"A Musical Feast Concert Reviews"

Return of the Native
by Jan Jezioro

For reasons that remain remarkably obscure, in the 19th century the date Friday the 13th acquired the unenviable reputation, in certain quarters, of being the most unlucky day in the calendar. The superstition surrounding the number 13 has even earned its own name, triskaidekaphobia, perhaps not in the DRG Psychological Handbook, but at least in the affections of spelling-bee question setters everywhere, as a reliable hazardous trip-wire to contestants.
Read On . . .

Musical feast blends old, new, with emphasis on the newer
By Garaud MacTaggart
News Contributing Reviewer
Published: March 19, 2012

Every piece of music is new at some point, but nobody can guarantee its continued existence.

Sometimes it will evaporate into the ether—or a dustbin — or have a short but ecstatic shelf life. Top 10 lists are full of those. There's also the possibility that a piece of music may fade in and out of popularity only to reappear decades or centuries later to a new audience.
Read On . . .

Musical Blog
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
The Robert and Carol Morris Center for 21st Century Music co-sponsors "A Musical Feast" featuring works by Rands, Carter, Heidelberger, Bacon, and Mozart
Here at the Robert and Carol Morris Center for 21^st Century Music we are excited to be gearing up for the upcoming March 18^th concert in the continuing concert series presented by "A Musical Feast." Founded in 2006 by retired Concert Master of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra Charles Haupt, "A Musical Feast" ventures to fuse contemporary and classical music with poetry and dance, and features internationally renowned musicians alongside Buffalo's top performers and music-makers. For this upcoming concert at the Burchfield Penney Art Center, co-sponsored by the Robert and Carol Morris Center for 21 ^st Century Music, we are particularly excited to be showcasing two world premieres from University at Buffalo composers Nathan Heidelberger and John Bacon, as well as works by Wolfgang Mozart, Elliot Carter, and long-time friend of the Center Bernard Rands . Read On . . .
 

Classical Music Notes
ARTVOICE  November 17  2011
Dancing at A Musical Feast
by Jan Jezioro
The innovative musical series adds  LehrerDance to its menu

A Musical Feast, the musical ensemble-in-residence at the Burchfield Penney Art Center, opens its 2011-2012 series with a concert in its home in the Peter and Elizabeth C. Tower Auditorium, on Sunday, November 20, at 2pm. Founded by its artistic director, retired Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra concertmaster Charles Haupt, A Musical Feast has made it its mission to present concert events that mix traditional, established classical favorites with more contemporary and newly composed works, while even throwing poetry readings into the mix.
Read On . . .
 

A Marvel of Choice
Concert review by S. James Wegg
April 11-2011
www.jamesweggreview.org

As much as concerts rely on the artistry and skill sets of the performers, it's what goes on the menu that is a special art all to itself. More and more it seems these post-recession days (it is over, right?) the box office figures disproportionately into the mix. "Safe" repertoire (Beethoven symphonies, Mozart concertos, La Bohème, Die Fledermaus …) is enjoying a spectacular renaissance even as new music (or challenging "old" music) is relegated—once again - to the novelty rather than staple category.
Read On . . .


A Musical Feast: Sunday, April 10th, 2pm 2011
'A Musical Feast', the resident musical ensemble at the Burchfield Penney Art Center, presents the final concert of its current season at 2pm on Sunday, April 10, as part of 'Rendezblue', a free four day happening of art, music, film and performance at the Burchfield Penney Art Center, presented by BlueCross BlueShield of WNY.

Amy Williams, who along with her performance partner Helena Bugallo, make up the Bugallo-Williams Piano Duo, is Buffalo's favorite, wandering-pianist daughter. Hailed as "beyond brilliant" (San Francisco Classical Voice) and "simply stunning" (Gramophone), the Bugallo-Williams Piano Duo has been presenting innovative programs of contemporary music throughout Europe and the Americas since 1995. Williams makes a welcome return to our series, performing her own composition, Brigid's Flame, composed in memory of her father-in-law, and based on the life of Saint Brigid, who is associated with many symbols, including sacred flames, high intelligence, and poetic eloquence. Williams will also join cellist Jonathan Golove for Morton Feldman's Durations 2 for cello and piano, the first of a series of small ensemble works composed in 1960, in which Feldman relinquished some of the usual control exerted by the composer over the harmonic content of the music.

Mythological references rule in Greek composer Iannis Xenakis' Kottos, a challenging but approachable work for solo cello which will be performed by cellist Jonathan Golove. Moshe Shulman (b. 1978), takes the title of his 2009 work, Secret Messages, literally, i.e. he supplies no description of the piece,  composed for solo violin, since if he provided a description beforehand,  the work, which will be performed by Charles Haupt, the founder and Artistic Director of 'A Musical Feast,'  would no longer be secret.
A memorable performance of contemporary German composer Ruth Wiesenfeld's haunting work, stories still, for cello and recorded text by Samuel Beckett, was a highlight on the last program. Alice Teyssier performs the world premiere of the composer's intriguing  inflexionen, for solo flute on this program.

After intermission, virtuoso violinist Charles Castleman, professor of violin at Eastman, and pianist Claudia Hoca, join forces for a performance of Cesar Franck's passionately romantic Sonata for Violin and Piano in A major  (1886). Castleman, who plays both the 1708 Stradivarius "Marquis de Champeaux", and a 1709 Venetian Matteo Goffriller, previously owned by Albert Sammons, concertmaster of the London Philharmonic, is vividly remembered by series audiences for his previous performances of the fiendishly difficult sonatas for solo violin by Eugene Ysaÿe, while Claudia Hoca is widely acknowledged as one of the finest pianists in Western New York.

The performance is co-sponsored by the Robert and Carol Morris Center for 21st Century Music at the University at Buffalo. Seating is limited, so call now to reserve your seat in the Peter and Elizabeth C. Tower Auditorium at the Burchfield Penney Art Center at Buffalo State College, 1300 Elmwood Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14222. Tickets may be reserved at the Burchfield Penney, or by phone at 878-6011, during gallery hours. For more information, please visit www.amusicalfeast.com  or, www.rendezblue.org
http://www.jamesweggreview.org/Articles.aspx?ID=1409
 

WNED Interviews (2011-02-08)
www.publicbroadcasting.net
Cellist Jonathan Golove & violinist Charles Haupt re: "Synesthesia"
There's a new exhibit at the Burchfield Penney Art Gallery about "Synesthesia" and it opens with a concert at 8pm this Friday, February 11th with performers including Charles Haupt, violin; Claudia Hoca, piano, and three cellists: Jonathan Golove, Feng Hew, and Carter Enyeart. WNED's Peter Hall found out more.
Listen . .
 

February 11, 2011 " A Musical Feast" concert:
A Tribute to the Paintings of Charles Burchfield

This Friday, at 8pm, the 'Musical Feast' chamber music program at the Burchfield Penney Art Center features a tribute Charles Burchfield
The Musical Feast series has found itself a very comfortable home in the Tower Auditorium, as the resident music ensemble of the BPAC. Charles Haupt, artistic director of the series, always manages to assemble programs of material that you are unlikely to hear in any other local venue. Friday's program showcases three cellists, two of whom are locally based: Feng Hew, associate principal of the BPO; Jonathan Golove, assistant professor at UB; and Carter Enyeart, distinguished professor of cello at the Conservatory of the University of Missouri-Kansas City
Continued . .
 

Haupt and friends deliver a Musical Feast
Joyce Kryszak (2010-11-12)
cellists Jonathan Golove& violinist Charles Haupt re: "Synesthesia" There's a new exhibit at the Burchfield Penney Art Gallery about "Synesthesia" and it opens with a concert at 8pm this Friday, February 11th with performers including Charles Haupt, violin; Claudia Hoca, piano, and three cellists: Jonathan Golove, Feng Hew, and Carter Enyeart. WNED's Peter Hall found out more.BUFFALO, NY (WBFO) - The last concert in this weekend's Rendezblue festival at the Burchfield Penney Art Center features A Musical Feast. The chamber group of professional musicians is led by former Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra concert master Charles Haupt. Their program on Sunday features Haupt on violin, as well as Claudia Hoca, and Alison D'Amato on piano and Jonathan Golove on cello.

WBFO's Joyce Kryszak talked with Golove and Haupt about the eclectic program. Haupt said it offers a little bit of everything and a special treat.

The free concert begins at 2:00 P.M. Sunday in the auditorium at the Burchfield Penney Art Center.


Theremin Feast
by Jan Jezioro
http://artvoice.com/issues/v9n45/classical_music_notes#SlideFrame_0


Performance Date: November 19, 2009
Saving the best for first
by S.James Wegg
www.jamesweggreview.org/

The 2009-2010 concert series of Buffalo's excellent purveyors of small ensemble delights (chosen by its visionary artistic director Charles Haupt) got off to a resounding start in the welcoming confines of the Peter and Elizabeth C. Tower Auditorium. What better way to simultaneously begin another RendezBlue and celebrate the first anniversary of the Burchfield Penney Art Center. By making that space available to this top-notch, risk-taking organization, the Center does both its patrons and the musical community-at-large a mutually beneficial service. Here's to more arts organizations (large and small) having the same wisdom and determination. The evening's tribute to Leo Smit (whose remarkable career included a professorship at SUNY Buffalo, 1962-84) served as a timely reminder that great art and its creators are often just around the corner and not necessarily to be found exclusively in the "art capitals" of the world."
Continued . .

A Musical Feast at the Albright
by Jan Jezioro
April 6  2009

A Musical Feast, the chamber music group created by Charles Haupt, the now retired, long-time concertmaster of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, concludes its current, peripatetic season with a performance on the free GUSTO at the Gallery series, at 8pm this Friday.
Continued . .

Peers laud former BPO conductor Lukas Foss and his musical genius
By Mark Sommer
NEWS STAFF REPORTER
February 9  2009
A previously planned tribute to Lukas Foss and the revolutionary impact he had on Buffalo's cultural landscape turned into a heartfelt commemoration Sunday.
Continued . .
 

Chamber Music Seasons End on High Notes
by Jan Jezioro

A Musical Feast

 On Tuesday, May 27, at 8pm, A Musical Feast, the dynamic chamber music organization founded by retired Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra concertmaster Charles Haupt in 2006, presents the final concert in its successful second season at the Kavinoky Theater of D'Youville College.
Continued . .
 

A Musical Feast, Grab A Fork!
S. JAMES WEGG

For those who have yet to venture into the incredible realm of chamber music, the place to be next Tuesday is Buffalo. There, at The Kavinoky Theater of D'Youville (just a few seconds from the Peace Bridge), the season closer for "A Musical Feast" will present a widely varied musical buffet that most certainly has something for every taste.

The featured composers include George Frederic Handel, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Antonin Dvorák, Maurice Ravel, Darius Milhaud, Arthur Honegger and Johnny Reinhard. The performers on this occasion will be artistic director and violinist extraordinaire Charles Haupt, bass–trombonist David Taylor, cellist Jonathan Golove, violinist Charles Castleman, and pianist Claudia Hoca.
Continued . .
 

"A MUSICAL FEAST", Charles Haupt and Friends Feast offers musical tapas, piquant flavors
By Garaud MacTaggart – Buffalo NEWS CONTRIBUTING REVIEWER

Tuesday's Musical Feast in the Kavinoky Theatre was a two-parter: the first course consisting of well-done musical tapas (works for solo instruments) while the second half of the program featured piquant flavors provided by Igor Stravinsky.
Continued . .
 

Concert preview: 'A Musical Feast' takes on Stravinsky's 'The Soldier's Tale'
Charles Haupt's program to cover Bach to Stravinsky

BY ROBERT PAPE - Special to The News
Updated: 01/25/08 8:01 AM

The menu for the latest helping of Charles Haupt's "A Musical Feast" on Tuesday night is actually more like a smorgasbord. It features a seldom-performed, small-scale Stravinsky tale paired with selections ranging from as early as Bach to a movement from "Quatuor pour la Fin du Temps" ("The Quartet for the End of Time").
Continued . .
 

A Musical Feast returns to the Kavinoky
Artvoice, January 23, 2008
By Jan Jezioro

The last time the BPO performed the Bruckner Symphony No. 9, back in 1979, violinist Charles Haupt was the orchestra's concertmaster. Having retired from the BPO a couple of years back, Haupt is now devoting his efforts to the chamber music ensemble that he founded called "A Musical Feast." Co-sponsored by the Robert and Carol Morris Center for 21st Century Music at the University at Buffalo, and making its home at the Kavinoky Theater on the D'Youville College Campus, "A Musical Feast" has made a strong impression on the local classical music scene in its short lifetime.
Continued . .
 

Charles Haupt's A Musical Feast  |  November 13, 2007
By S. James Wegg 14/11/07
www.jamesweggreview.org

The value of Charles Haupt's "A Musical Feast" was magnificently demonstrated at the close of last night's program.  Haupt, cellist Feng Hew and pianist Claudia Hoca took to the Crazy Mary-set stage (A.R. Gurney's latest confection runs at the Kavinoky Theatre until December 9) complemented or erased all that had proceeded and rewarded the patrons with an engaging, thoughtful reading of Mendelssohn's D Minor Piano Trio.  The partners truly saw the music as a whole:  Haupt and Feng used their bows as if joined at the tip to produce homogeneity of timbre and tone in the Molto Adagio ed agitato and Andante con moto tranquillo that will remain happily in memory for years.  For her part, Hoca led with authority where required and supported her colleagues with surety, contributing much to the seldom realized effect of three musicians rather than piano with string accompaniment.  Still when the Scherzo's fuse was lit she dashed through the cascades of notes with zest and enough humor.

.Debussy's Violin Sonata was given an impassioned performance by Charles Castleman and Hoca.  In the early going the lines oozed wonderfully, the harmonics floated ethereally and Castleman got "into the string" with convincing bravado.  Hoca stayed with her colleague at every turn and drew warm rich tone that served as the perfect foil. 

The full-length program also contained much poetry.  The indefatigable Hoca teamed up with soprano Tony Arnold for a set of Lieder from Hugo Wolf.  Im Frühling was eloquent and lovingly shaped; Auf ein altes Bild had near-perfect ensemble and featured beautifully rich legato from both performers and a true diminuendo al niente.  The ghost of Wagner marvellously haunted An den Schlaf.

'Musical Feast' has mixed menu
By Garaud MacTaggart
NEWS CONTRIBUTING REVIEWER

Tuesday night found Charles Haupt, the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra's retired concertmaster, and his some of his friends hosting another "Musical Feast," an event co-sponsored for the first time by David Felder and his associates at the "Robert and Carol Morris Center for 21st Century Music" at the University at Buffalo.
Continued . . .

ARTVOICE, November 8, 2007
INTO THE LABYRINTH
A MUSICAL FEAST RETURNS TO THE KAVINOKY THEATRE
By Jan Jezioro

When former Buffalo Philharmonic concertmaster Charles Haupt retired after almost four decades with the orchestra in 2006, he headed neither to a rocking chair nor to points south. Besides continuing his duties as a member of the faculty of the prestigious Eastman School of Music in Rochester, Haupt decided to establish a new chamber music series that he called "A Musical Feast."
Continued . . .

Q uotes from: BUFFALO: "BUSINESS FIRST"
Western NY's Business Newspaper : September 15-21, 2006
UB program bringing new sounds to WNY
At a buffet, there are those of us who opt `for the mac and cheese, rigatoni and mini egg rolls, while others are more inclined to fill their plates With less-conventional options - perhaps chicken curry or quinoa-and-red lentil stew.

-- From the Sept. 15, 2006, issue of Business First. See http://buffalo.bizjournals.com/buffalo/stories/2006/09/18/story3.html for an excerpt.
 

Welcome to Music  |  A Musical Feast
March 29, 2006
Kavinoky Theatre, Buffalo, NY.
by S. James Wegg
www.jamesweggreview.org
(03/30/06)

Charles Haupt, violin
Claudia Hoca, piano
Cheryl Gobbetti-Hoffman, flute
Jesse Levine, viola
Charles Castleman, violin

The concert music scene of Buffalo and Niagara just got an enormous boost with the inaugural performance of the newest kid-on-the-block, A Musical Feast. Founder & Artistic Director Charles Haupt has a vision that is at odds with and simultaneously because of his long and distinguished tenure as concertmaster of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra. After decades of leading his colleagues and a host of maestros through the large orchestra repertoire (not infrequently serving as the "uncredited" assistant conductor), the tireless violinist has set his sights (and his listeners' ears) on a course of harvesting small-ensemble gems and serving them up with performances that dig deep beneath their apparent surface.

Given the wonderful buffet that comprised "Concert One," the future looks rich indeed for those who savour the art and notoriously demanding challenges of "one person per part" music.

First performed by Canadian violinist (and member of the Hart House String Quartet) Adolph Koldofsky on the occasion of Schönberg's 75th birthday, the Phantasy for Violin brought home the artists' philosophy in a manner not possible from mere words. With a flow and grace that belied the treacherous writing, Haupt lifted the notes far off the page and imbued the frequently shifting lines with compelling emotional and dynamic range. Those scared off by the word "atonal" fail to understand that the composer's harmonic world is never more than a café away from his Viennese roots with its marvellous froth and deep, if occasionally tart, flavours. Pianist Claudia Hoca was with Haupt at every turn and proved to be the ideal collaborator.

Hearing two performances of Britten's Six Metamorphoses After Ovid ( cross-reference below) in less than a month might well qualify as a record for critics. On this occasion, the original oboe made an exotic metamorphosis into silver alto Pan Pipes and was brought to new life by Cheryl Gobbetti-Hoffman. "Pan" bewitched through every phrase, "Phaeton" an intriguing mix of fluff and spite, "Niobe" appropriately mellow as the buttery tone (no margarine here!) wafted effortlessly to the balcony. The slap-happy fun of "Bacchus" was only surpassed by Gobbetti-Hoffman's indulgence in a tipsy sing-along, self-love oozed in a sultry, sombre manner as "Narcissus" reflected, "Arethusa" lifted off with promise but hit some unexpected turbulence along the way.

Jesse Levine was the convincing protagonist in Bax's Legend. Completed in 1929, but revised in 1945 (composers really aught to leave things alone and go "on the next"—cross-reference below) the music is at once accessible. Levine's solid approach was a study of understatement, passion and control, only slightly marred by a few excursions to the far side of pitch. With Hoca once more leading and supporting as required, the balance was excellent—more matter of course than laboured—and again demonstrating her too-seldom-heard ability as une vrai accompagnatrice.

The Mozart Duo was a special treat. Watching Haupt and Levine traverse the classical landscape was like spying on friends who speak in a language of their own (complete with inside jokes) but whose life-long musical experiences flooded the Kavinoky Theatre with much-appreciated happiness and joy.

Like the Britten in the first half, Ysaÿe's E Minor Solo Sonata leaves the performer as seul as it gets. Charles Castleman drove through the score with surety and conviction (notably the Sarabande's pizzicati and harmonics were tossed off with deceptive ease), but the music couldn't shake its étude hue and chien chaud histrionics.

The only trio of the night held the audience from the first measure. Like the day's spring sunshine, the parlour room set (the theatre is currently running A.R. Gurney's The Cocktail Hour) proved ideal for the suspension of disbelief that we were at the première. At one point in the heady Scherzo , Levine as Dvorák's substitute, got so carried away that he tossed his bow in glee! Their journey to Bohemia was not without a few bumps along the way, but the quest for excellence was never in doubt.

With the first feast now under their belts, everyone involved (on both sides of the stage) look forward to the next helping with eager anticipation.

Arnold Schönberg
Phantasy for Violin, Opus 47

Benjamin Britten
Six Metamorphoses After Ovid

Arnold Bax
Legend for Viola and Piano

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Duo for Violin and Viola, No. 1, K. 423

Eugene Ysaÿe
Solo Sonata Opus 27, No. 4

Antonin Dvorák
Terzetto for Two Violins and Viola, Opus 74

Concert Review
"A Musical Feast"
Featuring Charles Haupt, Charles Castleman, Jesse Levine, Claudia Hoca and Cheryl Gobbetti-Hoffman on Wednesday night in Kavinoky Theatre.

Charles Haupt, the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra's retiring concertmaster, is now working on a concert series called "A Musical Feast."

Wednesday night marked the debut performance for Haupt's concept and, if the programming and concertizing for "A Musical Feast" continue to be as interesting as the initial offering was, it might become one of Western New York's cultural jewels.

First on the Kavinoky Theatre program was Arnold Schoenberg's short (eight or so minutes) "Phantasy" for Violin with Piano Accompaniment, Op. 47. Commendably played by Haupt and pianist Claudia Hoca, this technically demanding piece was composed in 1949 and turned out to be the composer's last instrumental work.

The odd qualifier on the score's title page refers to the fact that Schoenberg composed the violin part of this 12-tone piece first and added the piano section later.

Flutist Cheryl Gobbetti-Hoffman played an arrangement of Benjamin Britten's "Six Metamorphoses After Ovid," a piece originally created for solo oboe.

Not surprisingly, Gobbetti-Hoffman carried off the challenges posed by the score with aplomb, especially in the graceful "Niobe" and quirky "Bacchus" sections of the work.

Arnold Bax's "Legend" for Viola and Piano and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Duo for Violin and Viola in G major were apt showcases for violist Jesse Levine.

The Bax piece was fairly lightweight in tone, rife with Celtic-inflected tunes, but it did show off Levine's technique. The Mozart work found Levine and Haupt working together to present a vibrant (especially in the Rondo), frequently elegant performance of this gem.

Violinist Charles Castleman began the second half of the concert by himself, alone on stage with his violin and Eugene Ysaye's formidable Sonata in E minor for Solo Violin, Op. 27, No. 4.

Ysaye was a brilliant violinist whose reputation and abilities were such that he had works dedicated to him by Claude Debussy (String Quartet), Cesar Franck (Violin Sonata) and Ernest Chausson ("Poeme" for Violin and Orchestra), all of which are mainstays on the concert circuit.

Needless to say, Castleman had his work cut out for him but he followed through with considerable confidence.

Closing out the program was a delightful performance of Antonin Dvorak's "Terzetto" for Two Violins and Viola, Op. 74 with Castleman, Haupt and Levine.

The violist seemed to have the most fun in the Scherzo, garnering a chuckle from his compatriots with an exuberant upward thrust of his bow at the end.

REVIEW

Retiring Concert Master of the BPO, Charles Haupt, initiated a new concert series and is calling it,  "A MUSICAL FEAST". It includes chamber music, solo performances and chamber Orchestra. Mr. Haupt is inviting old friends and colleagues of international Stature to share the stage with him as well as local players with whom he has worked.

The first concert took place on March 29th. The next concert is scheduled for Oct. 3rd. in the Kavinoky Theatre at D'Youville College.,  Mr. Haupt will be joined again by violinist Charles Castleman, Violist Jesse Levine, pianist Claudia Hoca. Sal Andolina , whose superb clarinet playing has  thrilled  BPO  audiences will join  and it is a great pleasure to welcome David Taylor, international super star on the Bass Trambone and member of NY City MOSTLY MOZART Festival orchestra.

The Buffalo Evening News wrote: " if the programming and concertizing for "A Musical Feast " continue to be as interesting as the Initial offering was, it might become one of Western New York's cultural Jewels "... and JWR Reviews, Canada, wrote:  Given the wonderful Buffet that comprised, " Concert One ", the future looks rich indeed for those who savor the art and notoriously demanding challenges of, "One person per part music."

Mr. Haupt is leaving the BPO after 37 years of service and in his words:  " I'm just beginning to hit my stride ". Besides the BPO, Mr. Haupt was Concert Master of the Mostly Mozart Festival orchestra at Lincoln Center in N.Y. City for 21 years, and is currently on the faculty of the Eastman School of Music.  Some critical observations of his work with the Mostly Mozart Festival:

THE NEW YORK TIMES: " Mr. Haupt's lithe and expressive playing is the epitome of singing on the violin. " 

INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE: " the incredible display of virtuosity and stamina by Charles Haupt who was featured in virtually every work of the evening."