Violinist Diana Cohen was concertmaster of the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra from 2007 to 2011. She now lives in Calgary, Alberta, and is concertmaster of the Calgary Philharmonic. Cohen performs in Kalamazoo again this week with her father, clarinetist Franklin Cohen, who recently retired from the Cleveland Orchestra, and Roman Ravinovich, a prizewinning Israeli pianist.
The concert is hosted by Temple B'nai Israel of Kalamazoo, which is celebrating the 150th anniversary of its founding with a series of events. The concert is being held at First Baptist Church.
In addition to her jobs with orchestras, Diana Cohen established, with her father as partner, a summertime chamber music festival called ChamberFest Cleveland, in 2011.
Cohen told WMUK’s Cara Lieurance that her parents' love of performing in small groups led her to start her own festival.
“Most of our friends thought we were crazy and too ambitious.”
Cohen says the Temple B’nai Israel only had two requests for the concert. One was that they play something with a klezmer “tinge.” But Cohen says that comes natural to her and her father. The other was that they play a piece by an Israeli composer. Cohen says Ravinovich, who is an Israeli citizen, will debut an original composition.
The rest of the show is very upbeat, according to Cohen. It includes the Bartok Contrasts for clarinet, violin and piano. She says it’s an unusual blend of “jazz meets Hungary,” because the piece was written for Benny Goodman.
The program also includes the Clara Schumann Romances for Violin and Piano. Cohen says it’s unfortunate that Clara Schumann’s composition took a backseat after her marriage to Robert Schumann. Cohen says they will also play the Poulenc Sonata, which she says is special because it was the last piece he ever wrote.
Cohen says she she’s lucky to play with her father and her “significant other” Roman Ravinovich. Cohen says in addition to the close personal relationship, she respects their musicianship “almost more than anyone in the world.”
