by Daniel Hathaway
Today’s entries:
• Cleveland Orchestra matinee, piano concerts at Fine Arts Willoughby and U. of Akron, Chinese traditional music for sheng at CMA
• Touching announcement by Michael Tilson Thomas, controversial cancellation in Montréal
• A single summer concert brings today’s Almanac celebrations of Mendelssohn, J.S. Bach, Bobby McFerrin — and a large outdoor crowd — together in the Marketplace in Leipzig [Read more…]
by Jarrett Hoffman
IN THIS EDITION:
•Concerts this evening from The Cleveland Orchestra, Oberlin faculty, Youngstown Symphony, and No Exit
•News briefs: Bop Stop trumpeters, Severance safety policy
•In the industry: arts organizations reconsidering their COVID rules, and heading to court to receive relief funds
•Almanac: John Harbison on writing for orchestra
by Peter Feher
The Harlem Quartet might consider changing its name to include an honorary fifth member. The string ensemble took the stage as part of Akron’s Tuesday Musical series on March 1, joined by pianist and composer Aldo López-Gavilán, whose close connection to the group brought out the best in each player.
If chamber music is all about relationships — the give and take between performers — then last week’s program at E.J. Thomas Hall had an unfair advantage. López-Gavilán’s brother, Ilmar, plays first violin for the Harlem, meaning the pair’s dynamic is more than strictly musical. [Read more…]
by Daniel Hathaway
BlueWater Chamber Orchestra’s concert at the Church of the Covenant on Saturday evening, March 5 checked all the boxes for a memorable concert experience.
It lasted 80 minutes and nixed an intermission, developed a clever theme through unusual repertoire (although it didn’t take itself too seriously there), and featured an engaging soloist in organist Jonathan Moyer as well as a communicative conductor in Daniel Meyer, both of whom spoke briefly and informatively without simply recycling program notes.
by Mike Telin
In 1936 British composer William Walton was faced with a decision: should he write a piece for violinist Joseph Szigeti and clarinetist Benny Goodman, or a concerto for Jascha Heifetz? On December 7, 1939 the famed violinist gave the premiere of Walton’s Violin Concerto with The Cleveland Orchestra conducted by Artur Rodziński.
On Thursday, March 10 at 7:30 pm at Severance Music Center, Peter Otto will perform Walton’s concerto with The Cleveland Orchestra under the direction of Franz Welser-Möst. The program also includes Adès’s The Exterminating Angel Symphony and Sibelius’s Symphony No. 5, and will be repeated on Friday at 11:00 am (no Adès) and Saturday at 8:00 pm. Tickets are available online.
During a recent telephone conversation, the first associate concertmaster said he was surprised to discover that he is only the third soloist to perform the work with the orchestra. “I knew it was Heifetz who played the premiere, then it was Nigel Kennedy and now me, which is kind of unbelievable.”
Unlike many concertos, which have long orchestral openings, this one introduces the soloist at the very beginning. “Here you just dive right in and present the main theme starting in measure two,” Otto said. “That’s something I really like — and to boot, it’s one of the most beautiful melodies ever written for the violin.”
by Jarrett Hoffman
“Mimes go silent” doesn’t sound like news exactly, but that’s the case with Magic Circle Mime this year.
The company is built around collaborating with orchestras, so their shows actually contain plenty of sound, if not speech. And by the end of 2022, they’ll call it quits, having completed 43 years of touring.
“We’ve had a great run, and we’re superbly happy that we get to do this kind of ‘goodbye tour,’ particularly in places like Cleveland,” Douglas MacIntyre said during a recent interview. MacIntyre co-founded Magic Circle with Maggie Petersen, and that creative partnership remains the foundation of the company.
On Sunday, March 13 at 3:00 pm at Mandel Hall, the mime duo will join conductor Vinay Parameswaran and The Cleveland Orchestra in “The Listener,” a family program that introduces audiences ages 6+ to the workings of an orchestra and the art of listening. Humor, drama, and dance are all part of the show, as are musical selections by Britten, Bernstein, Shostakovich, Tchaikovsky, Bizet, Mozart, and John Williams, representing genres such as orchestra, opera, ballet, and film. Tickets are available here.
by Daniel Hathaway
TODAY’S EVENTS:
12:00 pm – Trinity Brownbag Concert: Music and Meditation. Todd Wilson & Nicole Keller, organ & piano. Trinity Cathedral, 2230 Euclid Ave., Cleveland. Freewill offering. Hybrid concert will also be livestreamed.
NEWS BRIEFS:
Every day brings news of the latest fallout for Russian artists from Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. Catch up with this story (“Conductors Stand Down from Posts Amidst Russian Invasion”) on the Violin Channel. [Read more…]
by Mike Telin
When composer/pianist Jerome Begin was in need of a pianist for a dance project he was working on, the Cleveland native was faced with a conundrum. “Being a pianist, I have never hired a pianist,” he said during a Zoom call.
After speaking to a number of acquaintances asking for recommendations, he decided to contact David Friend. “Jerome sent along some of the pieces and we set a time to meet at Juilliard where he teaches,” Friend recalled during that zoom conversation. “We played through some of the music and immediately everything felt great. And it’s continued to be a really good partnership.”
On Thursday, March 10 at the Bop Stop, David and Jerome will perform Post, a 50-minute set of pieces for solo piano with live processing that explore a different way of creating an uncanny valley-esque reality where human, acoustic and electronic- processed elements interact and overlap in hard-to-define, disorienting ways. The event, presented by No Exit, is free. [Read more…]
by Jarrett Hoffman
IN THIS EDITION:
•On the calendar: a period-instrument trio, and solo piano plus electronics
•MLK Community Chorus visits the Cavs, and competition news from Cleveland Chamber Choir
•An article about cultural institutions facing decisions about presenting Russian art and artists
•Almanac: Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, and a musical memorial offered by flutist and composer Hong-Da Chin
by Mike Telin
“I’ve been on kind of a crusade to get the Schumann Concerto programmed as much as possible,” pianist Orli Shaham said during a telephone conversation. It’s a piece that I absolutely adore.” Although she performed the piece many times early in her career, she said that for many years orchestras were not interested in programming the concerto. “Just before the pandemic I was finally scheduled to play it and sure enough, that concert was canceled.”
Lucky for her, that concert was moved to this season, “so I had my chance to play it this past fall.” On Thursday, March 10 at 7:30 pm in Stambaugh Auditorium, Shaham will have another opportunity to play Schumann’s Concerto when she joins the Youngstown Symphony Orchestra under the direction of André Raphel. The program also includes Jennifer Higdon’s blue cathedral and Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5. Tickets are available online. [Read more…]