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To•Day

DIARY: WEEKEND, Friday-Sunday, April 24-26, 2026

by Daniel Hathaway

NEWS BRIEFS:

Michael Tilson Thomas, 81

The Washington Post reports that “Michael Tilson Thomas, an American conductor who grew up in public from an imperious wunderkind into one of the grand old men of classical music, died April 22 at his home in San Francisco. He was 81.”

WEEKEND HIGHLIGHTS:

APRIL 24 – FRIDAY

This afternoon at 6, Classically Lake View presents Franz Schubert’s Cello Quintet and Zoltan Kodály’s Duo with Cleveland Orchestra concertmaster Joel Link, cellist Katarina Elise and friends in the Lake View Cemetery Mausoleum.

Tonight at 7:30 pm, Les Délices presents Starstruck, featuring soprano Hannah De Priest in a selection of George Frideric Handel’s rarely-heard Italian cantatas and chamber music, including Mi palpita il cor, Silete venti, and excerpts from Apollo e Dafne, in Westminster Presbyterian Church in Akron. Repeated Saturday at 4 in Heights Theater and Sunday at 4 at West Shore Unitarian Universalist Church in Rocky River.

Tonight at the same hour, in Gartner Auditorium, the Cleveland Museum of Art hosts Memphis-bred, Brooklyn-based composer and bassist Stephan Crump in Slow Water, a sextet and body of work  inspired by science journalist Erica Gies’ book Water Always Wins.

APRIL 25 – SATURDAY

Tonight at 7:30, Klaus Mäkelä leads The Cleveland Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra Chorus, and Children’s Chorus in the second of three performances of Benjamin Britten’s monumental War Requiem, with soprano Tamara Wilson, tenor Andrew Staples, and baritone Ludwig Mittelhammer, in Mandel Concert Hall at Severance Music Center. Repeated Sunday at 3.

APRIL 26 – SUNDAY

This afternoon at 5, Music from the Western Reserve presents a solo recital by pianist Maxim Lando at Christ Church Episcopal in Hudson.

For full details, please visit our Concert Listings.

Pre•Views & Features

Verona Quartet to make its CCMS debut: a conversation with violinist Jonathan Ong

by Mike Telin

After winning top prizes at the Wigmore Hall, Melbourne, Osaka, M-Prize, and Fischoff International Chamber Music Competitions, as well as the 2015 Concert Artists Guild Competition, the Verona Quartet have enjoyed a quick rise to the upper echelon of the chamber music world.

Committed to mentoring the upcoming generations of musicians, the Quartet serves on the faculty of Oberlin College and Conservatory, ENCORE! Chamber Music, and as Artistic Directors of the Lunenburg Academy of Music Performance.

On Tuesday, April 28 at 7:30 pm in Gartner Auditorium at the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Verona Quartet — Jonathan Ong and Dorothy Ro (violins), Abigail Rojansky (viola), and Jonathan Dormand (cello) — will make their Cleveland Chamber Music Society debut. Their program features music by Scarlatti, Glass, and Janáček. The ensemble will be joined by pianist Yaron Kohlberg for Antonín Dvořák’s Piano Quintet in A. Tickets are available online.

[Read on…]

Richard Goode’s Musical Short Stories

by Stephanie Manning

Reposted with the permission of Oberlin Conservatory

In Richard Goode’s mental directory of acoustically great places, Finney Chapel easily makes the list.

“ I think about places partly in terms of how the hall sounds,” he says. So when he finds venues with fabulous acoustics, “I remember them with great affection. The atmosphere was so perfect that when you played, you felt that everything mattered.”

The highly-respected American pianist, known for his interpretation of Mozart and Beethoven, has performed on the Oberlin Artist Recital Series quite a few times. It’s been nine years since his last appearance in Finney. “I don’t remember what I played,” he says. “I just remember how good it felt.”

On Wednesday, April 29 at 7:30 p.m., Goode will return to Finney Chapel and the Artist Recital Series with his program “Fancies and Goodnights.” He will pair that personally curated selection of short works with two sonatas by Mozart and Schubert. [Read on…]

Les Délices presents Starstruck: music by a young George Frideric Handel

by Mike Telin

When you think of music by George Frideric Handel, the first works that come to mind are likely to be his large-scale oratorios such as Messiah, Israel in Egypt, and Solomon.

“People think of Handel’s Gloria as a showpiece for soprano and small ensemble,” Les Délices artistic director Debra Nagy said. “But Silete venti, which is not often heard, is an extraordinary showpiece for a soprano and I think it’s going to be a real thrill to play.”

On Friday, April 24 at 7:30 pm at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Akron, Les Délices will present Starstruck. The all-Handel program highlights the composer’s brilliant chamber music along with dramatic early cantatas brought to life by the magnetic soprano Hannah DePriest. The program will be repeated on Saturday at Heights Theater and Sunday at West Shore Unitarian Universalist Church. Both concerts begin at 4:00 pm, and tickets are available online.

[Read on…]

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