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REVIEW (by Peter Jacobi in Bloomington's Herald Times) of MOZART AND HIS PIANO: A CONCERT PRESENTATION BY MIKE LEE

5/31/2016

 
Sunday afternoon was to belong to Nigel North, the virtuoso lutenist who honors with his presence both the concert world and the Jacobs School faculty. Reportedly, he suffered a back injury the day before and had to cancel his recital in St. Thomas Lutheran Church.
In his place, BLEMF called upon pianist Mike Cheng-Yu Lee who, on Saturday, had helped celebrate the late faculty pianist Edmund Battersby. As partner with Hsuan Chang Kitano, Lee had stunned an audience, certainly me, playing “Mozart’s Sonata for Two Pianos,” K.448. That performance was a tour de force.
His Sunday appearance was a lecture/music combine about “Mozart and His Piano.” Its climax was Lee’s reading of Mozart’s “Sonata in F,” K.332, on fortepiano, an absolutely gorgeous performance that stressed the work’s lyricism, an element strongly suggestive of the Romantic period soon to come.
As keyboard performer, Lee really is a major talent, no doubt about it; I expect press notices to start coming before long in praise of his musicianship. As Nigel North’s substitute, he was a giving soul to be thanked for his generosity. As lecturer, however, though he knows his stuff, he should have been told that a microphone helps get the message out clearly and that back-and-forth physical movement should be limited because constant and purposeless pacing also gets in the way of successful communication. Call that advice for the future.

REVIEW (by Peter Jacobi in Bloomington's Herald Times) of OPERA NOVA

5/31/2016

 
The seven musicians in Opera Nova used their performance to sharpen details for a forthcoming debut at the prestigious West Coast version of BLEMF, the Berkeley Early Music Festival. So, they’ve gained a foothold in the profession, and the manner in which they took us, their Sunday audience, on “A Musical Tour of 17th Century Italian Cities and Courts” served as proof that they’re on the right path.
The performance at the First Presbyterian Church amounted to a colorful tapestry of tunes, sonatas and canzones, songs rich in melodies that folks would hear informally on streets and, more formally, at inside gatherings of various persuasions. The composers are not so well-known now, but reveal in these 17th-century pieces a gift for attracting audiences: the Venetians Dario Castello and Biagio Marini, the Assisi-born Giovanni Battista Buonamente, from Ferrara, the keyboard virtuoso Girolamo Frescobaldi, Cremona’s Tarquinio Merula and Verona’s Antonio Bertali, along with Marco Antonio Ferro, birthplace a question mark.
Their music varied at least slightly, one from the others, but in sum evoked the land and people and era in festive manner. For base and body, Opera Nova has harpsichordist Dawn Kalis, violist da gamba Sarah Lodico and lutenist Everett Redburn, each a significant contributor to the instrumental weave. As featured and terrific soloists, the ensemble starred violinists Reynaldo Patino and Martie Perry, sackbut artist (trombone) Caleb Ketcham and, on dulcian (bassoon), Charles Wines. They embraced the music, energetically making it their own. As such, they are fun to watch and hear.

Bloomington Early Music Festival Includes Diverse Performances Before and During Memorial Day Weekend

5/6/2016

 
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The 2016 Bloomington Early Music Festival, in collaboration with the Historical Performance Institute and Gamma Ut at IU, will present a variety of gorgeous solo, ensemble and guest concerts in beautiful community locations. With eight events planned free of charge over the Memorial Day Weekend, all members of the Bloomington community and surrounding region are invited to attend. A novel evening at Farm Bloomington mixes music and a sampling of early Hoosier cooking! 
 
This year, the Festival plans to honor recently departed colleague and friend Edmund Battersby with a concert of works for fortepiano. Edmund was a good friend of BLEMF, ever since his featured performance at the 1995 festival and a CD recording the following year. The Festival is also thrilled to host a solo lute performance by the legendary Nigel North – his third Festival performance since his appointment to the Jacobs School of Music faculty in 1999.
 
Additional artists this year include recorder virtuosos Eva Legêne and Sarah Cantor with the Lanier Ensemble, as well as emerging ensembles, Forgotten Clefs: A Renaissance Band, Les Muses du Dauphin, and Opera Nova. The celebratioSns also include the annual Instrument Petting Zoo at the Bloomington Farmer’s Market, a great way for kids and families to get to know the amazing musical innovations of the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries. And, of course, we will be sure to include the popular “HPI goes POP” concert.
 
FREE EVENTS TO LOOK FORWARD TO:
 
Wednesday, May 25, 7pm | Farm Bloomington (108 E Kirkwood Avenue)
Les Muses du Dauphin: The Patriotic Muse
Dynamic Period Performance of Music in the Early Modern Era

Enjoy a leisurely performance by a new ensemble, while sampling early Hoosier cooking and recipes!
Co-directed by Dawn Kalis, Sarah Cranor, Sarah Huebsch, and Christina Lynch with Kelsey Schilling
*Reservations for dining at this event can be made by contacting Farm Bloomington.

 
Thursday, May 26, 7pm | Serendipity Martini Bar (201 S College Avenue)
HPI Goes POP!
Pop music in early music style with guest soprano Sharon Montgomery, directed by Brady Lanier, and featuring members of Gamma Ut.
 
Friday, May 27, 7pm | Monroe County Court House Rotunda
Forgotten Clefs: A Renaissance Band, directed by Charles Wines
Song of Songs: A concert including a cornucopia of Renaissance wind instruments: dulcians (Renaissance bassoons), shawms (Renaissance oboes), and recorders.
 
Saturday, May 28, 10am-1pm | Bloomington City Hall Atrium (401 N Morton Street)
Instrument Petting Zoo and Pop-Up Performances in Early Music
Performed by members of Gamma Ut and curated by Eric Fisher
 
Saturday, May 28, 2pm | First Presbyterian Church (221 E Sixth Street)
Ensemble Lanier
Music of Nicholas Lanier and Family, performed by Brady Lanier, Eva Legêne, Sarah Cantor, and others.
 
Saturday, May 28, 7pm | First Presbyterian Church (221 E Sixth Street)
A Concert in Memory of Edmund Battersby
Performances of quintets for piano and winds by both W. A. Mozart and Beethoven, featuring pianists Hsuan Chang and Mike Lee.

Sunday, May 29, 2pm | St. Thomas Lutheran Church (3800 E Third Street)
Capriccio: A Concert by Nigel North
Music for lute by Sylvius Leopold Weiss
 
Sunday, May 29, 7pm | First Presbyterian Church (221 E Sixth Street)
Opera Nova
A Musical Tour of Seventeenth Century Italian Cities and Courts, directed by Reynaldo Patino and Charles Wines
* A preview of the ensemble’s performance at the 2016 Berkeley Early



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CONTACT THE BLEM TEAM 
Bloomington Early Music 
P.O. Box 734 
Bloomington, IN 47402
Email: office@blemf.org
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Bloomington Early Music is a 501(c)(3)
not-for-profit organization.