by Daniel Hathaway
The Cleveland Chamber Music Society sailed into relatively uncharted waters on March 3, hosting the Bay Area male vocal ensemble Chanticleer in “Trade Winds.” This musical voyage took its name from a triptych by Zhou Tian, part of a varied program that called in at multiple ports for Italian madrigals, settings of Ave Maris stella (“Hail Mary, Star of the Sea”), an Edwardian part song, a Portuguese Mass, songs from the Pacific, and English sea shanties. [Read more…]
by Mike Telin
On May 4, 1970, the Ohio National Guard fired into a crowd of protesters at Kent State University, killing four students and wounding nine others. The 50th anniversary of this horrific event was the focal point of Cleveland Chamber Choir’s recent program “We March On! Music of Social Justice.” The thought-provoking concert also poignantly addressed anti-Semitic violence, the civil rights movement, hate crimes, police brutality, and women’s suffrage. [Read more…]
by Peter Feher
The Cleveland Orchestra brass were busy with Bruckner the prior weekend, but then on Sunday, March 1, The Orchestra’s second trumpet player, Jack Sutte, played a recital at Christ Church Episcopal in Hudson, part of Music from The Western Reserve’s 2019–2020 concert series. His program emphasized artistry over athleticism and served as a good reminder that sensitive, sustained solo playing naturally differs from the big orchestral approach. [Read more…]
by Timothy Robson
Jerusalem, sacred city of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The location of horrific violence and oppression for over two millennia. But yet a magical city in which Jews, Christians, and Muslims have lived and interacted with each other in harmony. It was the latter aspect of Jerusalem that Jeannette Sorrell and Apollo’s Fire highlighted in their sensational program “O Jerusalem! Crossroads of Three Faiths.” I heard the performance on Wednesday, March 11 at the Cleveland Museum of Art. Gartner Auditorium was well filled, and it now turns out that Apollo’s Fire gave the last major performance at the Museum for an unknown period of time, due to precautions around COVID-19. [Read more…]
by Daniel Hathaway
Beginning last week, virtually all live performances in Northeast Ohio were either cancelled, postponed indefinitely, or scheduled to be streamed online with no audience present. As health concerns over COVID-19 increased, some events in the latter category were eventually cancelled altogether, and colleges, conservatories, and universities have sent students home for the rest of the semester, planning to move instruction online.
The local extent of these alterations is reflected in our Concert Listings (we’ll continue to list and note the status of scheduled events there, and add local live streamed events). An overview of the national impact of the virus has been provided in an article on Classical Voice North America.
During the course of this emergency, ClevelandClassical.com will be developing content we hope our readers will find stimulating in the absence of previews and reviews of live concerts.
Jarrett Hoffman’s survey of online opportunities in this issue is rich and varied. Beginning on Thursday, March 19, we’ll launch a daily Diary that will include news updates, a rundown on broadcasts and podcasts, and a recommended video or streaming event of the day that has particular relevance to Northeast Ohio.
Be patient, be healthy, and take care of yourselves and others.
by Mike Telin
Is there a more fun-filled, accessible opera than Mozart’s The Magic Flute? Its classic fairy tale plot — good versus evil combined with a search for enlightenment and love — is timeless. Its characters are sympathetic, and it’s filled with beautiful arias and catchy tunes that are certain to cause the most wonderful earworms long after you leave the theater.
by Jarrett Hoffman
Live streams, re-broadcasts, digital archives, and YouTube channels — here are some videos of performances to keep you occupied during social distancing.
Beginning locally, some performances are still taking place via live stream, without an audience. On Thursday, March 19 at 4:30 pm, Oberlin Conservatory will stream a faculty and guest concert from Stull Recital Hall. Flutist Alexa Still, cellist Mihai Tetel, and pianist Evan Hines come together in Heitor Villa-Lobos’ Assobio a Játo (“Jet Whistle”) and Valerie Coleman’s 2019 Amazonia.
Piano Cleveland, the presenting organization of the Cleveland International Piano Competition, has announced a new weekly series called The Quarantine Concerts, to be streamed every Thursday at 7:30 pm from Steinway Piano Gallery Cleveland. The first concert, on March 19, will feature pianist Yaron Kohlberg as well as the piano duo of Natsumi Shibagaki and Irwin Shung. Online audience members have the opportunity to offer their support directly to these artists by donating to Piano Cleveland’s Musicians’ Fund.
by Daniel Hathaway
Members of The Cleveland Orchestra and friends who perform from time to time as the Cleveland Chamber Collective presented the premiere of a work by Geoffrey Peterson and the sneak preview of a Cleveland Orchestra-commissioned piccolo concerto in a chamber format. Filling out the program were well-known pieces by Beethoven and Debussy, performed in front of a small audience at Disciple’s Christian Church in Cleveland Heights on Sunday evening, March 1. [Read more…]
by Jarrett Hoffman
Contestants have been announced for the 2020 Cleveland International Piano Competition, which takes place at the Cleveland Museum of Art and Severance Hall from July 26 to August 9.
Here are the numbers: Piano Cleveland, the presenting organization of the Competition, received 242 applicants from 28 nations. And the 29 chosen contestants, ages 20-32, represent 12 countries: Brazil, China, Croatia, Israel, Italy, Japan, Russia, South Korea, Spain, Tajikistan, Ukraine, and the United States.
At stake is the Mixon First Prize of $75,000, which also comes with a Carnegie Hall debut, three years of management services, and a recording on the Steinway & Sons label.
by Timothy Robson
Franz Welser-Möst and The Cleveland Orchestra presented a very unlikely pairing of musical works this weekend at Severance Hall, Ernst Křenek’s austere and modernist Static and Ecstatic, Op. 214, sharing the program with Felix Mendelssohn’s joyous, life-affirming Lobgesang (“Song of Praise”), Op. 52. In Mendelssohn’s mashup of symphony and cantata, the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus continued their upward trajectory of excellence, joined by soloists Christina Landshamer and Martina Janková, sopranos, and Julian Prégardien, tenor. [Read more…]