by Daniel Hathaway
When the 17-year-old Felix Mendelssohn saw A Midsummer Night’s Dream with his sister, he ran right home to write a piano duet on the subject that turned into an overture and later a whole suite of incidental music. Did he have any idea that his music would be inextricably bound to Shakespeare’s play — or its march appropriated for countless wedding recessionals? [Read more…]
by Daniel Hathaway
Ohio is one of the few states to harbor more than one major symphony orchestra within its borders. Three members of the Cincinnati Symphony joined bows, keys, and valves with a trio from The Cleveland Orchestra on Monday evening, May 8 at West Shore Unitarian Universalist Church. The program, featuring some unusual music by Carl Reinecke, Franz Strauss, and Ernst von Dohnányi, as well as a not-so-often-heard version of Romances by Robert Schumann, made a gradual crescendo of sophistication. [Read more…]
by Jane Berkner
BlueWater Chamber Orchestra is a jewel in the local arts scene’s crown. It’s always a treat to hear these highly talented regional musicians, and their concert under the direction of guest conductor Thomas Hong at Plymouth Church on May 13 was no exception. Titled “Flying High,” the program included two works with bird themes. [Read more…]
by Mike Telin
Hearing choral music in Trinity Cathedral is always enjoyable, but the experience can become truly magical when the performers are refined and well-disciplined. This was the case on Wednesday, May 3 when the Collegium Musicum Oberliniense, under the direction of Steven Plank, performed a captivating program titled “Touches of Sweet Harmony.” The concert was presented as part of the Cathedral’s popular Brownbag series. [Read more…]
by Mike Telin
On his way to winning the 2016 Cleveland International Piano Competition, Nikita Mndoyants gave a thrilling performance of Prokofiev’s dissonant Sonata No. 7 in B-flat during his semi-final round. The pianist returned to Cleveland on April 30 to give an impressive recital at the Maltz Performing Arts Center. And again, he proved to have an affinity for the music of the Russian composer. [Read more…]
by Mike Telin
ChamberFest Cleveland has done it again and come up with eleven intriguing programs for their sixth season, which will run from June 15 through July 1.
This year, co-artistic directors Franklin and Diana Cohen have put a new spin on the Festival. Cycles: Phases! reflects on the complexity of the human experience at each stage of life.
There will be many familiar faces onstage, as well as a number of performers who are new to the ChamberFest family. As always, programs will be presented in a variety of venues, from the Cleveland Institute of Music’s Mixon Hall and CWRU’s Harkness Chapel to modern, urban settings such as Hingetown’s Transformer Station and the Bop Stop, and Midtown’s Dunham Tavern Museum. Tickets are now on sale. Click here for further information.
by Timothy Robson
The Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra played an ambitious program of works by Joan Tower, Maurice Ravel, and Sergei Prokofiev at Severance Hall on Friday evening, May 12, the last concert of their 2016-17 season. It was a bittersweet occasion. Not only did the Orchestra bid farewell to a group of graduating seniors, but it was conductor Brett Mitchell’s 29th and final concert with COYO, marking the end of his four-year term as Associate Conductor of The Cleveland Orchestra before taking up duties as Music Director of the Colorado Symphony. [Read more…]
by Daniel Hathaway
Although French-born pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard plays a wide range of literature, he has a special affinity for the avant-garde music of Hungarian composer György Ligeti. This weekend, Cleveland audiences will have the excitement of hearing him tackle Ligeti’s phenomenally difficult Piano Concerto in partnership with Franz Welser-Möst and The Cleveland Orchestra. Performances begin on Thursday evening, May 18, and continue on Friday morning, May 19, and Saturday evening, May 20.
Aimard first encountered Ligeti’s music in the mid-1980s, and from 1993 to 2001, the composer entrusted the pianist with the premieres of nearly all of his late Etudes. Ligeti dedicated Nos. 10 and 12 to Aimard himself. He said the pianist had inspired him to compose some of his most complex piano works.
Complex, but remarkably accessible. Speaking by telephone from his home in Berlin, Aimard said, “From the very beginning, I found his music extremely original, and whatever his ideas are, he can communicate them in a clear and efficient way. [Read more…]
by Mike Telin
What do you think of when you hear horn calls filling the hall with majestic sound during Haydn’s The Seasons, or any Mahler symphony? Perhaps you visualize hunting, a warning of encroaching armies, or a ship sailing into a foggy harbor.
What listeners think of when hearing such musical gestures served as inspiration for Anthony Cheung’s new work, Topos, which will receive its world premiere by The Cleveland Orchestra under the direction of Franz Welser-Möst this week at Severance Hall. Check our concert listings page for dates and times.
In the program notes, Cheung, the Orchestra’s ninth Daniel R. Lewis Young Composer Fellow, writes:
Each movement is based on one or several related musical topics: representational tropes with special recurring characteristics that evoke scenery, psychological affect, natural and cultural phenomena, etc. The fluidity of meaning in these topics fascinates me. For example, horn calls were originally indicative of hunting, signaling, and fanfare but reemerged in the 19th century as symbols of nostalgia and even leave-taking. [Read more…]
The Suburban Symphony Orchestra (SSO) invites applications for the position of Music Director. SSO’s Music Director, Martin Kessler, will be stepping down at the end of the 2017-2018 season after 38 years of leading the orchestra in that role. SSO intends to ask highly qualified candidates interested in the position (who have not appeared with the orchestra recently) to guest conduct a concert. Read and download the complete announcement here.