On January 30, Red {an orchestra} presented a decidedly unconventional classical music program, 3, 2, 1 . . . PIANO, before a capacity audience at Cleveland's Masonic Temple Auditorium. The title refers to the decreasing number of Yamaha CFIIIS concert grand pianos played as the performances progressed. Artistic director and conductor Jonathan Sheffer illustrated how the soloist's role in relation to the orchestra changed from the 18th to 20th centuries, and accentuated the notion of the heroic soloist.
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Three Yamaha CFIIIS concert grands on stage at Cleveland's Masonic Temple Auditorium prior to Red {an orchestra}'s performance of "3, 2, 1…..PIANO"
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Sheffer, teenage twins Christina and Michelle Naughton, and the internationally acclaimed pianist and teacher Sergei Babayan were soloists for the multimedia concert. A review in the Cleveland Plain Dealer observes that "with the lids of the three pianos removed, the musicians [Sheffer and the Naughtons] could achieve equality and clarity of tonal resources" during Mozart's Concerto for Three Pianos, No. 7, K. 242 in F Major. Further, the reviewer writes, "The Naughtons brought impressive allure, bite and amusement to their virtuoso duties," on Saint-Saëns' Carnival of the Animals.
"The blend of Ziegfeld, DeMille and Bernstein that is Sheffer almost guaranteed a surprise for Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 5, with Babayan as volcanic soloist," continues the Plain Dealer. "Babayan managed the concerto's torturous demands with remarkable panache. Whether Prokofiev was mischievous or ethereal, Babayan made urgent, rapturous music with Sheffer and the Red musicians, rustling up enough activity for at least seven keyboards," all captured by cameras trained on Babayan's hands and projected onto a giant video screen.
Sheffer, the former conductor and artistic director of Eos Orchestra in New York City, established a relationship with Yamaha in 1996, and suggested extending it to Cleveland. "This concert made that an attractive idea," says Sheffer. "The pianos were well matched, which was far superior to putting three random pianos together. Plus, they looked great together!" The three CFIIIS pianos, provided by Yamaha Artist Services, Inc. were brought in from Detroit, Toledo and Columbus, and piano technicians Max Michimoto and Kaz Tsujio arrived from Manhattan to ensure they were tuned to perfection.
The young orchestra's mission is to "REDefine" orchestral programming, to "REDesign" the concert experience and to help audiences "REDiscover" classical music.
"This is a challenge facing every orchestra, to find new ways to program without compromising the special tradition that is classical music," says Sheffer. Red is already creating a distinctly colorful stir.
For information on Red's upcoming fourth season, visit www.redanorchestra.org.
