In Sunday’s (4/24) Plain Dealer (Cleveland), Zachary Lewis previews this season’s ChamberFest Cleveland, scheduled for June 15 through July 2 at various venues. Co-founded by Franklin Cohen, longtime former principal clarinet in the Cleveland Orchestra, and his daughter Diana Cohen, and now entering its fifth season, it “has emerged as one of the region’s richest cultural assets…. Titled ‘Tales and Legends,’ the just-announced lineup for this summer reflects the depth, creativity and ambition of a mature institution. ‘It’s amazing how much material there really is,’ said ChamberFest co-founder Diana Cohen of this year’s theme…. Indeed there is. Over the course of two weeks this summer the ever-widening pool of ChamberFest musicians will present an enormous variety of music that tells, alludes to or is based on some kind of narrative. In addition to masterpieces by Beethoven, Brahms, Schumann, Franck and Strauss, look out for new and exotic scores. In that category fall works by Schulhoff and Kurtag as well as Sebastian Currier, Kurt Rohde, and Merima Kljuco.” While a core group of the festival’s original players remains, “the 2016 edition also will spotlight several artists new to the fold, all of whom Cohen said share the festival’s collaborative spirit.”
Posted April 28, 2016
