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Archives for November 2018

Apollo’s Fire: “O Jerusalem” at St. Paul’s, Cleveland Heights (Nov. 12)

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by David Kulma

Over the course of two weekends from November 10 to 18, Apollo’s Fire celebrated the multicultural heritage of the Holy Land with “O Jerusalem!: Crossroads of Three Faiths.” This exploration of music of Jews, Christians, and Muslims was conceived and directed by artistic director Jeannette Sorrell as a sequel to their successful “Sephardic Journey” program first done in 2014. I attended the second concert on November 12 at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Cleveland Heights. [Read more…]

New violinist, new piece: Cleveland Chamber Music Society presents the Juilliard String Quartet

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by Jarrett Hoffman

Armed with both a new first violinist, Areta Zhulla, and a new piece by Lembit Beecher, the Juilliard String Quartet will head to Plymouth Church on Tuesday, November 27 for a 7:30 pm concert presented by the Cleveland Chamber Music Society.

Zhulla joined her new colleagues — violinist Ronald Copes, cellist Astrid Schween, and violist Roger Tapping — in September. That same month, the Quartet premiered Beecher’s One Hundred Years Grows Shorter Over Time, commissioned for them to honor the centennial of the South Mountain Concerts series in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.

Born in Greece, Zhulla went on to study at the Juilliard School and join CMS Two of Lincoln Center, making her name as a soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician performing across multiple continents. She’s been named “Young Artist of the Year” by the National Critics Association in Greece, and is a recipient of the Triandi Career Grant and the Tassos Prassopoulos Foundation Award.

[Read more…]

Nicholas McGegan returns to Severance Hall for a “terrific concert for families”

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by Mike Telin

Whether it’s the sounds of birds, whales, or summer storms, for centuries humans have turned to the natural world for musical inspiration. While there is a seemingly endless list of nature-inspired works, one that stands out as a perennial favorite is Antonio Vivaldi’s set of violin concertos — Le quattro stagioni (“The Four Seasons”).

This weekend at Severance Hall, you can hear the sounds of chirping birds, rippling creeks, barking dogs, buzzing flies, and storms when violinist Peter Otto, guest conductor Nicholas McGegan, and The Cleveland Orchestra reunite for three performances of Vivaldi’s groundbreaking work. The program, which also includes music by Mozart (Chaconne from Idomeneo) and Haydn (Symphony No. 94), will be presented on Friday and Saturday at 8:00 pm and Sunday at 3:00 pm. Tickets are available online.

For McGegan, these concerts are extra-special for a number of reasons. “For me, working with The Cleveland Orchestra is like being given a Rolls-Royce and an infinite supply of gas,” the affable conductor said during a telephone conversation. “I think this is my tenth visit to work with them, so I hope we’re good pals by now. And this will be a terrific concert for families who are looking for something to do during the Thanksgiving weekend.”

[Read more…]

Cellist Seth Parker Woods to present “Dehiscence: A Sonic Radicalisation” on LCCC Signature Recital Series

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by Jarrett Hoffman

There’s nothing like learning a new word you can use to charming effect in conversation with your friends, co-workers, and dates. Like dehiscence — meaning ‘a splitting open,’ often of a surgical wound.

On second thought, best to leave out the wound aspect and focus on the musical side of the word, thought up by cellist Seth Parker Woods. As he told me during a recent telephone conversation, what interests him is the splitting open of divisions between periods of music. “I’m finding an opening, essentially, and fusing two worlds into one.”

Those worlds are the 17th-century Italian Baroque, and the 20th- and 21st-century avant-garde. He’ll set those genres against each other in “Dehiscence: A Sonic Radicalisation,” a free concert of solo cello music on Tuesday, November 27 at 8:00 pm at LCCC’s Cirigliano Studio Theatre, presented as part of the Signature Recital Series.

[Read more…]

Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra with violinist Célina Béthoux (Nov. 16)

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by Timothy Robson

This past Friday evening, while waiting for the start of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra’s concert at Severance Hall, I ran into some friends whose granddaughter was performing with the Orchestra. They could not have been more proud. And proud they should be — along with the many other family, friends, and audience members — because, under the direction of talented music director Vinay Parameswaran, it was an excellent concert that made few concessions to the reality that COYO is a student orchestra. [Read more…]

Cleveland Chamber Music Society: The Ehnes Quartet at Plymouth (Nov. 13)

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by Daniel Hathaway

Fans of Canadian violinist James Ehnes recently got to enjoy his artistry twice in one month — first on the Oberlin Artist Recital Series with pianist Andrew Armstrong, then with his string quartet on the Cleveland Chamber Music Society series. And ChamberFest Cleveland admirers of violinist Amy Schwartz Moretti didn’t have to wait until next summer to hear her play again. The two joined violist Richard O’Neill and cellist Edward Arron in ravishing performances of quartets by Beethoven, Elgar, and Bartók on November 13 at Plymouth Church. [Read more…]

Heights Arts Close Encounters features women composers (Nov. 11)

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by Nicholas Stevens

The cloud-enshrouded last weeks of the year have come fast, and soon, list-making journalists will issue postmortems and praises for 2018 — summaries and “best of” lists by the dozen. What a perfect time, then, for five Northeast Ohio string players to make a strong case for Concert of the Year, under the auspices of Heights Arts’ Close Encounters Chamber Music series. [Read more…]

International Digital Electronic Accordion Society concert (Nov. 9)

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by Robert Rollin

This past week, metropolitan Warren, Ohio played host to the International Digital Electronic Accordion Society. The terrific Friday night concert on November 9 at the Avalon Inn & Resort, part of a symposium, drew world-class professionals from New Zealand, Australia, Italy, Canada, and the United States. The evening opened with an accordion ensemble playing a lively musical mélange. [Read more…]

BlueWater Chamber Orchestra with Chang & Neubert (Nov. 10)

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by Nicholas Stevens

That time of year has come: lawns turn white with snow as day arrives late, puddles freeze over when night comes early, and Northeast Ohioans glance outside with the knowledge that this is only the beginning. In this season, when the world outside seems to reject us with what feels like personal hostility, it takes real incentives to lure listeners to concert halls. Fortunately, the area offers many such tempting opportunities, and last weekend, a program by BlueWater Chamber Orchestra made the trip outside well worth it. [Read more…]

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