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To•Day

DIARY, Tuesday, July 1, 2025

by Daniel Hathaway

HAPPENING TODAY:

2:00 pm – Ohio Light Opera. Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel. Freedlander Theatre, 329 E. University St., Wooster. Tickets available online.

TODAY’S ALMANAC:

July 1 marks the anniversaries of two births (German composer Hans Werner Henze in 1926 and American conductor Philip Brunelle in 1943), two deaths (German composer Wilhelm Friedemann Bach in 1784 and French composer Erik Satie in 1925) and one founding (the Music Division of the Library of Congress in 1897). [Read More…]

Pre•Views & Features

Ohio Light Opera: three key players discuss this season’s repertoire and some bittersweet changes ahead

by Stephanie Manning

This summer, Ohio Light Opera artistic director Steven Daigle is crossing not one, but two shows off his bucket list.

“ I would’ve loved to direct all six of the shows this summer,” he said. But after dividing up assignments between him and his three fellow directors, eventually he had to choose.

So what drew him to Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Carousel and Noël Coward’s Bitter Sweet?  These shows aren’t just visual and musical spectacles — they also grapple with some complicated emotions. [Read on…]

Ohio Light Opera: a group chat about Brigadoon

by Daniel Hathaway & Mike Telin

Immediately following Ohio Light Opera’s wonderful opening performance of Alan J. Lerner and Frederick Loewe’s Brigadoon on June 19, we had the opportunity to sit down at The College of Wooster’s Freedlander Theatre with director Jacob Allen, conductor Wilson Southerland, choreographer and cast member Spencer Reese, and cast members Maggie Langhorne and Jack Murphy to talk about the production.

CC: Great job, everyone! Jacob, please share your thoughts about the show.  [Read on…]

Blossom Band: a Northeast Ohio tradition

by Mike Telin

“I’ve heard about Blossom Music Festival for a long time, so it’s going to be a treat for me to be there,” conductor Michelle Rakers said during a Zoom conversation. “I know it’s a very good band and I have some friends in it — a former Marine Band member is in the trumpet section and one of the percussionists was in the army band in D.C. So it’s going to be nice to connect with them and all these great musicians.”

On Thursday, July 3 at 8:00 pm, Rakers will make her Blossom Festival Band conducting debut during “Salute to America.” The program will feature a mixture of music both new and old. As always, weather permitting, the evening will conclude with a spectacular fireworks display. The program will be repeated on Friday, July 4 at 8:00 pm. Tickets are available online. 

Michelle Rakers was the senior assistant director for “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band and Marine Chamber Orchestra from 2004–18. Her career with the Marine Band began in 1998 after winning a national audition for a trumpet position. Rakers was the first female conductor and first female commissioned officer in the history of “The President’s Own.”

[Read on…]

Fundraising Update: June 26, 2025

Dear reader,

I have good news to share with you in ClevelandClassical.com’s inevitable end-of-season fundraising letter.

Thanks to the continuing support of our readers, who have already contributed $22,000, we feel confident that we will reach our $23,000 goal for this fiscal year.

That leaves us with only $1,000 to raise before June 30. We hope you will pitch in with a gift at this time, either with a check or with a credit or debit card. Visit our Donate page for details.

The vibrant classical musical scene we enjoy in Northeast Ohio cries out for quality journalism to promote and document its activities. We’ve been lucky to have assembled a fine team of writers for that purpose, and this is a good moment to acknowledge the contributions of Peter Feher, Stephanie Manning, Kevin McLaughlin, and executive editor Mike Telin, as well as myself, who collectively have produced and published some 300 previews and reviews, in addition to Daily Diary entries and concert listings this season.

While we do pay our writers, they deserve to be compensated more generously. Your contribution will help us do that.

If you have already given to the Annual Fund, this comes with our grateful thanks!

Sincerely,

Daniel Hathaway

Founder & President

ChamberFest: a conversation with violist Kim Kashkashian

by Mike Telin

There are certain musicians who you can’t believe have never been to ChamberFest Cleveland. Case in point: Kim Kashkashian.

“Diana Cohen has been asking me for years,” the celebrated violist said during a Zoom conversation. “We know each other from Marlboro, and when I was in the Baltimore area I knew her father Frank very well. So we’ve all been friends for decades.”

On Thursday, June 26 in Mixon Hall, Kaskashian will be featured in Brahms’ Two Songs for alto, viola, and piano. On Friday, June 27 in Harkness Chapel she’ll be part of the ensemble who will be playing Brett Dean’s viola quintet, Epitaphs. And on Saturday, June 28 in Reinberger Chamber Hall she’ll take part in Brahms’ Piano Quintet in f. Tickets for all performances are available online.

That third program will also include György Kurtág’s Signs, Games, and Messages for solo viola. Kashkashian said that she’s had a long association with the composer and his music.

[Read on…]

ChamberFest 2025: a conversation with composer/pianist Roman Rabinovich

by Mike Telin

Ever since childhood, Roman Rabinovich has been driven by a desire to create — whether that was sculpting from dirt and found objects or improvising character pieces on the piano.

Although you may know him as an extraordinary pianist and ChamberFest Cleveland co-artistic director, you may not know him as an accomplished composer. That’s about to change.

On Thursday, June 26 at 7:30 pm in Mixon Hall, Rabinovich will make his ChamberFest debut as a composer/pianist with the U.S. premiere of his Cappriccio Errante for Violin and Piano. The program also includes Brahms’s Two Songs for Voice, Viola and Piano, John Adams’ Hallelujah Junction, and Felix Mendelssohn’s Piano Trio No. 1. Tickets are available online.

[Read on…]

Judith Markovich’s Oh, my son… to receive world premiere at ChamberFest

by Mike Telin

“When Frank Cohen called and said he had received an email from David Stern, I thought, oh my goodness,” composer Judith Markovich recalled during a Zoom conversation. “Frank told me that David had sent him a poem and it’s devastating. Frank said ‘Go to your email because you have to read it right now.’ And so I went to my computer and we read it — we were nearly in tears.”

On Friday, June 20 at 7:30 pm in Mixon Hall, ChamberFest Cleveland will present the world premiere of Judith Markovich’s Oh, my son… The program also includes Witold Lutosławski’s Variations on a Theme by Paganini, Bright Sheng’s Four Movements for Piano Trio, and Franz Schubert’s Cello Quintet in C major. Markovich will join pianist Eric Charnofsky for a pre-concert conversation beginning at 6:30 pm. Tickets are available online.

[Read on…]

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