by Daniel Hathaway
Maurice Ravel’s orchestration of Modest Mussorgsky’s 1874 piano suite Pictures at an Exhibition is ear-baggage for anyone who encounters Pictures in other arrangements. Thus guitarist Jorge Caballero and organist Jean-Baptiste Monnot gave us the intriguing opportunity to hear solo versions of Mussorgsky’s music adapted for plucked and winded instruments within 24 hours. [Read more…]
by Mike Telin
Like many great works of art, the first performance of Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker at the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg on December 18, 1892, was met with less than enthusiastic responses from audiences and critics. Describing the battle scene, Russian critic Alexandre Benois wrote, “One can not understand anything. Disorderly pushing about from corner to corner and running backwards and forwards — quite amateurish.”
Alexander Dumas’ libretto was criticized by some for being unfaithful to its source, E.T.A. Hoffmann’s tale The Nutcracker and the Mouse King. Some critics questioned the ballet’s prominent use of children, while others referred to the party scene as “ponderous” and to the Grand Pas de Deux as “insipid.” [Read more…]
by Daniel Hathaway
After a year’s hiatus, Timothy Weiss and his Oberlin Contemporary Music Ensemble returned to Gartner Auditorium on Saturday afternoon, November 5, for the first of four performances this season. Literary texts and visual imagery gave the audience engaging handles on works by Oberlin faculty composers Elizabeth Ogonek and Stephen Hartke and Scottish composer James MacMillan. [Read more…]
by Jeremy Reynolds
Meng Su is a superstar in the classical guitar world. After winning the Vienna Youth Guitar Competition at age 14, she took grand prize in the Tokyo International guitar competition at 17, and first place in the Parkening Young Guitarist Competition at 18. Last July, she released her first solo album: Meng. Those unfamiliar with her name prior to listening will certainly remember it after hearing this recording. [Read more…]
by Timothy Robson
Oberlin graduate Katelyn Emerson showed impressive technical facility and musicianship in her first Cleveland recital since winning First Prize in the American Guild of Organists National Young Artists Competition. The November 15 concert at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist was co-sponsored by the Cathedral and the Cleveland Chapter of the AGO. [Read more…]
by Daniel Hathaway
Maurice Duruflé’s Requiem is probably one of the best-beloved and most-performed choral works of the 20th century, but for reasons of economy, it’s most frequently heard in the composer’s reduction for organ, strings, and optional trumpets, harp and timpani — or even in the version for voices and organ alone. On Thursday evening, November 17 at Severance Hall, a stage full of Cleveland Orchestra musicians joined the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus under the baton of Matthew Halls to bring the full tonal spectrum of Duruflé’s Gregorian-fueled masterpiece to life. [Read more…]
by Jane Berkner
Attending the Singers Companye concert on Sunday afternoon, November 13 at Faith Lutheran Church in Akron turned out to be a healing balm at the end of a bruising week. Contained within the program of choral works was a logical arc connecting its poetry to our current experience. [Read more…]
by Mike Telin
For over 60 years Akron’s Tuesday Musical Association has supported gifted students who are embarking on careers in music education and music performance through its annual Scholarship Competition.
On Tuesday, November 22 at 7:30 pm in Akron’s E.J. Thomas Hall, two scholarship winners who have gone on to have international careers will return to the Tuesday Musical stage for a concert titled We Knew Them When. Soprano Dina Kuznetsova and violinist Jinjoo Cho will be joined by pianist Hyun Soo Kim for performances of works by Britten, Mozart, Schubert, Rachmaninoff, and Tchaikovsky. University of Akron music professor Brooks Toliver will give a pre-concert talk at 6:30 pm. [Read more…]
by Joshua Rosner
Special to ClevelandClassical.com
Between the looming election and Cleveland’s depressing defeat in the World Series, it can become increasingly appealing to remain home away from the noise of the city. But on Sunday night, November 6, a performance by Ensemble Pa mplemousse and MocRep at the Bop Stop provided a well-needed refuge with a very different noisiness. [Read more…]
by Jeremy Reynolds
The most striking thing about the album What Think You I Take My Pen in Hand to Record, devoted to the music of Mario Castelnuovo- Tedesco, is not the music itself, though the interpretations by tenor Salvatore Champagne and pianist Howard Lubin are quite lovely. Rather, it’s the presentation: the monumental research, painstakingly curated essays, and obvious care that went into producing the 64-page CD booklet. [Read more…]