the commuting musicians.

"What will the public do when there are no more arts organizations around? Will they miss it?" she asks.


Monday, January 21, 2008

CCM baritone advances to the Met

Baritone Jonathan Lasch, 26, a student at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and native of Plymouth, Minn., tied for first place in the Tri-State Regional Round of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, held Saturday at University of Kentucky, Lexington.

"I was honestly so surprised when I heard my name as one of the two winners, because I didn't sing nearly my best, and I heard so many wonderful singers," Lasch e-mailed.

He sang Ford's Monologue from "Falstaff," Hamlet's Drinking Aria, and "O du mein holder Abendstern" from Wagner's "Tannhauser."

Lasch is also a recipient of the Seybold-Russell Scholarship at CCM, and will be featured in the lead role of Shrike in CCM's production of "Miss Lonelyhearts," a new opera by Lowell Liebermann, premiering Feb. 8 and 10 in Corbett Auditorium.

The other winner is UK soprano Afton Battle, 26, who told the Lexington Herald-Leader that she is a distant cousin of famed soprano (and CCM grad) Kathleen Battle.

They will advance to the national semi-finals, to be held at the Metropolitan Opera in in February, with a chance to win cash prizes of up to $15,000. The semi-finals will be Feb. 17, followed by the finals on Feb. 24.

Elizabeth Koontz, a graduate of Walnut Hills High School and an Indiana University student, won an encouragement award.

Second place winner was Kathryn Leemhuis, 24, a mezzo-soprano from Indiana University. Winning third was IU soprano Jung Nan Yoon, 27, a citizen of South Korea.
The regional competition consisted of winners from the Indiana, Southern Ohio and Kentucky districts.

The judges were Carroll Freeman (filling in for Opera Theatre of St. Louis director Charles McKay, whose flight was canceled), the Met's George Darden and renowned soprano Mignon Dunn.

Click here to see a photo on culture writer Rich Copley's blog.


Friday, January 18, 2008

Pavarotti, Tajo and a young James Levine


Tune into WGUC (90.9 FM) tomorrow at 1:30 p.m. for a legendary performance of Puccini's La Bohème, starring opera luminaries Renata Scotto as Mimì, Luciano Pavarotti as Rodolfo and Cincinnati's famed opera basso Italo Tajo, as Benoit. A young James Levine is on the podium.

A tribute to the life of the late tenor, the opera was originally broadcast March 19, 1977, and recorded four days after the historic first Live from the Met telecast of La Bohème. This special archival broadcast of La Bohème has not been heard anywhere since it originally aired in 1977 and features Pavarotti in his only radio broadcast performance of La Bohème at the Met.

"Pavarotti: In His Own Words," a special two part feature, will be heard during the intermissions.


Ex-P&G executive sings in Macbeth this weekend


David Michael, the former brand manager-turned opera singer, has a role in this weekend's Macbeth with Dayton Opera. Michael is singing the role of Banquo, who unfortunately dies in the second act. The opera stars Michele Capalbo and Lester Lynch. Dates are Jan. 19, 25 and 27 in the glamorous new Schuster Center. Visit www.daytonopera.org for more info.

Photo: Michael as the King of Egypt in Cincinnati Opera's Aida in 2000.


CAN THIS SYMPHONY BE SAVED?


Columbus Symphony may slash players, season, budget

Musicians of the Columbus Symphony are in shock according to a story in today's Dispatch, about the news that Columbus Symphony board leaders are proposing a restructuring plan that will cut its musicians by 40 percent -- from 53 to 31 -- and reduce its performance weeks from 46 to 34. All that, of course, will slash $3 million from the orchestra's annual budget of $12 million.

The "other" CSO employs about 10 Cincinnati players on a regular basis.

To compare, our own CSO has 92 musicians (also a reduction), a 52-week contract and about a $35 million budget.

"We feel completely betrayed," Jim Akins, orchestra committee chair, told the Dispatch. He fears that it will mean the end of the Columbus Symphony.

The Columbus Symphony anticipates a $1.5 million deficit this year, and had $2.2 million in red ink last season. Ticket sales have been disappointing but improved slightly -- but corporate and individual donors are lagging, the article says.

It's sad, too, for the new music director, Junichi Hirokami, who is in his second season.

The orchestra has had a rocky history with its executive directors. It nearly crumbled under the burden of a $2 million debt and a musicians' strike during the reign of a previous music director Christian Badea. In 1998, the board ousted its executive director after an unexpected large operating deficit.

Recently, the musicians have taken a pay cut and a reduction of performance weeks, hoping they'd be reinstated.

This followed a public outcry and another contentious period between musicians, board and the public, when in May 2002, the board refused to renew the contract of popular music director Alessandro Siciliani. Shocked symphony fans formed a grass-roots movement to reinstate the maestro.

In 2004, the orchestra found itself without a music director, an executive director and a board chair. In addition, both the former board chair and the interim president were in trouble with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Then in 2006, Hirokami, a popular guest conductor with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, was given a three-year contract as music director. ...

Across the river in Louisville, things have fared no better with the Louisville Orchestra.

Clearly, there is something very wrong with this whole orchestra industry business model, especially when people in the general public are not committing to subscriptions. Clearly today's boards of trustees seem completely disconnected from the public that it so desperately needs. Then there's the fundraising issue. In Cincinnati, there have been loyal major million-dollar donors, but the annual fund hasn't included as many small donors across the entire community as is typical of other major orchestras.

IDEAS??


The woman behind the scenes at the KSO


Speaking of great marketing ideas for symphonies, did you see the story about the Kentucky Symphony last week?

Here's a note from Angela Williamson, general manager of the KSO (and Mrs. J.R. Cassidy). She's been employed by the KSO since 1996, starting as an intern. She's been an accountant, and a CPA in Florida, before coming to CCM to get her MBA/MA.

She sings AND does accounting...

"When I left public accounting 13 years ago I thought I was giving up all the late night deadlines, crazy tax season, etc. Little did I know then that I would spend the next 12 years with more grant, report, and show deadlines imaginable and would trade a tax season for a major fundraiser(gala).

I must second Carol Sparks comment, it is both exhilarating and exhausting at the same time. When the letters start pouring in from students after every education concert, I always think "Wow we are making a difference and I wouldn't trade this for the world." Thanks for sharing the story with Greater Cincinnati.

The A.S.O.L.(I know they changed their name) tells orchestras to try what J.R. has been doing for the past 16 years. I often wonder if he should become a programming consultant. But where in the world would he find the time?

One reason I began working for the KSO so long ago, was the vision that music is too important to be saved only for people who know about its history. Sunday's show was a fine example. Most in the audience don't attend Opera and would know little or nothing of the story line or what is going on in the soprano's mind (even with surcaps in English). Obviously the gentlemen reviewing was looking for more avant-garde images -- he missed the point. It was about making the music more accessible to average everyday folks. Oh well, the audience loved it, and that's what matters, right?"


Thursday, January 17, 2008

Fashion report


OK, we all know Thibaudet is a sensational pianist, but he's a natty dresser, too. He seems to have ditched the red socks. But on Friday, he was in an interesting two-tone-black suit by London designer Vivienne Westwood, with a rhinestone belt buckle (we think).

Oh, and here's the musical review. What did you think?

If you do nothing else this season, go hear the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra play Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition" in Music Hall.

It's in the classical top 40. But the performance led by Paavo Järvi on Thursday in Music Hall stands out for its electrifying contrasts and sheer spontaneity, from the edgy gnome of "Gnomus" to "The Great Gate of Kiev," ablaze with gongs and chimes.

"Pictures at an Exhibition," orchestrated by Maurice Ravel, capped a program of mostly Ravel. A crowd-pleaser from start to finish, the program opened with Ravel's charming "Le Tombeau de Couperin," and included the Concerto for Left Hand with French pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet.

Mussorgsky's "Pictures" began life as a piano suite, inspired by the art of Victor Hartmann, a friend of the composer. The work depicts a stroll through a gallery, and each piece is a miniature tone picture.

With help from Ravel's brilliant orchestration, Järvi illuminated the details of each "picture" in living color. The opening "Promenade" bristled with energy; "The Old Castle" had a mystical flavor, as the haunting sound of James Bunte's saxophone died away after the orchestral cutoff.

It was a performance of exhilarating contrasts and sharp characterizations, and the orchestra performed it superbly. "Tuileries" was mercurial and light; "Catacombs," with its spacious brass choirs, had an atmosphere of depth, power and sinister imagery. I've never heard such a hair-raising Baba Yaga, the witch of Russian folklore in "The Little Hut on Chicken's Legs." Järvi's pacing led naturally to the majestic "The Great Gate of Kiev," with full-blooded, brilliant brass and great intensity in the strings.

The evening’s piano soloist offered brilliance of a different kind. Ravel composed his Concerto in D Major for Left Hand for Paul Wittgenstein, who lost his right arm in World War I. In one long expanse, it is an endurance test of the pianist, who is put through feats of keyboard-spanning trials, while playing melody and accompaniment with one hand alone.

Thibaudet is a pianist of immense finesse and glittering, effortless technique. His control of color and melodic line while navigating knuckle-breaking cascades was indeed impressive, although at times his sound grew steely and he had a tendency to push the tempo.

Nevertheless, it was a tour-de-force. It was in the lyrical passages where we had a taste of his truly beautiful touch and sound that is so uniquely French.

Järvi opened the program with an irresistible performance of Ravel's "Le Tombeau de Couperin." Again written first for piano, it is a suite of miniatures. Its modal harmonies and old dance forms give it an antique air.

In contrast to the brilliance that came later, this was all about subtlety and lightness. The Prelude was scintillating and clean, like a fleeting moment of sun captured in an instant. The Menuet had a nostalgic air, and the Rigaudon began briskly, with gestures played in broad flourishes. Principal oboist Dwight Parry phrased his solos memorably.

The concert repeats at 11 a.m. today and 8 p.m. Saturday in Music Hall. Tickets: 513-381-3300. What did you think? Submit your own review and rate this concert at cincinnati.com/entertainment.

Thibaudet also performs at 2:30 p.m. Sunday at the Xavier Piano Series, in Gallagher Student Theater on the XU campus. Tickets: 513-745-3161.

Here's his program: Five pieces by Debussy from Twelve Preludes, Book II; Chopin's Nocturnes in B-flat Minor and E-flat Major; Grande Valse Brillante in A Minor and in E-flat Major; and Brahms' Sonata No. 3 in F Minor.


Deborah Voigt and MTT in San Francisco


Last week, while visiting my hometown San Francisco, I caught a concert with the San Francisco Symphony -- between some of the worst storm systems in the Bay Area in the last decade. (We counted three.) I was curious for several reasons: Michael Tilson Thomas was conducting Beethoven's Fourth, and the newly slimmed-down diva Deborah Voigt -- a smash at recent May Festivals -- was singing Strauss' "Four Last Songs."

There were a few empty seats for the Wednesday night concert in 2,700-seat Davies Hall (I attributed that to the miserable weather, and the fact that thousands of San Franciscans were still without power) but artssf.com reports that the show was completely sold out on Jan. 10. (If you're comparing attendance with CSO, they gave 4 performances, plus a fifth that was a Friday rush-hour concert, sans the singer.)

Besides the music, there were several things that made this a memorable experience. The newish venue, of course, with bars and small tables set up at intermission, was a definite plus. Afterwards, Tilson Thomas stayed for a Q&A with the audience. He was seated on the stage, and about 50 patrons stayed, despite the late weekday time. In terms of his presence and communicative gift with an audience, MTT is second only to Leonard Bernstein.

Voigt, who had gastric bypass surgery about two years ago, was radiant in the Strauss, and her luxuriant voice richly conveyed the autumnal quality of this music. Tilson Thomas' orchestra provided a stirring backdrop -- particularly concertmaster Alexander Barantschik in "Beim Schlafengehen." Still, the orchestral color, warmth and the all-encompassing swells of sound were missing, making this a good but less-than-satisfying performance.

Their collaboration was stunning, though, in Barber's "Andromache's Farewell," a showstopper in its first SF Symphony performance. In the text, Troy has been captured by the Greeks, and Andromache, widow of the Prince of Troy, faces the death of her child before she is forced to become the slave-wife of Achilles' son. (Has anyone ever sung this amazing piece in Cincinnati?)

Voigt soared magnificently through wide-ranging flights of emotion and dazzling high notes, and the orchestra was superb.

Tilson Thomas opened with the SFS's first performances of Glasgow-born composer Oliver Knussen's Symphony No. 3. The composer, who scored the symphony in one sweeping movement, used harp, celesta and guitar as part of his orchestral palette. The piece was interesting, if cliched. (It seems I've heard this all before, many times.) The opening was a pointillistic sound world of bongos and percussion, slaps and cracks in the strings, brief trombone licks and repetitious motives that echoed between sections of the orchestra. A slow section sagged, but grew to an effective climax in flurries of timpani and horn calls, before drifting away atmospherically. MTT, who appeared slighter and grayer than I recall, led convincingly and with clear affection for the piece.

To conclude, MTT's Beethoven Symphony No. 4 crackled with intensity, and lyrical passages were pastoral and very Austrian. Always an expressive conductor, MTT turned this way and that, seeming to know the best "camera angles" but also paying attention to his musicians and allowing them great freedom of phrasing. In the scherzo, he actually walked off the podium into the orchestra, while communing with the winds. Where Paavo's Beethoven lately has been all electricity and thrust, MTT spent more time smelling the roses.

Sitting in that hall, which allowed the audience to almost FEEL the sound and presence of the orchestra, made me wonder how anyone can ever achieve that quality in a renovated Music Hall.


Wednesday, January 16, 2008

The Candidates are in the Building

Things are hopping at UC's College-Conservatory of Music, where candidates in the searches for opera chair and Dean of the college are holding meet-and-greet sessions.

On the opera front: Two of the four finalists for the J. Ralph Corbett Distinguished Chair in Opera -- Nicholas Muni and Robert Tannenbaum -- worked Friday and Monday, respectively, with opera students in a presentation of opera scenes in Dieterle Vocal Arts Center.

Next Wednesday, Steven Daigle will visit. The fourth finalist, Jonathan Eaton, is visiting in late February.

They might bump into the Dean candidates, who are visiting the campus for two-day sessions now through the end of January.

The search committee, chaired by Louis D. Bilionis, dean of the College of Law, has identified five candidates. The five are meeting with CCM faculty, staff, students, patrons, members of the Cincinnati arts community (hmmm, wonder what that means?) and UC officials during their two-day visits.

The search committee has worked with the search firm of Russell Reynolds Associates.

The candidates are -- drumroll please:

1. Anthony Paul De Ritis, chair of the music department at Northeastern University (and in town today). He founded the BSO Online Conservatory in partnershp with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Northeastern University, and was awarded a three-year, $1 million grant from the U.S. State Department and Bureau of Educational Affairs. He's also a composer, whose "Melody for Peace" was performed by the Prague Philharmonic and the Orchestra of St. Luke's at Lincoln Center.

2. Robert Kemble Dodson, whose previous posts include Vice Principal and Principal of the Royal Conservatory of Music at the University of Toronto, Dean of Lawrence University's Conservatory of Music and subsequently the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music, and most recently Provost of the New England Conservatory. He is also a cellist, and performed internationally with the Vaghy String Quartet. (He visited last week.)

3. Douglas Knehans, director and head of the Conservatorium of Music at the University of Tasmania (who visits Jan. 28-29). A flutist and a composer, Knehans founded the Australian International Summer Orchestra Institute, which attracts college graduates and pre-professional orchestral musicians who are tutored by principal players from the Sydney, Melbourne, West Australian, and the Tasmanian symphony orchestras, with concerts being recorded for national broadcast.

4. Dale J. Lonis, Executive Director of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra (visiting next week). He previously served as Dean of the Faculty of Music at the University of Manitoba. He was also Director of Bands and Coordinator of Conducting and Performance Organizations at the University of Missouri-Columbia, and Assistant Director of Bands at Northwestern University. As a conductor, he has led wind ensembles, new music groups, and orchestras across six continents, and is co-founder of the Israel Wind Symphony.

5. George B. Stauffer, Dean of the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University (in town tomorrow and Friday). The Mason Gross School is an arts conservatory encompassing dance, music, theater arts, and visual arts, with 90 full-time faculty and 1,000 undergraduate and graduate students. As a music historian, Stauffer has written extensively on the music and culture of the Baroque era and the life and works of J. S. Bach. For 22 years, he was director of chapel music and organist at Columbia University.

For a job description and more information about their accomplishments, visit www.ccm.uc.edu/deansearch.

Not to be picky here but looking at both searches -- where are the women?


Ohio-trained keyboardists save the day at Organ Concert Series


Duo organists Elizabeth and Raymond Chenault have canceled their appearance on January 27th with the Organ Concert Series at Hyde Park Community United Methodist Church due to illness. Pianist Jason Cutmore and organist Daniel Sullivan – aka the New York Piano-Organ Duo –will step in to present a unique concert exploring the combined colors of their keyboard instruments.

The artists met as students at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music before pursuing their New York careers. The program will include "The Three Cornered Hat" and "Ritual Fire Dance" by Manuel de Falla. The concert, 4 p.m. Jan. 27, is free. Because of the series' popularity, get there early to find a seat. 513-871-1345, www.hydeparkchurch.com.


Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Tickets and parking news

Did you know that you can now park right across from Music Hall, where Washington Park School once stood? The Parking Company of America operates a temporary parking lot on the former site of Washington Park School at the corner of Elm and 14th Streets. The cost is $5 for Music Hall events. The lot is well lit and is directly across the street from the main Elm Street entrance to Music Hall.

And this week, the CSO has a ticket sale -- all seats are $30 for all remaining CSO concerts. If you buy four concerts, they'll throw in a free CD. The sale ends Jan. 19 at midnight. Call 513-381-3300, or check the CSO Web site.


Opera -- Early and Often

Cincinnati Opera will have an earlier start time of 7:30 p.m. in the coming 2008 Festival Season. The change is to accommodate its older patrons, as well as those traveling distances to attend the opera, the company says on its Web site.

Prelude dinners and Opera Insights will also start 30 minutes earlier. Sunday matinees will begin at 3:00 p.m.

What do you think of the change?


Monday, January 14, 2008

The symphony review, and a frosty usher


This week, I went to the CSO on Sunday afternoon, and was pleased to see a fair-sized crowd with lots of families and children. So, after intermission, I remarked to an usher that there seemed to be many children there, and she said, "Yes, are they bothering you?"

I was rather taken aback that she would assume I was bothered by them! Is there a disconnect here? Don't we want children at concerts? I was just glad to see them ...

Here's my take on the concert. What did you think -- of the concert or the usher?


Friday, January 11, 2008

CSO prez to retire this June

It seems like big news always seems to happen when I'm away for a couple of days... After 37 years, CSO president Steven Monder has announced his retirement. Even though Paavo Jarvi and Erich Kunzel are the "face" of the orchestra, the most powerful figure behind the scenes is Monder, who has had the longest tenure of any orchestra executive director in the country. As the board begins a search for a new leader, what qualities do you think should be most desirable for the president's office of the symphony?


Monday, January 07, 2008

CCM student advances to Met regionals

Two singers, including one from CCM, have won the Metropolitan Opera Council District Auditions held on Saturday at CCM. Jonathan Lasch, a CCM student, and Elizabeth Koontz, who attends IU, each won $1,000 and will go on to compete in the regionals on Jan. 19.

In addition, the judges gave three "encouragement" awards of $300 each to CCM singers Heather Phillips, Christopher Johnstone and Claire Maloney.

The Tri-State Regional Auditions, to be held at 2 p.m. on Jan. 19 in Memorial Hall, on the UK campus in Lexington.

Congrats to all...


Friday, January 04, 2008

Carmon DeLeone's show canceled on Warm 98


Warm 98 will air Carmon DeLeone's final show, Sunday Morning Music Hall, this Sunday morning, from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. "Sunday Morning Music Hall" debuted on Easter Sunday, March 31, 1991, with top ratings ever since. We are waiting for news on why this decision was made. For now, Carmon has e-mailed to let us notify listeners, with the wish "We hope that SMMH might someday find a new home on the air in Cincinnati."

In honor of Carmon, I'm printing the opening to a story I wrote 10 years ago, when he invited me to sit in and talk about Dave Brubeck. It was Christmastime -- I remember I brought him and his sidekick Jeff Davis (pictured) a plate of my homemade Swedish cookies, and we nibbled and chatted until maybe 2 a.m. Of course, listeners weren't supposed to know that we were taping the show at midnight, and not live on Sunday morning.

The story ran Feb. 2, 1997 in the Enquirer. Back in those days, we used courtesy titles:

It's midnight on a midweek winter night. Downtown Cincinnati is still and frozen. But on the 12th floor of the Textile Building at Fourth and Elm streets, Carmon DeLeone and his producer-buddy, Jeff Davis, are getting ready to roll.

"Good morning!" Mr. DeLeone booms into the microphone, as Mr. Davis listens at the controls. Mr. DeLeone looks distinguished in his tweed jacket, but there is a mischievous glint in his eye. He twists on his stool, saying, "This is Carmon DeLeone, your host of Sunday Morning Music Hall, and I taught Little Richard how to scream."

Mr. Davis grins.

"People like to think we're sitting here in the morning, doing this show," says Mr. DeLeone, sipping bottled water, his drink of choice. But chances are, when the show airs from 8 to 11 a.m., he'll be tuning in at his North Avondale home - the same time as the 22,300 listeners who have made the WRRM-FM (98.5 MHz) show No. 1 in Greater Cincinnati.

Mr. DeLeone, 54, has been an important part of Cincinnati's music scene for more than three decades. Dependable. Dashing. Competent.

When he walks into a room, heads turn. Although it's now salt-and-pepper, his dark brown, curly hair was a familiar, thick mop on the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra podium for 12 years, leaving in 1980.

"People still think I'm with the orchestra," he says with an easy smile and a shrug of his shoulders.

Although Mr. DeLeone doesn't have the high profile of Erich Kunzel or Keith Lockhart, he is one of the busiest conductors around: 27 years with Cincinnati Ballet, 23 years conducting The Nutcracker, 15 years heading the Middletown Symphony, 11 years directing the Illinois Philharmonic, on the air at WARM-98 for 300shows. ...


Wednesday, January 02, 2008

Is diva Kathleen Battle making a comeback?


Soprano Kathleen Battle, a CCM grad and Cincinnati favorite despite her travails at the Met, appeared New Year's Eve and New Year's Day concerts to open the mammoth new, $400 million National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing. Battle appeared with the Chinese pianist Lang Lang with the China National Symphony Orchestra. My press release says that it's the beginning of a big year for Battle, who will return to New York's Carnegie Hall for her first recital there in many years, this spring.

I can't find a review yet of her concerts but the China Daily is claiming "soprano overload" because Kiri Te Kanawa, Kathleen Battle and Angela Gheorghiu are set to hit Beijing all at the same time ...


Tuesday, January 01, 2008

Kristjan Jarvi wows in New Year's Eve bash


As the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra's brass and percussion sections built to a fever pitch at the conclusion of Duke Ellington's "Harlem," the New Year's Eve audience in Music Hall rose with a shriek.

It was a rock-star welcome for conductor Kristjan Järvi, making his debut with his brother Paavo Järvi's orchestra Monday night. One thing is certain: he knows how to make an orchestra swing. The younger Järvi projected the kind of enthusiasm, electricity and panache that resulted in the highest-octane New Year's Eve concert in recent memory.

Järvi's program paired Ellington's "Harlem" with Bernstein's Symphonic Dances and Concert Suite No. 1 from "West Side Story," a juxtaposition that illustrated the roots of Bernstein's orchestral jazz. It was an ideal program for the audience of about 2,200 revelers, many who stayed to toast the New Year at the symphony's gala fundraiser ball.

The 35-year-old conductor is known to Cincinnati Opera fans for his fine work in the pit of "Nixon in China" last summer. For pure visual effect, the lanky conductor didn't disappoint onstage, as he crouched, snapped his fingers, jumped and tossed back his boyish mop of hair. Yet every gesture made musical sense. He led with a precise, clear beat, anticipating every syncopation and jazz riff and communicating, too, the fun he and the musicians were having performing this music.

A whole row of saxophonists entered for Ellington's "Harlem," an exuberant postcard written in 1950 and intended for Toscanini's NBC Symphony. (The maestro rejected it.) The piece unfolds like a jazzy tone poem in many moods, strolling through Harlem neighborhoods past churchgoers, a parade and a funeral. (Too bad there were no printed program notes to help the listener.)

Järvi paced it well and for best dramatic effect, working through the slow, sultry themes and raising the roof in the wild moments. The piece offered a chance for orchestral soloists to strut their stuff, including big band-style screech trumpets and sensuous solos for trombone and clarinet. The percussion section put on a show with a flurry of bongos and fantastic drumming (a clear precursor to Bernstein's "Mambo") while Järvi shook his shoulders to the beat.

The evening opened with a splashy performance of Bernstein's Overture to "Candide," before Järvi launched into the Symphonic Dances from "West Side Story." The dances, full of so many familiar tunes, were well-played and vibrantly led, from the finger-snapping cool jazz to the white heat of "Mambo." One of the memorable themes was principal French horn Elizabeth Freimuth's solo in "Somewhere."

After intermission, Concert Suite No. 1 featured soloists Ellie Dehn and Rodrick Dixon in songs and duets from "West Side Story," and here Järvi proved an able accompanist. Dixon, who has appeared in many PBS television shows, impressed in his beautifully felt "Maria," ending in a high falsetto. The singers, who used microphones, communicated wonderfully in their duet, "Tonight," causing the audience to bring them back several times.

For encores, Järvi repeated Bernstein's "Mambo" and the audience sang along to "Auld Lang Syne."

People were buzzing after this show. Were you there? What did you think?

Coming up: Paavo Järvi conducts the CSO on Jan. 12-13 in Music Hall, with pianist Alexander Toradze. Tickets: 513-381-3300, www.cincinnatisymphony.org.

Photo: Peter Rigaud



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