by Mike Telin
Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, as epitomized by Euripides’ infamous character Medea. After her husband Jason rejects her for another woman in order to further his political career, she will stop at nothing to get revenge, including murdering her own children.
This sensational drama will be brought to life when the Cleveland Institute of Music’s Opera Theater presents Luigi Cherubini’s Medea on November 8, 9, 10, and 11 at 7:30 pm in Kulas Hall.
by Nicholas Stevens
Kyoungtack Hong’s painting Library-Mt. Everest (2014) depicts exactly what its title suggests: a few bookshelf cubes and decorative objects cluster around the edge of the canvas, with a photorealistic image of Mount Everest in sunlit glory at the center. The work plays with the conventions of Korean chaekgeori, a kind of 19th-century painted screen on which artists depicted the contents of a scholar’s study. The musical experiences offered by Ji Aeri, a virtuoso of the gayageum — a zither-like instrument — and percussionist Kim Woongsik at a recent concert involved a process not unlike that of taking in Hong’s painting: as one moves from the outer portions of a work toward its heart, simplicity yields to sublimity.
by Jarrett Hoffman
“When I put together a program, I look for interesting threads that connect the pieces, but I also look at how the pieces resonate with me,” Daniel Meyer, music director of the Asheville Symphony and Erie Philharmonic, said in a recent conversation. “I’m going to be interpreting them, putting my stamp on them, and standing in front of incredibly trained musicians who will want to know my opinion, so it’s important that I have a personal connection to the works.”
On Saturday, November 11 at 7:30 pm at Plymouth Church in Shaker Heights, BlueWater Chamber Orchestra’s “Lush Autumn Musings” brings together guest conductor Daniel Meyer and soprano Laura Pedersen in Samuel Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915, bookended by Maurice Ravel’s Le Tombeau de Couperin and Franz Schubert’s Symphony No. 2 in B-flat.
by Rebecca Shasberger
Special to ClevelandClassical.com
While November has only recently arrived, many people find themselves already planning for Thanksgiving. For some in our community, however, such planning isn’t as simple as deciding who will cook the turkey and who will bake the pies. Tens of thousands of people in Northeast Ohio will instead be wondering if they’ll have food at all for Thanksgiving, an uncertainty many of them face throughout the year.
Some of Cleveland’s brightest musical lights have decided to do something about this problem. On Sunday, November 19 at 2:00 pm, well-known performers including cellists Sharon Robinson and Keith Robinson, violinist Jinjoo Cho, harpist Yolanda Kondonassis, guitarist Jason Vieaux, and trumpeter Michael Sachs will present a benefit concert for food relief at the Maltz Museum of Jewish History.
The National Flute Association (NFA) has announced that George Pope will be the recipient of its 2018 Distinguished Service Award. Pope will receive the award at the NFA convention in Orlando in August 2018. A resident of Akron, Pope is emeritus professor of flute at the the University of Akron and lecturer in flute at the Baldwin Wallace Conservatory. [Read more…]
by Jarrett Hoffman
Eight core musicians from three continents gather around the music of Billy Drewes in the latest release on the Oberlin Music label, Under One Sun. The album’s wide array of instruments, moods, and vocal styles makes for a fun and exploratory 70 minutes of jazz.
by Mike Telin
“I’m looking forward to the concert, and I have to say that the ensembles are sounding really good,” CIM’s New Music Ensemble director Keith Fitch said by telephone. On Sunday, November 5 at 4:00 pm in Mixon Hall, the Ensemble will present a concert featuring works by Guest Composer Stephen Hartke. The program will also include two pieces by Donald Erb.
On Saturday, November 4 at 1:30 pm in CIM’s Studio 113, Hartke will present a Guest Composer Symposium. The Grammy Award-winning composer and Professor of Composition at Oberlin Conservatory will discuss his music and approach to composition. Both events are free and open to the public. [Read more…]